Posts Tagged ‘sabbath’

The Sabbath as a Sign

February 17, 2026

In today’s post, we will consider the fact that the Sabbath command was considered a sign of the Mosaic covenant with Israel. I’m going to post from Exodus chapter 31 and offer some commentary and emphases along the way.

Exo 31:12 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. (KJV- emphasis mine).

Here we have the LORD (His covenant name “YHWH” in Hebrew) speaking to Moses and giving instruction. His instructions are to a specific group of people…the children of Israel! He then states that the Sabbath is a sign between Him and the children of Israel. This sign was to let them know they were being set apart (or “sanctified”) from the other nations of the world. Those who embrace the idea that the Sabbath command is binding upon all of humanity neglect this important facet of the Sabbath. I stated in an earlier post that there was a period of time (nearly 2500 years) from Adam to Moses where there is absolutely no record of anyone keeping the Sabbath! Genesis declared that God rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:2-3) but no mention of any human doing so. As mentioned in that previous post, the first mention of the Sabbath command comes in Exodus 16. Let’s continue our exposition of Exodus 31.

Exo 31:14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 
Exo 31:15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. (KJV)

Here is where the inconsistencies of Sabbath-keeping among Torah-ists become evident. The command for proper Sabbath-observance requires that capital punishment is the consequence for breaking this law.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. (KJV-emphasis mine)

This command was for a specific group of people who were given a specific covenant, the Mosaic covenant.

Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (KJV-emphasis mine)

Most Torah observant believers and Sabbath-insisters emphasize the Creation aspect of the verse. They do this to make it a law prior to the Mosaic covenant. It is true, that the Sabbath served as a memorial of Creation. But it is also true that it served as a sign between God and the nation of Israel! It is not a sign between God and humanity, or the Church! The Sabbath was a sign or token of the Mosaic Covenant! Not all the covenants of the Bible had signs, but some did. For example, the rainbow was the sign or token of the Noahic Covenant.

Gen 9:12 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 
Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. (KJV)

God promised that He would never destroy the Earth with a worldwide flood again. The sign of the rainbow became the token of that particular promise/covenant. Consider also the Abrahamic covenant which had its own sign/token.

Gen 17:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. (KJV)

As the rainbow was the token of the Noahic covenant, circumcision was the token (or sign) of the Abrahamic covenant. In similar fashion, the Sabbath served as the sign/token of the Mosaic covenant. The Mosaic covenant is no longer in force (see previous post) and has been rendered inoperative with the inauguration of the New Covenant. Since the Mosaic covenant is no longer in force, the sign/token of the covenant is no longer applicable under the New Covenant. A person may voluntarily choose to observe the Sabbath (to the best of their ability), but it is no longer obligatory. In Deuteronomy, we are told that the Sabbath was a sign of the Exodus.

Deu 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. (KJV)

For four hundred years, the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. No doubt, they were working seven days a week. The prophet Ezekiel speaks in terms of the Sabbath as a memorial of the Exodus.

Eze 20:10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 
Eze 20:11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. 
Eze 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them. (KJV)

Just like Deuteronomy, Ezekiel makes it clear that the Sabbath was a memorial of the Exodus experience for Israel. No single event is given as the purpose for the Sabbath. Yes, it is a memorial of Creation. But it is also a sign of Israel’s sanctification, a token (or sign) of the Mosaic covenant, and a memorial of the Exodus from Egypt. Since the Mosaic Law is no longer in force, the sign/token aspect of the covenant is no longer applicable under the New Testament. As mentioned earlier, the Sabbath command is the only one of the Ten Commandments not restated in some way under the New Covenant.

There are certain facets of the Sabbath that are only applicable to the children of Israel. Only they (Israel) were set apart at Mount Sinai. Only they (the children of Israel) were delivered from slavery in Egypt. If a person is going to appeal to the Torah as a basis for the perpetual observance of the Sabbath, they must remain consistent. In addition to the command of cessation from labor, the Sabbath also had mandatory animal sacrifices (Num 28:9-10). This required a priesthood, who also worked twice as hard on the Sabbath day. For them, it was anything but a day of rest!

In future posts, (Lord willing) we will look at what the New Testament has to say about the issue. These posts are not meant to be derogatory or divisive. They are intended to bring clarity to a subject that has ongoing relevance and plenty of lively discussion online.

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The Issue of the Sabbath in the Law of Moses

August 4, 2025

In our last entry, we looked at the issue of the Sabbath as it relates to the book of Genesis. Those who teach and preach that Sabbath-keeping is mandatory in the current age, will often appeal to Genesis to prove this is a Creation ordinance. In our last post, we investigated this claim. What we found is that the only One who rested on the seventh day in Genesis was God Himself. Furthermore, the word Sabbath isn’t even used in Genesis. To summarize, the period from Adam to Moses (roughly 2500 years) saw a number of covenants and major events. But there isn’t even one instance of anyone keeping the Sabbath, let alone a commandment to do so!

It isn’t until we get to the book of Exodus that we find our first usage of the Hebrew word shabbat (“sabbath” in English). It’s found in Exodus chapter 16. The context of Exodus 16 deals with the issue of manna. In response to the murmuring and complaining of the Israelites, the LORD provided manna from Heaven. One can detect the Divine sense of humor here because the very name manna means “what is it?” The Israelites were told to gather manna but were given a command not to store/save it for the next day (Ex 16:19). Some did not obey (shocking, I know!), and the result was that the manna bred worms and had a terrible smell. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much manna (Ex 16:22). After reporting this to Moses we are told this:

Exo 16:23 Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ” (NKJV)

(I quoted from the NKJV here, because unfortunately, the KJV translators inserted the definite article (“the”) in front of Sabbath. The original manuscripts contain no definite article. Most all translations since the KJV have corrected this. This is an important detail because the lack of the definite article implies that the concept was previously unknown.)

