Remember the Sabbath. Can we remember what we don’t really know?

Remember the Sabbath.  But what is the Sabbath?  I mean the capital “S” Sabbath, not the generic lower case “s” sabbath.  Where did it come from?  What is it for?  What should we do?  And what should we get out of it?

Remember the Sabbath. What if we don’t know what the Sabbath is about? Is there value in knowing the wrong thing? Can we remember what we don’t really know?

Those question stem from a book I’m reading.  This will be of the first of a number of quotes from it.  They appear to be from a Judeo-Christian point of view.  At least the words sound like it.  Some of them.  They’re put out as assumptions.  And then they lead the reader someplace.  To a conclusion.  However, does the conclusion stay within Christian teaching?  That’s the question we’ll examine here.

This is the first in a new series called “Is this right?” . It’s also the first in a subcategory called “Sabbath – rest renewal and delight?”, which is derived from the title of the book.

Remember the Sabbath

So let’s get started.  Here’s the quote.

“Remember the Sabbath” is not simply a life-style suggestion. It is a spiritual precept in most of the world’s spiritual traditions—ethical precepts that include prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying.  ^[1]Muller, Wayne. Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives (Kindle Locations 202-204). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Remember the Sabbath.  Is it in the Bible?  Yes.  So we see the initial assumption / proposition is correct and valid.  Here’s where it comes from, in full context.

The Ten Commandments

20:1-17 pp — Dt 5:6-21

Ex 20:1 And God spoke all these words:

Ex 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Ex 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Ex 20:4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Ex 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Ex 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Ex 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder.

Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.

Ex 20:15 “You shall not steal.

Ex 20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

So it’s part of the Ten Commandments.  That’s certainly Biblical.  BTW, for an interesting look at which Commandment it is – third or fourth – I invite you to check out The main thing – and the ten Commandments over on my other site, godversusrelgion.com.

We can get a bit more information by reading the following passage from Deuteronomy.

Dt 5:12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

The Deuteronomy passage is especially interesting, given that it starts off with this:

The Ten Commandments

5:6-21 pp — Ex 20:1-17

Dt 5:1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)

Is the Sabbath just a spiritual precept?

So where are we now?  Remember the quote we started with:

“Remember the Sabbath” is not simply a life-style suggestion. It is a spiritual precept in most of the world’s spiritual traditions—ethical precepts that include prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying.

First of all, realize that the capital “S” Sabbath is not present in most of the world’s spiritual traditions.  It’s present only in Judaism and Christianity.  And it’s not a “precept”.  True, sort of – it’s not simply a life-style suggestion.  It’s certainly not a suggestion.  But it’s also not about a life-style.  Let’s break that down.

When we’re done, you’ll see that when “Sabbath” is taken the way it’s written up in the book – it is in fact a life-style suggestion.  So let’s proceed with the assumption that it is – and then we’ll show why that assumption is valid.

What is the capital “S” Sabbath?

Here’s the secular definition, from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:

[Middle English sabat, from Anglo-French & Old English, from Latin sabbatum, from Greek sabbaton, from Hebrew shabbāth, literally, rest] before 12th century
1 a: the seventh day of the week observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening as a day of rest and worship by Jews and some Christians
b: Sunday observed among Christians as a day of rest and worship
2: a time of rest  ^[2]Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

From that definition, what this book says sounds reasonable.

However, that’s only because the definition isn’t what it really should be.  To Jews and Christians, Sabbath, as being presented in this excerpt, means so much more.  To start with, see the description below from the New Bible Dictionary.

SABBATH (Heb. šabbāṯ, from the root šāḇaṯ, ‘to cease’, ‘to desist’). In the Bible the principle is laid down that one day in 7 is to be observed as a day holy to God. From the reason given for keeping the sabbath day in the Ten Commandments we learn that the example for the sabbath rest had been set by God himself in the creation. The sabbath therefore is a creation ordinance (Ex. 20:8–11).

