The Importance & Theological Significance of Sabbath
The Sabbath was a very important religious development in Hebrew religion. In it is a profound moral truth which is more and more being recognized by science and secular philosophy, and an even more profound theological truth that is often missed.
Today will be a Sabbath for me. It will be a one post day, and I am off of work (both jobs). I will do as little work of any kind as possible. The Bible's concept of Sabbath pulls in, in one fell swoop, the entire meditative tradition found in other philosophies. We need quietness, and a time set aside for extended introspection and indeed worship. We think that only activity is productive, but indeed rest and inactivity can be very productive if the goal is shoring up the inner resources needed for the rest of life. This message, as you can tell, is the corollary to the one I gave on 2/3. Life is work and play, and work and play are good. But a life that is void of extended periods of inactivity loses the vitality that makes those activities spiritually productive. Indeed, there are several studies that show the health benefits of having a time of Sabbath.
The theological significance is that in this period of inactivity and rest we see some fundamental truth about the divine. The Old Testament tells us that the Sabbath was established by God's day of rest after the creation of the world. Almost all living things have some period of inactivity, of something like sleep or rest. And indeed many non-living complex systems seem to have natural 'rest' periods as well. Few ever really reflect on the Biblical insight that this tendency is grounded in the nature of God. For it reveals a God that is NOT completely invulnerable and self-sufficient. An in-all-ways all-powerful God has no need for rest.
We need to rest, we need Sabbath. But we need to rest REFLECTIVELY and thus the importance of worship as a part of Sabbath. For in our resting we can find a window into the life of God.
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