"Rhythms of Rest and Work"

February 15, 2026

Background: Gen. 2:2-3; Exodus 20:8-11; Matt. 12:1-14; 28:1-10;

John 20:19; Acts 20:7; Rom. 14:4-6; Rev. 1:10;

Print: Exodus 20:8-11; Romans 14:4-6; Rev. 1:10;

Key Verse: Exodus 20:11; Devotional: Psalm 118:19-24
 

Exodus 20:8-11 (ESV)
⁸  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
⁹  Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
¹⁰  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, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
¹¹  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Romans 14:4-6 (ESV)
⁴  Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
⁵  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
⁶  The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Revelation 1:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.
 

Commentary: Exodus 20; Romans 14; Revelation 1

Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (20:8; see 31:12-17). The Sabbath day concept is predicated on what God did at creation. He made the world in six days; then he rested on the seventh (20:11). Clearly, the all-powerful God didn’t “rest” because he was tired. Rather, he rested so that he could enjoy what he had done: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed” (Gen 1:31). Likewise, after six days of work, we are also called to rest and enjoy the fruit of our labor. This is a valuable means of helping ourselves to avoid becoming so busy and preoccupied that we forget what God has done too.

Romans 14:4 Suppose you think movies and dancing are okay. That’s great: you’re free in Christ. But please don’t judge another’s household servant based on your house rules. Remember, he answers to God, and it is before his own Lord that he stands or falls. God’s Word gives a standard, and we are all called to meet it. But once we meet that standard, we can differ on the kind of bags we carry along the way.

14:5 Paul introduces another example regarding the same concept. Some people were celebrating special holidays, while others thought every day was the same. This discussion resonates with me because my father-in-law didn’t celebrate Christmas: he thought our culture had taken it over with commercialism. My wife, my kids, and I, however, do. The Bible says that I would be wrong to condemn him for what he was doing, just as he would’ve been wrong to condemn us. If each one is fully convinced in his own mind that he’s honoring God regarding a matter on which Scripture isn’t crystal clear, we need to let our brothers and sisters exercise liberty.

14:6-9 It’s uncomfortable for people at different levels of faith and maturity to coexist without judging each other on matters of preference. Paul gives us both a reason to respect others’ freedom and a motivation: you aren’t their master. In these verses, the phrase for the Lord shows up seven times. If a brother eats, let him eat for the Lord (14:6).

Revelation 1:9-10 John had been exiled to the island called Patmos in the Aegean Sea because of his Christian faith and his refusal to compromise the word of God and the testimony of Jesus (1:9). John was in the Spirit—that is, he was thinking and functioning spiritually, engulfed in a spiritual framework on the Lord’s day (the first day of the week)—when he heard a loud voice . . . like a trumpet (1:10).

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