Pleasure and Sabbath

If you grew up in a Sabbathkeeping home, you’re probably quite familiar with Isaiah 58:13. As a child, you may have been told not to speak “your own words” on the Sabbath day, and especially not to lie (as if lying on any other day were permissible!). The verse also speaks of not “doing your pleasure” or “doing as you please” (NIV). Again, as children this may have been understood as not having any fun on Sabbath whatsoever. In so many church contexts many have attempted to make Sabbath as dreary and drab as possible.

This couldn’t be further from the intent laid out in Scripture, which, together with Ellen White, speaks of the Sabbath as a joy to be experienced. There is, obviously, a need for reverence, recognizing the sanctity and specialness of Sabbath, but “funeral ceremonies” for church are not the Sabbath ideal. But before we get to verse 13, let’s consider elements from the entire chapter for some context.

The Audience

Who is Isaiah addressing in this chapter? “Tell My people . . . the house of Jacob” (verse 1): This is an internal memo between God and His chosen people. And before we recuse ourselves from the conversation, we should quickly remind ourselves that we are spiritual Israel (cf. Gal. 3:7-9). So in this chapter God is speaking to us—believers.

But He isn’t speaking to just anyone born into a Christian home. He’s speaking to the most devout among us. Of those He is addressing, God says, “They seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways. . . . They take delight in approaching God” (verse 2). These are the believers who pray every day; the ones who study their Bibles; those who enjoy attending spiritual meetings, even beyond church attendance.

To be sure, the fact that God is addressing the most devout is not exclusive. On the contrary, if what God has to say in Isaiah 58 applies to those who appear most committed to Him, it surely applies to those who don’t see themselves as there yet. As He corrects the behavior of the devout, He provides guardrails for the safety of anyone choosing to follow Him wholly.

Addressing the Dissonance

Isaiah begins, in verses 2 and 3, with a description of the activities of God’s people—objectively good activities. Yet despite their religiosity, they find themselves lacking the spiritual benefits they hoped to achieve. “ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ ” (verse 3).

He is against human-centric religion that fulfills the spiritual needs of satisfied believers while the needs of humanity go untreated and unrecognized.

Here is presented a dissonant Christian experience. These followers of God are doing everything prescribed by their religion and yet finding no peace. Like the rich young ruler of Matthew 19, they’re performing the rounds of religious activity, yet find themselves empty at the end of the day. There is yet something lacking from their assurance of salvation. And as in the case of the rich young ruler, the remedy requires a change of heart.

When God asks His people, in Isaiah 58, “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke”; “to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out”; to “take away the yoke from your midst”; to “extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul” (verses 6, 7, 9, 10), it is not merely to add another list of religious obligations for them to fulfill. We might be left to think so if it were not for the connection God then makes between participation in these acts of Christian benevolence and Sabbath observance.

The Sabbath Connection

Just as God promises blessings when our hearts are turned toward caring for the needs of those around us (see verses 8-12), He promises blessings when we rightly observe the Sabbath (verse 14). In fact, the Sabbath illuminates the essence of what it means for the Christian to be involved in Christian benevolence. On the Sabbath we are to cease from our own activities and focus on God’s activity as Creator and Redeemer.

Each week we’re invited into an enactment of the principle of righteousness by faith. We cease our labor and rest in Christ’s completed work for us. This weekly experience of resting on Sabbath points to the daily experience of resting in God’s salvation and the confidence that He will bring us into eternal rest in heaven (see Heb. 3; 4).

In Isaiah 58 God contrasts the works of the “house of Jacob,” in verses 3-5, with the rest they should experience, as typified by the Sabbath observance described at the end of the chapter (verses 13, 14). Sandwiched between this contrast is a picture of the life of an individual who is living out Sabbath rest on a daily basis.

You’ll remember the judgment scene presented in Matthew 25:31-46. When Christ rewards the sheep on His right hand for their acts of Christian benevolence, they respond with incredulity: “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?” (verses 37-39). Apparently their service was not motivated by a desire for reward or recognition, because they performed these acts in anonymity and to “the least of these” (verse 40). Their behavior flowed naturally from who they were; it was a revelation of their character.

On the other hand, the goats imply that they would have participated in Christian benevolence if they had known it was crucial for their salvation. If you’re trying to get into an exclusive event, the quickest way to gain admission is by finding favor with the one in charge of the event. So if getting into heaven is up to me, the easiest way to do it—the bare minimum—is to gain favor with the one in charge: God. Hence all the fasting, and Bible study, and sacrificial volunteering at church . . . We end up doing a lot in an attempt to do “the bare minimum.” The goats, in essence, say, “Had we known it was You all along, Jesus, in the poor and helpless, we would have done something about it.”

