"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." (Exodus 20:8)
I remember when stores closed on Sundays, and gas tanks got filled on Saturdays. It was a forced Sabbath Day if you will. Today, there are no limitations on any day of the week, much less the Sabbath. Stores are bustling, tanks are filling, and now, homes also act as offices. Unlike in the past, more intention is required to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy.
I admit to not being as intentional about remembering the Sabbath as I should, partly because it felt like a losing battle trying to live up to all the expectations but mostly because I didn’t clearly understand how to remember the Sabbath in today’s world. In recent months, however, I’ve taken the initiative to learn and grow in what it means to celebrate this gift from God.
The Bible says in Exodus 20:8 to remember the Sabbath Day and to keep it holy. Imagine how the fourth commandment must have fallen on the ears of Israelites who had been enslaved for 400 years. Resting was a privilege they had never experienced before.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 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 20:8-11)
“You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you." (Exodus 31:13)
The Sabbath day is a day of rest that follows six days of work. In the Old Testament, God stated that it was to start on Friday at sundown and end on Saturday at sundown. Most Christians today celebrate Sabbath on Sunday because it’s the day of Jesus’ resurrection.
The word holy means consecrating or being set apart, which God did by creating the Sabbath day. He set one day a week apart and blessed it. (Exodus 20:11) This blessing is grounded in God’s grace, reminding the Israelites that they were no longer slaves to man, but set apart by God. Through the Sabbath Day, God showed them (and us today) how He blesses free people to live: Work six days, rest one. It is a rhythm for holy and healthy living ordained by our Creator.
Ruth Haley Barton proposes an interesting idea in her book Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest, From Sabbath to Sabbatical and Back Again. When God ceased the creating work He had done for six days, He set an example for us to follow: ceasing from doing our usual labor, but not necessarily all labor.
This raises an interesting point. What feels like work to one person may not feel like work to another. For example, a person who works a 9 to 5 job in the office may find mowing the grass on Sunday afternoons to be a delight. As someone who grew up enjoying gardening, it’s hard to imagine it feeling like work, but others may view it as so. Here, we need wisdom and discernment to remember the Sabbath, freeing others to do the same.
Sabbath reflects the creation story in Genesis 1, where God, who neither sleeps nor slumbers, chose to cease working. He didn’t stop creating because He was tired. He stopped creating to show us what it means to incorporate a rhythm of rest and restoration into daily life.
Other reasons to keep a Sabbath Day:
1. It offers fresh ways to draw closer to God that we may not have the opportunity to do during the week. Delving deeper into Bible study or prayer time are important ways to worship, but so are spending quality time with family, enjoying a good book, listening to music that feeds the soul, baking with a friend, sharing life over a cup of tea, etc. In the Jewish culture, the Sabbath is a day of joy, not grieving. As freed people in Christ, we can delight in God’s presence and draw nearer to Him through every aspect of life.
2. It reminds us that we are human and have limitations. God has none, and our choosing to remember a Sabbath day reveals a trust and dependence in Him that the world doesn’t understand. Consider the nation of Israel. Pardon the expression, but it was the Chick-fil-A of its time. While surrounding nations continued to toil away on the Sabbath, sharpening their weapons and building a strong economic structure, Israel stood still, trusting God to provide for every need.
Sabbath calms the overstimulation of the mind and body that builds throughout the week. Remembering the Sabbath hits a reset button that brings restoration to our bodies.
A day of rest refreshes our souls so that we can refresh others in the coming week and serve God in a fuller capacity. “The Sabbath is the inspirer, the other days are inspired.” – Rabbi Heschel
Some argue that keeping the Sabbath doesn’t pertain to Christians today because it is an Old Testament command. While no longer bound by the law, there is wisdom in remembering it, as God commanded in Exodus 20:1, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Also, Jesus doesn’t condemn remembering the Sabbath in Mark 2:27. Still, He offers clarification when criticized for not keeping it after picking corn on the Sabbath: “The Sabbath was made for man, not the man for the Sabbath.”
In Walter Brueggemann’s book, Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now, he sums it up beautifully: “Sabbath is the celebration of life beyond and outside productivity. Sabbath is not simply the pause that refreshes. It is the pause that transforms.”
In Barton’s book mentioned above, she shares the idea of a floating Sabbath, mainly for those who must work on Sundays, such as pastors. The value of this practice is that it emphasizes remembering that the Sabbath is to rest one day after six days of work, even if it’s a different rest than Sunday.
The Ten Commandments mention no particular day for remembering the Sabbath. So, while Sunday may be the day we’ve always celebrated Sabbath, it should not become a point of contention among believers. Rather, it should be a place of grace with room for everyone to remember the Sabbath as their conscience leads.
Building on the ideas shared on why we should remember the Sabbath, let’s consider some practical ways to incorporate worship into a Sabbath day, cultivating a rhythm of life that honors God.
"And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27)
1. If you’ve struggled to remember the Sabbath, start small and don’t feel guilty about it. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Perhaps your first step begins by praying for God to give you a fresh perspective and a joyful approach to remembering the Sabbath.
2. Spending quality time with our family honors God. What does quality time look like in your home? One idea might be to place a basket on a table where family members put their turned-off phones for an hour while you take a walk together, play a board game, or read. Sometimes the parents have the hardest time with this idea, but God will bless your efforts.
3. Set time aside for everyone in the house to answer three questions every Sabbath. My husband and I use the following questions but tweak them to your preference: a) What does your coming week look like? b) Is there any way I can help you? c) How can I pray for you?
4. Rest in knowing that whatever you accomplish in six days of work, inside or outside the home, is enough. It is enough. In believing this, we recognize that God alone is sovereign and trustworthy to accomplish whatever falls outside the realm of our workdays.
5. Receive the blessing. It sounds easy, but just as it was in Jesus’ day, many man-made rules have hijacked the simplicity, beauty, and joy of remembering a Sabbath day.
Heavenly Father, I joyfully and humbly receive Your gift of the Sabbath. Show me how to remember it in a way that honors You. I’m grateful for the many ways I’m able to draw near to You every day, especially on a Sabbath day. It is a delight to my soul. Thank You for the ways You fill my spiritual, mental, and physical tanks for Your glory as I rest in You and Your sovereignty over my life. Amen.
Photo Credit: Getty Images/Marinela Malcheva
This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy to read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture's context. It is our hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God's Word in relation to your life today.
No Rest for the Wicked
Fight the Good Fight
Wait on the Lord
With Contrite Heart and Spirit
Faith Can Move Mountains