Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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 word translated as “remember” does not mean to recall or bring to mind. It does mean to be mindful of or pay attention to. The LORD gave us the sabbath as one of His commandments. It is meant for the people of God to pay attention to just as much as loving Him with all our heart, mind, and soul or any of the other commandments.
Scholars who study such things have commented on a number of natural benefits to keeping a day of rest. It helps to relieve the stress of daily living. Observing a day of rest gives an opportunity for families to connect and spend time together in a meaningful way. But attending to the sabbath day is not about us, even though is benefits us.
The sabbath is meant to be a reminder to us of all the work that the LORD has done. It is our reminder that the LORD our God finished all His work. It is His sabbath meant for His glory. When we fail to attend to the sabbath day, we rob God.
Seven is often described as a number that represents completeness. God “rested” on the seventh day, not because He was tired but because He was finished. He blessed the day of His finished work. God pronounced it clean (hallowed).
The word translated as “day” can also mean an age (period of time). Just as God finished the work of creation, He also finished the work of salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished,” all of His entered into a day of rest. The ceremonial law was over because the perfect sacrificial Lamb had been offered to God to put away sin forever.
When we go about relying on our own righteousness, we are not attending to the sabbath of God. To keep the sabbath day for us means to recognize the sovereign grace of God daily in our lives. It means to cease from our own labors and rely on the finished work of Jesus (Hebrews 4:9-11). May we live in the peace of the LORD’s sabbath and honor Him every day!