What does it mean to Keep the Sabbath?
Why does God make such a big deal about keeping the sabbath day? WhenGod narrowed down humanity’s guidelines to just 10 commandments, he made keeping the Sabbath one of them. How is taking a day off each week on par with not killing people? Also, was keeping the sabbath just for the Israelites (civil / ceremonial law), or is it for us today too (moral law)?
I’ve always thought of sabbath as a “day of rest,” but as I was studying Exodus, I realized that the Hebrew word can also have another meaning.
The Hebrew word that gets translated into our English word “sabbath” is “sabbat,” and its definition doesn’t even mention rest. The word “sabbat” means “day of atonement.”
Now “atonement” is one of those Christianese words that we never use in everyday language outside of church, so I had to look it up.
Atonement:
To make right
To make amends for wrongdoings
To repair the damages with compensation
To restore something damaged
So the sabbath is a day to make things right, and find restoration from the damage incurred throughout the rest of the week.
Taking a day off can definitely allow us to find physical restoration, but I think God also intended it for spiritual restoration. The sabbath is a time to get right with God. We can use it and restore our closeness with God and make amends for all the ways we might have defied him or drifted away from him.
Scripture often describes God as a shelter and refuge that we can run to for safety and protection. He can be our source of peace after a hectic week, and we can find rest and refreshment by spending time with him. God is our source of life and goodness, so if we want to walk in life, we will need to regularly maintain a connection with God. I think that’s what God wanted for us when he advised us to observe the sabbath.
Because I understand the sabbath as “reconnecting with God,” I think that he meant it not only for the OT Israelites, but also for us today.
Keeping the sabbath isn’t just about refraining from work—it’s about maintaining and restoring our connection with God, our source of life.