Rather than a transformed character underlying their actions, the goats would serve the underprivileged in order to ensure that they were meeting all the requirements necessary to inherit God’s kingdom. Christ’s response in verse 45, “Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me,” reveals a glimpse into the genius of God’s judgment. You see, even after studying Matthew 25, and knowing that we’ll be judged by how we treat the least among us, unless our hearts are transformed by the amazing grace of God, we will not—nay, cannot—love the “least of these.” We can force ourselves to fast from food, but only a heart transformation reveals itself in genuine kindness to the “unworthy.” 

Should we study the Bible, and fast, and pray, and go to church? Yes! But these things are meant to serve only as mediums for a heart transformation to occur. These are opportunities for us to see Jesus and be transformed in character (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18; Ex. 33:18-23; 34:1-7). As we behold Christ we are so transformed into His likeness that the way we treat the lowliest in situations least likely to be acknowledged by others is exemplary of Christ’s character: We act like Jesus when it’s most challenging and when no one else sees.

We can force ourselves to fast from food, but only a heart transformation reveals itself in genuine kindness to the “unworthy.” 

The Isaiah 58:6-12 picture is an outworking of a faith-filled Sabbath experience as outlined in verses 13 and 14: This was the very intent of the round of religious activities listed in verses 2-5. And Isaiah 58 so connects Sabbath observance with Christian benevolence that it cannot be divorced from a Seventh-day Adventist’s identity. In the words of Ellen White:

“The fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah contains present truth for the people of God. Here we see how medical missionary work and the gospel ministry are to be bound together as the message is given to the world. Upon those who keep the Sabbath of the Lord is laid the responsibility of doing a work of mercy and benevolence. Medical missionary work is to be bound up with the message, and sealed with the seal of God.”[*]

If you’re prone to righteousness by works (as we all are), then right about now you may be thinking of ways to do more for those less fortunate. But before we get bogged down with a list of do’s and don’ts again, let’s revisit another theme in Isaiah 58.

The Pleasure Problem

This brings us back to the way we think about pleasure. In some adult circles the “pleasure” of verse 13 has come to be coupled with physical intimacy. Anecdotally the most popular question that is asked through General Conference department channels is whether “adult extracurricular physical activities between married people” (also known as sex) is permissible during the Sabbath hours.

Those who have been inculcated with Isaiah 58:13 are quick to apply the verses’ admonition against pleasure. But what kind of pleasure is this verse actually referencing? In Hebrew it is the word chapesh. It starts with the letter heth, and although spelled as “ch,” it is pronounced with a guttural clearing of the throat sound. It is defined as “pleasure,” and “delight.”

This word chapesh is found at the beginning of Isaiah 53. The problem is that many languages have this word translated differently. Its first mention is in verse 2: “Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways.” The word translated here as “delight” is the same word as chapesh. The “delight” here is the same as the “pleasure” of verse 13. The second time is found in the same verse: “They take delight in approaching God.” Last, it’s in verse 3, “In the day of your fast you find pleasure,” where chapesh is translated back to pleasure.

This “pleasure” is not physical pleasure, but the way Israel is pleased in approaching God. Said again, God is not pleased with the way Israel is approaching Him. They take pleasure in the way they are doing religion, fasting, coming to worship. Yet while doing religion “their way,” they are simultaneously exploiting all their laborers (verse 3) and striking with the fist of wickedness (verse 4).

Instead, they should have been representing, reflecting, and doing what God called them to do in the community. While God’s people were “playing temple,” there were tens of thousands of people who were going hungry, who were naked, and who were poor.

Of course, God is not against religion. But He is against human-centric religion that fulfills the spiritual needs of satisfied believers while the needs of humanity go untreated and unrecognized. This is the pleasure that God is against. And Sabbath is to be a day of sacrificial service and joy!

Sabbath Joy

The Sabbath reminds us that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. It is already guaranteed in Christ—we need only to accept it. Isn’t that something worth rejoicing over? We are free from the pressure to please God, because He is already well pleased with His Son, whose righteousness is ours for the asking. Is this not cause for joy?

God invites us to leave behind the dissonant, unsatisfactory pursuit of our own righteousness and accept the free gift of His righteousness by faith. Rather than taking pleasure in our own insufficient works, we are invited to call the Sabbath a “delight.” In Hebrew this isn’t the word chepesh, but oneg. Not a blood type—this word means joy!

On the Sabbath we may find joy in the assurance of salvation: As we celebrate God’s creative power we are assured that “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). The Sabbath points forward to a rest from this sinful world, when our salvation is complete. It is from this restful, joyous state that we emerge to serve those around us, offering them the rest we have found in Jesus. Sabbath must be restored to its original and now even fuller meaning of being a day of service, holiness, and honor.

May our Sabbath chapesh’s be converted to oneg’s!

[*] Ellen G. White, Evangelism (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1946), pp. 516, 517.