A Life and Death Matter

 In Exodus 20:8-11, God said,

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

10 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.

11 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.

This, of course, is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath commandment.

You’ve probably heard someone speak of the Sabbath as a “test commandment,” which it is, because it tests how much we truly want to follow God. Many of God’s other commandments, people have little or no issue with.

No murder? No stealing? No adultery? No false accusations? Most people agree that these are great laws.

But the Sabbath? Tell people God wants them to rest on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), and not only rest but also keep the day holy, and suddenly they have a meltdown.

“What do you mean I can’t work on Saturdays?! What do you mean I can’t go shopping on the Sabbath?! What do you mean I can’t treat the Sabbath like any other day?! What bondage!”

Such is the reaction of a carnal mind, “because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7). So the Sabbath is indeed a test commandment. It’s not the only test commandment, but it’s certainly one of them.

Are we really committed to God? Do we truly want to obey Him and seek Him with all our hearts? Or do we simply want to pick and choose what parts of God’s instructions we feel like obeying?

And how important is the Sabbath to God? How important should it be to us?

The Sabbath Is a Sign

Let’s think about the fact that God included the Sabbath in the Ten Commandments. At the same time the Almighty told us not to murder, steal, or commit adultery, He told us to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” That seems to hint that keeping the Sabbath is about as important as refraining from murder, theft, and adultery!

But that’s not all. Our Creator also speaks of the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant between Him and His people. In Ex. 31:12-13 & 17, we read,

12 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.

17 ‘It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”

Again, God says in Ezek. 20:11-12 & 19-20,

11 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’

12 Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

19 ‘I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them;

20 ‘hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

This doesn’t mean that the Sabbath is the ONLY sign between God and His people, of course. There are other signs, too, which is a topic for another day.

But the Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant with us. It’s a sign that we are His people.

Now some will say that this verse applies only to the Israelites, and that God expected only the Israelites to keep the Sabbath. Is this true?

The Sabbath Is For Everyone

The truth is, God never intended His laws only for Israel, but He made Israel a model and an example for all mankind. When the Israelites obeyed God, He blessed them and broadcasted the benefits of obedience. When they disobeyed, He made them an example of the wages of sin.

1 Cor. 10:6 speaks of Israelite history this way: “Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.” And Rom. 15:4 adds, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning.”

God doesn’t have two standards, one for Israelites and one for everyone else. He has one law. One standard. He commanded foreign converts to obey the same laws as the Israelites.

Here’s Ex. 12:49: “One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.” And Num. 15:16: “One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who dwells with you.” And Num. 15:29: “You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them.”

Remember this, too: when God gave His commandments, He didn’t speak only to Israelites. He spoke to the “mixed multitude” among them, as well. When the Israelites left Egypt, “A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds — a great deal of livestock” (Ex. 12:38).

Throughout history, foreigners joined Israel and became Israelites. The earthly lineage of Jesus Christ includes Rahab of Jericho and Ruth the Moabitess, both of whom were foreign women who pledged themselves to the God of Israel (Mat. 1:5). Likewise, all who accept Jesus Christ are “grafted into” Israel and considered spiritual Israelites (Rom. 11:17-24).

Rom. 2:28-29 adds this: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

Indeed, the New Testament describes Israel itself as “the congregation [ekklesia] in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38). Ekklesia is the Greek word frequently translated “church” or “congregation” in the New Testament.

Furthermore, God created the Sabbath at Creation, over 2,000 years before any Israelites were born (Gen. 2:1-3). And Jesus Christ proclaimed that the Sabbath was “made for man” (Mark 2:27), not made for Israel.

It ought to be obvious, then, that God’s law applies to EVERYONE who wants to be part of His Kingdom and His family. That includes the Sabbath day!

The Gravity of Breaking the Sabbath

So we know that the Sabbath is a sign between God and us, a sign that we are His people. That’s pretty important!

