Why The Sabbath?
What does the Bible and history say about the Seventh Day Sabbath?
All Hebrew and Greek definitions are cited from Strong's Concordance, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew & English Lexicon, Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, and Webster's 1611 KJV Dictionary.
1. The First Sabbath
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Original Hebrew Word Studies
Seventh — H7637 שְׁבִיעִי (shbi'iy)
Seventh (time); the 7th ordinal.
Day — H3117 יוֹם (yowm)
A day (from sunset to sunset or sunrise to sunset); an appointed period.
Work — H4399 מְלָאכָה (mla'kah)
Deputyship, ministry, employment, occupation, regular labor.
Rested — H7673 שָׁבַת (shabath)
To repose, desist from exertion, cease, celebrate, keep sabbath.
Blessed — H1288 בָּרַךְ (barak)
To pronounce beneficial, endue with special divine favor.
Sanctified — H6942 קָדַשׁ (qadash)
To consecrate, dedicate, hallow, set apart as sacred and distinct.
2. The Sabbath Will Prove Obedience
Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily...
23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD... 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days... 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Key Lexicon Terms
Law — H8451 תּוֹרָה (Torah)
Divine direction, instruction, legal code, body of prophetic teaching.
Sabbath — H7676 שַׁבָּת (Shabbath)
Intermission, cessation, the seventh day of weekly rest.
Rest — H7677 שַׁבָּתוֹן (Shabbathown)
A sabbatism, sacred rest, or special holiday unto God.
Commandments — H4687 מִצְוָה (Mitsvah)
Divine ordinance, precept, collective statute of the King.
3. God Tells Us to Mark the Sabbath
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 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: 11 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.
Remember — H2142 זָכַר (zakar)
To mark (so as to be recognized), to be mindful of, recount, record, call to remembrance.
Labour — H5647 עָבַד ('abad)
To serve, work, till, produce occupationally.
Hallowed — H6942 קָדַשׁ (qadash)
To pronounce clean, consecrate, dedicate, keep separate from common use.
4. The Sabbath Is an Everlasting Sign
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you... 16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Sign — H226 אוֹת ('owth)
A signal, flag, beacon, pledge of covenant, monument, token of ownership.
Shall Keep — H8104 שָׁמַר (shamar)
To hedge about with thorns, guard, protect, attend to, preserve circumspectly.
Perpetual — H5769 עוֹלָם ('owlam)
Concealed horizon, time out of mind, eternity, always, unending.
Covenant — H1285 בְּרִית (briyth)
A divine compact, alliance, pledge of binding fellowship.
5. The Sabbath as a Feast of the LORD (Moed)
Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Turn ye not unto idols...
Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Feasts of the LORD — H4150 מוֹעֵד (Mow'ed)
An appointed time, divine appointment, fixed festival, meeting place, sacred assembly.
Holy Convocation — H4744 מִקְרָא (Miqra)
A public called-out meeting, an assembly of the congregation, a rehearsal.
6. Is the Sabbath Only for Israelites?
Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed. 2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. 3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people... 6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD... every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; 7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer... for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth...
7. Israel's Dispersion & The Sabbath in the Millennial Kingdom
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them... but my sabbaths they greatly polluted... I lifted up mine hand unto them also in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the heathen, and disperse them through the countries... Her priests have violated my law... and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.”
“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”
8. What Did Jesus / Yeshua Teach About the Sabbath?
Luke 4:16: “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” (Also Mark 1:21, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:31).
Mark 2:27–28: “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (Matthew 12:1–8, Luke 6:1–5).
Luke 6:6–10 (withered hand), Matthew 12:9–13 (sheep in a pit), John 5:9–18 (man at Bethesda), Luke 13:10–16 (woman bowed with infirmity), Luke 14:1–6, John 7:22–23, John 9:14–16.
Jesus never broke the biblical Sabbath. He confronted man-made rabbinic traditions that turned God's day of joy and mercy into a heavy burden.
Matthew 24:20: “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” Speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD—nearly 40 years after His resurrection—Jesus assumed His disciples would still be honoring the Sabbath!
9. Did the Apostles Observe the Sabbath?
“...they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down... And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath... And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.”
“For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.” Gentile converts heard the scriptures taught week by week on the Sabbath.
“And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them... And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks... and he continued there a year and six months.”
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all... Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
10. Are There Sunday Meetings in the New Testament?
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight...”
Contextual Facts:
• Verse 6: They sailed after the Days of Unleavened Bread. Paul was rushing to reach Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost (v. 16).
• Greek Text: The word for “week” is sabbaton (plural Sabbaths). In Greek: mia ton sabbaton (“on the first of the Sabbaths” — referring to the 7-Sabbath count between Firstfruits and Pentecost per Leviticus 23:15–16!).
• In biblical timekeeping, the “first day” begins at Saturday sunset. Paul met Saturday night after Sabbath, broke bread, spoke until dawn, and then walked 19 miles to Assos on Sunday morning.
