Are you among those who are confused about God’s Seventh Day Sabbath?

You’ve all heard and seen the following hackneyed phrases thrown around on social media:

“We’re supposed to worship on Saturday!”

“Jesus rose on a Sunday, which is why I worship on Sunday.”

“God’s Sabbath can be ANY day of the week, as long as you take a day off to worship.”

“God knows my heart, and he surely won’t send me to Hell for worshiping Him on some day other than Saturday.” (Or “Sunday” depending on which day this person keeps.)

“How do you even know that Saturday is the seventh day? There are many calendars!”

If you are among the myriads who seem to be confused about God’s commanded Shabbat (Hebrew for “Sabbath”), please allow me to clear it up for you. It’s truly VERY uncomplicated, and can be summed up thusly:

Yahweh’s Shabbats are about RESTING on the SEVENTH Day. You can (and should!) “worship” God EVERY day; but, His commanded “Day of Rest” is on the Seventh Day.

That’s exactly what Scripture says: “Rest” on the “seventh day.”  This simply means we should cease our regular work; and take the Sabbath day off from the stress of life on earth, to rest and relax in His loving arms and take time to study His Word. It’s our weekly “date” with Him!

(For those who insist that that they “keep a Sunday Sabbath because they honor the day Jesus rose,” please note that God’s Seventh Day commandment has NOTHING, whatsoever, to do with the “resurrection!”  It’s all about “resting on the Seventh day.”)

Yes, by all means WORSHIP - by praying, fellowshipping and studying the Word; but just don’t do any ordinary work on the Seventh Day which - on our Gregorian calendars - happens to fall on Saturday, as shown in our website's article, "How do we know Saturday is the 'seventh day?'" 

Let’s allow the Bible to help us put an end to ALL the arguments about the Sabbath:

First, we see Yahweh Himself, “resting” on the Seventh day":

Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. 2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the SEVENTH DAY from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.

Then we see Him commanding His people to set aside the Seventh Day for the purpose of resting:

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.

Then we see Him mentioning that His Shabbat is “a SIGN” between Him and His people “forever”:

Exodus 31:16 The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'"

Ezekiel 20:11 I gave them my laws and showed them my rulings; if a person obeys them, he will have life through them. 12 I gave them my shabbats as a sign between me and them, so that they would know that I, ADONAI, am the one who makes them holy.

NOTE:  (1) “Forever” hasn’t ended yet. (2) Everyone who accepts the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is part of “Israel” and commanded to to obey His Divine Instructions (Numbers 15:13-16, 1 John 2:3-7; Proverbs 28:9; Romans 10:12), which include keeping His Seventh Day Sabbath.

Then, later, we see the Prophets getting involved to drive home the need for the Seventh Day Sabbath command:

Isaiah 56:2 Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. 3 A foreigner joining ADONAI should not say, "ADONAI will separate me from his people"; likewise the eunuch should not say, "I am only a dried-up tree." 4 For here is what ADONAI says: "As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant: 5 in my house, within my walls, I will give them power and a name greater than sons and daughters; I will give him an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 "And the foreigners who join themselves to ADONAI to serve him, to love the name of ADONAI, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, 7 I will bring them to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples."

Isaiah 58:13 If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, ADONAI'S holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. 14 If you do, you will find delight in ADONAI - I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya'akov, for the mouth of ADONAI has spoken."

Isaiah 66:23 And it shall be that from one New Moon to another New Moon and from one Sabbath to another Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord.

Jeremiah 17:21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work;

So, as you can plainly see, Yahweh is VERY SERIOUS about taking a day of REST – a day on which you can properly WORSHIP Him by refraining from doing your daily “stuff” and , thus, truly concentrate on Him.  And that day is none other than the SEVENTH DAY! 

Do not listen to people who try to tell you otherwise! There is NO latitude given for willful disobedience.  Disobedience to Yahweh, as amply revealed in Scripture, is SIN … and sin is “transgression of the “law” – Torah).

Proverbs 28:9 If a person will not listen to Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.

Before I go, I’m going to ask you to please ask yourself these questions: Do YOU truly “rest” on “your” particular “chosen” Sabbath?  Do you honestly “stop working” and just REST from the work week?  Or do you mow your lawn, patch your roof, spend hours doing your laundry or cleaning your home and catching up with other chores around the house?  Do you make it a habit to go to the office to “catch up” and then stop by McDonalds to grab a hamburger on your way home (thus, committing two sins, by “working” and “committing commerce”)? 

If your answer to any of those questions is “Yes” – then (1) you are keeping the wrong day to rest/properly worship Yahweh, and (2) you are consequently, guilty of breaking the Fourth Commandment:  Exodus 20:8-11 - "Remember the sabbath day..."

Please think about that…

For more on this issue, please read our article, “The True Sabbath Day.”