When we think about the instruction to keep the Sabbath day holy, our minds often go to Exodus 20—the Ten Commandments. The Fourth Commandment, which tells us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, points back to the reality that the Creator God rested. That rest is given as the reason for the command, anchoring the Sabbath in the Creation week and tying it directly to our Creator.

In Deuteronomy 5—the second giving of the Ten Commandments—we find an added dimension to the blessing of Sabbath-keeping. Notice verses 12 and 15:

Deuteronomy 5:12, 15 (NKJV)
12 “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. …
15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

Here we discover a remarkable truth: Sabbath-keeping is fundamentally incompatible with slavery. Consider the miserable existence that the bondage of slavery brings. For a people once oppressed, the gift of a weekly day of rest and renewal is one of the most profound signs of freedom their Redeemer God could give.

Would you like to learn how to experience freedom from the modern forms of bondage we create for ourselves? Request the free study “Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest” available on the United Church of God website.

By Lynn Leiby