We’ll see in the next paragraph that the origin of the Sabbath was actually from creation.  But – the important point here is that it’s one of the Ten Commandments.  The fact that the author of the quote we’re looking at included prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying in his description, can only lead to the conclusion that he’s trying to tie it to the Ten Commandments.  At least in our minds, if not outright saying it.  That completely rules out secular definition 2 from above:  a time of rest.  It’s more than just a time of rest.  It’s at the very least, a time for thinking about God’s work in creation.  Including what God did in creating us.  And yes – I mean including acknowledging that God created us – as opposed to us being a random chance anomaly or a gene that didn’t reproduce correctly.

So remember the Sabbath should include both a remembrance of creation and the Ten Commandments.  More on both of those will follow.

In the account of creation the actual word ‘sabbath’ is not found, but the root from which the word is derived does occur (Gn. 2:2). The work of creation had occupied 6 days; on the 7th God rested (lit. ‘ceased’) from his labour. Thus there appears the distinction between the 6 days of labour and the one day of rest. This is true, even if the 6 days of labour be construed as periods of time longer than 24 hours. The language is anthropomorphic, for God is not a weary workman in need of rest. Nevertheless, the pattern is here set for man to follow. Ex. 20:11 states that God ‘rested’ (Heb. wayyānaḥ) on the 7th day, and Ex. 31:17 says that he ceased from his work and ‘was refreshed’ (wayyinnāp̱aš). The language is purposely strong so that man may learn the necessity of regarding the sabbath as a day on which he himself is to rest from his daily labours.

anthropomorphic means it relates to us as humans, even though God is a spirit, not human.  This is where we clearly see the tie back to creation.  Notice that this description also says This is true, even if the 6 days of labour be construed as periods of time longer than 24 hours.  I’m one of those who believe that the six “days” of creation doesn’t mean six 24-hour days.  You may be surprised that I also take the six days of creation literally.  It all comes down to what did “day” really mean?  It means something to us now, in this time.  However, it meant something quite different to the Old Testament Hebrew / Jewish people.  For more on that, I invite you to read It’s time for Christians to acknowledge what Darwin REALLY did from my other site.

Spoiler alert – if you keep reading, I’ll be revealing part of what the just referenced article tells us.  

To the Hebrew / Jewish people of the Old Testament, there’s a difference between a creation day and what we mean by the 24-hour day.  So while God took considerably more than six 24-hour days to complete the creation process we read in Genesis, His intent was for us humans to have a 24-hour Sabbath Day.  Further, that Sabbath day was to be commemorated the way God laid out.  It was not intended to merely be a day of rest, where we do nothing.

It has been held in contradistinction to what has been stated above that the institution of the sabbath derived from Babylonia. [In other words, more simpler words, the Sabbath of the Bible did not come from Babylonia.]  It is true that the Babylonian word šabbatum is related to the corresponding Hebrew word, but the force of the words is quite different. For one thing the Babylonians had a 5-day week. Examination of contract tablets reveals that the days designated šabbatum were not days of cessation from labour. Contracts from Mari (Tel el-Harîrî) show that work was performed, sometimes over a period of several days, without any interruption every 7th day. The Bible clearly attributes the origin of the sabbath to the divine example.  ^[3]Young, E. J., & Bruce, F. F. (1996). Sabbath. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 1032). Leicester, … Continue reading

I include this portion of the text from the New Bible Dictionary to show that the capital “S” Sabbath is not part of other spiritual traditions.  While others do have something about rest, if one uses the word “sabbath” – it should be with a lower case “s”.  It’s more in line with what we call a sabbatical, which is clearly not a Sabbath as defined to us by God.  It should also not cloak itself with words that are designed to make it sound like it is Christian.   A mature Christian should recognize the problems with what’s said about Remember the Sabbath.  However, a new Christian , or someone who was trying to find out about Christianity, could very well read this and walk away with a wrong impression of what Christianity is about.

The Sabbath is not in most of the world’s spiritual traditions.

There’s another reference in this book about a Muslim “Sabbath”.  Although we’re not going to examine that in detail, I do want to point out something that shows Islam does not believe in the capital “S” Sabbath.

Someone sent in a question to aboutislam.net.

