And the LORD said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
Comment: The word sabbath is used in the scriptures to mean the seventh day of rest as ordered by God, celebrating the seventh day of Creation, but also is used to describe the seventh year of agricultural rest! Which is more important the exact day or the concept of regular frequent rest and worship? When I was young they didn’t play test cricket or other organized sport on a Sunday – and famously even after they started playing test cricket on a Sunday, because a good batsman Brian Booth wouldn’t play on a Sunday, they arranged a series to be played just to make sure that he could play! The Olympic runner Eric Liddell refused to run on a Sunday and changed the day and the distance for which he had trained at the last moment (and won!). Shops used to be closed; life came to a rest on the first day of the week! Most Christians worship on a Sunday because that was the day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead and some seven weeks later the Holy Spirit descended spectacularly on the early church! The command of God and the purpose for which it was ordered by God is important even though often disobeyed these days. If I was living in a strong Muslim area I would probably not go to the Mosque but keep my Sabbath to God that day! And then try to meet with Christian ‘friends’ on a Sunday as well! Paul deals further with keeping a special day for God in his writings to the Romans and the Thessolicans. Christians don’t have to become Jews.
Prayer: Help us to learn that Your laws are there for Your glory and our good, Creator and Saving God.
As I read it! 