But just HOW important? Let’s return to Ex. 31:14-15 and see what penalty God established for breaking the Sabbath:

14 ‘You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, 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.

15 ‘Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Breaking the Sabbath is worthy of death in God’s eyes! Well, that’s not exactly a trivial matter, now is it?

God prescribed the death penalty for a number of other sins in the Old Testament, too. They’re all terrible, terrible sins and include such things as,

• Dishonoring God’s presence (Ex. 19:12; Lev. 1:51; 3:10, 38; Num. 18:7)

• Manslaughter or murder (Ex. 21:12; Lev. 24:17, 21; Num. 35:16-21, 30-31)

• Assaulting one’s parents (Ex. 21:15)

• Kidnapping (Ex. 21:16; Deut. 24:7)

• Cursing one’s parents (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9)

• Permitting one’s vicious animal to roam free and kill a person (Ex. 21:29)

• Bestiality (Ex. 22:19; Lev. 20:15-16)

• Child sacrifice (Lev. 20:2)

• Adultery (Lev. 20:10-12; Deut. 22:22-25)

• Homosexuality (Lev. 20:13)

• Witchcraft (Lev. 20:27)

• Blaspheming God (Lev. 24:16)

• Idolatry and preaching of idolatry (Deut. 13; 17:2-5; 18:20)

• Willful rebellion against Godly authority (Deut. 17:8-12; 21:18-21)

• Making false prophecies in God’s name (Deut. 18:20)

• Committing harlotry while said woman is still in her father’s house (Deut. 22:21)

• Bearing false witness in a capital case (Deut. 19:16-19)

No one — no sincere Bible student, that is — can claim these aren’t grievous sins. No sincere Bible student will argue that it’s okay to commit adultery, to murder, to curse and assault your parents, or to commit any of the other crimes on this list.

So why is it, when it comes to the Sabbath, that so many people suddenly make an exception? Is profaning the Sabbath, of all the capital crimes listed in the Bible, the only one that’s okay to do?

Obviously not!

Almighty God put Sabbath-breaking on par with murder, adultery, kidnapping, idolatry, and many other horrible sins. Do you really think He prescribed the death penalty for Sabbath-breakers in the Old Testament, and then, in the New Testament, suddenly decided it’s okay to profane the Sabbath?

Of course not!

Although certain emergencies, especially matters of life and death, can supersede the Sabbath (Mat. 12:11-12), Jesus Christ told us to pray that such things do not happen: “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath” (Mat. 24:20).

Again, Yeshua/Jesus described Himself as “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). He told us that “the Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). And He told us to obey all of God’s law (Mat. 5:19), which includes the Sabbath.

Remember, it’s not up to us to pick and choose which of God’s instructions we want to obey. We aren’t wiser or more discerning than our Creator.

The Apostle James wrote, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law” (Jam. 2:10-11).

Was James trying to tell us that we don’t have to keep God’s law, that it’s okay to murder or commit adultery? By no means! Likewise, if we refrain from murdering or committing adultery, but profane the Sabbath, then we’re still disobeying God.

We don’t get to pick and choose! Either we obey Almighty God, or we don’t.

The Blessings of Keeping the Sabbath

But what does God require of those who seek Him? Of those who want to be in His Kingdom? Obedience, and that includes keeping the Sabbath. Here’s Isa. 56:4-7:

4 For thus says the LORD: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant,

5 Even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

6 “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast My covenant—

7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer.

Notice that, of all the commandments God could’ve singled out, He chose to single out the Sabbath. It doesn’t matter who you are, what your background is, or what circumstances you find yourself in, God has one standard. If you want to please Him, then keep the Sabbath and obey His laws.

And if you faithfully follow your Creator, if you fully submit yourself to Him, then He will bless you. He will not only provide for you in this life, but also grant you a place in His Kingdom. As King David wrote of God’s commandments, “in keeping them there is great reward” (Psa. 19:11).

