Why the Sabbath is All About Love

 Quoting directly from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, Jesus Christ taught us that all of God’s laws rest upon these two: “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” (Mat. 22:37-40).

Therefore, it’s through this lens that we need to view all of God’s commandments. As we read each of God’s laws, let’s seek to understand, “How does this teach me to love God and to love my fellow man?”

But God’s law also teaches us about His character and about His love for each one of us. When God says that “He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing” (Deut. 10:18), and when He commands us to do likewise, this tells us something about who He is. God gave us His laws for our good (Deut. 10:13), because He loves each one of us.

Every single one of God’s laws in the Bible, then, is ultimately about love. God’s love for us, our love for Him, and our love for one another. These three facets are all intertwined, and cannot be separated.

We cannot love God if we don’t obey His commandments: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).

Nor can we love one another if we don’t love God: “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2-3).

And to bring it full circle, we cannot love God if we don’t love one another, for God commanded us to love one another: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).

Now because of this “adulterous and sinful” (Mark 8:38) society that we live in, I feel it necessary to add a small explanation here. This world’s definition of love — tolerance and love of wickedness — isn’t God’s definition of love, as Kyle Bacher has previously written. God doesn’t embrace wickedness; He hates it. Telling an alcoholic to keep drinking or encouraging a sodomite to keep sinning isn’t love; it’s cowardice and selfishness. Whoever would do such a thing cares nothing about that person’s well-being or eternal salvation.

That being said, let’s return to the topic of today’s study. Let’s apply the love lens to one of the world’s least favorite of God’s commandments: the Sabbath. How does the Sabbath command illustrate God’s love for us? How does it teach us to love Him? And how does it teach us to love one another?

The Sabbath and God’s Love For Us

Col. 2:16-17 tells us that the Sabbath is “a shadow of things to come.” What are those things to come? God’s Kingdom. Heb. 4:1-11 plainly shows that the seventh day, the Sabbath, foreshadows God’s Kingdom that we strive to enter: “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:11).

Likewise, Zech. 14:7 says this about God’s Kingdom: “It shall be one day which is known to the LORD — neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light.” This one day will last for all eternity! God’s eternal Sabbath.

This is the day when “the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4).

By giving us an earthly sign, a literal day of rest at the end of each week, God has given us a perpetual reminder of our purpose in this life: to press on toward His Kingdom. To press forward to the promise of His rest, to the day when we will dwell with Him for all eternity, and He with us. The Sabbath, then, serves as a perpetual reminder of God’s love for us, and of the destiny that He desires for us.

But even on a purely physical level, the Sabbath illustrates God’s love for mankind. He commanded that no one be compelled to work seven days a week, but that everyone — employers, employees, servants, foreigners, and even animals — should rest. “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 ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you” (Deut. 5:14). As we’ve seen in a previous blog post, God gives us rest from our burdens — physical, mental, and spiritual burdens alike — on the Sabbath.

God also commands us to assemble before Him to worship on the Sabbath. Isn’t it mind-boggling to realize that the omnipotent Creator of the universe wants to spend time with you and me? But He does!

And finally, God tells us that the Sabbath is a reminder of two important things. First, it’s a memorial of Creation: “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” (Ex. 20:11). Secondly, it’s a reminder that God delivered us from the bondage of sin, just as He delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt: “And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15).

Thus the Sabbath serves as a reminder of where we came from and what God has done for us. It’s a day for us to lay aside our burdens and fellowship with our Creator. And it’s a continual reminder of God’s Kingdom and of the ultimate destiny that God desires for us. The Sabbath, then, is a perpetual reminder and memorial of God’s love for us. No wonder He tells us to remember it, to keep it holy!

The Sabbath and Our Love For God

If we don’t keep the Sabbath, then we can’t claim to love God. “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).

Now, we’ve previously studied how to keep the Sabbath, according to the instructions that God gives us in His Word. Keeping the Sabbath means keeping the day holy, that is, set apart from other days. We don’t work, buy or sell, or focus on our normal daily activities. We set aside our own works and focus on God and His way of life. We assemble together with fellow brethren in the presence of our Creator, praise and worship Him, study and learn His Word.

If we love our Creator, then how could we not want to spend time with Him? How could we not want to praise and worship Him for all that He’s done for us? And how could we not want to hear His instructions from His Word?

If we have the opportunity to spend a day with God, why would we want to be elsewhere doing other things? Why would we want to be out working our normal jobs, watching TV or movies, participating in sports, or doing anything else that has nothing to do with the Sabbath? If you love someone, you want to spend time with that person. If we love God, then we want to spend time with Him.

You see, the Sabbath, like the rest of God’s commandments, is ultimately a matter of the heart. If we only go through the motions of obedience and of keeping the Sabbath, but our heart is elsewhere, then we don’t really love our Creator. How are we going to spend all eternity with God if we don’t even want to spend one whole day with Him?

Thus the Sabbath is a matter of loving God with the whole heart, soul, and mind. The manner in which we keep it reflects the state of our hearts and whether we truly love our Creator.

The Sabbath and Love For Others

But the Sabbath isn’t only an expression of God’s love for us and our love for Him. It’s also a way for God’s people to show love for one another.

Under no circumstances can a godly employer require employees to work seven days a week, as many ungodly employers and slave-owners have done throughout history. He must give his workers a day of rest on the Sabbath.

Because we leave worldly pursuits behind on the Sabbath, we have more time to spend with our families and to teach our children about God’s way of life. And when we assemble before God on the Sabbath, we have the opportunity to edify, encourage, and pray for our spiritual families, our fellow brethren.

We also have the opportunity to fellowship and rejoice with one another. After assembling God’s people together for Biblical instruction on the morning of the Day of Trumpets, here’s how Nehemiah instructed them to keep the rest of the day: “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord” (Neh. 8:10). “And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them” (Neh. 8:12).

All these things are expressions of love! They’re ways that the Sabbath enables us to show God’s love to one another. Yeshua/Jesus told us, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

Conclusion

God’s law is all about love, and the Sabbath is no exception. So let’s see to it that we treat it accordingly, and that we obey our great Creator with all our heart, soul, and mind. Let’s see to it that we keep the Sabbath from the heart, as an expression of our love for God and our fellow man!