Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out with amazing power and mighty deeds. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day—The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”—Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.—For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.—So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.—The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”—He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve.—Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Deut 5:15NLT; Ex. 5:13-14 ESV; Mk. 2:27 ESV; Mt. 11:28 ESV; Mt. 12:8 ESV; Heb. 4:9-10 ESV; Rom 6:22-23 ESV; Rom. 8:15 NIV; Col. 1:13-14 ESV; Deut. 6:11-13 ESV; Mt. 11:29-30 ESV
Once slaves to sin and Satan’s devices, we who believe in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf are set free to live in service to a good King. Just as the Sabbath rest set God’s people apart from the nations around them who worked all week long, so we display our new-bought status by the trusting and restful state of our souls. We are a people freely given the soul-rest the world strives to find.
No longer demeaned and duty-bound slaves in never-ending bondage to burdens we cannot bear, we now gladly serve a Good Master who has our best interests at heart in all that He commands. He calls us to share His likeness. He welcomes us as his Beloved. We can rest in this. He who began this good work in us will carry it to completion. Our welfare is in His keeping, for after all, we are His.
–LS