This week, we're taking a look at The Fourth Commandment and what a wonderful reminder it is that the New Covenant has come and Jesus is our Sabbath!
Coming off the back of Easter when we've had the chance to celebrate the fact that the work is finished and we can now find peace and rest in Christ, what a great time to take a few minutes to focus on these verses. Praises to our Saviour who is the fulfilment of the law!
I pray this short poem and meditation can bless you today. Love Lucy x
Exodus 20:1-17
The Ten Commandments
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.””
The Fourth Commandment Coming off the back of Easter when we've had the chance to celebrate the fact that the work is finished and we can now find peace and rest in Christ, what a great time to take a few minutes to focus on these verses. Praises to our Saviour who is the fulfilment of the law!
I pray this short poem and meditation can bless you today. Love Lucy x
Exodus 20:1-17
The Ten Commandments
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.””
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
"Behold, The Ten Commandments, recorded in God’s Word!
To think they don’t apply to us would really be absurd!
The wisdom found within these laws, we cannot take away,
So how can we apply these truths within our lives today?
“Keep the Sabbath holy.” Commandment number four.
A principle for Israel, a law to not ignore.
This day of rest, ordained by God, included everyone
Yet now we find our rest in Christ, God’s one and only Son.
The Sabbath was a picture; man’s work should come to cease.
Now Jesus is our Sabbath for in Him we find our peace.
Though rest is still important, there’s wisdom found within,
Christ’s work upon the Cross is done! Oh may we rest in Him."
Hebrews 4:9-11
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
Colossians 2:16-17
“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
Galatians 4:9-10
“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years.”
Mark 2:27-28
“And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.””
Let’s Pray
Jehovah Shalom, I praise You Father that You are my rest and my peace. Thank You Lord that You came to fulfil the law and set us free from the bondage of sin. Help me enter into the rest that only salvation through You can bring. A rest I can experience every day knowing that it’s through no work of my own that I’m made acceptable in Your sight but through the complete, perfect and finished work of the Cross.
I praise You Lord for this New Covenant. A Covenant with no obligations, rules or regulations. Everything in the law has been met in You and You alone, the work is done.
Give me wisdom Lord and show me when I do need to take some time to physically rest from life’s work too. Help me remember how important it is to allow myself quiet time with You and Your Word. Sacred time in Your Scriptures when I can retreat from the troubles of this world and be replenished in body, soul and mind.
Thank You, Lord Jesus for being my Sabbath. In Your wonderful name I pray, Amen.
