The Sabbath: A Unique Command

Read the Sabbath command in its entirety: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Ex. 20:8-11).

At 94 words, the command to rest on the seventh day is the longest of the 10—longer than the last five commandments combined.

How else is the fourth command unique?

Many professing Christians and government leaders acknowledge the significance of the Ten Commandments. They readily admit the importance of not worshipping other gods, honoring parents, not killing people or stealing from them, being faithful to a spouse, being honest and not coveting what belongs to someone else.

Yet when reading the commands, which occasionally are posted in city halls or on government documents, their eyes often gloss over the command to keep the Sabbath. They somehow see it as no longer in effect.

In this instance, the day of rest is unique because it is the command most often left by the wayside.

Yet among Sabbath-keepers this command is also seen as different. It was one of the subjects the Pharisees, a strict religious Jewish sect, tried to trap Jesus Christ on the most.

Matthew 12, Mark 2 and Luke 6 detail the religious leaders repeatedly questioning Christ about the Sabbath day. To them, the Sabbath was all about legalism and dos and don’ts. This led Jesus Christ to declare, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath: therefore, the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). What did He mean?

First, Christ was affirming the Sabbath as a day of rest for man’s benefit. During this 24-hour period, people are to cease from their own pursuits and focus on God.

Jesus Christ, as God, was also saying He made the Sabbath. The day belongs to Him.

This was not new understanding for the Israelites. Not long after leaving Egypt, God told them, “Verily My sabbaths you shall keep…” (Ex. 31:13). But He added a significant statement that most separates it from God’s other laws and statutes: “…for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the Lord that does sanctify you” (vs. 13).

No other command is described this way.

A “Sign” Expanded

Everyone knows what a sign is. It conveys information and makes a connection. Taking the time to study the meaning of the Hebrew word for “sign” in Exodus 31:13 provides even more insight on the command.

Strong’s Concordance defines the word as a signal, flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.

Each of these words offers a slightly different view of “sign” and gives a more thorough understanding of the Sabbath. As you read the definition for each, make connections based on what you already know about the Sabbath day.

Signal: A gesture, action or sound that is used to convey information or instructions, typically by prearrangement between the parties concerned.

Flag: A piece of cloth or similar material, typically oblong or square, attachable to a pole or rope and used as the emblem of a country or institution. Also used as a decoration during public festivities.

Beacon: A fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal or celebration.

Monument: A structure that serves as a memory of something or someone.

Omen: An event regarded as a portent of good or evil.

Prodigy: An amazing or unusual thing, especially one out of the ordinary course of nature.

Evidence: Signs or indications that something is real.

What a powerful exercise. When God said the Sabbath was a sign, He meant much more than meets the eye!

Consider. The Sabbath truly is a signal or gesture prearranged between God and man to convey information and instructions. Think of all we learn on the Sabbath at services about God and His way of life. The Sabbath is also an excellent time for additional personal study or meditating during a walk in a park or watching a documentary featuring Creation. Together, these and similar activities signal much information about the God we serve.

Keeping the Sabbath is also a flag or beacon to the world that we are different. Leaving our homes or entering a meeting hall in suits and dresses makes us stand out. Not going to work and not attending activities on Saturdays puts us in a prominent or obvious position for all to see. Similar to a lighthouse on a coast alerting ships, keeping the Sabbath allows our lights to shine.

The Sabbath day is also a monument for us. It helps us remember the God who created it, kept it Himself (Gen. 2:2-3), and gave it to mankind. It is enduring in that we keep it every week. As an omen, the day represents the rest God promises to bring to all mankind. It is a prodigy or “an amazing or unusual thing,” and out of the ordinary even to professing Christians. Most of the Christian world keeps the first day of the week, not the seventh day the Father commanded.

The comparisons could go on and on…

When God called the Sabbath a sign, He tied those who keep it directly to Himself.

Connection to the True God

The Sabbath is special to God. He blessed and hallowed it at the end of the Creation week.

Isaiah 40:28 says that “the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary.” Yet He still chose to refrain from His work of the previous six days.

By this action, God demonstrated that the Sabbath should be special to mankind. It is a day that we too should make holy.

The Sabbath is the only day that points to worship of the God of the Bible. Most professing Christians keep Sunday (or no day at all). Muslims keep Friday. Some claim every day is holy. But this is simply not what God said.

As the living Creator of the universe, God claimed the seventh day as His. It belongs to Him, and those who keep it belong to Him also.

Take a moment to ponder the Ten Commandments. Observing the fourth command ties directly to keeping the first and second. How?

The first command shows we are to worship only the true God: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). The world’s gods have their own days, but the true God chose the seventh day of the week as His day.

The second commandment states: “You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them…” (vs. 4-5).

In many ways this is an extension of the first command. “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,” John 4:24 states. Though the things God has made can clearly be seen, He is invisible. God commands mankind not to replicate anything He created and worship it in place of Him.

