Why Sabbath?

What makes Sabbath special? What should we do to “keep it holy”?
Our new Bible columnist Clansi Roy takes a look at the Sabbath, redemption and celebration.

When I was growing up, I didn’t really understand how much the Sabbath could mean. I knew that it was something to take seriously—because the Bible told me that God took it seriously—and I tried to keep it special because God told us to respect it and to remember it. Recently, I began to discover how much the Sabbath symbolises and signifies, as I realised the difference between the two versions of the Ten Commandments.

In Exodus 20 God proclaims His well-known 10 rules for living, and in verses 8-12 He talks about the Sabbath: “Keep the Sabbath holy,” God says. Do all your work on the other six days, “but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” Verse 11 gives the reason: “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” God asks His people to remember and respect the Sabbath as a memorial of His role as creator. They are to remember that God is the ultimate power behind their existence and that they are His representatives and His image.

In Deuteronomy 5, Moses calls God’s people together and reminds them of the laws and regulations that God has handed down. In verses six to 21 Moses repeats the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath command is recorded in verses 12-15, but this time a different reason for its observance is given. Verse 15 says, “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” In Deuteronomy the Sabbath command focuses on God’s saving power. They are to remember the Sabbath day because it is a sign of their deliverance from Egypt—their redemption and recreation into His people.

We, too, are representatives and images of the God who brought the universe into existence, and we are also God’s chosen and delivered people. As we go forward living the life that Christ calls us to, we are invited to become better images through God’s recreative power. Throughout the New Testament we are reminded again and again that, as Christians, we die to sin and are made alive in Christ. (Check out Romans 6, Romans 8, Ephesians 2 and 1 Peter 3:18.) So the Sabbath is a celebration of God’s redemptive power and recreative activity in our lives.

God offers to redeem and recreate each one of us if we accept Christ as our salvation, and this is something big! Each week the Sabbath provides us with an opportunity to celebrate what He has done for us.