CHAPTER 1 – The Seventh Day of the Week

‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine’ (Exodus 19:5)

QUESTION: What is the meaning of the word “Sabbath”?

Rest; complete rest; solemn rest.

The name of the seventh day of the week.

In the Holy Bible, the seventh day of the week is called “sabbath” for the first time in Exodus 16:23:

“This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath (H7677) observance (H7677), a holy sabbath (H7676) to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

There are two Hebrew words translated as “sabbath” in Exodus 16:23:

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Shabbath is based on shabath:

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Note: Tables listing the frequency and locations in the Bible of the Hebrew words shabbathon, shabbath, and shabath, are in “APPENDIX A – Usage of shabbathon, shabbath, and shabath in the Holy Bible“.

QUESTION: How did Sabbath observance begin?

The Lord God commanded Sabbath to be observed.

Manna and the Sabbath

The first time the Bible shows that anyone was commanded to observe Sabbath is recorded in Exodus 16. This is the account of how manna was introduced to the Israelites. The Lord promised to rain bread from heaven for six days of each week (Exodus 16:4–5). The Israelites were to collect this bread which they named manna (Exodus 16:5, 31). On the sixth day they were to collect a double portion because the Lord would not send any manna on the seventh day (Exodus 16:5, 22–27). The seventh day is then called “sabbath” for the first time in the Bible (Exodus 16:23).

The Law and the Sabbath

The Sabbath was officially instituted in the Law of Moses at Mount Sinai, as the fourth command of the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:8, 10–11, the word “sabbath” is rendered from the Hebrew word shabbath (H7676). In Exodus 20:11 the word “rested” is from the Hebrew word nuach (H5117).

“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 of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the 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)

QUESTION: To whom was the Sabbath command given?

Moses and the Israelites.

In the Wilderness of Sin, the Lord instructed Moses and the Israelites to collect manna six days a week, and then rest on the seventh day (Exodus 16).

At Mount Sinai, the Lord God spoke the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites, in which Sabbath is officially instituted at Mount Sinai as the Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20). In the book of Nehemiah, when the Levites were reciting the history of the Lord interacting with Israel they said:

“Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, Through Your servant Moses.” (Nehemiah 9:13–14)

See also Leviticus 19:1–3; 26:46, and many other scriptures that clearly state that the law was instituted between the Lord God and the Israelites. This law included the command to remember, observe, and rest on the Sabbath day.

The Sabbath was a sign between the Lord God and Israel

A very important fact to note is that the Sabbath was a sign^[6],^[7] between the Lord God and Israel:

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.'” (Exodus 31:12–17)

A sign is something that points to the reality of something else. The sign is not the reality; it is a representation of the reality. In Exodus 31:12–17 the Lord gives two reasons for Israel to observe His Sabbaths as a sign:

Paul agrees—the Law was given to Israel

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen (Romans 9:1–5)

QUESTION: Were the other nine commandments given to the Israelites?

Yes.

QUESTION: Was the Sabbath command given to any other people?

No.

However, the Lord did instruct that any servants and slaves who belong to the Israelites, as well as any sojourners, and strangers who might be staying with the Israelites, should also observe the Sabbath (Exodus 20:10; 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14).

QUESTION: Why was Sabbath observance commanded?

As a test

Exodus 16:4–5

As a memorial of creation, and of rescue from Egypt.

Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:15

As a benefit to the land, persons, and animals.

Exodus 23:10–12; Deuteronomy 5:12–14

As a sign between the Lord God and Israel.

Exodus 31:12–17; Ezekiel 20:12, 20

Because it was holy.

Exodus 31:14

So that Israel would know the Lord is the one who sanctifies them.

Ezekiel 20:12, 20

QUESTION: What are some Sabbath rules listed in the Bible?

The list in “”APPENDIX B – Some Sabbath rules found in the Bible” shows some additional details as to what was expected on a Sabbath, depending on when it occurred.

QUESTION: How long was Sabbath observance supposed to continue?

Throughout the generations of Israelites.

Exodus 31:12–13, 16

Forever as a sign between the Lord God and Israel.

Exodus 31:17; 2 Chronicles 2:4

QUESTION: What would happen if the Sabbath command, and the other statutes and commandments were obeyed?

The Lord would bless Israel beyond measure.

The Sabbath command was a part of the Old Covenant^[8] which was made between the Lord God and the Israelites. After rescuing Israel from Egypt, the Lord made an agreement with them, promising that if they obeyed Him, He would greatly bless them (Exodus 19:3–8; Leviticus 25:18–22; 26:1–13; Deuteronomy 28:1–14).

Leviticus 26 begins with the Lord telling Israel that they are not to make anything for the purpose of bowing down in worship to them. What reason was given for these prohibitions? “I am the LORD your God.” They were to give to the Lord all the honor and praise that was rightfully His. Israel was reminded to observe the Lord’s Sabbaths and reverence His sanctuary. In Leviticus 26:3–13 are the conditional promises the Lord gave detailing how He would bless Israel.