I am a convert to Islam, alhamdulillah, but there is something I really miss about my old life: the sabbath. My family and I used to observe the Sabbath, even though we were Christian, because it just makes sense to take a day off from work and school and life and technology and just enjoy rest and rejuvenation. I want to observe the Sabbath still, but I have been told it’s haraam because it copies the Jews. But, aren’t we all from father Abraham? What is wrong with observing the Sabbath? Can I? More importantly, why don’t Muslims feel like the Sabbath applies to them?

So this person wants to observe the capital “S” Sabbath.  But they were told it was “haraam” – prohibited.  And they ask about this.  Here’s the answer they received.

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

I understand that you miss the Sabbath since it was a time for relaxation and rest in your family. There is a practice similar to the Sabbath in the Islamic tradition, but not really practiced the same way.

Christianity says that the Sabbath is on Sunday, while Jewish people say it is on Saturday. The Muslims, however, believe the best day of the week is Friday.

The Value of Friday
There is an authentic hadith from the narration of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

The best day that the sun has risen upon is Friday. On it Adam was created, on it he entered Paradise, and on it he was expelled from it. And the Hour will not be established except on Friday. (Sahih Muslim and Jami`at-Tirmidhi)

Essentially, the Prophet is letting us know that the best day of the week is Friday.

The first man, Adam (AS), was created by Allah and put into Paradise on a Friday. Likewise, Adam (AS) was expelled from Paradise on a Friday. Lastly, the Day of Judgement (or “the Hour” as it is also named) will also fall on a Friday.

Now – being a Christian, there is much about this that I don’t believe is Biblical.  Especially all the stuff about Friday.

But that’s the not the main point here.  The point has to do with the fact that, at least for this one Islamic site, this is their explanation as to why capital “S” Sabbath is not something that Muslims should ever observe!  Notice I said “for this one Islamic site”.  All Muslims follow the Qur’an, but there are variations between sects about which Hadith’s (non-quranic teachings) are followed.  In this case, the Hadith cited is from Abu Hurayra.  Any other Muslims who follow this same Hadith would have the same belief.

Observing the Sabbath is not a precept

We should start by looking at what a precept is.

From dictionary.com, we read:

1. a commandment or direction given as a rule of action or conduct.
2. an injunction as to moral conduct; maxim.
3. a procedural directive or rule, as for the performance of some technical operation.

OK – commandment is in there.  But so is a whole bunch of other stuff.  Honestly, precept is too generic of a word to use here.  Add to that the likelihood that it’s not a word that many people even use.  It may be good for the author’s purpose.  Obfuscation.  Wonderful sounding words that can mean pretty much whatever the readers wants them to mean.  However, we still have to remember seeing the Ten Commandments references and the appearance of trying to cloak the words in Jewish and Christian teachings.  So let’s call it what the Sabbath really is to Jews and Christians.  It’s a commandment.  From God.  And when remember the Sabbath, we should also remember that.

In that light, let’s look at the Ten Commandments.  What were they.  How were they viewed.  And within what context they were given.  After all, context is important, even in the world of “spiritual precepts”.  In this case, the context will show even more firmly that there is a huge difference between  lower case “s” “sabbath” and capital “S” “Sabbath”.

Ten Commandments, The. List of commands given by God to Moses. The Ten Commandments are stated twice in the OT; first in the Book of Exodus (20:2–17), in a passage describing God’s gift of the commandments to Israel, and secondly in Deuteronomy (5:6–21), in the context of a covenant renewal ceremony. Moses reminds his people of the substance and meaning of the commandments, as they renew their covenant allegiance to God. In the original language, the Commandments are called the “Ten Words” (from which comes the name Decalogue). According to the biblical text, they are “words,” or laws, spoken by God, not the result of human legislative process. The commandments are said to have been written on two tablets. This does not mean that five commandments were written on each tablet; rather, all 10 were written on each tablet, the first tablet belonging to God the lawgiver, the second tablet belonging to Israel the recipient. The commandments pertain to two basic areas of human living; the first five concern relationships with God, the last five, relationships between human beings. The commandments were given first to Israel in the making of the covenant at Mt Sinai, shortly after the exodus from Egypt. Though the date of the Sinai covenant cannot be fixed with certainty, it was probably around 1290 BC. In order to understand the commandments, it is necessary first to understand the context in which they were given.

