In response to body and soul blog post THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010

My blog post - “Why Rest?” from February 18, 2010 brought some interesting comments. Though they were not posted, I wanted to share one comment in particular.

Of course, the command in the Bible is pretty harsh, anyone who works on the Sabbath should be "put to death." This is one reason why I have trouble translating the Bible literally 100%.
- Anonymous Blog Reader

For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.
Exodus 35:2 (NIV)

God is pretty serious in this command and I do think He meant for it to be taken literally. However, He issued a consequence for not following the command that we have trouble swallowing. I believe that though the command is to be taken literally, “For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord.” the consequence has now been covered by grace. We are no longer to be put to death because, though that is the punishment for sin (For the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23), our sin has been covered and redeemed through the death of Jesus Christ (that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life John 3:16).

I believe that God knew how easy it would be to ignore this command and, in our ambition, continue moving at a pace of life that is dangerous for both our body and our soul. Because of the seriousness of the need for rest, He issued the strongest possible punishment - death. It is the same thing that I do when I proclaim a strong consequence for a serious rule that I give my children. The punishment for not cleaning their room will not be as strong as the consequence for hitting their little brother in the head with a baseball bat! I want them to know that I mean business and it truly is for their own good.

Though I believe that God is just as serious about rest today, He no longer instructs us to put someone to death for ignoring this law. Unfortunately what we do not seem to realize is that no one needs to take it upon themselves to put me to death for the lack of my rest - I am doing a fine job myself. When I neglect physical rest my body cannot keep up with the demands that I place on it. Heart attacks and strokes among many other physical ailments are a direct result of the continual stress that we place on our bodies by insisting that they go faster and do more every day. On the flip side, when I push myself constantly without the emotional, mental, and spiritual rest that I need, then my soul suffers as well. When my soul is neglected, it begins to die. Depression and suicide are some of the results of a weary soul. (Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Psalm 42:11)

I do believe that we are called to a New Testament living. There are many things in the Old Testament law that were put in place for the time and culture of its people. But I do not believe that we are to ignore God’s commands. Over and over in the Old and New Testament we are told of the importance of taking time out to rest. Jesus said that He had not come to take anything away from the law, but instead to give it a different ending. (Matthew 5:17-20)