These can range from Seventh Day Adventists, Modern Jews, plenty of Gentiles (in the nationality sense) who have been bit with the Hebraic bug, and many others. It also doesn't seem to take long for many of the Bible college students I've come into contact with for them to stop calling it "the Sabbath" and to start calling it "Shabbath" or "Shabbat" and embrace more Judaism and literal, seventh day observance than anything else; all because they took Hebrew courses and memorized some Hebrew vocab.
At any rate, I decided it was time to examine Biblical passages on the Sabbath and formulate a response in terms of presenting what God has to say about the Sabbath and maybe answer some basic questions related to this subject.
Are Christians in error for meeting on Sundays instead of Saturdays? Is the 4th command still relevant today as in an observance of the Sabbath as a literal seventh day rest? Is a person being disobedient to God if they don't observe the Sabbath in a literal day of rest?
Let's take a look:
First, the word which is correctly transliterated as "shabbath" or "shabbat" is the Hebrew word שַׁבָּת. This word comes from "shabath" (שָׁבַת) which means rest or cessation.
"Shabbath", however, just simply points to the "day of rest". There really isn't much else pertaining to the definition of the word. However, we will let Biblical context determine its meaning.
The first instance of the Sabbath in Scripture occurs in Exodus 16:23. So the installment of the Sabbath does indeed happen before the giving of the Ten Commandments.
The context gives a very clear indication as to very specific reasons for the implementation of the Sabbath. It wasn't as if God out of nowhere decided to harmonize the creation account with how people should live or anything of the sort. This is the context where the Israelites left Elim, where they enjoyed spring water and date palms. Now they've come to the Wilderness of Sin and are grumbling and complaining against Moses and Aaron. They make the following statement:
“The sons of Israel said to them, 'Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.'”
(Exodus 16:3 NAS95)
The Israelites clearly showed a complete and total disregard for the work God had done in bringing them up out of captivity, and instead focused on themselves especially their desires. To which God replied:
“Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.'”
(Exodus 16:4–5 NAS95)
This portion is incredibly crucial to the installment of the Sabbath for the reason that it holds a foundational purpose for the coming Sabbath decree. God is going to "test" the Israelites, particularly in the realm of their obedience. Further light will be clarified on what God was ultimately testing a little later.
As we continue:
“Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD.”
(Exodus 16:22–23 NAS95)
So in the explanation of the purpose for gathering twice as much on the sixth day, Moses informs the Israelites what is intended. And what is intended is the Sabbath observance. So on the seventh day, there is to be no gathering of food, which is taken care of by the gathering of double portions on the sixth day. This observance isn't just a sabbath, however, it's to be a "holy sabbath". The usage of the word "holy" showing that really this is meant to be a day in which a person's mind and character are set apart "to the Lord".
The Author of Hebrews in Hebrews 3:12 - 4:11 utilizes this account to provide a full explanation of what took place, of which he cross references with Psalm 95. Here we have an infallible interpretation of the Sabbath, given by the Author of Hebrews.
Amid this context we really see what the issue was with those who were wondering in the wilderness. Faith, or I should say, the lack thereof. This passage is not about entering the promised land, but about entering the Sabbath rest of God, since of course, Exodus 16 isn't about entering the promised land either.
This becomes incredibly interesting, though. How can it be that the people of the Exodus 16 debacle be classified as individuals who didn't enter Sabbath rest, when it states in Exodus that they did? Notice:
“So the people rested on the seventh day.”
(Exodus 16:30 NAS95)
The reason being is presented by the Author of Hebrews:
“For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”
(Hebrews 3:16–19 NAS95)
There are only three places in the book of Hebrews where God swears for something, one of them is listed here, where God swears for certain people to not enter His rest (Sabbath rest), and it was those who were unbelieving. So while they could physically observe a literal day of rest, they actually (because of unbelief) never experienced God's Sabbath.
I hope the reader can be begin to see here some serious implications on true Sabbath observance. The Bible very specifically shows that true Sabbath observance isn't found in a literal day.
To clear this up even more:
“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”
(Hebrews 4:1–2 NAS95)
"Good news" here is the Greek εὐαγγελίζω the verb form of the Greek word for Gospel. So the Exodus 16 wonderers had Gospel preached to them, but they refused to believe, and thus were disqualified to enter God's Sabbath. So how do you enter the Sabbath rest of God?
“For we who have believed enter that rest”
(Hebrews 4:3 NAS95)
So there is still Sabbath observance, it's just that to really observe the Sabbath, one believes the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. This is why the Author of Hebrews can conclude:
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
(Hebrews 4:9 NAS95)
At this point I'm sure a literal, seventh day observance advocate would state, "but God never changes and His law never changes and therefore there should be a literal, seventh day observance".
So the question I would have, are there any explicit indications in Scripture as to the literal observance not being intended? There definitely are:
“At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.””
(Matthew 12:1–8 NAS95)
Yet another infallible interpretation on the Sabbath, this one by Jesus Christ Himself. In it, Jesus takes the Pharisees beyond things that are signs of things pointing to something far more significant. Namely, consecrated bread, the Sabbath, and sacrifices. The whole point demonstrates that the Pharisees didn't understand the Word of God on any of these matters, let alone on what the Sabbath is. For if they had understood them, they would've understood the priest's innocence in breaking the Sabbath by the work they perform on the Sabbath. Priests had a ton of work to do in the massive amounts of sacrificing of animals, and this is done on the Sabbath, yet they are innocent.
So if priests are able to do a ton of work on the Sabbath and still be innocent, how is it that Jesus Christ in gathering food (working) on the Sabbath isn't? The clear indication Jesus gives is the shear fact of looking past the literal observance to what is signified, and what is signified has already been stated. Combined with what we have here, we have zero reason to hold to a literal, seventh day observance. For the time before Jesus Christ, sacrifices and seventh day observances were temporary, and are now obsolete (c.f. Hebrews 8:13).
Does it stop there? No.
Amid Colossians 2:11-17, after explaining that baptism is the new circumcision, and explaining the redemption to be had in Jesus, Paul uses these concepts (vs. 11-15) to make a conclusion:
“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day — things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”
(Colossians 2:16–17 NAS95)
The Author of Hebrews told us there remains a "Sabbath rest" for the people of God. Paul here tells believers, who's sins have been forgiven by the death of Jesus Christ, that no one is to act as your judge (κρίνω) regarding a "Sabbath day", expressly restricting you in literal seventh day observance. He further explains to us that a Sabbath day was simply a "mere shadow" of what is to come, and the reality of which is Jesus Christ Himself, and as we've already seen, faith in His Gospel message. If you really want to experience Sabbath rest (spiritual rest), all one must do is believe the Gospel message.
Much more could be said, but I believe this information suffices for the intent of this post. Perhaps a part II could be in the future.
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