Exodus 23:12
Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
I remember my father seeing me eating peanuts really fast because I was really hungry. He told me to slow down and chew them so I wouldn’t get a stomach ache. Sometimes I listened. Sometimes I groaned. Whenever I eat peanuts now, I am reminded. The Heavenly Father told his people to rest on the seventh day so that they would not get weary and ill. They would instead be refreshed. Notice this also applied to their animals so it had a practical use but the real benefit was that every time they rested on the Sabbath, they were reminded that the LORD rested on the seventh day from the works of creation. Sadly, their leaders later added to the command, making it a burden in itself without refreshment.
In our American society and our Protestant Work Ethic, rest has not received the attention it needs. Pastors especially boast of never taking time off and suffer illness as a result, thinking that the heroes of the faith were the same. Consider that Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, would take off to the South of France for weeks at a time to refresh. The Sabbath rest is a gift to man, Jesus said, and ignoring it tells God. “I don’t need your gift but you need me to work for your kingdom.” Absurd. May we instead enter his rest and remember his works.
O Heavenly Father, you have given us good things to remind us of your goodness. May we take advantage of these things and rest in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.