How should we keep the Sabbath?

Everyone has a different view about how to keep the Sabbath, and the way people keep it will vary. The apostle Paul tells us not to judge people according to the Sabbath. (Colossians 2:16)

That doesn’t mean we don’t keep Sabbath. It means we don’t judge people regarding how they keep the Sabbath. Does that mean we can do whatever we like? Of course not! The Scripture gives us guidelines, but it does not stipulate every little detail of what we can and cannot do. There is freedom within the limits of the law.

Let us focus what Scripture says about how to keep the Sabbath

Let’s firstly note that the Sabbath is an 'Appointed Feast', an Appointed Time of the Lord. This means it’s an appointment we are to keep with the Lord.

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.” Leviticus 23:1-44

Rest

The Sabbath is day of resting from our work. We remember that God worked for six days and rested on the seventh, setting it apart as Holy.

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2,3

Therefore, we rest, and do not do our usual work.

This can be difficult in the beginning. It can be hard to unlearn habits of working, planning work, and just learning how to let ourselves rest when there are things that we "need” to do. It will get easier, and then you never want to be without it. Remember God commanded you to rest, so rest. Let God take care of your worries. Let Him take care of all the things you think you need to do.

Sometimes this means we need to do a little extra during the work week so that we finish all the essential work. For me, as a mother, it means doing some extra cooking on Friday. But this does not need to be the case. During the week, you could make a meal or two large enough to save some for the Sabbath. You could decide to have pre-prepared meals on Sabbath i.e., frozen meals or buy take away on Friday to be eaten cold or heated. It does not mean you have to have a frenzy of work on Friday in preparation.

One lesson I have learned observing the Sabbath is that it is best to start preparing for the Sabbath during the week and not leave it to the last minute. I equate this to not waiting until you think Jesus is going to return to get your affairs in order.

An acquaintance once said to me they could not keep the Sabbath because God commanded that we should work six days. Since they were going to church on Sunday, they had to work the other six days. This is clearly not what the command states. The focus in on the command to rest on the Sabbath. The focus is not on working six days, but that the other six days are the days on which work can be done. “For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.” Exodus 31:15, 16

And NO, do NOT put anyone to death for not keeping the Sabbath. Although this clearly shows the seriousness of the command, we are not living in a theocracy where God is our ruler and king. We have laws of the land that we must follow.

We are to rest, even when there is work to be done that seems to demand that we do it.

“Six days you shall labour, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.” Exodus 34:21

Do we trust God enough with our income, our revenue, our source of our resources, our livelihood, to rest on the Sabbath?

Let others rest

(Even if they do not want to!)

We also do not cause anyone else to work, including working animals!

Even though that shop attendant may be there whether you go to the shop on not, we do not go and add to their work. We obey God's command.

“Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.” Exodus 23:12

I have heard people say, and we have said it ourselves, “Well, they are there working at the shop anyway, so it will make no difference if I go there.” Even if you use the self-checkout, you will add to someone’s workload in one way or another. Just obey. They are not aware that God made a day of rest for them, but do not add to their work.

Let me add a caveat; if someone needs something for their life i.e., they are sick and need medicine, then, get it! We do what is in the best interests of others. LOVE is the key.

Remember it is the Lord who makes us holy

Just as the Lord set the Sabbath apart as holy (Genesis 2:2,3), He has also set us apart as Holy. He tells us to observe the Sabbath to remember that He set us apart as holy.

If you feel separate from the world because you’re resting on the Sabbath while they rush about doing as they please, that is a good thing. To be holy is to be separate.

Remember it is a sign between us and the Lord

“Then the Lord said to Moses, 13“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” Exodus 31:13

“It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” Exodus 31: 17

Carry no burden or load, do no work

This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People, c through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. 20Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. 21This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. 23Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline.

