Sabbath

• 2 min. read • grade level: 7

by G. C. Willis

“And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made." Gen. 2:2²And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (Genesis 2:2).

"Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.... And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:12, 15¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. (Deuteronomy 5:12)
¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15).

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day." Ex. 20:8, 11⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)
¹¹For 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. (Exodus 20:11).

The Sabbath is the first feast of Jehovah given to us in Lev. 23. Because it comes first, it calls us to consider it in a special way, and we may understand that it is very important.

“Sabbath" means rest, and we should understand clearly that in the Bible, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, having a share in God's rest is what marks God's people. This is their special privilege. As God says, "Verily My Sabbaths [rest] ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you." The form of the rest may change, as we shall see, but a share in God's rest is always the sign between God and His people.

God established this rest in the beginning at creation. God rested, and He called man to share in His rest. It is true that sin came in and spoiled God's rest, so that the Lord Jesus said, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”

Later in Deut. 5:12-15¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:12‑15) we see that the Sabbath was given as a memorial of the deliverance out of Egypt. It was again included in the law at Mount Sinai, not as a moral command, but as a sign of God's rest at the beginning.

In Ezek. 20:12¹²Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them. (Ezekiel 20:12) we find that the Sabbath was given as a sign: "Also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." Thus we see that the Sabbath was a sign of God's covenant. It is very important for us to understand this. The Sabbath given to Israel was the sign of God's covenant with Israel.

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