Nehemiah 13 (#2): Celebrating the Lord's Day with Gratitude, Joy, and Hope

Nehemiah 13 (#2)

Celebrating the Lord's Day with Gratitude, Joy, and Hope

v. 15. At that time in Judah, even on the Sabbath, people were treading winepresses, bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and carrying wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads. They were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. It came to my attention that people were doing all sorts of business on the Sabbath. I warned them not to buy or sell on that day.

◇ With the temple and the wall rebuilt, it seemed like everything was finished. We thought all was restored and that we would only have a joyful journey with God from then on.

However, the life of the Gentiles, who did not observe the Sabbath, had seeped in through the broken walls. Foreigners and various merchants came into Jerusalem on the Sabbath to do business. Nehemiah rebuked and warned them, but they did not stop, as there were those who bought goods on the Sabbath. Nehemiah rebuked the nobles for seeking goods to sell on the Sabbath (17).

Jews observe the Sabbath as a law. Not observing the law stated in the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses is a serious crime punishable by stoning to death. Jesus faced severe criticism from the Pharisees for not observing the Sabbath, and this may have even contributed to His crucifixion.

As Christians, we do not keep the Sabbath but celebrate the day the Lord rose from the dead, observing it as the Lord's Day. We do not keep this day by law but in gratitude for the Lord's grace. Sunday is kept with the joy and hope that we, like the Lord, will be resurrected. Therefore, Sunday is a day of celebrating the Lord's Supper, remembering His body and blood, a small feast filled with the hope of resurrection. Sunday is kept with gratitude, joy, and hope, not as a day of legal obligation like the Sabbath.

Sunday should not be enforced as a day of legal obligation like the Sabbath. Would Jesus, who gave His life on the cross, ask us to stone someone for not keeping Sunday? If someone gave their life for me, allowing me to be reborn into a new life, wouldn't I treasure the day commemorating them?

Sunday is kept not as a legal requirement but with gratitude, joy, and hope.

♧ Lord, let us keep Your day with gratitude, joy, and the hope of resurrection. May every Sunday be a small feast of hope. Holy Spirit, lead us in truth. Amen.