Set Apart (Daily Refresh, 10-03-26)
In modern language, “holy” often means something religious or spiritual. But in the Bible, “holy” simply means “set apart.” It means something (or someone) different and distinct from everything else.
God is unlike any other gods the nations knew. The Lord is holy, and called His people to be distinct—or holy—too.
Some of the distinctions that set the Israelite practices apart were religious and spiritual. They offered sacrifices in a certain way and had specific instructions for how priests, worship, and the temple operated. Other practices that set Israel apart involved everyday things like food, clothing, and their weekly calendars. These habits and customs were meant to reflect and reinforce that they were truly different—or holy—because they belonged to God.
The fourth commandment given to Israel is to “remember the Sabbath day” and keep it holy—a reminder to Israel of the blessed pattern God laid out in Creation. Just as our Holy Creator worked for six days and rested on a seventh, He calls His holy people to do the same.
What’s holy about the Sabbath? It’s a day set apart to be different from all the other days of the week. God intends for one day a week to look and feel different. As people who belong to Him, we can delight in His designation of some days as productive days for work and then other days set apart for reflection and refreshment.
Remember, God created special times for rest—keep those times set apart.
My Thoughts
When my husband and I got married, it was a small ceremony without a lot of fanfare or registry or anything like that. My aunt blessed us with a used/like new set of china that serves eight. She had purchased new china and knew we didn’t have any. For many years as we moved from military base to military base, that china was kept in boxes or sometimes, if the base housing had one, a built in china hutch. When we got our own home in Pennsylvania, we got a dining room set that includes a china hutch and therein has resided our china for over three decades. We take it out and wash it and use it for holidays when family comes over, like Christmas. That china is “set apart” and used for special occasions, a time when I remember when we received it and the generous and loving heart that gave it to us.
That’s what Sabbath is for. It is set apart for us to spend time resting and being with God. It is a day when I don’t do my usual things like book reviews. For my daughter’s family, that is the “no electronic devices” day, giving each family member time with God and with each other.
God knew when He created us that we would need a special day set apart to rest and restore our weary bodies and minds. We get input daily from so many different directions. I thought that when I retired from teaching I wouldn’t need a day of rest. So untrue! As I have aged, I need that day more, to recover from the week of appointments, phone calls and just regular life challenges. It is the day to ponder all God has done for me that week and to look forward to what He will do in the week to come. It’s a day of going to church, coming home to an already prepared dinner and then napping. Sometimes, I call one of the children and talk to the grandchildren about their week. It’s just a good time to focus on our blessings and to restore our souls.
God made everything and saw it was good. He finished creation in six days and could have just stopped and said it was all done and all gone. Instead, He added a Sabbath Day to remind us to rest just as He did. Everything God did and does has a purpose, even resting.