So these are laws – given by God.  They aren’t just about moral conduct, as definition #2 says.

They also aren’t to be taken as a procedural directive or rule.  In fact, that’s very much why Jesus had so many harsh words for the Jewish Pharisees of His time.  They had turned God’s laws into exactly that – following the letter of the law while ignoring the spirit of the law.

Further, just as Moses reminded the people about the substance and meaning of the commandments, the people were to do the same for their children.  And, while they were doing all that, they were also to renew their covenant allegiance to God.  That’s a lot more than just a period of doing nothing but resting.

The Context of the Commandments. The commandments are inseparable from the covenant. The making of a covenant between God and Israel at Sinai was the formation of a particular relationship. God made certain commitments to Israel and in return imposed certain obligations upon Israel. Although Israel’s obligations are expressed in detail in a mass of precise legal material, they are given their most precise and succinct expression in the Ten Commandments. The commandments set down the most fundamental principles of all Hebrew law, and the detailed laws contained in the Pentateuch are for the most part applications of the principles to particular situations. Thus, the role of the Ten Commandments in ancient Israel was to give direction to a relationship. They were not to be obeyed simply for the sake of obedience, as though obedience accumulated some kind of credit. Rather, they were to be obeyed in order to discover that life in which the fullness and richness of a relationship with God.

We read more about the spirit of the law in this paragraph.  It was all about relationships.  Relationships with other people, to be sure.  But also relationships with God.  All of these things were to be remembered.  None of these things are in the book from which this quote comes.  In spite of the words that would sound familiar and appealing to Jew and Christians – none of them are there.  The capital “S” Sabbath is there in name only.

The commandments in ancient Israel were not an ethical code or compilation of advice on the fundamentals of morality. The covenant was between God and a nation; the commandments were directed toward the life of that nation and its citizens. Consequently, the initial role of the commandments was similar to that of criminal law in a modern state. Israel was a theocracy, a state whose king was God (Dt 33:5). The commandments provided guidance to the citizens of that state. In addition, to break a commandment was to commit a crime against the state and the ruler of that state, God. Thus the penalties were severe, for the breaking of the commandments threatened the covenant relationship and the continued existence of the state. This state context is important for understanding the commandments in their initial form.  ^[4]Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Ten Commandments, The. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 2042). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Here’s it’s literally spelled out that the commandments in ancient Israel were not an ethical code or compilation of advice on the fundamentals of morality.  No amount of words from any person should ever convince us otherwise.

Furthermore, the failure to follow the commandments was specified.  That includes the commandment to keep the Sabbath.  Failure to keep the Sabbath wasn’t about being tired for lack of rest.  Failure to keep the Sabbath was about commit[ting] a crime against the state and the ruler of that state, God.  For those of us not living in Israel, it’s not about committing a crime against the state.  At least not the state of Israel.  It is however, about committing a crime against God.

Ultimately, as I said, precept just doesn’t cut it when we’re talking about upper case “S” Sabbath.  It’s everything we just read.  Much deeper than precept.  It’s a way of life, commanded by God, that results in the best possible relationships between and among people, and between each of us and God.  And yet, what the book talks about is actually just a moral precept – as in the lower case “s” sabbath..

it’s not simply a life-style suggestion

I hope this point is already made.  But just in case it isn’t, let’s go deeper.

