Sabbath is a weekly day of rest and worship. It was
instituted at creation when God hallowed the 7th day and rested
after his creative labors (Genesis 1:1-2:3). There is no distinct mention of
the Sabbath in Genesis and no mention of the Sabbath until Exodus 16:21-30 when
the Israelites were in the Desert of Sin before reaching Mount Sinai. God gave
them a double supply of manna on the 6th day of the week in order
that the 7th day may be a rest from labor (Exodus 16:23). Jewish
tradition holds the Sabbath on Saturday (beginning at sundown on Friday) and
Christians hold the Sabbath on Sunday. What exact does the Sabbath entail? What
is the history behind it?
Observing the Sabbath became a requirement after Moses was
given the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17, 34:1-5). The 4th
Commandment states that the 7th day would be observed as a holy day.
A day when everyone, including strangers, would be required to rest from any
work and labor. The reason given for this day of rest is that the Lord rested
on the 7th day, having blessed it and hallowed it. God intended the
Sabbath to be a blessing of both physical and spiritual. The sanctity of the
Sabbath was to include the sacrifice of two lambs including a regular burnt
offering (Numbers 28:9-10) and 12 loaves of showbread (Leviticus 24:5-9, 1
Chronicles 9:32). The Sabbath required extra offerings because it was a special
day of rest and worship, commemorating creation and deliverance of Egypt. Numbers
15:32-36 dictated that a willful Sabbath breaker was to be put to death. When
the Jews returned from their exile, Nehemiah made several reforms in order to
reestablish their traditions including observance of the Sabbath. Trade was
forbidden on the Sabbath because the lure of money interfered with the need of
rest (Nehemiah 10:31) and traders were sent home and the city’s gates shut as
the Sabbath hours approached (Nehemiah 13:19).
There have been attempts by Old Testament critics to find a
Babylonian origin for the Jewish Sabbath. There is evidence that among the
Babylonians, certain things were to be avoided on the 7th, 14th,
19th, 21st, and 28th days of the months.
However, the 19th day breaks the sequence of 7s and there is no
question the Hebrew Sabbath is older than the Babylonian observance. The
Sabbath was associated with the idea of worship, rest, and divine favor rather
than certain taboos and avoidance. Over the centuries, many Jewish religious
leaders added rule after rules to God’s law which guaranteed that everyone who
be in violation. Jesus healed people on the Sabbath to show that while the
Sabbath was holy, it was created for man’s benefit and people’s needs must take
precedence over the law (Matthew 12:1-14, Mark 2:23-36, Luke 6:1-11, and John
5:1-18). The best time to reach out to
someone is when he or she needs help and it is right to care for others’ needs
even if it involves on a day of rest (Matthew 12:10, John 9:14-16). Seven times
he performed miracles on the Sabbath. Why? Jesus empathized the intent of the
law while the Pharisees focused on the letter of the law (Matthew 12:5).
Early Christians, most of whom were Jewish, kept the 7th
day as a Sabbath. Since Jesus’ resurrection occurred at the beginning of the
week, they began to meet for worship on the 1st day of the week
which they designated as the Lord’s Day. As the split between Jews and
Christians widened, Christians gradually began to meet for worship on the
Lord’s Day and eventually it became the Sabbath and they gave up the 7th
day observance. Through the centuries, the Lord’s Day (or Sunday as we know it
today) became known as the 7th day. Unfortunately, there are
Christians today who develop the attitudes of the Pharisees and forget the true
nature of the Sabbath and look down on other Christians who are not in church
every Sunday. And in this day of companies being open 7 days a week, it would
be hard for many Christians to take every Sunday off. So, when someone a day
off in the middle of the week, that day could be there Sabbath. A day to rest
and worship God and study His Word. Bill Sunday (1862-1935) once said, “Going
to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes
you an automobile.” There’s more to be a follower of Christ than church every
Sunday.
In conclusion, it is easy to let responsibilities of work,
family, and community to crowd our schedules that we don’t take the time to
worship. Taking a day of rest, any day, is important to reenergize and focus on
God and his Word. I think too many people get hung up on semantics when they
argue whether the Sabbath is Saturday or Sunday. The Sabbath is simply a day of
rest and worship. So, whether you rest and worship on Monday or Tuesday or
Wednesday, et cetera, you are keeping the Sabbath. While the Sabbath is an
important day, it does not allow us to be lazy bumps on a log. If you see
someone who needs help, it is good for you to help, just as Jesus did.
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