The Lord promised to bless Israel by giving them rain in due season so that the land would yield its produce in abundance. He promised peace and security, and that harmful beasts would be eliminated. The Lord promised that Israel’s enemies would fall before them by the sword, that He would make them fruitful, and that He would multiply them, confirming His covenant with them.

“Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” (Leviticus 26:11–12)

Israel would take delight in the Lord.

The English word “delight” in Isaiah 58:13–14 is translated from the Hebrew word anag (H6026), which has several meanings. Within this context, anag means, “to be happy about, take exquisite delight; to make merry over.” (Brown, Driver and Briggs 1906)

QUESTION: What would happen if the Sabbath command, and the other statutes and commandments were disobeyed?

The Lord would work against Israel in every aspect of life.

The Lord promised that if Israel were disobedient to His statutes and commandments, He would severely punish them (Leviticus 26:14–39, 43; Deuteronomy 28:15–68.

“But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, I, in turn, will do this to you …” (Leviticus 26:14–16)

The Lord then details how He will punish Israel if they were disobedient. Notice that the Lord said, “all My commandments, and so break My covenant.” He did not say, “I will understand if you do not obey, or if you are not able to obey all My commands, and therefore, I will let you off the hook.” No, the Lord demanded complete obedience to all His commands:

“If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.” (Deuteronomy 28:58–59)

Also, if Israel disobeyed God, they would be guilty of breaking the covenant, which they had agreed to (Exodus 19:8), in which case, the Lord said, “I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant” (Leviticus 26:25).

To see the importance of the concept of rest as the Lord had intended, consider what the Lord said the land would enjoy if Israel did not obey God’s commandments, statutes, ordinances, and covenant:

“You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.” (Leviticus 26:33–35)

“For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes.” (Leviticus 26:43)

Even though the Lord was emphatic about complete obedience to all His commandments, He promised that if Israel was punished for disobedience, but then confessed their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, and if they humbled themselves, “then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land” (Leviticus 26:40–42). This refers to the Abrahamic Covenant.^[9]

QUESTION: Did Israel obey the command to observe the Sabbath?

No.

The Lord had instructed Israel that anyone who did not obey Him, but instead profaned the Sabbath, “that soul shall be cut off from among his people,” and, “Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death” (Exodus 31:14–15; see also Leviticus 23:26–32).

A man caught working on the Sabbath.

Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. (Numbers 15:32–36)

Warnings against working and carrying loads on the Sabbath

“And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction. But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 17:22–27 ESV)

The Israelites profaned the Lord’s Sabbaths

The Israelites profaned^[10] the Lord’s Sabbaths by mixing idolatry with Sabbath observance (Ezekiel 23:1–4, 36–39; Amos 5:21–27),^[11] and thus violated the primary Sabbath edict, which was to, “remember the sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). The Lord spoke through His prophets to make it known that He was not pleased with Israel persisting in profaning His Sabbaths:

“Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.” (Isaiah 1:13–14)

Look at that again, “I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.” ^[12] The Israelites were mixing their idolatry and gross sins with worship of the only true God! Through Ezekiel, the Lord said:

“Will you judge them, will you judge them, son of man? Make them know the abominations of their fathers” (Ezekiel 20:4):

The Lord does not waste His warnings

After Israel persisted for many years in disobedience to the commands of the Lord their God, it was time for the Lord to fulfill His part of the covenant. Leviticus 26:33–35, 43 and Deuteronomy 28:36 show that the Lord had promised Israel that if they were disobedient, they would be sent into captivity, and as a result the land would enjoy its Sabbaths. In the book of Jeremiah this warning was repeated to the tribe of Judah with more details:

‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation.’ (Jeremiah 25:11–12)

“For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.'” (Jeremiah 29:10)

These warnings of exile are recorded as being fulfilled due to the repeated disobedience of Israel and Judah:

Concerning Israel:
In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and settled them in Halah and Habor, on the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. (2 Kings 17:6)

Concerning Judah:
Those [of Judah] who had escaped from the sword he [Nebuchadnezzar] carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths^[13]. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath^[14] until seventy years were complete. (2 Chronicles 36:20–21)

This meant that within the seventy years of Judah’s captivity in Babylon, the soil of the land of Israel would not be worked in order to produce crops. Therefore the land would enjoy a time of rest. This would fulfill the command of the Lord concerning the land resting every seven years (Sabbath), and every fiftieth year (Jubilee, see Leviticus 25).

CONCLUSION

The Lord God created the heavens and the earth in six days; on the seventh day He rested—or in other words, He ceased from His work of creation. God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. This set the day apart from the other six as a special day. The Bible does not indicate that anyone else rested, or was commanded to rest on the seventh day of the week at that time.

Later in history when the Lord rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, He introduced the Sabbath to them in the Wilderness of Sin by providing manna on six days of the week, but none on the seventh day. Three months after Israel left Egypt, they arrived at Mount Sinai. It was there that Israel—and only the nation of Israel was commanded to observe the Sabbath. The Lord said that observance of the Sabbath was a sign between Himself and Israel, “that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you,” and, “for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

The Ten Commandments, which included the command to observe Sabbath on the seventh day of the week was given only to Israel; no other people or nation, were enjoined to obey these commandments, except the foreigners who were servants, slaves, and sojourners with Israel.

