This is the most positively stated of the Ten Commandments. Only one other commandment appears in the affirmative, namely, the fifth. The fourth commandment is a charge to refresh oneself physically and spiritually. The Hebrew noun sabat, translated "sabbath,"is related to the verb translated "to cease"(cf. Gen. 2:1-3).
Before God gave the Mosaic Law He told the Israelites to refrain from gathering manna on the seventh day of the week (Exod. 16:22-30). Later God made abstinence from work on the sabbath day a law for the Israelites (Exod. 20:8-11). The reasons were to memorialize God's creation of the universe (Exod. 20:11) and to memorialize His creation of the nation Israel (Deut. 5:15).
"There are two versions of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, and both give different reasons for the observation of the sabbath. In Exodus 20:11, the Hebrews are enjoined to observe the sabbath on the basis of God's creation of the world. But in the second version, Deuteronomy 5:15, the sabbath is to be observed in commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. At first sight the two reasons given for the observation of the same commandment seem very different, but the new understanding of the Song of the Sea [Exodus 15:1-18], in its Canaanite/Ugaritic background [that I explained in my notes on Exodus], indicates just how close the two reasons are. The sabbath was to be observed, first in celebration of the creation of the world, and second in commemoration of God's creation of Israel in the Exodus."81
"The principle theological truth to be seen here is the changing theological emphases of the unchanging God. For a people freshly delivered from Egyptian overlordship by the mighty exodus miracle, God as Creator is a central truth. Therefore it is most appropriate that the Sabbath focus on him as Creator and the cessation of that creative work, the very point of the Exodus commandment. From the perspective of the Deuteronomy legislation, some forty years later, creation pales into insignificance in comparison to the act of redemption itself. With the benefit now of historical retrospection and with the anticipation of the crossing of another watery barrier--the Jordan--and the uncertainties of conquest, Israel was to recall its plight as slaves and its glorious release from that hopeless situation. Sabbath now speaks of redemption and not creation, of rest and not cessation.
"All this gives theological justification for the observance by the Christian of Sunday rather than Saturday as the day set apart as holy. For the Christian the moment of greatest significance is no longer creation or the exodus--as important as these are in salvation history. Central to his faith and experience is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, a re-creation and redemptive event that eclipses all of God's mighty acts of the past. Thus by example if not by explicit command Jesus and the apostles mandated the observance of the first day of the week as commemorative of his triumphant victory over death."82
God gave this commandment for the physical and spiritual welfare of His people (cf. Mark 2:23-28). The Pharisees later made sabbath observance stricter than what God had intended (cf. e.g., Mark 2:18-3:6).
God did not command Christians to observe the sabbath (cf. Rom. 10:4; 14:5-6; Gal. 3:23-29; 4:10; Col. 2:16-17). From the birth of the church on Christians have observed the first day of the week, not the seventh, as a memorial of Jesus Christ's resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).83The reason was that the resurrection vindicated all Jesus claimed and did. It therefore memorialized God's creation of the church. Even though God did not command it, resting and remembering God's great acts have become customary among Christians down through the centuries. The Christian who works on Sunday is not disobeying God. The early Gentile Christians were mainly slaves who had to work on Sundays and met in the evening for worship. For them Sunday was not a day of rest but of work and worship.
To speak of Sunday as the "Christian Sabbath"as some do may be misleading. True, it is a day of rest for many Christians, but God has not commanded us to observe the sabbath as He commanded Jews under the Mosaic Law. Seventh Day Adventists and other sabbatarian groups disagree. They believe that since this is part of the moral code of the Mosaic Law it remains in force for Christians. Some Christians appeal to Hebrews 4:9 for support that we should observe Sunday as the sabbath. However the "rest"in view in that verse probably refers to our rest after we go to be with the Lord. Still other Christians argue for observance of the sabbath because it was a creation institution that antedated the Mosaic Law. However, God did not command sabbath observance until the Mosaic Law.
In short, most Christians observe Sunday as a special day devoted to spiritual rather than physical matters, and God's interests rather than our selfish interests, because we choose to do so. We do not do so because God has commanded us to do so.
Nevertheless making Sunday special has two benefits at least. First, it contributes to public health. God made man in His image. God ceased His labor after working six days in creation. Man likewise constitutionally needs a refreshing change after six days of labor, including study. It is not healthy physically, psychologically, or socially to work seven days a week. Note that God made the sabbath for "man,"not just for Jews (Mark 2:27). Second, making Sunday special promotes civil liberty. It guards against the exploitation of workers. Sabbath observance was a symbol of freedom to the Israelites. Today ceasing from labor for one day enables people to rest and refresh themselves with friends and family, to enjoy a measure of freedom from "the daily grind."Failure to do so reduces life to the proverbial rat race in which people live as animals rather than as free human beings. People who have to work seven days a week fail to enjoy the rest God intended for them (cf. Matt. 11:28).
This is the only one of the Ten Commandments that Jesus Christ or the apostles did not restate as a Christian obligation in the New Testament.84
