“Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.” (Jeremiah 17:21–22, ESV)
One of the more controversial topics in Christendom is the Sabbath and its relationship to the New Covenant. Some feel that Sunday is the Christian’s Sabbath Day. Others believe that it is a day that one should take for rest. I remember the days of the “Blue Laws” when all stores and gas stations were closed. I have known sincere believers who would not even get the Sunday newspaper because it was delivered on that day. So, what is the answer?
Here the Lord gives the people of Judah another call to repent. He focuses on a very specific commandment from the Decalogue, the fourth commandment. They were to keep the Sabbath holy. To fulfill this requirement of keeping this day holy, they were to do no work. It was to be a day of rest, but it did not mean that they would cease all activity. The key here is to look at the goal of keeping it as a holy day, set apart from the rest of the days in the week.
When we look at the order of the Sabbath in the Decalogue, we see that the previous three commands have to do with man’s relationship to God. It is the same with this command to obey the Sabbath. The last six commands have to do with the way man interfaces with fellow man. So, keeping the Sabbath had to do with Israel keeping the seventh day holy, set-apart for experiencing and renewing rest in the Lord.
Now, while the prescription for keeping the Sabbath is not specifically commanded in the New Testament, the principles of the Sabbath are valuable for every believer. Before we get into that, let us look at what Jesus said that countered a legalistic approach to the Sabbath observance.
Jesus and the disciples were constantly accosted by the Pharisees with accusations of violating the Sabbath. In defense to the Pharisee’s allegations, Christ presented a five-fold argument based upon things they should have known in view of their Scriptures. (Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5)
The first point was that of when David and his companions ate the “shew-bread” due to their hunger (1 Samuel 21:1-6), demonstrating the Sabbath could be broken for reason of necessity.
The second argument demonstrated that the law permitted men to work on the Sabbath when performing worship and service to God (Numbers 28:9, 10, 18, 19).
The third point was from the prophets based on Hosea 6:6, that it was proper to show mercy on the Sabbath rather than condemnation of the innocent.
The fourth principle presented was (Mark 2:27) was an appeal to the original purpose of the Sabbath, it was made for man to be a day of refreshment, peace and joy, not one of burden and pain.
The final argument Jesus presented was that He was the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 8:8).
So, when we look at the principles of the Sabbath, we see that it refers to time set apart for man to rest in his relationship with the Living God. This means to experience the refreshing, peace, and joy that can only be truly found in a relationship with the living Lord. It is for this reason that Jesus stated,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30, ESV)
Jesus was lifting the load of legalistic obligations that the Jewish leaders imposed on the people and offered to them a new way of life. It was a life of rest found only in Him.
So, the principle of the Sabbath is to experience true rest in Jesus. Yes, a day set apart for this can be a good thing, but it does not mean a cessation of all activity. Rather, it means a day of joyful focus on our God and all the blessings of our relationship with Him. A regular day of worship does help us renew our hearts, when necessary, but it is not to be a legalistic burden. It is to be a time of true joy and rest in Him.
Yet should this not become a way of life rather than something restricted to one day a week? I believe that we can learn to experience this rest throughout the week. Perhaps practicing a day of rest and renewal is beneficial in developing rest and joy and peace in our relationship with the Lord as a way of life. I believe that this was the point for Israel and it is the same for us.
Renewing the Heart 