The Lord isn’t through with what He has to say to His people Israel. Amid even more rightful accusations, He tells them that He hears what they are saying, namely:
“When will the new moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath ended that we may market wheat?” (Amos 8:5a).
The Israelites watched the clock, so to speak, waiting for the religious holidays and Sabbaths to be over so they could get back to business. Yes, they went through the motions of worshiping Almighty God; but He who sees all hearts knew that they were worshiping the almighty dollar.
We who don’t own businesses may enjoy a Sunday off, but what do we do so often? Use our “day of rest” (see Exodus 20:8-11) to catch up on all the work and shopping we weren’t able to do all week.
When I was a kid, my little town “rolled up the sidewalk” at 5pm. Businesses closed at noon on Wednesdays and weren’t open at all on Sundays. Why? People wanted to be home with their families in the evenings. People wanted to be in church on Wednesday nights and on Sundays.
Even more astounding, most restaurants followed the same schedule. People had their evening meals at home and Sunday dinners meant gatherings of friends and families in homes. And people actually managed to put gas in their cars and have the necessary food and other items taken care of before Sunday rolled around.
How’d all that change? Greed. People saw more opportunities to make money. People saw ways to get out of cooking. Stores started staying open a little later. Service stations opened on Sundays. Restaurants began offering Sunday lunches. And as the old saying goes, one thing led to another.
I’m as conditioned to these changes as the next person, but can you imagine how much less hectic our lives would be if Sundays were treated as Sabbaths? If churches didn’t schedule every meeting for Sunday afternoons and evenings. If Christians weren’t out shopping on Sundays. If believers gathered as friends and family and enjoyed meals and fellowship in home settings.
Like hamsters on wheels, we’re running because we’re on the wheels. We don’t know how to get off. We don’t know how or why we ever got on in the first place. And yet we still feel the need to keep pace with all the other hamsters.
Folks, it’s time to slow down. Get rid of some of the busyness in your life. And when you do, you’ll find time for Jesus. And you’ll also find that He’s exactly what you’ve been missing most of all.
Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture is from the New International Version (NIV).
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