Knowing this, how does keeping the Sabbath relate to avoiding idolatry?

Mainstream Christian organizations are littered with graven images—statues of dead “saints,” animals, symbols and the like. The vast majority of these groups worship on Sunday. They wrongly claim that the seventh-day Sabbath was changed to the first day of the week.

They do this by either twisting or expanding the meaning of verses such as Mark 16:9, “Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week,” or Revelation 1:10 where John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” Others claim their church’s leadership had the authority to change the day.

Of course, Bible verses do not show that the Sabbath day has changed. And God has not authorized men to change it. The true Sabbath was established during Creation week (Ex. 31:17) and remains in effect. It is the seventh day—period. Keeping the Sabbath from sunset Friday through sunset Saturday separates us from error and remains a monument to what God did around 6,000 years ago.

Exodus 20:5-6 drives home the reason God established the first two commandments and why keeping the fourth is in our best interest, “…for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.”

Satan targets man’s desire to ignore the true God and to worship visible, tangible “gods” instead. Fooling people into violating the Sabbath can accomplish both.

God wants us connected to Him and Him only. By keeping the commanded seventh day, we show our love for His way of life and reap the mercy that comes with it.

But it is not just the first two commands that are in jeopardy when men forsake the Sabbath. Since all Ten Commandments work together, breaking the Sabbath makes people more prone to dishonoring parents, murdering, committing adultery, stealing, lying and coveting. In any case, the devil gets exactly what he wants—separation from God with the requisite punishment to boot—all because of violating the command God says connects people to Him.

A People Set Apart

Built into the Sabbath command is the promise that God sanctifies those who keep it. Sanctified means to be set apart.

As a result, Sabbath breaking causes people to lose sight of who they are. No other law of God carries the same significance.

Look at the nations of Israel. They were originally identified as God’s chosen people (Deut. 7:7). This is not because they were the best or largest nation (vs. 7). In fact, when God chose them, they were slaves begging for deliverance from oppression.

God wanted a small, overlooked nation to use as a model. His intent was to show other nations the rewards and penalties of obeying or disobeying Him.

Israel initially kept the Sabbath and could easily be identified as a result.

Over time, the nation turned its back on Sabbath keeping. The result? It became lost among the other nations of the world.

Today, most do not know where the original 12 tribes of Israel are. The exception are the Jews (of the tribe of Judah), who have managed to keep their identity. Not coincidentally, the Jews keep the Sabbath (at least after a fashion).

This should make the concept of sanctification clear: God sets apart people who keep the Sabbath—they are distinct to others around them! Also, to sanctify means to set apart for holy use. Those who keep the Sabbath properly are set apart for God’s use.

How does God use “holy” people? Think about His Church. By keeping the Sabbath, we stand out, which allows the world to see the benefits of living His way of life. It does not mean we are perfect people looking down our noses at others. It simply means we are set apart or different.

Think of how many people notice your conduct and see that you and your children are different from others. They see that you show up for work on time, pay your bills, do what you say, avoid the world’s holidays, do not use foul language, do not eat bacon or shellfish, and much more. And because you receive God’s blessings, they may even see that you are special.

Another way we are special is that we understand the significance of God the Father sacrificing His only Son for us. Because Christ’s blood was shed on our behalf, we were “bought with a price” (I Cor. 7:23) by the Father. We no longer belong to ourselves. In this way, we were purchased and set aside for God’s use. And, once again, God uses us as living examples of the benefits of His way of life as the Body of Christ (12:27)—left on Earth to spread the gospel and prepare for Christ’s Return.

The weekly 24-hour rest allows us to focus on the God who sacrificed His Son so we can partake in eternal life.

In this way the Sabbath day is a beacon. It clearly identifies us as holy, sanctified people. All other commands do not do this in the same way.

Covenant Forever

The Sabbath was instituted as a covenant forever (Ex. 31:16-17). Jesus Christ later explained an important element of the day.

Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around (Mark 2:27). In other words, the day belongs to God and we are commanded to keep it, but it was ultimately made for our benefit. The day serves us—we do not serve it. In fact, Isaiah 58:13-14 makes clear that the Sabbath is a day we should call a delight.

God set this special day aside for us to rest from six days of labor and for us to reflect on the blessings He has poured out on us. Just as important, the day points to a special covenant or promise God made with those who keep the day.

A covenant is a binding agreement. Once the compact is made, nothing can be added or taken away from it. What was promised stands.

Again, the Sabbath covenant is perpetual. It is an agreement sealed in blood (Ex. 24:6-8; Gal. 3:15). The blood is Christ’s and therefore very important to God the Father. Keeping the day properly must also be just as important to us.

The Sabbath remains a sign between God and His people. Keeping it sanctifies or separates us for His use. Faithfully observing this unique day makes us just as unique—keeping it holy makes us holy.

Ultimately, Sabbath keeping is the signal of a special covenant between us and God. Keep the day and it will keep you.