1. The Sabbath Day is an Ordinance of Creation.
Just as God instituted marriage and work in the Garden of Eden, so He also instituted Sabbath observance at creation. He set one day in seven aside for rest and worship at the very beginning of the Bible’s story. Genesis 2:3 says, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” Notice that God
placed a special blessing or grace upon the Sabbath day, and He “made it holy,” or “sanctified” it, which means that He set that day apart from every other day.
In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” In that passage, Jesus is thinking of the order of creation. Christ’s meaning is, “The Sabbath was created for Adam, and not Adam for the Sabbath.” In other words, God created the Sabbath after He created Adam and Eve in the Garden. God didn’t make human beings slaves to the Sabbath to hurt or burden them; rather, He gave them one holy day in seven on which to rest and worship for their good.
2. The Sabbath Day was Observed Prior to Sinai.
Some people think the Sabbath commandment was only a ceremonial law of the Mosaic covenant, that it applied only to God’s people under the Old Covenant. But Scripture clearly teaches us that God’s people observed the Sabbath prior to God’s writing it on tablets of stone, which means the Sabbath commandment was not limited to the Mosaic covenant. In Exodus 16, Scripture tells us that the people of Israel gathered up the mana from heaven on the sixth day in order to free themselves for rest and worship on the seventh day. Scripture says, “On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each.... Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none” (Ex 16:22, 26). Note that Exodus 16 comes before God gave the Sabbath law at Sinai.
3. The Sabbath Commandment is One of the Ten Commandments, which Makes it Perpetually Binding Moral Law.
The Ten Commandments are unique among all the laws of the Bible. The Bible itself wants us to see the Ten Commandments this way.
Only the Ten Commandments were written with the very finger of God. Exodus 31:18 says God gave Moses “tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” All of the other laws of the Old
Testament were written by the pens of prophets on parchment, which would eventually disintegrate. But God visited His people on Mount Sinai and delivered the Ten Commandments, writing them on permanent tablets of stone with His own finger.
Only the Ten Commandments were included within the ark of the covenant. All of the other laws were rolled up in a scroll and placed beside the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle. In Deuteronomy 31:24–26, God said, “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant.” The other laws of the Old Testament applied the Ten Commandments, but only the Ten Commandments formed the basis of Old Testament law and therefore only they were placed inside the ark.
Therefore, since the Sabbath commandment is one of the Ten Commandments, it comes to us with the same force of authority and perpetuity as the other nine commandments.
4. The Sabbath Commandment is Grounded in Creation.
If we examine the wording of the Sabbath commandment given at Sinai, we find that God bases His command on creation itself. It’s not based on the temporary ceremonial system of the people of Israel. It’s not based on a temporary epoch in redemptive history. Rather, God grounds the Sabbath on His own actions at the creation of the world. Exodus 20:8, 11 say, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.... For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Note the preposition for. This shows us that the reason we should observe a Sabbath day is that God rested on the Sabbath day and made that day holy.
5. The Sabbath Commandment is Written on the Hearts of New Covenant Members.
Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New Covenant is repeated and explained in the book of Hebrews. God promises that all the members of the New Covenant will have the Old Covenant law written on their hearts so that they will obey God freely and faithfully from the heart. God says that in the New Covenant, “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts” (Heb 8:10).
Literally, the word write could be translated “carve,” which calls to mind the image of God carving His law onto the tablets of stone. This is consistent with what 2 Corinthians 3:3 says about how in the New Covenant, God writes his truth, “not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”
We know that the law God writes on the hearts of believers isn’t the ceremonial law, since the book of Hebrews expressly says that the ceremonial law has passed away. Referring to the ceremonial laws of the priesthood, Hebrews 7:18 says, “A former commandment is set aside.” But, then, in the very next chapter, God tells us in the same book of Hebrews that God will “put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts” (Heb 8:10). This can’t mean that God writes the whole Old Testament law on His people’s hearts. So, what law does He write on their hearts? It must be the law of the Ten Commandments. This is confirmed by Hebrews 13, which moves through many of the Ten Commandments as the guide for the New Covenant people of God.
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Just as God instituted marriage and work in the Garden of Eden, so He also instituted Sabbath observance at creation. He set one day in seven aside for rest and worship at the very beginning of the Bible’s story. Genesis 2:3 says, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” Notice that God
In Mark 2:27, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” In that passage, Jesus is thinking of the order of creation. Christ’s meaning is, “The Sabbath was created for Adam, and not Adam for the Sabbath.” In other words, God created the Sabbath after He created Adam and Eve in the Garden. God didn’t make human beings slaves to the Sabbath to hurt or burden them; rather, He gave them one holy day in seven on which to rest and worship for their good.
2. The Sabbath Day was Observed Prior to Sinai.
Some people think the Sabbath commandment was only a ceremonial law of the Mosaic covenant, that it applied only to God’s people under the Old Covenant. But Scripture clearly teaches us that God’s people observed the Sabbath prior to God’s writing it on tablets of stone, which means the Sabbath commandment was not limited to the Mosaic covenant. In Exodus 16, Scripture tells us that the people of Israel gathered up the mana from heaven on the sixth day in order to free themselves for rest and worship on the seventh day. Scripture says, “On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each.... Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none” (Ex 16:22, 26). Note that Exodus 16 comes before God gave the Sabbath law at Sinai.
3. The Sabbath Commandment is One of the Ten Commandments, which Makes it Perpetually Binding Moral Law.
The Ten Commandments are unique among all the laws of the Bible. The Bible itself wants us to see the Ten Commandments this way.
Only the Ten Commandments were written with the very finger of God. Exodus 31:18 says God gave Moses “tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” All of the other laws of the Old
Only the Ten Commandments were included within the ark of the covenant. All of the other laws were rolled up in a scroll and placed beside the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle. In Deuteronomy 31:24–26, God said, “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant.” The other laws of the Old Testament applied the Ten Commandments, but only the Ten Commandments formed the basis of Old Testament law and therefore only they were placed inside the ark.
Therefore, since the Sabbath commandment is one of the Ten Commandments, it comes to us with the same force of authority and perpetuity as the other nine commandments.
4. The Sabbath Commandment is Grounded in Creation.
If we examine the wording of the Sabbath commandment given at Sinai, we find that God bases His command on creation itself. It’s not based on the temporary ceremonial system of the people of Israel. It’s not based on a temporary epoch in redemptive history. Rather, God grounds the Sabbath on His own actions at the creation of the world. Exodus 20:8, 11 say, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.... For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Note the preposition for. This shows us that the reason we should observe a Sabbath day is that God rested on the Sabbath day and made that day holy.
5. The Sabbath Commandment is Written on the Hearts of New Covenant Members.
Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New Covenant is repeated and explained in the book of Hebrews. God promises that all the members of the New Covenant will have the Old Covenant law written on their hearts so that they will obey God freely and faithfully from the heart. God says that in the New Covenant, “I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts” (Heb 8:10).
We know that the law God writes on the hearts of believers isn’t the ceremonial law, since the book of Hebrews expressly says that the ceremonial law has passed away. Referring to the ceremonial laws of the priesthood, Hebrews 7:18 says, “A former commandment is set aside.” But, then, in the very next chapter, God tells us in the same book of Hebrews that God will “put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts” (Heb 8:10). This can’t mean that God writes the whole Old Testament law on His people’s hearts. So, what law does He write on their hearts? It must be the law of the Ten Commandments. This is confirmed by Hebrews 13, which moves through many of the Ten Commandments as the guide for the New Covenant people of God.
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