A) INTRODUCTION.

B) THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLICAL SABBATH.

C) JESUS AND REST.

D) FINAL THOUGHTS.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

 

It is important to note that most of the leisure problems we face today were unknown in Bible times.  The short-working week did not exist, i.e., six days were for labor, while only one day (Sabbath) was designated as being off (see Exo. 20:8-11).  The daylight hours from sunrise to sunset (about 12 hours) were working time.  In other words, not the eight-hour work period, or what is commonly referred to these days as, “Bankers Hours.”

 

However, the evening-night hours were from sunset to sunrise (about 12 hours) and comprised the only Biblical leisure time (see Psa. 104:22; John 9:4), occupied mostly by eating and sleeping.  Thus, a 12-hour working day leaves little time and energy for leisure activities.  By contrast, the industrialized world enjoys the additional four hours of leisure.

 

 

B) THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLICAL SABBATH

 

 

It was the weekly Sabbath, and the annual festivals (which were also called Sabbaths; see Lev. 23:24 & 32), that gave the Israelites rest from work; and thus, freedom to enjoy leisure activities (Marriages also afforded time off).  This means that to understand the Biblical view of leisure, we would need to understand that the Sabbath rest served as a paradigm, that is, a model for the use of leisure time in general.  
 

Thus, for one to have time for games of competition, the only real time would be upon the Holy Sabbath hours, of which one was not to do thine own pleasure (Isa. 58:13).  In fact, the only games mentioned in God’s Word, is an inference to the Greeks, as alluded to by Paul; and that was for seeking after a perishable crown (1Co. 9:25)!  Thus, we find in God’s culture, i.e., Jewish culture, no mention or time for games.

 

Now since God’s Sabbath rest is the model and basis of human (Sabbath) rest, and rest in general, it is important for us to understand the meaning of God’s rest.  The essential meaning of the Hebrew verb “shabat,” which is twice translated “rested,” in Genesis 2:2-3, literally means, “to stop, to desist, to cease from doing.”  Thus, in the Creation account, the “Rest of God,” is a “rest of cessation,” and not a, “rest of relaxation.”

 

By contrast, to express rest from physical exhaustion, the Hebrew employs a different verb, namely “nuah,” which is also translated in English as, “to rest.”  The latter occurs in Exodus 20:11, where God’s pattern of work and rest in Creation is given as the basis for the Commandment to work six days and rest on the seventh.

 

In Genesis, Chapter 2 however, the verb used is “shabat,” because the function of God’s rest is different.  It serves to explain not why we should rest, but rather how God felt about His Creation.  He regarded it as complete and perfect. And to acknowledge this fact, God ceased from His work.  He stopped doing Creative marvels, not to renew His strength, but in order that He could have leisure time to enjoy the beauty of His Creation, and to have fellowship with His creatures (Sounds like Sabbath to me).

 

Looking at it in perspective:  At the end of each day, God proclaimed His Creative accomplishments, “good” (Gen 1:3 & 12 & 18 & 21 & 25 & 31).  By contrast, on the Seventh Day He took time out to leisurely delight in the goodness of His Creation.  This tells us that leisure, is a free time for delight and fellowship, and began with God Himself at Creation.  By His Own example, God teaches us the importance to stop our work at regular intervals so that we can have time for leisure, that is, free time for God, others and ourselves.

 

The Sabbath Commandment shows (teaches) us that God’s design for human life is a rhythm of work and rest; working time and leisure time.  Each takes its meaning from the other and is not complete without the other.  The Command to “rest” on the Sabbath is also a Command to work six days.  Here, work and leisure are integrated into a harmonious cycle that is fundamental to understand the Biblical view of leisure.

 

Properly understood, the Sabbath Commandment affirms the human right to leisure time by granting us freedom from work.  This freedom is guaranteed to all, including servants, strangers, and “dumb beasts” (Exo. 20:10; 23:12; Deu. 5:14).  The Sabbath rest, then, reveals God’s concern for the leisure rights of the defenseless of our society, i.e., those who in Bible times had no recourse or protection against the exploitation of others.

 

The Sabbath rest reveals also God’s concern for the workaholics who find their ultimate fulfillment in their work.  The Sabbath rest teaches us that the chief aim of our life should be not to make a god of our work, but to allow God to work in us.  By freeing us from work, the Sabbath liberates us from the temptation to “deify” work, and makes us free and available for God, others, and ourselves.  We stop our work on the Sabbath to allow God to work in us more fully and more freely.

 

However, in Scripture, the Sabbath rest is a qualified leisure time.  It is not a frivolous leisure time, but a “solemn rest, holy to the Lord” (Exo. 31:15; 16:23-25; 20:10; Lev 23:3).  While the Sabbath rest is given to mankind (Exo. 16:29; Mark 2:27), yet It (our time) belongs to God (Exo. 16:23 & 25; Isa. 56:4; 58:13; Mark 2:28).  Therefore, our human rest on the Sabbath is not a self-centered hedonistic pleasure seeking, but God-centered leisure time; one in which God expects us to obey in order to be happy in the environment He Created for us.

 

 

C) JESUS AND REST

 

 

During His extraordinarily busy ministry, Jesus sensed the need to retreat to many quiet places for prayer and renewal.  This is a typical experience:  “Immediately He made His Disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.”  Mark 6:45.  Jesus protected the right to leisure time of His disciples as well, as exemplified by the following incident:  “[30] The disciples returned to Jesus and told Him all that they had done and taught. [31] And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.’  For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”  Mark 6:30-31.  These passages are significant for our understanding of leisure because they reveal that Jesus did not reduce life to ceaseless evangelism, but that God draws a boundary to every type of work; even the work of proclaiming the Gospel and helping people in their physical needs.

 

One of the most popular forms of leisure is found at the dinning table.  And to enjoy this God-given pleasure is admonished by the Preacher Solomon, who says: “Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart,” Ecclesiastes 9:7.  However, Luke contrasts the ascetic lifestyle of John the Baptist with the convivial lifestyle of Jesus, of Whom it could rightly be said:  “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking,” Luke 7:34.  His critics were offended at such behavior and chided Jesus by saying:  “Behold, a Glutton and a Drunkard, a Friend of tax collectors and sinners!”  Luke 7:34.

 

 

D) FINAL THOUGHTS

 

 

Note:  The Bible teaches us to consume only two meals per day (see Exo. 16:8; 1Ki. 17:6), therefore the American cultural diet of three meals a day pushes towards the accusation of anyone who participates in the three-meal concept to be a “glutton,” and an abuser of this leisure time period.

 

Finally, leisure offers us the opportunity not only to find God and ourselves, but also to reach out unto others.  The Christian faith is not a self-centered solace, but an others-centered service.  Leisure is a key ingredient of the Christian lifestyle because it provides the time to share with others our love, concern, and service for them.

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