30 Sep 2024, 19:05Christian SalcianuWatford
The Sabbath Day
‘What was the first holy object in the history of the world?’ asked Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his famous book The Sabbath. ‘Was it a mountain? Was it an altar?’ No, and he answers: ‘To the Bible it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first.’
Following the world's creation in six days, ‘God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done’ (Genesis 2:3). This verse, concluding creation’s first report, invites us to pause, to discover and reflect on the three key dimensions of this seventh day: it is a time blessed by God, it is a day called holy, set aside for higher purposes, it is a restful and meaningful break between past work and future plans.
When Jesus Christ affirmed the day, he made it clear: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’ (Mark 2:27). God made the Sabbath with the well-being of humans in mind. Take it as a gift!
Why a 7-day cycle?
The Earth’s trip around the Sun makes our ‘year’; the same for ‘a month’, the Moon around our planet. The 24-hour ‘day’ is Earth’s rhythm on its axis. But what’s the standard for the 7-unit window of time we call ‘week’?
Apart from the Bible, there is nothing around us prompting for a 7-day cycle. ‘Thus the Sabbath points unmistakably to God's sovereignty over man,’ says theologian Sakae Kubo in his article The Sabbath, sign of a relationship. ‘There is nothing in nature he can give as his reason for worshipping on that day. He can only say that he does so because God commands him. He bows down before the sovereignty of God.’
And yet, in a secular world, we say it is merely a social convention. Historically, in France, they extended it to 10 days, while in Russia they contracted it to 5 days only. Both efforts didn’t turn out well so they reverted to a seven day week. Interestingly enough, someone must have known ahead of time of such challenges, as the first word in one of the commandments in the Decalogue is the word ‘remember’. Remember as in don’t forget your past? Remember as in pay attention to the future?
A commandment in the Decalogue
Many commandments open with inflexible words like ‘you shall not . . .’, and that’s exactly the expectation of a lawgiver; if thinking only of ‘you shall not kill’, there’s nothing to negotiate. Surprisingly, the fourth one has a completely different emphasis on how it starts and ends.
‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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.’ (Exodus 20:8-11)
God made the Sabbath for the good of the people, equally for all (genders, generations, social strata, immigrants), even for the animals. It is a time to cease work and take a break for rest and also for others starting with ‘re’: recovery, recharge, replenishment, relaxation. For remembering, (and reminding), for reflecting. All for another restart.
A model in Jesus
If one traces Jesus’ footsteps in the Gospels, searching for his way of remembering the Sabbath, a clear picture is soon to be revealed. For example, Jesus went to the synagogue and temple, ‘as was his custom’, preaching the Good News of the coming kingdom of God — it was a day of worship and proclamation. His first announcement as Messiah was delivered on a Sabbath day (Luke 4:16-20).
He visited families and friends, enjoying rest, lunch, and conversations with friends (see Mark 1:29-31). In public and private spaces, some of Jesus’ healings were performed specifically on such a day (even during national religious festivals), to emphasise the true character of a holy day, in contrast with a stern and dry observance as imposed by human traditions (see the tensions in John 5 and John 9).
He announced, in the well-known Sermon on the Mount, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matthew 5:17). Such a fulfilment came not from being subject to an institution. Instead, being the lawgiver himself, he declared: ‘The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’ (Mark 2:28).
A sign for the future
One of Jesus’ warnings for the future deals with the seventh day in a context of persecution: ‘Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath’ (Matthew 24:20). The day of rest and reconnecting with God is greatly challenged in a time of crisis.
In the last book of the Bible the end-times controversies are portrayed from different perspectives. Using the symbolic illustration of a war between a dragon (Satan) and a virtuous woman (the Church), the visionary reports: ‘Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus’ (Revelation 12:17). As part of the Decalogue and a realm under the lordship of Jesus Christ, sealing the Sabbath experience in a covenant with God will make a difference in the days to come (see Ezekiel 20:12).
Reflecting on the Sabbath
As a worldwide community of believers, affirming the values and standards of the Bible, we hold the Sabbath as an important day. Forgotten by the world, despised by legislators, denied or twisted around even by many religious organisations, the Sabbath is engraved in our name — the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA).
On such a day (Saturday) we aim to follow our Creator and worship Him: we consider this time as a blessing from and with God; we set it aside as holy, not for works and pleasures, yet serving those in need; we take a break to rest our bodies and minds, remembering the past and reimagining the future.
The Bible is clear: ‘There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God’ (Hebrews 4:9). Beyond a 24-hour respite, it is a sign of future deliverance. It is salvation in disguise, a miniature of experiencing full reconnection with God.
How will you find joy?
