We bought our home about eight years ago from a wonderful gentleman who had lost his wife to cancer after many years of being together. He hated to leave but realized that it was time to move on. He was an engineer for Rolls Royce and we were the recipients of all the great extras that he built into their dream home. In fact, much to our surprise, the house has a main floor kitchen and a second, smaller kitchen on the lower level where this couple spent most of their time.
Janet and I use the lower level to entertain our family when we all get together, we open presents there on Christmas morning after which we have breakfast together and I use the lower kitchen as a prep area for all the grilling and smoking I do on the rear patio. We are used to having a second fridge in our homes – we have had that luxury for many years. We keep extra soft drinks there and we love the extra freezer capacity.
Anyway, several months ago I noticed that the ice maker didn’t seem to be working very well. It made great ice but it was so old that it was rusting out and the cubes were filled with all sorts of discoloration. Parts for the unit were no longer available… We could get by without the ice maker, but a little more than a week ago, I went downstairs and noticed that an alarm had been triggered that let me know the fridge had some major cooling issues – the defrost cycle had stopped working and it was just a matter of time before everything failed.
Anyway, Janet and I discussed what we would like to get as a replacement and off I went to the local “box store” to see what they had. To cut to the chase, we ended up with a new model that had an ice maker and a perfect freezer for us. But it has some stuff I just don’t understand. For example, every time I open the door to the fridge I get a notice on my phone that the door was opened. And another notice when the door closes. And I can tell you the actual temperature in the fridge, or the freezer, at any moment in time.
I can even change the temperature of each compartment from my phone. Let’s face it – I don’t need that level of detail in my life about our refrigerator. And, get this, there was a promo going on and they actually gave us a second ice maker for the freezer. Go figure…
I admit, when I get something new, such as a car or a new appliance, I am one of those folks who reads the entire instruction manual, cover to cover, to see how it all works. Janet thinks I am kind of nerdy with all this, but I want to know, in detail, what I have purchased. So imagine my surprise when I learned that the fridge has what is called “Sabbath mode.” I have never heard of such a thing and there was no explanation of what it was or what it did.
So… I Googled it. And you know what? It is for Orthodox Jewish people who follow strict religious guidelines on the Sabbath. According to what I located on the internet, “This mode prevents the appliance’s panel and lights from responding to input in any way, either from pressing buttons or opening the door.” Mind you, the cooling and freezing functions still work, but everything else stops working – for up to 85 hours! From what I read, it is forbidden for a fridge door to be opened on the Sabbath if it would result in sounds or lights being activated. So this allows Orthodox Jews to still use the fridge without breaking the religious tenets of their faith. By the way, Sabbath mode in ovens prevents the oven from being turned off during the Sabbath… of course, no lights or alarms are activated either. For most of us, this may not be an issue but if we strictly followed Sabbath laws from the Jewish tradition, we could be severely hampered in our daily routines.
Remembering the Sabbath and not being distracted by work are really good things to observe. Too many times, we do things of the “world” and don’t focus enough on God. Many of us need to renew our commitment to a day of rest. Our verse tonight is from the book of Exodus. Moses tells us, in Exodus 20:8-12, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor 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.”
My encouragement this evening is that God wants us to honor the Sabbath – during the creation story, it is the only day that He blessed. My prayer is that we will do a better job of resting on the Lord’s day and that we will use that time to grow closer to Him. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace… By the way, I read that if I wanted to, I can activate Sabbath mode from my phone! Who would have thought!