The Fourth Commandment: Resting in God

READ: EXODUS 20:8-11; DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15; MARK 2:23-27

I love that God commands us to rest. It shows His loving, tender care for His people. By commanding His people to rest, God sets apart Himself and His people from the surrounding nations. He gives two reasons for doing this.

First, He gives a day of rest because that is the pattern He set when He created the world (Genesis 1–2). He spent six days doing the work of creation, and, on the seventh day, He rested. So He calls His people to function in that same pattern: six days of work tending to creation, then one day of resting in Him.

This sets His people apart as a people who rely on their God instead of themselves. It’s a reminder that the world does not rest on our shoulders—we can trust God to take care of things. We don’t have to do it all. He helps us to let go of our sinful self-reliance and instead rest in who He is.

Second, He shows us we are no longer slaves. When the Israelites lived in slavery, the Pharaoh forced them to work every day with no rest. With the command to rest, God shows His people He is different—He has freed His people, and He invites them to rest in their freedom. In the same way, if we know Jesus, He has set us free from the power of sin and death through His death and resurrection, so we don’t have to live in slavery to sin. We can rest in the freedom Jesus has given us.

Rest can be difficult. We sometimes give into the temptation to define ourselves by our accomplishments instead of resting in our identity in Christ. We are driven to work and achieve and make things... and all of that is fantastic—it’s what we are designed to do! But Satan can hijack that good desire and turn it into an idol. By setting aside one day a week to rest in God and worship Him, we remember God is the One running the universe, not us. • Taylor Eising

• How is the Sabbath a gift?

• Why is it important to regularly gather with other believers to rest in and worship Jesus?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT)