What the Bible says about Remember the Sabbath
(From Forerunner Commentary)
"Sanctified" in Genesis 2:3 and "holy" in Exodus 20:8 are the same word in Hebrew though in different tenses. In Genesis 2, God makes the seventh day holy; in Exodus 20, He commands us to keep holy what He has already made holy. A holy God is required to make holy time, and He made no time holy other than His Sabbaths. God can make man holy, but man cannot confer holiness to the degree God does. Any other day of worship has a mere manmade holiness and is not holy as God's Sabbaths are holy. The Sabbath, then, is worthy of respect, deference, even devotion not given to other periods of time. It is set apart for sacred use because it derives from God.
The underlying implication of the usage of "holy" is difference. The verbal root literally means "to cut," "to cut out," "to separate from," or it can imply "to make a cut above," thus "to make special." A holy thing is an object that is different from that to which it is compared. In this case, the other six days are common and are given to the use and pursuit of the common, ordinary activities of life. Practically, it means that when the Sabbath arrives, we should stop doing and avoid the mundane things that make or promote turning the Sabbath into an ordinary day.
Exodus 3:1-5 provides a clear illustration of what the word "holy" implies:
Now Moses . . . came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."
The principle shown here is what makes the Sabbath holy, different. Because God was present, Moses had to treat the ground differently, with a respect or a deference that he would not give to ordinary ground. For the called of God, this difference, this holiness, is a spiritual thing; it is not physically discerned.
Notice that, even though Moses was aware that there was something unusual about what He was observing, God had to tell him that he stood on holy ground. It is a spiritual state that cannot be physically discerned. As for the Sabbath, God puts His presence into the day for the sake of His people and His spiritual creation.
Consider the scenario Amos 3:3 presents: "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?" If we want to be in God's presence in this special way and in agreement with Him, no other day will do. God has an appointment with us to meet with Him on a specific day, on Sabbath time. It is time, different from other time, just as an appointment time with a dentist is different from other time in one's life, as well as from another person's scheduled time.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fourth CommandmentRelated Topics: Agreement | Appointment with God | Burning Bush | Distinguishing between Sacred and Profane | Fourth Commandment | Holiness | Holy | Keeping Sabbath Holy | Profane/Holy Distinction | Profaning the Sabbath | Remember the Sabbath | Sabbath | Sabbath as Appointment | Sabbath as Holy Time | Sabbath as Spiritual Creation | Sabbath Keeping | Sabbath, Keeping Holy | Sacred/Profane Distinction | Set Apart | Setting Apart for Special Use | The Fourth Commandment | Walking as a Metaphor for Agreement
Maybe the Israelites should be credited with originating the phrase, "the good old days," because every time things got a little rough, they were ready to stone Moses and Aaron and head back to Egypt. In Exodus 16:3, just weeks after gaining their freedom, they cry:
Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (See also Exodus 17:3.)
Did they have selective memory, remembering only the good times and forgetting the oppression and cruelty of the Egyptians?
The Israelites came into Egypt when Joseph was vizier of the kingdom. Before they were enslaved, for perhaps nearly two centuries, they lived prosperously in Goshen. Moses writes in Exodus 1:7, "But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty, and the land was filled with them." So these Israelites probably did have "pots of meat" and "bread to the full"!
Exodus 1 and 2 reveal that there were faithful Israelites among them. Their midwives, despite being ordered by Pharaoh to kill the newborn males, refused because they feared God (Exodus 1:17). Likewise, Moses' mother ignored the edict and hid Moses for three months (Exodus 2:2).
Why, then, did God allow the Israelites to go into bitter slavery at the hands of the Egyptians? Ezekiel 20, which records history while pointing to the future, may provide an answer. It begins with certain elders of Israel coming to Ezekiel to question God. Their questions are never stated, but God does not wait for their questions, nor does He want to hear them. Instead, at least three different times God pleads with Israel to obey Him. For instance, notice verses 5, 7-8:
On the day when I chose Israel . . . and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, I raised my hand in an oath to them, saying "I am the LORD your God." . . . Then I said to them, "Each of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt. . . ." But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said to them, "I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt."
God made Himself known to them in the land of Egypt. Then in verses 7-8, God commands them to throw away their Egyptian idols. This was long before they left Egypt, and when they refused, God poured out His anger on them—they were enslaved because of their rebellion. Of course, their descendants also rebelled in the wilderness (verses 10-13).