Jeremiah 17: 19-23

Do not do any work on the Sabbath, especially anything that is heavy or requires you to lift a load. However, as Jesus said, if you see your neighbour needs help, you may help him. It is not a day to avoid doing good things. “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Matthew 12 :11,12

Spiritually speaking, rest in your salvation. Remember that Jesus saved us through His work on the cross, and you do not need to labour to save yourself. Rejoice!

On Sabbath, let go of any loads you are carrying emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalms 68: 19

Do not keep going into the next week with the burdens you are carrying. Come to the Lord and be refreshed by Him. Pour out your heart to Him. He will lift off your burden.

Have a sacred assembly

‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.” Leviticus 23:3

It is to be a day when we assemble with believers. If you are in a location where there are no, or few people on this path, and cannot find people that you can meet with, then make a special gathering with your family. This is all I can do at the moment. If you have no family to gather with, there are many online meetings you can join, or you can watch messages on YouTube.

I have heard many online preachers / teachers exhorting people to get into community. That is a good thing. But if you have no community, it can be lonely. Telling you to get into a community when there isn't one does not help!

I know some Messianic believers go to Sunday church because they have no Messianic community. If you can find a good Biblically sound church, that preaches the truth, that loves God and loves you and helps you follow Messiah, that may be a good option for fellowship.

Not speaking idle words or doing as you please

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the Lord’s holy day honourable,

and if you honour it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14then you will find your joy in the Lord,

and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” Isaiah 58: 13,14

Focus your words and actions on the Lord. We should find our delight in the Lord.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

Call the Sabbath a delight and honourable (Isaiah 58:13)

Initially it may not feel like a delight. You might struggle with wanting to do your own thing. You might find it hard to stop thinking of the things that you "should" be doing. This is normal. As you spend time with the Lord, worshiping Him, spending time in prayer and in His word, you will gain benefit. You will find it a delight and want to honour the Sabbath.

Remember where you came from

“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:15

Remember that He has delivered you from slavery to sin, which leads to death. You have been saved from eternal separation from the Lord! You have been set free and given eternal life. He is leading you into the Promised Land!

There is great value in remembering what God has saved us from.

“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:20-22

Remember the Sabbath is a permanent covenant

“The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come. 17It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:16,17

We are grafted into Israel. The commandments to the Israelites are for us.

We are a part of the new covenant, those who have God’s commandments inscribed on our hearts.

“This is the covenant I will make with them

after that time, says the Lord.

I will put my laws in their hearts,

and I will write them on their minds.” (Hebrews 10:16, also Jeremiah 31:33)

As we remember the Sabbath, we remember the covenant the Lord has made with us, in which our “sins and lawless acts (He) will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17, also Jeremiah 31:34)

Don’t put the command to rest above the command to love

This was something Jesus dealt with over and over with the Pharisees who had created definitions of ‘work’ that exceeded Scriptural commands. They put their own laws above God’s command to love others.

When Jesus saw someone who needed to be healed, or delivered, he did it. The pharisees, on the other hand, were so bent on following their own definitions of work, their man-made additional laws, that they ignored the needs of others around them.

Remember that Yah created everything, and thank Him for His creation

The Sabbath was first established at creation, after Yahweh had created everything. We remember that He made everything, and that all things are sustained and held together by His power. We also remember that he is going to RECREATE everything in perfection without sin in the new world. We will walk with Him as Adam and Eve did in Eden. What an exciting thing to look forward to!

In Conclusion

There is no definitive scriptural list regarding what you can do on the Sabbath, but Scriptures give us the above guidelines to move within. It's pretty broad, isn't it?

We are the ones who can end up making it burdensome by adding in our own rules about it.

Blessed is the one who does this—

the person who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,

and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

3Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say,

“The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”

And let no eunuch complain,

“I am only a dry tree.”

4For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases me

and hold fast to my covenant—

5to them I will give within my temple and its walls

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that will endure forever.

6And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord

to minister to him,

to love the name of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant—

7these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Isaiah 56:2-7

Shabbat Shalom!

Every blessing to you and your family.