Sabbath

The day of rest every seven days commanded by the Fourth Commandment: (Exo 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15). :

"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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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. (Exod. 20:8-11 NIV)

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 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 male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. (Deut. 5:12-15 NIV)

Many attempts have been made over the last century to trace the origin of the Sabbath in the cultures of the Ancient Near East but all of them have failed; the Sabbath, it seems, is a distinctively Israelite custom. That search has also led some commentators to assert that Exodus and Deuteronomy provide two different reasons for observing the Sabbath, one religious (Exodus), the other humanitarian (Deuteronomy). This assertion is flawed both in its observation and argument. The commandment in Exodus was given at Mount Sinai; the Sabbath was to be observed—one day in seven—because the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. It was the gift of a special time to imitate God in the most original way possible; to do as He did when He began the great work of creation. The commandment in Deuteronomy is phrased in the context of an exposition. It assumes the Exodus commandment; its commandment to observe rest on one day in seven would have been inexplicable without the latter. But, as it is in the nature of exposition Moses clarifies it by extending its application to include everyone in the Israelite society.

The biblical teaching about the Sabbath is rather clear and little needs elucidation about it. The questions most Christians have is whether Christians are required to observe the Sabbath. Many studies have been written about keeping the Sabbath, and many good reasons have been offerred about why keeping the Sabbath is good for us. These, however, do not quite answer our question. Are we required to?

First, we can say the answer is 'no,' because it is a commandment given within the context of the old covenant that God made with Israel. The word 'Sabbath' appears 60× in the NT (out of a total of 140×); in all of them, except Col 2:16, it appears within historical contexts, recalling what happened. The NT nowhere affirms the need to observe it. In the exception, Paul seems to demur on it observance: "Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." This suggests that Christians are not obliged to observe it. But this is not the only perspective from which we can or should view the commandment.

A Christian who asks the question, "Do I need to" is like the young husband who asks, "Do I need to bring my wife a bunch of flowers for our anniversary?" The question he should ask is, rather, "what will a bouquet of roses do for my wife?" We do for those we love what we know is dear and pleasing to them, what brings them joy and enrichment. If we love God the question we need to ask is, what does God love? what would bring Him joy? Reading the Sabbath commandment, we see how God is so zealous about it: it is the only day that God has "blessed" (Exo 20:11; cf. Gen 2:3) and the day He had set aside; it is "holy to Yahweh" (its sanctity is noted in 45% of its occurrences in the OT). Now if it is so special a day to the Lord shall we not want to keep it so for Him even if, in the New Covenant in which we now stand in Christ, does not require it? What will our keeping of the Sabbath do for our Father's joy?

Click here to open a more detailed exposition of the Fourth Commandment (opens on the left panel).

Further Reading:

Marva J. Dawn, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting. Reprinted, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

On-line Resources:

☰ Steven M. Bryan, "Power in the Pool: The Healing of the Man at Bethesda and Jesus' Violation of the Sabbath (Jn. 5:1-18)," Tyndale Bulletin 54.2 (2003): 7-22. pdf

☰ Graham A. Cole, "Discovering God's Will: Paley's Problem with Special Reference to 'the Christian Sabbath'," Tyndale Bulletin 39 (1988): 125-139. pdf

☰ W.D. Davies, "Keeping the Sabbath - John Calvin's Teaching on the Fourth Commandment," Reformation & Revival 6.3 (Summer 1997): 185-187. pdf

☰ N. Blake Hearson, "The Relevance of the Sabbath," Midwestern Journal of Theology 7.1 (Fall 2008): 38-74. pdf

☰Peter Misselbrook, "Towards a Christian Understanding of the Sabbath," Foundations 5 (Nov. 1980): 10-19. pdf

☰ Nigel Westhead, "Evangelicals and Sabbath Keeping in the 1990s," Evangel 13:2 (1995): 48-61. pdf

☰ David T. Williams, "The Sabbath: Mark of Distinction," Themelios 14.3 (April 1989): 96-101. pdf