The divine commandment of sabbath is stunning and without parallel in the Ancient Near East. Yet YHWH regularly repeats the command to rest and connects it with the covenant bond between Israel and God (so critical was it to God that laboring on the sabbath could be a capital offense!). In this episode we examine both the divine call to work and to rest, and why it is that God (contrary to what we often suspect) literally forbids maximizing our human output - in our own service or in his.   The biblical passage referenced in this sermon is:  Exodus 31:1-18 (NRSV)   Want to connect?  You can send e-mail here. Or find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.