“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.’” (Deuteronomy 5:12)
In this portion of Deuteronomy, we read how the Lord had Moses renew His covenant with a new generation of Israelites. All of the Israelites who had left Egypt were now dead except Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. Thus the time had come to renew it for the new generation on the verge of entering the Promised Land. The used here that indicated that the covenant was made with all those now present, the nation of Israel, so that all of what followed applied to them.
Moses began with a restatement of the 10 Commandments which reminded the people, among other things, of the fundamental importance of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a time to rest from work so the people could spend their time worshipping God by calling to mind what He had done for them and of their obligation to obey Him.
In the New Covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus we celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday as a day of worship. We remember and celebrate the grace of God and thank Him for all He has done for us. He has saved us from sin and death while we were still in bondage to them, before we even knew who He was, while we were powerless to even obey any of His commands. We, therefore, maintain reverence for Him and His law. His Law exists for our benefit for it is the Law of Love. The Lord desires our well-being, our love, and our fellowship. In order to do this we must submit our wills, our entire lives to His control for without Him, we are nothing.
And yet today many people do not keep any Sabbath. Of course although there are those who work in essential services who must work on Sundays, there are so many others who do not need to work on Sunday who deem Sabbath rest to be nonessential. There are millions who see Sunday as a time for sports, get-togethers, vacations, parties, or “me-time.” No wonder our society is such a state of chaos, filled with violence, animosity, and division: people have forgotten that God is our ultimate priority. Nothing is more important than worshipping Him. Those who do not see it as the essential fundamental necessity of life try to relax and have fun but wind up tired, worn out, worried, or consumed by substance abuse.
We all need to get our priorities straight. We all need to celebrate the Sabbath worshipping Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Church with the blessings of Word, Sacrament, and fellowship with God and the saints both here on earth as well as in heaven. Sabbath is not a negotiable option, but a necessity for holy and righteous living.