Deut. 5:14-15 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
When the children of Israel were enslaved under Pharaoh, they were forced to labor seven days a week, working relentlessly without a break. Can you imagine doing hard labor for years on end without a break? This was Israel’s reality in Egypt.
In His great mercy, God sent Moses to free them from bondage. He gave them ten commandments, one of them being to take a Sabbath REST. In the above passage, God calls the children of Israel to remember that they were slaves and to remember His great redemption in connection to their Shabbat.
In a similar way, we too were once slaves. We were enslaved to sin and unrighteousness, and all the entanglements and snares that come with it. But in His great mercy, God sent Yeshua to set us free from all these things and commanded us to rest in His finished work.
This Sabbath, let us remember from where we came. For He has promised to all who labor and are heavy laden … REST. [ Matthew 11:28-30 ] So then, there remains a rest for the people of God! [ Hebrews 4:9 ]. Enjoy your Shabbat resting in Him! Shabbat Shalom!
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A few years ago, a rare archaeological discovery was made in Northern Israel. Archaeologists discovered a 1/2 meter statue of Hercules which they say was dated to the second century.
A few days ago I received a very detailed call from a friend dealing with trials that seem nearly impossible to bear. Often the best thing a friend can do is simply listen, and while doing just that I was reminded of Horatio Spafford.
Hebrew is the only language in the world that was completely dead as an everyday tongue and then resurrected to become a living language after thousands of years. The "Father" of modern Hebrew, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, was devoted to restoring Hebrew for the Jewish people of our time, when for centuries it was strictly a written language.
In Matthew, we read that Judas betrayed Yeshua (Jesus) to the Sanhedrin for thirty pieces of silver, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah. Zechariah foretold that the Messiah’s price would be measured at a pittance; thirty pieces of silver. Can we imagine valuing a human life in terms of silver? Unthinkable enough…but then this is no ordinary life; it’s the life of God’s only Son.
While walking through the forest one day, a farmer found a young eagle who had apparently fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard with his chickens and there it stayed for years. It wasn't long before the little eagle learned to eat and behave like the chickens.
This week an interesting phenomenon occurred that had Israeli scientists baffled. Two sperm whales appeared off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea! It was the first time they've encountered it -- in the modern state of Israel. In February, a killer whale was seen for the first time off Israel's coast. These events had me wondering in numerous ways... about whales...
In this passage, Elijah had become so weary running from Jezebel that he sat under a Juniper tree and just asked the Lord to take his life. But the Lord knew exactly what Elijah needed and He sent forth a messenger to revive and nourish him. I love it.