Day 1 - #obediencechallenge - The Sabbath

See my intro here if you have no idea what this is about: 30 Days to Better Faith.

Tonight at sundown starts the Sabbath. We rest on the Sabbath, and do not work, nor cause others to work. See Exodus 20:8-11:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

We do not use fire on the Sabbath to cook, but we do use the microwave or make sandwiches. See Exodus 35:3:

"Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."

Exodus 16:22-30 explains how the 6th day was used to gather enough food for both the 6th and 7th days needs:

"On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.

So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” So the people rested on the seventh day."

Feel free to go to church. Feel free to finally ENJOY family time at home. Play games with your kids. Go to the park, enjoy God's creation. Read the Bible (this week's Scripture portion is Leviticus 16:1-20:27, Ezekiel 22:1-19 and John 7:1-10:21 if you want to get on schedule). Use this time to focus on God and the tremendous blessings He has given us.

If you have questions, please post them below. This is one of the "hardest" (if resting is hard) commandments to keep because we are so used to going, going, going. God wants us to PAUSE and REST and FOCUS on our priorities - Him and the people He's given us to enjoy life with.

Helpful tip - before sundown, make a final grocery store run and grab any snacks or quick-to-prep foods (that don't require stove or oven, unless you want to make them before sundown and then just warm them up tomorrow). That way, your house is stocked enough for the inevitable hungry bellies that will come tomorrow when you can't run out and grab anything (causing others to work on Sabbath - see Exodus 16 reference above).