AUG 6

Nehemiah 13:15-22
Memorise Deuteronomy 5:12
“What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?”

Ensuring that the Sabbath was kept was a constant problem throughout the history of Israel and Judah in the Old Testament. Time and again they refused to obey, and were thus judged by God. Each generation had to be severely warned and continually rebuked for breaking this law, for by nature, man would not want to keep it.

You see, this is a law that you would find extremely difficult to keep if you were not close to the Lord. Without God at the centre of your life and the focus of your worship, you would find little value in setting aside a whole day just to remember Him. In times of backsliding, the people of Israel were focused on self, in ensuring that their businesses were successful, and that their fields yielded good harvests. The temptation to do work on the Sabbath was real and very great, such as during the time of Nehemiah. The people had continued to work and to trade during the Sabbaths, and for that, Nehemiah rebuked them for doing evil and profaning the Sabbath.

Even if they did not do work, there would be times when they had no interest in keeping the Sabbath, but just did it anyway for fear of judgment. They continued to despise the Sabbath in their hearts, “Saying, when will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? And the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat” (Amos 8:5). They couldn’t wait for the Sabbath to be over so that they may return to their fields and shops to carry on with their lives. They saw the Sabbath as an infringement on their personal liberties. Thus their hearts were not right with God, and they were rebuked for it.

We must therefore understand that in order to keep the Sabbath right, our walk and relationship with God must first be set in order. That is the only way in which we would look forward to it, and to be able to keep it in the right spirit. It is no use if we were to keep the letter of the law, but inwardly we despise the day and can’t wait for it to be over. For if that is how we are inside, then we too have profaned the Sabbath, and are no different from the Israelites.

Thought: We break the law even if we are doing the right thing but with a wrong attitude.
Prayer: Lord, may You help me to keep You at the centre of my life, and always desire to worship and glorify You.