‘If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord.’ (Isaiah 58:13, 14)
‘What was the first holy object in the history of the world?’ asked Abraham Joshua Heschel, in his famous book The Sabbath. ‘Was it a mountain? Was it an altar?’ No, and he answers: ‘To the Bible it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first.’
Following the world's creation in six days, ‘God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done’ (Genesis 2:3). This verse, concluding creation’s first report, invites us to pause, to discover and reflect on the three key dimensions of this seventh day: it is a time blessed by God, it is a day called holy, set aside for higher purposes, it is a restful and meaningful break between past work and future plans.
When Jesus Christ affirmed the day, he made it clear: ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’ (Mark 2:27). God made the Sabbath with the well-being of humans in mind. Take it as a gift!
Why a 7-day cycle?
The Earth’s trip around the Sun makes our ‘year’; the same for ‘a month’, the Moon around our planet. The 24-hour ‘day’ is Earth’s rhythm on its axis. But what’s the standard for the 7-unit window of time we call ‘week’?
Apart from the Bible, there is nothing around us prompting for a 7-day cycle. ‘Thus the Sabbath points unmistakably to God's sovereignty over man,’ says theologian Sakae Kubo in his article The Sabbath, sign of a relationship. ‘There is nothing in nature he can give as his reason for worshipping on that day. He can only say that he does so because God commands him. He bows down before the sovereignty of God.’
And yet, in a secular world, we say it is merely a social convention. Historically, in France, they extended it to 10 days, while in Russia they contracted it to 5 days only. Both efforts didn’t turn out well so they reverted to a seven day week. Interestingly enough, someone must have known ahead of time of such challenges, as the first word in one of the commandments in the Decalogue is the word ‘remember’. Remember as in don’t forget your past? Remember as in pay attention to the future?
A commandment in the Decalogue
Many commandments open with inflexible words like ‘you shall not . . .’, and that’s exactly the expectation of a lawgiver; if thinking only of ‘you shall not kill’, there’s nothing to negotiate. Surprisingly, the fourth one has a completely different emphasis on how it starts and ends.
‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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.’ (Exodus 20:8-11)
God made the Sabbath for the good of the people, equally for all (genders, generations, social strata, immigrants), even for the animals. It is a time to cease work and take a break for rest and also for others starting with ‘re’: recovery, recharge, replenishment, relaxation. For remembering, (and reminding), for reflecting. All for another restart.
A model in Jesus
If one traces Jesus’ footsteps in the Gospels, searching for his way of remembering the Sabbath, a clear picture is soon to be revealed. For example, Jesus went to the synagogue and temple, ‘as was his custom’, preaching the Good News of the coming kingdom of God — it was a day of worship and proclamation. His first announcement as Messiah was delivered on a Sabbath day (Luke 4:16-20).
He visited families and friends, enjoying rest, lunch, and conversations with friends (see Mark 1:29-31). In public and private spaces, some of Jesus’ healings were performed specifically on such a day (even during national religious festivals), to emphasise the true character of a holy day, in contrast with a stern and dry observance as imposed by human traditions (see the tensions in John 5 and John 9).
He announced, in the well-known Sermon on the Mount, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’ (Matthew 5:17). Such a fulfilment came not from being subject to an institution. Instead, being the lawgiver himself, he declared: ‘The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath’ (Mark 2:28).
A sign for the future
One of Jesus’ warnings for the future deals with the seventh day in a context of persecution: ‘Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath’ (Matthew 24:20). The day of rest and reconnecting with God is greatly challenged in a time of crisis.
In the last book of the Bible the end-times controversies are portrayed from different perspectives. Using the symbolic illustration of a war between a dragon (Satan) and a virtuous woman (the Church), the visionary reports: ‘Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus’ (Revelation 12:17). As part of the Decalogue and a realm under the lordship of Jesus Christ, sealing the Sabbath experience in a covenant with God will make a difference in the days to come (see Ezekiel 20:12).
Reflecting on the Sabbath
As a worldwide community of believers, affirming the values and standards of the Bible, we hold the Sabbath as an important day. Forgotten by the world, despised by legislators, denied or twisted around even by many religious organisations, the Sabbath is engraved in our name — the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA).
On such a day (Saturday) we aim to follow our Creator and worship Him: we consider this time as a blessing from and with God; we set it aside as holy, not for works and pleasures, yet serving those in need; we take a break to rest our bodies and minds, remembering the past and reimagining the future.
The Bible is clear: ‘There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God’ (Hebrews 4:9). Beyond a 24-hour respite, it is a sign of future deliverance. It is salvation in disguise, a miniature of experiencing full reconnection with God.
How will you find joy?
‘If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord.’ (Isaiah 58:13, 14)