The Observation of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8–11; Dt 5:12–15). This commandment, once again, has no parallels in ancient Near Eastern religions; furthermore, it is the first of the commandments to be expressed in a positive form. While most of life was characterized by work, the seventh day was to be set aside. Work was to cease and the day was to be kept holy. The holiness of the day is related to the reason for its establishment. Two reasons are given, and though at first they appear different, there is a common theme linking them. In the first version of the commandment (Ex 20:11), the sabbath is kept in commemoration of creation; God created in six days and rested on the seventh day. In the second version (Dt 5:15), the sabbath is observed in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt. The theme linking the two versions is creation: God not only created the world, but also “created” his people, Israel, in redeeming them from Egyptian slavery. Thus, every seventh day throughout the passage of time, the Hebrew people were to reflect upon creation; in so doing, they were reflecting upon the meaning of their existence. For most of Christianity, the concept of “sabbath” has been moved from the seventh to the first day of the week, namely Sunday. The move is related to a change in Christian thought, which is identified in the resurrection of Jesus Christ on a Sunday morning. The change is appropriate, for Christians now reflect each Sunday, or “sabbath,” on a third act of divine creation, namely the “new creation” which is established in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  ^[5]Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Ten Commandments, The. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, pp. 2043–2044). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Now, let’s look at what lifestyle means, according to the Webster dictionary:

the typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture.

That’s it.  This short description is all that’s meant when we refer to something as a life-style.  I cannot see how anyone could read the paragraph on The observation of the Sabbath (above) and the definition of life-style – and conclude they are anything even close to being a match.  One is dictated by God.  The other is something a group of people decide on.  In fact – it can even be something one person decides to do.

Conclusion – Remember the Sabbath

Again – it’s a commandment.  It’s not an option.  And it’s about more than being rested.

Once again, we’re reminded that there was nothing like it in ancient Near Eastern religions.

Yes, work was to be set aside.  However, there was more to it.  There was the command to keep it holy.  That’s because it was related to creation – by God, the God of the Bible – not by some other god and not by random chance.  It’s also about redemption.  Saved from the Egyptians in the Old Testament.  Saved by Jesus’ death on the cross in the New Testament.

All of this is significant in the capital “S” Sabbath.  When one says to remember the Sabbath, these things are among what is to be remembered.  None of these things are included in the book we’re examining as part of what the author calls Sabbath.

However, even though the quote reads …

“Remember the Sabbath” is not simply a life-style suggestion. It is a spiritual precept in most of the world’s spiritual traditions—ethical precepts that include prohibitions against killing, stealing, and lying.

… and claims that the Sabbath is not a life-style suggestion – it’s most certainly not the capital “S” Sabbath of the Bible.  And since it’s not the commandment that the book makes it appear to be, framing it with words from the Ten Commandments, it’s also not a Commandment.

It’s not from God.  It’s from man.  It’s even possible that we can define our own meaning.

Let’s analyze this from a Christian point of view.  Despite the nice words, despite the claim that it’s not simply a life-style suggestion – Remember the Sabbath, as it’s used within the book is very much a life-style suggestion.  There’s nothing of God in it.  Not in its background, since there’s nothing of the Ten Commandments, other than some words without the intended meaning.  There’s nothing in the practice of remember the Sabbath, as it related to the God of the Bible either.  And, there’s nothing of the future – no salvation – in what it says.

Now – some may take exception to what I just said.  There are times when the words are there.  There are even times when God and Jesus are mentioned.  However – in addition to Remember the Sabbath – also remember this from the days of the Exodus – the days of when the Ten Commandments were given to us by God:

Ex 34:14 Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

And remember this, from Jesus:

Jn 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Notice the part about the one true God.  Not Buddha.  Not any of the thousands of others that people claim to be “god”.  Not any of the “gods” / belief systems that are continually being mentioned.  And not only mentioned, but mixed in with Christianity, as if they were all equally acceptable.  They may be “equal” to a lot of people, but they most certainly are not equal to the God of the Bible.

As a Christian, it’s important that we remember this.  We can’t water down what we believe without believing something other than what God actually said.  And then we don’t believe in God anymore.

Let’s close that thought with a quote from 2 Peter and then from Jesus.

False Teachers and Their Destruction

2Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

A Tree and Its Fruit

Mt 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Remember the Sabbath – what’s next?

As I mentioned, this is the start of a new series: “Is this right?”.

And it’s the first article in a new Category: “Sabbath – rest renewal and delight?”.

I hope you found it interesting.  If so, please sign up for new additions to this site using one of the methods towards the top right corner of this page.