What about the Sabbath Day?
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Searching the Scriptures
David A. Bass, Rockford Church of Christ
What exactly is the Sabbath Day? When was the Sabbath Day given, and why was it given? Should we observe the Sabbath today? What does the Bible say about this most interesting subject?
The very first mention of the Sabbath Day in the Bible is in Exodus 16:23-30. This is one of the commands given to the Israelite people as they were traveling through the Wilderness of Sin after God had delivered them from Egyptian slavery. There is no mention of the Sabbath Day prior to this point in man’s history.
During the first 2,500 years of man’s existence we do not find anyone commanded to keep it; we do not find an example of anyone keeping it nor do we find a penalty for not keeping it. The Sabbath was officially given to Moses on Mt. Sinai as one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
We read in Nehemiah 9:13-14, “You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant.”
The Sabbath was given to the Israelites (Jews) who came out of Egyptian slavery.“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.’ So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” (Exodus 34:27-28; Deut. 5:15). The Sabbath command was not even given to their ancestors (Deuteronomy 5:1-3).
The Sabbath was a sign between God and the children of Israel (Jews) (Exodus 31:12-17; Ezekiel
20:10-12, 20). The Sabbath was also to serve as a memorial, a reminder of their slavery in Egypt and their great deliverance by the hand of God.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Absolutely no work was to be done on the Sabbath Day (Exodus 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:14,15; 34:21).
The Sabbath Day was never intended to be a permanent day. According to Exodus 31:16-17 it was to
be “…observed by the children of Israel throughout their generations…” God goes on to say that it was
a “perpetual” covenant that would last “forever.” These words are limited in duration by the phrase
“throughout their generations.”
Furthermore, this was a covenant between God and Israel, not every nation on the earth. The Sabbath command was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14) along with all of the old covenant (testament). Jeremiah had prophesied that the old covenant would be replaced (31:31-34). The old covenant contained the Sabbath command (Exodus 34:27-29; Deuteronomy 4:12,13; 9:9-11).
Hebrews 8:6-13 tells us that this “new covenant” which had been promised by Jeremiah is the covenant of Christ, the New Testament.
In the New Testament the Christians worshiped on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:1-2). The Church of Christ assembles each Sunday at 9:00 for Bible study and 10:00 for worship. We are located near Dollar General. May I encourage you to continue to “search the Scriptures!”
