Exodus 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
What does the Sabbath mean to you? For the modern day church, the sabbath has come to be a time of gathering on Saturday or Sunday; It is a day when people come together and fellowship, worship the Lord, and receive teaching.
In study of God’s moral law (10 commandments), I’ve often wondered how this particular law has remained relevant today. By examining the moral law in scripture we see that it is a set of commandments relevant for all time. Jesus made it very clear that even though He brought a new dispensation of grace upon the world, the old moral law was not being abolished.
Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Not only is the moral law relevant today, it is imperative we teach it correctly. The 5th commandment carries as much weight as any commandment of the law. In looking through scripture we see how it is relevant today.
Understanding the Sabbath
Traditionally, the Sabbath was a day of rest. The instructions for observing the Sabbath were given through Moses to the people.
The work of tilling the land, caring for livestock, bringing in the produce, they were all products of mankind’s fall into sin. Sin brought a curse and the curse of man was to toil under the sun all his days.
Genesis 3:17-19 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
The charge given to God’s people was made in particular to ceasing work and gathering in unity. A time to celebrate God’s faithfulness and blessings upon their labor.
Leviticus 23:3 “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.”
The Sabbath not only became a reprieve from their labor but served as a reminder that a time of eternal rest was coming.
Another element that stood out was how the commandment to rest from labor was strictly given.
Exodus 35:2 “For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.”
Breaking God’s commands was to dishonor the Lord Himself. There were times in Israels history that God removed them from the land so that its Sabbaths would finally be observed. (2 Chron. 36:21)
For those who gave honor to the Sabbath, a blessing would follow:
Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Why would God observe rest during Creation when He clearly didn’t need rest?
Genesis 2:3 “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”
The importance of observing the Sabbath was made very clear from the beginning, it was then defined in the Moral law, and has been reinforced from generation to generation.
Still men messed it up…
Twisting the Sabbath
The pharisees were a group of men charged with upholding the religious doctrines, covenants, and laws of Israel. They were the teachers of the law and they managed the temple, including who would be elected high priest. They developed a set of oral traditions called the Mishnah. The Mishnah was an oral tradition of commentary on the Mosaic Law that introduced additional, man-made rules that “built a fence” around the Mosaic Law so people wouldn’t even come close to breaking God’s commandments.
Unfortunately, what likely was meant to protect the people became an oppressive list of rules that subjected them to a standard that God never intended. Eventually, the pharisees elevated the Mishnah into a place of prominence equal with scripture, they twisted the law and made it dishonorable.
Jesus corrected the false teaching
Concerning the Messiah, Isaiah prophesied:
Isaiah 42:21 “The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.”
The Moral law was given as a display of God’s righteousness. The unrighteous expectations that were added by the Pharisees became an affront to God’s character and a defilement of the spiritual significance to its purpose.
As the pharisees rebuked Jesus and His disciples for the ways they defiled the Mishnah, Jesus corrected them regarding the law. When the disciples were hungry on the Sabbath, they, with Jesus, would glean the wheat in the fields and eat. The pharisees would be indignant regarding their actions and Jesus would remind them that He was the One who made the rules and He is the One who defines them.
Mark 2:27-28 “And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Spiritual significance of our Keeping
The Sabbath made it clear as to how they were to keep it but apparently wasn’t completely clear as to why they were to keep it. It seems strange that a reprieve from work on the first day of the week would be a standard God was adamant to keep, clearly there was a greater reason for the standard.
Ezekiel 20:12 “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”
To be sanctified is to be ‘set apart‘, or ‘consecrated‘, unto the Lord.
When the first day of the week is set aside to honor the Lord, to worship Him for His goodness, and to draw closer in sanctification and honor, growth in knowledge and fear of the Lord increases and becomes an example to others of all that is truly a priority.
The Sabbath became a time of honoring the Lord and separates God’s people for who they are… led by God and set aside for His purposes. The Sabbath is a type of first fruits of worship, giving the first of the week to honor the One to whom God’s people are dependent.
The Sabbath was not meant to be oppressive, it was designed by God for His people to draw near into a closer walk with Him. Jesus made this clear to the pharisees who observed the law in black and white, the Sabbath was made for man.
The strict nature by which God held His people to observe the Sabbath was in respect to sin.
Israel as a nation was to be set apart and made holy as unto the Lord, defilement of any form of idolatry would be strictly forbidden. Sin cannot be tolerated by God and offending the law of God is a direct act of rebellion and sin.
In the same way God would not tolerate Israel forsaking His law, He doesn’t tolerate mankind violating it today, the wages of sin is death. Praise God that Jesus redeemed us from sin and gave us life and peace with God.
Today, the redeemed of the Lord observe the Sabbath on Sunday as a way to honor Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection that happened on a Sunday. It is a way to love God and be set apart as His people. The Sabbath is also a time to reflect on the past week, confessing sin and rebellion, and being reminded that God is still leading in righteousness and truth and likewise worshipping Him.
I encourage you, don’t forsake meeting together as a church that represents the body of Christ, there is far more purpose in person than doing a zoom meeting or watching a video.
The Church is the body of Christ and they are meant to grow together. The Sabbath is a great day to honor the Lord and facilitate community.
U.T. 