The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week that the Lord God Almighty set aside and hallowed for rest.
God created the Sabbath and rested on it from all the work of creation that He had done.
God ordained this day Himself immediately after creating the whole world and everything existing in it.
The bible records this in Genesis 2:2-3 ESV:
“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 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.”
Therefore, the Sabbath day existed long before God issued the Ten Commandments.
Who Was the Sabbath Created For?
Was God so tired after creating the world that He needed rest?
No.
According to Isaiah 40:28, God does not get tired:
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
So, we cannot say that God needed rest.
In His infinite wisdom, God created the Sabbath for man to rest and have fellowship with Him (Mark 2:27).
We must understand that God is all-knowing, and had pre-ordained this time for man’s rest even before man knew what it would mean to rest from work.
Keeping the Sabbath should not be wearisome. It was meant to be a blessing to men and not a curse. The Sabbath should be a joyous day in which people can do good things (Matthew 12:11-12).
Characteristics of the Sabbath Day
1. The Sabbath is a day of rest
God’s people are supposed to desist from any kind of work and rest on the Sabbath day.
God commanded people to avoid any kind of work on the Sabbath day.
Exodus 20:11 ESV—“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 35:2 ESV—“Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”
2. The Sabbath is holy
Not only is the Sabbath a day of rest, it is also holy. God made it holy (sacred), which means that it carries great spiritual significance in God’s eyes.
Exodus 20:8 ESV—“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”.
3. Keeping the Sabbath holy brings blessings
In Isaiah 58:13-14 the bible notes that abstaining from personal pleasure and honoring the Sabbath has blessings.
Isaiah 58:13-14—“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure[c] on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
4. God is the Lord of the Sabbath
Jesus respected the Sabbath, as Lord of the Sabbath.
Luke 6:5—“The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath”.
Was the Sabbath nailed to the cross?
Jesus notes that He did not come to destroy the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17-19) meaning that He did not destroy Sabbath observance.
Jesus kept the Sabbath before His crucifixion (Luke 4:16; Luke 13:10-16) and Sabbath observance continued even after the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The body of Jesus was removed from the cross because the Sabbath was drawing near. His body rested in the grave on the Sabbath day.
Even after Jesus’ ascension, the apostles and the new believers continued to keep this tradition of worship on the Sabbath (Acts 16:13; Acts 17:2)
When is the Sabbath?
The Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week.
If Saturday is for worship, then why do some people worship on Sunday?
There are arguments about whether it is right to worship God on the seventh day, the Sabbath (Saturday) or on the first day, (Sunday).
The bible clearly states that we should worship on Saturday.
Sunday observance has no scriptural basis although some people argue that they do it as an honor to the risen Christ. However, this is not supported in scripture.
Some denominations, like the Seventh-Day Adventists, however, believe that the Sabbath (Saturday) still remains the ordained day of God’s worship and must be kept holy.
You too can learn about the true Sabbath and keep it.
Prepare to have a free Sabbath
Make it a priority to worship God this Saturday.
You can start keeping track and making the preparation day (Friday) useful for those activities that can disrupt the Sabbath rest.
Start fixing things that need fixing on the day before the Sabbath, so you can have a work-free, holy and committed day to God, when you can worship Him in spirit and truth.
To learn more about the Sabbath day of worship, click here.
Conclusion
The Sabbath day is an important day that God ordained for human beings to rest and have fellowship with Him.
God blessed the Sabbath and packed it with blessings for anyone who obeys His command and observes it (Genesis 2:3).
The bible notes that Jesus Christ and the apostles observed it and it was never changed from Saturday to Sunday.
