THE SANCTITY OF SABBATH
This commandment is the last and longest in the first section of the Ten Commandment, which focus on relationship of man with God. In its original setting, it was given to the Israelites to establish regular habits of making the seventh day a day of total rest. But this is not all, for the second part of this commandment also talks about creation and what man should do for remaining six days of their week. This commandment consist of two simple aspects, which are remembering Sabbath to keep it holy and six days we shall labour. Some other related verses in the Old Testament give us a more complete understanding of the sabbath :
1. Ezekiel 20 : 12 “Also I gave them my Sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am The Lord who sanctifies them”
2. Deuteronomy 5 : 15 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and The Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, therefore The Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day”
So we can understand that Sabbath was ordained for the Israelites to rest and remember the completion of God’s creation that this Creator God gave Sabbath so that they keep the sign of God’s covenant with them and remember God’s redemption accomplished for them. In our modern terms, these are called worship.
Now before Jesus was born, Israelites in that land undergone a social and religious developments. Out of this condition, there are 4 groups emerge who will dominate social, cultural and religious life of God’s people. And because of heavy Roman oppression, their consciousness to keep God’s covenant so that one day God will deliver them out of Romans hands resulted in zeal over God’s every commandment in the Mosaic Law and these religious experts are trying to break down into details what and how should people observe the Law in daily life so that God may be pleased. One of the area was Sabbath regulations. What actions constitute a definition of work in various professions and it is prohibited to carry it out on Sabbath. So the rituals on Sabbath is very detail in its applications on daily life back then.
So Jesus was born into this condition and when He began His public ministry, those religious leaders viewed Jesus’s actions as violating the rules and regulations of Sabbath, but they never have adequate knowledge of discerning between man-made regulations and God’s real designs on Sabbath. In the exchanges of words between them and Jesus, we can learn how and what Jesus taught concerning Sabbath:
1. Matthew 12 : 7 “But if you had known what this means, I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent”
2. Matthew 12 : 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on Sabbbath”
New Testament letters teaching concerning Sabbath:
Colossians 2 : 16 – 17 “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Hebrew 4 : 9 “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”
All of above verses from New Testament and Old Testament provide insight to us on the real spirit and meaning behind this commandment. A lot more pages could be written to discuss in details, but let us summarize in points :
1. Sabbath are meant for us to stop from our work and focus on God, we should dwell on God’s creation, remember redemption that He has accomplished for us, remember His words and teachings, praise Him and pray to Him.
2. Matthew 12 is the great summary of the spirit of this commandment explained by Jesus (Lord of Sabbath who has the prerogative to rule over or even change Sabbath, but He did not change it) who certainly as God-man are familiar with, that is the Sabbath does not prohibit deeds of necessity to provide for one’s immediate needs like hunger (verse 3, 4). Nor does Sabbath restrict service to God (Verse 5. 6) and certainly Sabbath does not restrain acts of mercy and compassion like helping people in need or heal the sick by miracle or medications (verse 7, 8). Jesus taught that Sabbath was made for man’s benefit and God’s glory. It was never intended to be a yoke of bondage to the people of God. So if we need to work on Sunday, it is ok so long as we don’t interrupt our worship time to God. But if we are inside church in the midst of service, we are still busy with our gadgets to write emails of work nature or any other nature, then we are violating Sabbath.
3. Sabbath, as with all the other commandments and Mosaic Law is guardian to God’s people until Jesus came (Gal 3:23). The substance of Sabbath is still respect, love for God, to enjoy Him in sweet fellowship as His children and as Jesus and Paul taught us, like bridegroom and the bride enjoy each other. All of this Sabbath observations that we have now ought to remind us like Hebrew letters did, that there remains a Sabbath rest for all of us, a full and real Sabbath rest for all of us when our Lord Jesus come back again to this world. And we should live our life in manner worthy of that anticipations. This is the real meaning of Sabbath for our days.
So what can we do practically in our modern times now regarding this commandment?
Sabbath not only are holiday but also Holy Day. So if we look carefully, it is actually the will of God that human work and it is also the will of God that human should set one day in seven days to focus their attention on worship. So this is work and rest balance in correct perspective. Work make for worship while worship fits and tunes the whole being for work. Some people focus on such things as rest and recreation on Sabbath but failed to realise that recreation is not just a physical thing, but spiritual also. Not one of us are ready to face the challenges of five or six working days unless we have been spiritually prepared by fully giving ourselves in the worship of God. So enjoy our Sabbath as rest from God not only as a rest day, but a day of our worship to Him. In doing so, we remember His great sacrifices for us, and we also must not abandoned doing acts of mercy and compassions in Sabbath day. Do all of this in the gladness anticipation of a full and blessed real Sabbath rest when our Lord Jesus come back to be with us, and that will be our eternal Sabbath rest. Live your life in this way, I believe you will have hope and strength to face life in future.
Happy and blessed Sabbath day.
God Bless
KS, Holyland Specialist team.