November 23,

2014

Sabbath as Resistance Case Study:

Resisting Anxiety

PART 1: Remember Egypt?

Exodus 20
2
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Genesis 41
Who was god in
After two full years Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed he was
2
Egypt?
standing by the Nile River. Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed
cows came up from the river and began to graze among the
What was he like,
reeds. 3 Seven other cows came up from the river behind them. These
emotionally /
cows were sickly and skinny. They stood behind the first seven cows
4
psychologically?
on the riverbank. The cows that were sickly and skinny ate the seven
nice-looking, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5
He fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven good, healthy
heads of grain were growing on a single stalk. 6 Seven other heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east
wind, sprouted behind them. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full, healthy heads. Then
Pharaoh woke up. It was only a dream. 8 In the morning he was so upset that he sent for all the
magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could tell him what they
meant.
Genesis 47
20
So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields,
because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaohs,21 and Joseph reduced the
people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other.
Exodus 1
8 Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9 Look, he said to his
people, the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. 10 Come, we must deal shrewdly with
them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight
against us and leave the country. 11 So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced
labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. 12 But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites 13 and
worked them ruthlessly. . . . 22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: Every Hebrew boy that
is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.
Exodus 5
The king of Egypt said, Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get
back to your work! 5 Then Pharaoh said, Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you
are stopping them from working. 6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and
overseers in charge of the people: 7 You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making
bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks
as before; dont reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, Let us go and sacrifice
to our God. 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to
lies.
1

Sabbath as Resistance: Resisting Anxiety

November 23,
2014

Sabbath as Resistance Case Study:

Resisting Anxiety

PART 2: God Speaks at Sinai

Exodus 20
God spoke all these words:
2
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the
Describe the
land of slavery.
relationship God wants
3
You shall have no other gods before me.
to have with the
4
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in
Israelites.
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth
generation of those who hate me,6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me
and keep my commandments.
7
You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who
misuses his name.
Exodus 20
12
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in
Describe the
the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13
You shall not murder.
relationships God wants
14
You shall not commit adultery.
the Israelites to have
15
You shall not steal.
amongst themselves.
16
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17
You shall not covet your neighbors house. You shall not covet your
neighbors wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
Exodus 22
25 If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy,
do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest. 26 If you take
your neighbors cloak as a pledge, return it by sunset, 27 because that
cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep
in? When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Exodus 22
21 Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in
Egypt. 22 Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23 If
you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry. 24 My
anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will
become widows and your children fatherless.

What else does He have

to say about their
relationships together?

What does He have to

say about their
relationships with
others who are not
Israelites?

Sabbath as Resistance: Resisting Anxiety

November 23,
2014

Sabbath as Resistance Case Study:

Resisting Anxiety

Part 3: How might that work, exactly?

Walter Brueggeman notes (in Sabbath as Resistance: Saying NO to the CULTURE OF NOW, page 30):
Those who live by the death system [the system of anxiety of Pharaoh]:
Are bound to dishonor parents and all non-productive kin;
Are bound to engage in killing violence, because the others are a threat;
Are bound to reduce sexual interaction to exploitative commodity;
Are bound to usurp from others if it is something they want;
Are bound to engage in distortion and euphemism to gain advantage;
Are bound to be committed to acquisitiveness.
But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Exodus 20:2)
So, what do the commandments have to do with how we live who are no longer slaves of Pharaoh?
1. We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.
2. We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His
name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.
3. We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it
sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.
4. We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but
give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.
5. We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help
and befriend him in every bodily need [in every need and danger of life and body].
6. We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in words and deeds, and
each love and honor his spouse.
7. We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property, nor get
them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business
[that his means are preserved and his condition is improved].
8. We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, or defame our
neighbor, but defend him, [think and] speak well of him, and put the best construction on
everything.
9. We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance or
house, and obtain it by a show of [justice and] right, etc., but help and be of service to him in
keeping it.
10. We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor's
wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and [diligently] do their duty.
Martin Luthers Small Catechism

What can we do in our relationship with God that the Israelites could NEVER do in
their relationship with Pharaoh?
Who is the object of the first three commandments?
Who is the object of commandments 4 through 10?

Sabbath as Resistance: Resisting Anxiety

November 23,
2014

Sabbath as Resistance Case Study:

Resisting Anxiety

Part 4: So the Sabbath helps us resist Egyptian-style Anxiety by . . .

Taking our focus off the death / anxiety / production / competition slavery system of Pharaoh
and putting it on the life / freedom system of God.

Taking our focus off our achievements / production / tasks / to-do lists and turning it to the
celebration of what God has done for His people.

Taking our focus off our time-cards and giving us time to focus on our relationships with our
neighbors.

Exodus 20
God spoke all these words . . . 8 Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your
male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing
in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh
day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 23
12 Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so
that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in
your household and the foreigner living among you may be
refreshed. 13 Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not
invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your
lips.
Matthew 6:25-31
25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your
life?
28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the
field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is
how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and
tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you
you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or
What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?

Sabbath Practices and

Attitudes:
1.
MY Sabbath is
YOUR Sabbath as well.
You need it as much as
I do.
2.
God did not need
to go into the office on
the seventh day;
neither do you or I.
3.
Creation gets
along just fine without
God constantly
creating; it is enough
that He provides for
their daily needs. You
and I dont have to be
constantly in motion,
either.
4.
The names of
other gods include I
have to, Ive gotta,
If I dont do this now,
and This is the only
time I have to get this
done.

Sabbath as Resistance: Resisting Anxiety