This doesn’t mean your life will be easy if you keep the Sabbath. It doesn’t mean God will rain fame and fortune upon you if you keep the Sabbath, at least not in this life. None of God’s servants in the Bible had an easy life; many suffered terribly.

Keeping the Sabbath may often be an act of faith. It comes with a cost. It requires you to give up many things in this world, including friends, jobs, and recreation.

People will say you’re weird if you keep the Sabbath. They’ll tell you that you don’t have to obey God. Some may call you self-righteous, a Pharisee, a Judaizer, or something along those lines.

You may lose your job or miss out on high-paying careers for keeping the Sabbath. You or your children will miss out on school activities, especially school sports.

But you know what? It’s worth it. In the long run, obeying God is always worth it. It’s worth any price, any burden, any sacrifice.

As Jesus told us in Luke 18:29-30, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Again, in Isa. 58:13-14, God tells us this:

13 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,

14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

In the Book of Jeremiah, even as God warned the Jews of impending doom, He offered to spare them if they’d repent and return to Him. What sins did He tell them to repent of? Nearly every sin you can think of, including breaking the Sabbath!

In Jer. 17:24-25, God said,

24 “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,

25 “then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.

So God blesses those who obey Him. He blesses those who repent and turn from their sins. He blesses those who keep the Sabbath and the rest of His laws. And no sacrifice made in this life can compare to the reward of His Kingdom!

National Punishment

When God offered to spare Jerusalem if the Jews repented, He added a warning. In Jer. 17:27, we discover, “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering 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 it shall not be quenched.”’”

Yes, the Sabbath is that important to God! Over and over again, from the days of Moses until the Babylonian Captivity, God punished Israel for breaking the Sabbath. In fact, it’s a primary reason God sent the Israelites into captivity and exile!

In Ezek. 22:6-13, God explains why He sent Israel into captivity:

6 “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.

7 “In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.

8 “You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

9 “In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.

10 “In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness; in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.

11 “One commits abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.

12 “In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD.

13 “Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.”

Israel broke nearly every single one of God’s commandments, including the Sabbath! Whatever God commanded, Israel disobeyed.

Again, in Ezek. 20:11-24, God speaks at length of Israel’s history of wickedness and rebellion against Him:

11 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them.’

12 “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

13 “Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

14 “But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.

15 “So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, ‘flowing with milk and honey,’ the glory of all lands,

16 “because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.

17 “Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.

18 “But I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

19 ‘I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them;

20 ‘hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

21 “Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness.

22 “Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out.

23 “Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries,

24 “because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

Now, God is very merciful. As King David wrote, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psa. 103:8-10).

And so God brought the house of Judah, the Jews, back from captivity. But did they learn the lesson? Did they obey the Creator from that time on?

No, not really. They were carnal human beings, and “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7). Just as keeping the Sabbath is a sign of God’s people, so breaking the Sabbath is a sign that one is still carnally minded and has not submitted to Him.

Therefore, in Neh. 13:15-18, we read,

15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.

16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.

17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?

18 “Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

Remember, everything written in the Bible was written for our benefit. God preserved the history of Israel for our benefit.

When we remember that God punished the Israelites for their many sins, let’s also remember that He punished them for breaking the Sabbath. He delivered them into the hand of their enemies and sent them into exile for breaking the Sabbath.

Conclusion

So I hope that we can begin to see just how important the Sabbath is in the eyes of God. He established the Sabbath when He created humanity. He proclaimed the Sabbath to be a sign between Him and His people — a sign that we ARE His people. He prescribed the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath. He punished the Israelites over and over again for breaking the Sabbath.

And how important is the Sabbath to us? If we truly love our Father in heaven, then it ought to be very important! Yeshua/Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Therefore, if we love God, we will keep the Sabbath.

A true servant of God can no more be a Sabbath-breaker than he can be a murderer, an adulterer, or an idol-worshiper. THAT’S how important the Sabbath is!

Let us therefore “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” just as our Creator commanded us.