ROOTED - Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Exodus 20:8-11
 8-11  … Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work - you, your son and daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or your alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea. And all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.

Reflection: Question #52, Part 2
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
Question: What is the Fourth Commandment?
Answer: Exodus 20:8-11
The real question is, “What is work?” If you recall, the Pharisees accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath because he healed a blind man (John 9). Jesus rejected that his healing was work and offered King David as an example. He did many healings on the Sabbath, even as the Pharisees constantly complained. And yet, they would free their donkey from the ditch, Jesus said, if their donkey was in distress. So, Jesus makes this point in Mark 2:27, 28, namely that the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. That is, God gave us these commands for our benefit. We do them to honor God, but they are not strict in the sense that we can not free animals on the Sabbath. The Sabbath does not prohibit us from well doing or for blessing others. It is designed for our good, as a blessing, not as a burden. The pharisees tried to make the commandments unnecessarily burdensome.  
So, again, what is work? I am influenced here by the writings and opinions of Dallas Willard. He said, as a general rule, that work is what is done to “get ahead.” Let me offer, around his definition, advice on how to apply this commandment (at least this is how I have proceeded with the fourth commandment). I, one day a week, do nothing that advances any agenda in my life. I don’t write Rooted. I don’t cut the grass. I don’t study for a sermon. I don’t send work related emails. I rest. I DO NOT TRY TO GET AHEAD FOR THE WEEK. I use this as a mechanism to practice trusting God. In my spirit I remind myself that God will give me the means and the time to get my stuff done as I posture my heart to honor God with a Sabbath. Let me offer an example. Suppose I was an insurance salesman. I saw an email from someone really interested. It’s Sunday and that response could wait till Monday… but I really want to send an email to seal the deal. Then, in my spirit, I am nudged to not get ahead… to trust God that he will provide and that I should wait until tomorrow. That process happens to me, in small ways, every day I rest (usually that is Sunday starting at 12:30). I do nothing to get ahead. I trust God to meet my needs as I honor him in my resting. I encourage you to do the same.

Prayer
Lord, may we trust you in our sabbath keeping, remembering that it is for your honor that we do all things.