Top X June 22, 2025 Devotional

DEUTERONOMY 5:12, 14a | ¹²Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.

^14a But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.

This is history’s first labor law! Notice the twofold aspect to this Commandment — there is a positive command to “consecrate” the Sabbath and to “keep it holy.” There is a negative command, to avoid any work. The positive aspect leaves much room for individual and corporate creativity. We can sanctify and make holy our time in many different ways. We can do so by worship in all its diverse forms. We can do so by prayer, in its many practices. We can read and meditate on Scripture. The emphasis on rest and renewal, later in the Commandment, opens up the possibilities that vary with our temperaments and make-up. We can enjoy God’s many gifts of music, nature, physical activity, reading, art, friendship, or fellowship. This is the case because beauty, creation, learning, and relationships can be holy!

How do you keep or observe Sabbath and make it holy and set apart?

Gracious God,

Thank You for special times that are sacred, because they help us experience life in its special, sacred dimensions.

Amen.