Exodus 31:12-13 says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.” Emphasis mine.

I’ve been thinking…God rested on the 7th day of creation, but I would highly doubt that He rested because He himself was weary. More likely, He rested as an example to us, to set the day apart for Him.

That phrase “so you may know that I am the LORD” made me pause. What if God’s main reason for instituting the Sabbath wasn’t about resting so much as it was about using that time, one day each week, to spend with Him, getting to know Him?

Before the fall, Adam and Eve already walked with God during the cool of every day, but what if God wanted more time with them, so granted them one whole day each week? Is that what Enoch did when Genesis tells us – “Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Did Enoch walk with God on the Sabbath? Surely, he walked with God more often than that – as we can also spend daily time with Him, but perhaps Enoch took that concentrated time on the Sabbath to come apart and be separate to the Lord. Was he the only one who did so?

I don’t know, of course, but decided to try a little concentrated time myself with God today. I’m reading in Genesis and planned to read the whole book but got stopped at the genealogies – not because I fell asleep but because I did the math playing with them, figuring out the timeline from Adam to Noah and from Shem to Abraham. Interesting stuff.

Genesis lists 10 generations from Adam to Noah. Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methusaleh, Lamech, and Noah. Adam died before the rest, though he only missed Noah’s birth by 56 years. (If my math is correct.) Seth died 14 years before Noah’s birth. But Enoch disappeared (he didn’t die) between Adam and Seth. (Enoch only lived 365 years, while all the other guys were living into their 800-900s – the oldest guy died at 969.)

Another interesting thing is that Noah could have physically known six of the nine generational ancestors in his line. So his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather would have still been alive at his birth. I wouldn’t want to buy candles for their cakes back then! But that’s another story…

What I really learned today in this reading and taking time to do the math and figure out how things were or might have been, is that I got to spend the afternoon with the Lord, reading His Word. I can’t begin to describe how awesome that is, how much I didn’t want to walk away. Could it be that the more time we spend with Him, the more we long for Him? True, we walk with God every moment of the day if we live our lives focused on Him, but I’m beginning to realize that God wants quantity time – focused attention where we are engaged in conversing with or learning from only Him.

I can’t promise I will spend every Sunday afternoon this way, but I sure want to!

Mark 2:27-28 says, “Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Which reaffirms my earlier thinking that God isn’t the one who needed to rest. But He is the One who woos us to come away on such a day and spend time with Him, to get to know Him, to let Him share His heart with us through His Word, through our prayers, to be quiet before Him and let Him fill us up.

As I learned in the prayer room at church earlier this week, God has a way of working out issues for me that I would have botched when I don’t put Him first. Busy weeks and over commitments take their toll. God may not need to rest, but I do! And I need to remember to put Him first no matter how many outside things are knocking on my door.

Matthew 6:33-34 says it best: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Maybe the Sabbath was given to us to help us seek Him first. He made provision for us to have a day to know Him and then promised to give us everything else we need in response to our obedience. It’s a win-win situation. So why do I too often fill it up with everything else?

Time to do something to change that…