Commandment 4: Remember the Sabbath

Introduction

Use example of Minecraft

Raise your hand if you play or like Minecraft?

If you do not go back to your bed and rest from building from time to time, what happens?

Just as you need rest in Minecraft to win the game. . . we need rest as well.

God has graciously given us a command that emphasizes this truth.

Key Point: God has given us the sabbath so that we would rest in him and remember the finished work of Jesus.

This commandment is the largest in of the ten and it tells what to do, how to do it, and why.

What:“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” v. 8

Work six days and then rest on the seventh day.

The Sabbath is ment for ceasing from work and common labor.

The word “sabbath” means “to cease.”

The Sabbath was a visible sign that reminded the people of the covenant God made with them at Sinai (Exodus 31:3, 17; Ezek. 20:12-17).

In the Israelite calendar, the seventh day of the week was Saturday. . . so the Sabbath would be practiced on Saturday.

God commanded Israel to remember the Sabbath day. . . to remember his work in creation and in redemption.

Remembering involves more than just our memory, but our whole being.

You don’t just remember a birthday or anniversary by recalling it to memory but celebrate by doing something special for and with that person for the day.

It is the same with the Lord.

How: Work Hard, Rest Hard v. 9-10

Work is a good thing and we were made to work.

Work is not a result of the fall. It was instituted before sin entered the world (Gen. 2:15).

The Sabbath is not just about resting on the seventh day but also working hard in the previous six days.

One of the reasons why we can never rest one day a week is because we are lazy and do not work hard the other six days of the week.

So, to keep the Sabbath, Israel was called to work hard and rest hard.

To rest well, Israel used the Sabbath to worship the Lord.

To keep the Sabbath holy, means to set a day a part for exclusive worship to the Lord.

The Sabbath was given not just to take a break from work one day a week, but also to help Israel focus on worshipping Yahweh for all he had done for them.

It is meant as a day to spend together as a family.

“neither shall your son, or daughter, or manservant, or maidservant. . .”

Why: to imitate God and remember his work in creation and redemption v. 11

This command is built on the pattern the Lord set in creation by creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh day.

We work because God works.

We rest, because God rested.

“in the Old Testament people work for their own benefit and provision, rather than to meet the needs of God or to do his work for him. When commanded to share the rest of God on the Sabbath, it is not to participate in it per se, but to recognize His work of bringing and maintaining order. God’s rest symbolizes His control over the cosmos, which His people recognize whenever they yield to Him the day they could have used to provide for themselves.” Stephen Wellum and Peter Gentry.

This command reveals God’s character in his power and glory in creating the universe.

This command when given in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and connects to Israel’s redemption from Egypt. Because God redeemed Israel, they are to keep the sabbath day.

This command also reveals God’s character in his power to redeem his people and his grace and mercy he has shown in saving them.

Also refers to Israel remembering that they were slaves in Egypt and how God redeemed them with his mighty hand.

When they were slaves in Egypt, they had to work seven days a week, but now since God redeemed them, they can find rest in him and be reminded of his redemption every week on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was given to bless Israel with rest and to enjoy the Lord as the remembered his power in creation and their redemption.

If Israel broke the Sabbath, the consequence was the death penalty. . . yet Israel continually broke the Sabbath, which was the sign of the covenant, and this is one of the reasons the people were sent into exile (Jer. 17:21-27; Ezek. 20:12-24).

How Does This Command Apply to us?

Are we still to keep the Sabbath today? If so, how?

Jesus said that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27). So we must understand that the Sabbath is for us and given to bless and refresh us.

Jesus worked on the Sabbath (John 5:10-17) and healed on the Sabbath (Luke 13:16). He also claimed to be “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28).

If the Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant, which we are no longer under, then this means that we are no longer obligated to keep the Sabbath in the way the Israelites were required to.

The Sabbath was merely a shadow that ultimately pointed to and was fulfilled in Jesus.

Colossians 2:16–17 ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

“Shadow” is the same word used to describe the Old Testament sacrifices, and the law was only a “shadow” of the good things to come (Heb. 10:1).

