WHICH TABLET DOES THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT BELONG ON?

 

At Arlington Avenue Baptist Church, Indianapolis, IN

 It fits nice and neat. The first four of the Ten Commandments are on the left tablet, reflecting on the Great Commandment to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength." The final six are on the right tablet, dealing with the second commandment like unto the first, "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Of course, this reflects the Protestant view of the Ten Commandments. To the Jew, the first commandment is "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the house of bondage," and the second commandment is a combination of what Protestants consider the first two. The Catholic mindset also combines "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" as a single commandment with "Thou shalt not make any graven images," and divides the commandment not to covet into two separate commandments. But, as you'd expect, I'll stick with the Protestant numbering of the commandments.

Allow me to give an alternative reason for why the first four commandments are on the left and the remaining ones on the right. It's because the longest commandments are the second, the fourth, and the tenth, and thus the halfway point is after the fourth.

You might think it's practical, but not as catchy. If you're awake, you might wonder if there's another reason why I don't quickly affirm that one tablet represents loving God and the other loving one another. There is.

My question is about the fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. If the command was about congregating for corporate worship, as both those who worship on Sunday and those who think the Biblical Sabbath has always been Saturday take it. However, I notice nothing about corporate worship or even personal worship in that commandment. It says to take it easy and rest.

Another related issue is why God focused in the law of observing one specific day of the week. Is it because there is something sacred about the Sabbath? Or is it more about making the Law enforceable? Breaking the other commandments (except possibly for coveting) are observable. How can we know for sure if a person is resting one day out of seven? Simple. Everybody else is resting on that day, so the one breaking the Sabbath stands out.

Related to that issue: I believe those who believe Saturday is the appointed Sabbath Day have a stronger case than those who believe Sunday is the new Sabbath. True, the tradition of Christians worshiping on Sunday goes back to the days of Acts (see Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2), but there is no commandment. But I do see a view I consider to have solid Biblical evidence as well, which is that in Romans 14:5, 6, which is esteeming every day alike. Every day is the Lord's day. The important thing is not the day on which you rest as long as you follow the principle of working six days and resting the seventh.

So is the fourth commandment about loving God? In the sense that resting one day is confidence in Him providing for you rather than trusting in your non-stop labor, I agree. But I think there are two other reasons to observe this commandment.

The first is that this is the one commandment that directly benefits us. The other commandments have an indirect benefit to us, that we are blessed not in the keeping of the commandment but as a result of obedience. This commandment is given for us to take care of ourselves.

The other would lead me to think that this commandment belongs with the following half dozen in being about loving one another. You see, the commandment doesn't stop with us resting. It extends to our servants, both the two legged and four legged varieties. We are to let them rest as well. We are to watch out for others.

Several years ago, my wife Becky wondered if we should eat out on Sundays. On one hand, I see that going to a restaurant allows her to rest instead of fixing lunch. But her concern was to the workers, and not thinking it was right for them to eat for us. It took a while for Mr. Thick Head to get that. 

Is remembering to rest one day a week something that is hard to do? What can you do to help others rest as well?