The Lord commanded observance of the Sabbath for several reasons: to test if Israel would obey Him; as a memorial of creation; as a time for the land, persons, and work animals to rest; as a sign between the Lord and Israel; because the day was holy; and, so that Israel would know the Lord.

The Lord commanded that the Sabbath was to be observed forever as a sign between the Lord God and Israel, throughout the generations of Israelites. The Lord promised Israel that if they obeyed His commands, He would greatly bless them; on the other hand, if they persisted in disobedience of His commands, He would greatly punish them, and would eventually send them into captivity in foreign lands.

Israel did not remain faithful to the Lord’s commands, and persisted in profaning His Sabbaths; therefore, Israel and Judah were carried away into captivity into Assyria and Babylon. However, the Lord promised that in the future, He would bring them back to their land from captivity.

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FOOTNOTES

1. In the King James Version of the Bible, the Strong’s number for shabath is H7673. In the New American Standard Bible, the Strong’s numbers for shabath are H7673a and H7673b. ↑

2. See also, “The Sabbath was a sign between the Lord God and Israel” ↑

3. Commentary on the word “refreshed” in Exodus 31:17:

   The Hebrew word naphash (H5314) is a primitive root which means “to breathe”; passively, it means to be breathed upon, that is to say, figuratively refreshed as if by a current of air: – be refreshed (Strong 1890).

   and was refreshed: God, in condescension to human weakness, applies to himself here what belongs to man; though it may refer to the delight and satisfaction with which he contemplated the completion of all his works, and pronounced them very good. Gen 1:31; Job 38:7; Psa 104:31; Jer 32:41 (Canne 1880).

   for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed; which is to be understood figuratively after the manner of men, who ceasing from toil and labour find rest and refreshment; but not really and properly, for as not labour, and weariness, and fatigue, so neither rest nor refreshment can be properly said of God; but this denotes his cessation from the works of creation, though not of providence, and of the delight and pleasure he takes in a view of them; this is observed, not as the foundation of this law, and the reason of its being made, but as an illustration of it, and as an argument, showing the reasonableness of it, and the similarity of it with what God himself had done, and therefore the enjoining of it could not reasonably be objected to. See Gill on Exo 20:11 (Gill 1763). ↑

4. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. (Isaiah 40:28) ↑

5. God is still working. Please note that Genesis 2:3, Exodus 20:11, and 31:17 refer to God ceasing from His work of creating the heavens and the earth. God has not ceased from working to maintain what he created (Colossians 1:12-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; compare with John 5:17-21). ↑

6. The Hebrew word oth (H226) is probably from the Hebrew word uth (H225, “to come”), in the sense of appearing; a signal, literally or figuratively, as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.: – a mark, miracle, ensign, sign, token (Strong). ↑

7. Sign, n. [L. signum; Gr. deicnumt.] 1. A token; something by which another thing is shown or represented; any visible thing, any motion, appearance or event which indicates the existence or approach of something else. (Webster 1828) ↑

8. The Old Covenant is also known as the Mosaic Covenant, and the Sinaitic Covenant. For more information see, “QUESTION: What was the Old Covenant“. ↑

9. The Abrahamic covenant was a unilateral promise by the Lord God to Abraham that had three main features: (1) A promise of land (Gen 12:1); (2) A promise of descendants (v. 2); (3) A promise of blessing and redemption (v. 3). For more details see, “What is the Abrahamic Covenant?“. (Got Questions Ministries 2002) ↑

10. The Hebrew word chalal (H2490c) (320a) is a primitive root which means to pollute, defile, profane… (Foundation, NASEC 1981, 1998). ↑

11. The name “Samaria” which in Hebrew is Shomron (H8111) (1037d), is from the Hebrew word shamar (H8104, to keep, watch, preserve), and refers to the capital of the Northern kingdom of Israel.: – Samaria (109) (Foundation, NASEC 1981, 1998).

    The name “Jerusalem” (H3389) is from the Hebrew Yerushalaim or Yerushalayim (436c), and is derived from the Hebrew words, yarah (H3385a, “to be stupefied”), and shalem (H7999a, “to be complete or sound”); probably “foundation of peace,” capital city of all Israel (Foundation, NASEC 1981, 1998).

    Jerusalem became the capital of the Southern kingdom of Judah after the kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms (see 1 Kings 11). ↑

12. The Hebrew words atsarah or atsereth (H6116) are from atsar (H6113, “to inclose; by analogy to hold back; also to maintain, rule, assemble”), and are defined as an assembly, especially on a festival or holiday: – a solemn assembly or meeting (Strong).

    See also Leviticus 23:36 (holy convocation, an assembly); Numbers 29:12 (holy convocation), 35 (solemn assembly); Deuteronomy 16:8 (solemn assembly); 2 Chronicles 7:9 (solemn assembly); Nehemiah 8:18 (solemn assembly). ↑

13. The Hebrew word is shabbath (H7676). ↑

14. The Hebrew word is shabath (H7673). ↑