This is contrast to the “substance” or “form” which is found in Christ (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1).

Therefore, if we do not practice the OT sacrifices today, why would we feel obligated to practice the Sabbath?

Also, in Romans 14:5-15:6, Paul argues that the food laws and observance of special days are no longer valid since believers are not under the Mosaic covenant.

However, this text should remind us that those who hold the Sabbath as a “high day” should not be judged or looked down upon by others. Yet, those who see it as a “high and special day” should not think those who do not view the day in this way are “disobeying God.”

The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day

The early church moved the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday when Jesus rose from the dead.

This change in day communicates that instead of working six days and then resting on the last day. . . We rest on the first day of the week to give us the strength and grace to work hard in the following six days.

However, even though as Christians we are not bound by the Old Covenant to legally keep the Sabbath. . . this does not mean that the Sabbath holds no significance for us today. There is still a principle that should be applied.

First, rest in the finished work of Christ for your salvation.

The author of Hebrews sees the Sabbath foreshadowing the ultimate rest for the people of God that comes through Jesus.

Hebrews 4:1–13 ESV

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

We no longer look back to the Old exodus for our salvation, but look to the new exodus that was completed and fulfilled through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. It is through coming to and trusting in him that we will find rest.

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

We must not try to work and earn our salvation but rest in the finished work of Christ.

Second, implement practical wisdom and follow the pattern of Sabbath to set apart one day a week for rest and worship.

Resting from work means remembering we are God’s creatures and we depend on him for our lives.

It displays trusting in God instead of trusting in yourself to find your livelihood, identity, and value.

The change in routine means taking a break from your normal work in the other six days of the week.

This command does not mean you cannot do anything physical and just sit around and be lazy all day. Rather it is to focus on doing God’s will specially on one day a week- to worship, learn, study, care, and strengthen the spirit.

For most of you, this means you need to take one day a week to rest from your school work. . . but to do this, you need to work hard the other six days of the week.

Seek to exclusively to worship, rest, and show mercy the first day of the week. . . then work hard the remaining six days of the week.

Don’t play at work and work at your play. Institute a balance and rhythm.

For you, this often means working hard at your school work.

One of the most damaging things you can do for your spiritual growth is not participating in worshipping the Lord each week because “you have too much homework.”

Ask yourself if you have worked hard and used your time wisely in the other six days of the week?

One way we can enjoy the Lord’s Day is by preparing for it the night before.

Going to sleep earlier.

Getting clothes together or reading the passage of Scripture the next day.

Think about Saturday night as “tuning your heart” for Sunday morning.

If you don’t tune an instrument before you play it. . . will it produce the music it was designed for?

If you don’t tune your heart for worship, will you be able to fully enjoy gathering together each Sunday?

Third, Don’t turn the Sabbath into legalism.

The Pharisees wanted to know exactly what they could and could not do on the Sabbath so they could keep it and prove themselves righteous. We should not look at the Sabbath like this but rather use it to celebrate the rest and freedom we have in Christ.

“At this point many Christians still want to know what they can and cannot do on the Sabbath. Can I watch TV? Can I play Frisbee? Can I go to a restaurant? Can I catch a flight back home? Can I play Monopoly, or do I have to stick to Bible trivia games? The danger in making universal applications is that we are prone to Pharisaism; it is easy for us to slip back into legalism. In keeping the fourth commandment there is room for Christian freedom and the wise exercise of godly judgment.”

“However, when we start asking these kinds of questions, it is usually because we want to know what we can get away with. We want to know how far we can go without actually breaking the fourth commandment. But if we are looking for a loophole in the Lord’s Day, then we are missing the whole point of that commandment. God is calling us away from our own business to transact the most important business of all, which is to glorify him in our worship. And when we try to make as much room as we can for our own pleasures, then we miss the greatest pleasure of all, which is fellowship with the living God.” -Philip Graham Ryken

Brother or Sister in Christ, Come to Jesus and find rest.

Friend, come to Jesus and find rest.