Scripture Daily

Context No. 3516 of 4322 · Deuteronomy

Context · Reflection

Deuteronomy 5:11-15: in context

11“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name. 12“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13You shall labor six days, and do all your work; 14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, in which you shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

In Deuteronomy's version of the Sabbath command, a distinctive reason is given for it: remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out; therefore he commanded you to keep the Sabbath. The rest day is rooted in redemption, in gratitude for deliverance from slavery.

A people who had known unrelenting forced labor were now given a weekly rhythm of rest, and they were to extend that rest to everyone under their roof, sons and daughters, servants, the foreigner within their gates, even the animals. The Sabbath was a weekly declaration that they were no longer slaves; they, and all who worked for them, could rest. There is a deep humanity in this. Rest is a gift of the God who frees, and it is to be shared with all, especially those who serve us. To keep Sabbath is to remember that we are redeemed and not slaves, and to let others rest as well.

Do I receive rest as a gift of the God who redeemed me, and do I extend rest and humane treatment to those who work for and depend on me?

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