Of all the ten commandments, the fourth commandment is the one which God devotes the most time explaining.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 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. Ex 20:8-11

From the beginning of time, God made this ordinance, not just for his people, but for the benefit of all. The first man was given a place to live, a job to do, a command to keep, a wife to love and a day to keep apart from the rest of the week. We are to work for a living, but in doing so, we must set aside one day out of the week for rest and giving it to God.

This command is repeated in the moral law given by God on Mount Sinai, not just as a law to be kept by his people, but as a guideline on how to live a life which is best for us. This is what is best for us, for if we try to work 24×7, we will eventually do ourselves some damage.

Jesus himself says none of the law has been abolished. For he himself fulfils the requirements of the ceremonial law – the law which makes atonement between God and man, and the moral law is left untouched to show us our sinful state, our need of a saviour and the way to lead a godly life. This is not to say we must put this commandment above all others, for we must put God first and seek to save and preserve life, but we should also seek to avoid unnecessary work and work creation.

It becomes apparent in the New Testament, that after the resurrection, the followers of Jesus Christ would meet on the first day of the week. Meeting weekly on the day of his resurrection and subsequent appearances singled out Sunday as a day of worship and of rest.

As we live in a society which is slowly discarding regard for the fourth commandment, it becomes ever more important that we highlight its importance in the vitality of society. To set aside one day out of seven as a day of rest and worship is a commandment given by God, for our benefit, and we and our society will surely suffer without it.

As we look at the people mentioned in the bible, we can see many people with good points and bad points. We can learn so much from them, by emulating their good character traits and avoiding their bad ones.

One of those characters was Caleb, a man of great faith and courage. He was not afraid of the people of Canaan, but was brave enough to investigate and encourage the people. He was not trusting in his own strength though, but trusted in God.

This trust meant his spirit was different from that of many around him. His wholehearted devotion to God meant that, unlike many of his peers, he and his descendents entered the land of Canaan.

He was generous and selfless, giving his daughter what she asked for.

Yet, another truth can be learnt from Caleb. Godly characteristics are not inherited, for Nabal was a descendent of Caleb yet was lacking in godliness.