Sabbath Thought – Holy Sabbath

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it,” (Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV).

The Sabbath is not the same as the other six days of the week. From a worldly perspective Saturday is a day for getting chores done that couldn’t be done the previous week, for mowing the yard, to enjoy personal recreation, or many activities since most don’t have to work at a job that day. But from God’s perspective the Sabbath is different because He lives in that day in a unique way compared to the other six days of the week. The Sabbath is special because it recognizes the creation He made (as stated in Exodus) so mankind could have life. The Sabbath is also special because it was made for mankind’s benefit (Mark 2:27).

But we are not to do our own work on the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for mankind to help facilitate a relationship with God. We just finished rehearsing God’s plan of salvation for mankind as revealed in God’s Holy Days. God seeks a relationship with mankind through His Son (John 6:44) and to facilitate that He gave mankind the Sabbath day. We have six other days to take care of the things of life – work, family, entertainment, and so forth – but God asks us to join Him on the Sabbath to hear His words of life (John 6:63).

Because God lives in the Sabbath, that day becomes holy. When was the last time we collectively and individually took a step back to remind ourselves of what it means, not only to keep the Sabbath, but to keep it holy? Is the Sabbath, and by extension all of God’s Holy Days, sacred to us so we can discern the holy from the profane (Ezekiel 22:26)? The word profane means to make it common – that is it is no longer special or set apart. Do our actions reinforce the sacredness of the Sabbath, or do they weaken it by making it as common as the other 6 days of the week? God expects us to be holy (Leviticus 11:44-45), to be sacred, and especially on days He has marked as sacred.

Out of all of the billions of people who live on the face of this planet, He has chosen us (John 15:19) to be the example of this to the world around us (Acts 13:47). The Sabbath day is time with God to ponder and learn so He can give us eternal life in His family!

I wish you a very meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

18 October, 2025