“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Contextual Facts:
• This was not a corporate church offering passed in a plate during a service. Paul instructed each person to store provisions at home (“lay by him in store”).
• This was food relief gathered for the famine-stricken saints in Jerusalem, timed around the Feast of Weeks.
11. Paul's Letters Explained: Romans 14, Galatians 4, & Colossians 2
Romans 14 — Disputable Matters & Fasting, Not the Sabbath
“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind...” (Romans 14:5)
The Sabbath and God's Holy Days are never mentioned in Romans 14. The entire chapter deals with vegetarianism vs. eating meat, wine, and voluntary days of fasting.
Jewish believers and Gentile converts held strong personal opinions about which days of the week were best for fasting. Paul instructs them not to judge one another over personal dietary customs or cause weaker brethren to stumble. He was not repealing the Fourth Commandment spoken from God's own mouth!
Galatians 4:8–11 — Pagan Astrological Calendars vs. God's Feasts
“Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now... how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.” (Galatians 4:8–10)
Notice verse 8: Paul is addressing Gentiles who previously “did service unto them which by nature are no gods.” Before knowing the true God, they had never kept the biblical Sabbath!
Paul was warning them against slipping back into their pagan Roman/Greek superstitious calendars—observing lucky and unlucky days, astrological months, and pagan festival seasons. Paul would never refer to God's holy, blessed commandments as “weak and beggarly elements.”
Colossians 2:14–17 — The Handwriting of Ordinances & Shadows of Messiah
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us... Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:14–17)
• The Certificate of Debt: In Greek, cheirographon means the handwritten record of our debt and guilt (transgressions). Messiah nailed our debt and punishment to the cross, not the moral law that reveals what sin is (Romans 7:7).
• Who was judging them? Colossae was a pagan, ascetic culture obsessed with angel worship, self-abasement, and man-made taboos (“touch not, taste not, handle not” v. 21). Paul was telling the new believers: do not let non-believers judge you for feasting, drinking, and celebrating the biblical Sabbath and New Moons!
• “A shadow of things to come”: Notice the present tense! These appointed days prophetically foreshadow Messiah's return and millennial rest.
12. There Remains a Sabbath-Rest to the People of God
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Greek Word Study: G4520 σαββατισμός (Sabbatismos)
In Hebrews 4:9, the Holy Spirit inspired the unique word sabbatismos (a keeping of the Sabbath, a Sabbath-observance), distinct from the general word katapausis (ordinary resting) used elsewhere in the chapter. The literal translation of Hebrews 4:9 is: “There remains therefore a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God.”
13. If Scripture Didn't Change the Sabbath to Sunday, Who Did?
“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.” — Codex Justinianus, lib. 3, tit. 12, 3
Sunday was a regular workday in the Roman Empire until Emperor Constantine, an adherent of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Sun), issued the first civil law mandating Sunday rest.
“Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.”
Under penalty of excommunication (anathema), imperial church councils officially outlawed seventh-day Sabbath rest and substituted Sunday.
14. Prophetic Warnings: Changing Times and Laws
“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
Paul warned that before Yeshua returns there would be a falling away (apostasy) and the revelation of the lawless one. Those who do not receive the love of the truth fall victim to strong delusion.
How Do We Keep the Sabbath Today? A Practical Walkout Guide
The Sabbath was given as a weekly sanctuary in time—a day of physical rest, spiritual renewal, family fellowship, and holy assembly. Here is how believers walk it out according to Scripture:
Sunset to Sunset
In biblical timekeeping, the biblical day begins at evening. The Sabbath begins Friday at sundown and concludes Saturday at sundown.
Cease From Regular Work & Commerce
Step away from weekday employment, worldly business, buying, and selling. It is a day to set down our labors and be physically refreshed in God's provision.
Gather for Holy Convocation
The Sabbath is a commanded Miqra Kodesh (sacred assembly). Assemble with fellow believers in person or online to worship, pray, read Scripture, and sit under the Word.
Make It a Delight
Share a special Sabbath meal, extend mercy, visit the lonely or sick, and focus on family and the Lord rather than legalistic restrictions. The Sabbath was made for man!
15. What Is Truth? Loving God by Keeping His Commandments
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
“Thou art near, O LORD; and all thy commandments are truth. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.”
“If ye love me, keep my commandments... For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.”
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Jesus declared that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. The first four commandments (including the Sabbath) reveal how we love God, and the last six reveal how we love our neighbor.
The Seventh Day Sabbath is the only day God set apart from the foundation of the world. It is the day He commanded us to cease from worldly labor and assemble in holy convocation. It is a sign between God and His people, and a weekly dress rehearsal for the seventh millennium—the Millennial Reign of Yeshua (2 Peter 3:8).
God never abolished nor changed the Sabbath. He told us: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” God does not change, and His commandments endure forever.
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