The other day I was reading in Matthew where Jesus was answering his disciples questions about what it will be like in the last days. He was describing the horrific events that would occur before His return, which eventually would come to a head. Jesus told them that would be the time they should flee! Get out of there fast! Head for the hills, literally!

Then I came to the verse that has often puzzled me. Mat 24:20 “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” Winter I get. But the last part of that verse always becomes a speed bump in my mind. Pray that your flight won’t be on a Sabbath! Typically I pause, think something like, “That’s odd,” and then keep on reading. 

This time when I read those words, I didn’t simply slow down over that speed bump, I pulled over, turned the engine off and pondered. Why did Jesus say, “Pray your flight won’t be… on the Sabbath?” (I’m certain it wasn’t because God would be looking to punish commandment breakers as His people ran for their lives.) Quite honestly, if I was going to pray about an unknown day in the future when I would suddenly be fleeing from dangerous people, my prayer would include many things, like asking God to prepare a safe place to go and have there be people to help me along the way. I might think about the season and ask for the Lord to let it be Spring or Fall. I probably would ask Him to make sure we’re all healthy when that day comes. But I can’t imagine that on my own I’d pray about which day of the week I’d like it to come on. I’m sure when the day did come, that would be the last thing on my mind. Interestingly, Jesus only mentioned 2 things to pray for in that prayer: the season and also to avoid having it be the Sabbath.

All of this got me to thinking about the Sabbath.

First, the Holy Spirit reminded me that honoring the Sabbath is one of the 10 Commandments. (You know, those things that used to hang in every schoolroom and courthouse in our country.)

So much could be said about why we keep the commandments: Honor. Lordship. Covenant. Worship. Reverence of the Almighty One. Boundaries for our peace, etc. I felt like the Holy Spirit was saying that down through the years, though we strictly agree with the importance of the other nine commandments, it seems we have lost touch with the importance God placed on honoring the Sabbath. Some weeks we keep a sabbath, others we don’t. If it works, we do, if it doesn’t we don’t. It’s almost as though we believe that if Moses hadn’t broken the originals, we’d someday dig them up and find: 

IV REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY…(Optional)!

While continuing to mull over why we push back rather than fully embrace the sabbath, the Lord led me to something I’ve never thought about. Keeping the Sabbath takes humility! Setting aside what we consider to be our own valuable time requires putting God before ourselves. It’s saying I’m not invincible. My body actually needs the rest God commanded me to take. That means I must trust God to provide and believe He will truly take care of me. Honoring the Sabbath means humbling ourselves before our Maker.

God wanted Moses to teach His children that there was to be a sabbath in the routines of their lives because He wanted them to rest! Stop working and remember! Remember that God rested on the 7th day. Remember that God provided manna every single sabbath day while His children rested. Remember that God blessed the sabbath day!

Oh, and regarding “Pray that your flight isn’t…on the sabbath”. It makes more sense to me now. The people worked hard for 6 long days and then rested on the sabbath. Having to flee on the sabbath would mean they would be starting their journey without having had time to fully rest. It would be God’s mercy to arrange for their flight to be after their sabbath rest. Probably if I’d looked at a few theologians’ commentaries I might have found that sooner. I think the Holy Spirit just wanted me to ponder awhile about how God views the Sabbath.

Father God, Help us to value what You value and give sabbath rest the priority You want it to have in our hearts. Bring Your people back to the place of honoring You with our lives. Give us grace to humbly say, “I need You, I trust Your care for me. I give You first place in my life…every day.”