A.      In the first three commandments, God established Himself as Israel’s only God, prohibited worship and service to idols, and forbade the vain use of His holy name.

B.      In the fourth commandment, God required Israel to observe the seventh day as a sabbath.  This commandment is not renewed in the New Testament, but it does have worthwhile applications for us.

II.      THE COMMANDMENT TO ISRAEL: REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY

Exodus 20:8-11 – "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

A.      Consider the meaning of "sabbath,” its symbolism, and its observance.

                                                             1.      The word "sabbath” means rest or cessation of activity.

                                                             2.      The seventh day of the week was designated as the sabbath, or day of rest, to correspond to God’s day of rest following the six days of creation.

a.       Notice Genesis 2:2-3 – "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

b.       In the likeness of God, Israel was commanded to work for six days and to rest on the seventh day.  This memorial law applied to all Israelites as well as their children, servants, livestock, and foreigners staying among them (sojourners).

                                                             3.      Two other reasons for the sabbath observance were given in Deuteronomy 5:12-15.

a.       Notice this passage  – "Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.  You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”

b.       Thus, the sabbath was intended to give rest to Israel, their servants, and their beasts and to remind Israel of their plight of slavery in Egypt and how God delivered them.

                                                             4.      The Law of Moses makes many mentions of the sabbath, some of which are in connection with feast days or other observances.  The sabbath law was never to be violated by Israel (see Ex. 34:21; 35:2-3; Lev. 23:3).

                                                             5.      The penalty for profaning God’s holy sabbath was death (Ex. 31:14-15).

B.      Israel was first commanded to keep the sabbath after they left Egypt and before they reached Sinai.

                                                             1.      The first mention of any sabbath observance was in connection with the instructions given to Israel for collecting the manna (Ex. 16:22-30; v. 23 is the first use of "sabbath” in the Scriptures).

                                                             2.      Prior to this, no one had been required to observe the seventh day of the week as a sabbath.

C.      The sabbath law was a permanent statute of the covenant with Israel, but that covenant is now obsolete.

                                                             1.      Notice Exodus 31:16-17 – "So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.  It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.” (see vv. 12-18 for context)

                                                             2.      That covenant has since been fulfilled and replaced by a new covenant through Christ.

a.       Notice Jeremiah 31:31-32 – "‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,’ declares the LORD.”  See verses 31-34 for the full context.

b.       This prophecy has been fulfilled through Christ according to Hebrews chapter 8.  (See also Luke 22:20; 1Cor. 11:25; 2Cor. 3:6; Heb. 9:15-20.)

c.        This new covenant also includes the Gentiles, which the first covenant did not do (Eph. 2:11-22).  The new covenant does not require a sabbath observance of the seventh day.

III.   THE MODERN APPLICATION

A.      The sabbath day laws from the Law of Moses are not binding on us today.

                                                             1.      Even though the sabbath observance was called a perpetual covenant, it was not without end.  As noted above, the old covenant is now obsolete.  The sabbath observance is no more binding on anyone today than the "permanent statute” of the Day of Atonement (Lev. 24:7-9).

                                                             2.      Notice Colossians 2:16-17 – "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.”

                                                             3.      Even though the sabbath day commemorated the creation, it was not observed from creation.  It was only observed by Israel after God delivered them from Egypt.

                                                             4.      Today, we commemorate our new creation and deliverance from sin through Christ’s resurrection.

a.       We do this on the first day of the week by assembling for worship and observing the Lord’s Supper, which is a memorial of the new covenant in Christ’s blood (Acts 20:7; 1Cor. 11: 23-29; 16:2; Heb. 2:14-15; 1Pet. 1:3).

b.       It is the first day of the week that has a sanctified place in the history of Christianity.

i.         Jesus arose on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1-8).

ii.        The gospel was fully revealed by the Holy Spirit on the first day of the week (Acts 2:1-4; Pentecost was on the first day of the week – Lev. 23:16).

B.      Just as God provided a rest for His people, we need to make time for rest also.

                                                             1.      God ordained a six-day work week for Israel, but He required one day of rest every week.

                                                             2.      Jesus acknowledged this practical purpose of the sabbath when He said, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

                                                             3.      Even when Jesus and His apostles were busy conducting their ministry, Jesus made time for them to rest (Mark 6:31).  We should do the same.

C.      The best application for us pertains to the spiritual rest that God offers to us in Christ.

                                                             1.      God’s rest for His people is the subject of Hebrews 3:7-4:13.

a.       The story of Israel is given as an example of how faithlessness and disobedience will prevent us from entering God’s eternal rest.

b.       Joshua did not give Israel genuine rest by leading them into the promised land.  "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” (Heb. 4:9)

c.        The lesson of this passage and the example of Israel is stated in Hebrews 4:11 –"Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.”

                                                             2.      The true sabbath of God’s people is found in Christ Jesus.  He says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Therefore, let us work for the Lord now in this life so that we may enter God’s sabbath rest when this life is over.

                                                             1.      God labored in the creation for six days and then rested on the seventh day.  Likewise, Israel was to work for six days before they rested on the sabbath.  In this pattern, we should also be working now so that we may rest in eternity.

                                                             2.      Notice Revelation 14:13 – "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, ‘Write, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’  ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.’”

B.      In the next lesson, we will consider the fifth commandment – "Honor your father and your mother.”