One of Israel's greatest problems was its failure to remember. The greatest thing they forgot is God Himself, which is said six times in this chapter (Ezekiel 20:13, 16, 21, 24, 27-28). God put the children of Israel into slavery because they profaned His holy Sabbaths and forgot His statutes and His laws. They especially despised the fourth commandment, which begins with "remember": "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). The Israelites had been instructed about the Sabbath, but in their prosperity, they forgot it and paid dearly.
Has modern Israel also forgotten God? If we were to ask a random person on the street in an Israelitish nation if it is a sin to kill someone, to steal, to lie, or to commit adultery, chances are he or she will say, "Yes." Then, if we were to ask him or her if it is a sin to break the Sabbath, we would probably get a blank stare in return. Many do not even know what the Sabbath is!
In Ezekiel 20:35, 37-38, God prophesies of a future time:
I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead my case with you face to face. . . . I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant. I will purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me.
Jews and other Israelites will learn that they must not forget God and His instructions. But not all is lost because He says that some will remember their ways and loathe themselves (verse 43), leading to repentance.
Ronny H. Graham
Remember
This is the fourth of the Ten Commandments and is the last of the four commandments which show love towards God. It is quite a simple statement and yet causes so much controversy. Some say that the Ten Commandments were given to and meant only for the Israelites—not for the rest of mankind—and that they were part of the Old Covenant between God and Israel which was nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ. God answers this opinion through Jesus Christ in Mark 2:27, and through the prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 20:11-21, where He clearly puts the emphasis on the fact that they are HIS statutes, HIS judgments, and HIS Sabbaths. The prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 56:2 also shows that the Sabbath blessing is available to any man—not just the Israelites.
The original giving of God's Sabbath commandment to Adam and Eve at Eden (and from them to all the nations to whom that first couple gave birth) preceded the giving of the Sabbath commandment to the Israelites at Sinai. At that time (man's beginning), God made the Sabbath for man (not for the Israelites who did not yet exist as a nation), and it was therefore to be kept by all nations (see Genesis 2:2-3; Mark 2:27). The Sabbath command, already in existence, is here repeated and included in the Ten Commandments. Even though the Old Covenant with Israel has become obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), the original sanctification of the Sabbath Day, made holy for all mankind at creation, still remains!
There is absolutely no scripture in the entire Bible that tells of God "de-sanctifying" His Sabbath Day! In fact, both Isaiah and Ezekiel give very strong indications that the Sabbath will be kept in the World Tomorrow (see Isaiah 66:22-23 and Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; 46:1-12).
Some say that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day of the week to the first. Most Bible experts and scholars agree that there is no biblical support for this idea at all and that such changes were made much later by (human) church leaders.
The Hebrew word translated here into the English "remember" is zakar (Strongs 2142). As well as "to remember" and "to recall," the word zakar can mean "to think about," "to bring to mind," "to mention," "to record," and "to make a memorial of." These meanings show the special status of the Sabbath.
Many scriptures show that the Sabbath Day should be a day of rest from work (see Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 16:23; 20:10-11; 31:15; 35:2; Leviticus 23:3, Deuteronomy 5:14; Luke 23:56; Hebrews 4:9). Isaiah tells us that we should not do our own pleasure on the Sabbath, but rather that we should do God's pleasure (see Isaiah 58:13).
In the gospel accounts, Jesus shows us (by word and example) that:
- The Sabbath Day of rest should be a pleasure, and not a day of bondage to a list of pharisaical "do's and don'ts" (See Matthew 12:1-12; Mark 2:23-28; 3:2-4, Luke 6:1-9; 13:10-16; 14:1-5; John 5:9-18; 7:22-23; 9:14-16).
- The Sabbath is a day on which we should, if possible, attend church services. Jesus attended synagogue services, as He was a practicing Jew, illustrating the need for us to assemble together (see Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 12:9; 13:54; Mark 1:21; 6:2; Luke 4:16; 4:31; 13:10; John 6:59; 18:20).
Staff
Related Topics: Fellowship | Fellowship with God | God's Changelessness | God's Law | Jesus Christ's Example | Memorial | Relationship with God | Remember the Sabbath | Rest | Sabbath | Sabbath, Remembering | Sanctification | Sunday Worship | The Fourth Commandment