This is the first mention in the Bible of the concept of sabbath. It must be remembered that they had just left Egypt, where they had been in slavery for over 400 years as a people. They were not accustomed to taking any days off, let alone a weekly sabbath! This is why the LORD gives them an extended explanation of this sabbath concept. The primary content of the command concerned the gathering of manna. They were not to attempt to gather manna on the seventh day. There would actually be none provided by the LORD, it would be an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, some went out on the seventh day and attempted to gather manna, and found none (again, I know you’re shocked).

All of this was a test for the children of Israel (Ex 16:4) to see if they would obey His law. Legalists insist that Christians must obey the Law of Moses for justification and/or sanctification. This episode in Exodus 16 shows that human beings have always had difficulty with God’s laws. That’s true even when they had just crossed the Red Sea on dry land and experienced several subsequent miracles! They would soon receive the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Torah (613 laws to be exact). The outcome will not be much better. Speaking of the Ten Commandments, let’s take a look at the fourth commandment which is a topic of great controversy, even today.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exo 20:9  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Exo 20:11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The fourth commandment in Exodus 20 begins with the word “remember.” Those that maintain the Sabbath is a requirement from Creation (a Creation ordinance) will say that the command to remember hearkens back to Genesis 2:2-3. That is a problem, however, if you are serious about biblical exegesis. As we have already discussed, the word shabbat or sabbath appears nowhere in Genesis! The first appearance of the word is in Exodus 16. This is the nearest antecedent that would have any point of reference for the children of Israel who had just left Egypt. They are to remember the concept that God had just taught them concerning the gathering of manna on the seventh day. This is also seen in the fact that the fourth commandment is stated in a different way in Deuteronomy.

Deu 5:12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

Notice there, the command is simply to keep/observe the Sabbath as opposed to remembering it. The reason for the difference in wording is due to a different context. Deuteronomy is written towards the end of the forty-year period of wandering in the wilderness.

Let’s go back now to the fourth commandment in Exodus 20. They are told to work six days a week, but there is to be a cessation of labor on the seventh day. This rule applied not only to people but also to the domesticated animals. In verse 11, the LORD explains the significance from the Creation account. But it must be noted that even with that being said, the LORD only mentions Himself as having rested on the seventh day. This is beyond the scope of this article, but this is a great apologetics tool to prove that Creation was a literal seven-day period. It should also be noted that there is no command for corporate worship on the Sabbath. There are many groups that insist that worship services are to be held on the Sabbath (which is technically sundown Friday-sundown Saturday). What we will discover is that the Sabbath as it appears in the Law is a call to rest and remain at home on that day.

Though this tends to be a hot topic of controversy, it need not be a test of fellowship or point of contention among true believers. The New Testament urges us not to judge or condemn others regarding the observance of sabbath days or other holidays (Rom 14:5-6, Col 2:16-17).

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The Sabbath- An Introduction

August 1, 2025

At https://deepspringschurch.com/ we have been going verse-by-verse through the book of Galatians on Wednesday nights. This week we will be in chapter four of Galatians. Paul reproves the Galatians (who were Gentile Christians) for their slavish observance to the Mosaic calendar (Gal 4:10). Due to the influence of the Judaizers, they believed that adopting selected portions of the Law (which is what the legalist must always do, for they know it’s impossible to keep the entire Torah) would bring them closer to God. I thought it might be helpful for us to take several studies to look at the topic of the Sabbath more in-depth. A book I highly recommend is “The Sabbath” by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, a Messianic Jew. (You can order the book from Ariel Ministries here https://www.ariel.org/store/product/the-sabbath). I will share some of my thoughts from his book below and in subsequent entries.

To begin with, we must remember that the concept of the Sabbath was not introduced until the book of Exodus. There are many that maintain that Sabbath-keeping is part of a Creation ordinance. What does the book of Genesis tell us about the Sabbath, though?

Gen 2:2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 
Gen 2:3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 

We read that God rested on the seventh day. There is no mention of the word “Sabbath” whatsoever. It is merely called the seventh day. God hallowed this day. There is no concept of observance here, but rather cessation from work. The emphasis is on rest. And it must be noted that man did not rest on this day, God did! As a matter of fact, there are no mentions of any man keeping the Sabbath from the time period from Adam to Moses (roughly 2500 years!). There is no record of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or Job (who many believed lived during the patriarchal period) keeping the Sabbath. This is quite instructive when you consider that there were several covenants made with God and man during this time period.

In Eden, God gave Adam instructions to be fruitful and multiply, have dominion, etc. The only prohibition is that he was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was no mention of the Sabbath day (Gen 1:28-30 & Gen 2:15-17). Even after the Fall, Adam isn’t given any instructions regarding the Sabbath day (Gen 3:14-19). After the Flood, Noah receives information regarding capital punishment but isn’t given any instructions regarding the Sabbath (Gen 9:1-17). Abraham eventually receives instructions about circumcision (Gen 17:10) but not until he was already justified before God by faith in Gen 15:6 (some thirteen years earlier!). In all of the passages concerning the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:1-7, 13:14-17, 15:1-21, 17:1-21, 22:15-18) there are no commands regarding the Sabbath. If this were a Creation ordinance for man, that’s a rather glaring omission from the text!

In future posts, we will see how the issue of the Sabbath is treated in the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, and the New Testament. If you would like to study along with us in Galatians, the teachings are on our YouTube channel. Just click on the YouTube icon on the right sidebar.

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