The Fourth Commandment – Part 3 – The Observance

This article is the third in the series on the fourth commandment. We have learned in the previous two articles how the Sabbath was changed from the seventh day to the first, and we also learned the reasons for observing this day. In this article we shall study the instructions for this special day. In the next article in the series we will study what Y’shua did. Did He observe the Sabbath?

The Scripture is overflowing with detailed instructions as to how we are to observe this day. The essence of the Sabbath is rest and the instructions for the keeping of the Sabbath revolve around preparation. Here are twelve points to ponder about the observance of the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:8–11
⁸ “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath of YHVH your Elohim; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹ “For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore YHVH blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

1. We are to remember the Sabbath

We have seen in Part 2 of this series, that the Sabbath is the sign of the covenant. We are therefor to remember YHVH’s covenant with us and fulfill our part of the conditions, which is in this to keep His commandments and specifically to observe the Sabbath. This is in line with the contextual understanding of the word “remember” in the other two occurrences mentioned, where YHVH remembers His covenant.

To remember something can also be linked to being prepared. If you have a special appointment, you plan for it. It is like when you have invited friends to your home; you would have to remember it and plan accordingly. Sabbath is such a special appointment, which we have to remember and plan for.

2. It is a set apart day unto YHVH

To set something apart is an action. If it is meant to be a set apart day, we would need to take action to set it apart. In order to set the day apart, we need to prepare. In this case, we prepare our hearts, our attitudes.

YHVH’s instructions guide us in these actions.

Isaiah 58:13–14
¹³ “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of YHVH honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, ¹⁴ Then you will take delight in YHVH, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of YHVH has spoken.”

In this passage in the book of Isaiah we find very good instruction regarding how we are to set it apart. We are

• not to do our own pleasure on the sabbath.
• to call this day a delight
• to honor this day
• to desist from our own ways.
• not to speak our own word.

Not to do our own pleasure, desist from our own ways and not speak our own words on Sabbath and still call it a delight surely sounds contradictory, but it is not. It is about taking our focus of what we deem enjoyable to what YHVH deems delightful or pleasing.

This will result in amazing blessings from YHVH! He said: “Then you will take delight in YHVH, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father”

With obedience to these instructions comes blessing! It is a promise from YHVH! For the mouth of YHVH has spoken!

3. Six days we are to work

Exodus 20:9
⁹ “Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

We are commanded to work on the six days before the Sabbath. Idleness brings about trouble and poverty. I have recently read two very good articles on “How not to be lazy,” written by Anne Elliot. 

Because of sin, introduced in the Garden, the ground was cursed and man was required to earn his bread through hard work.

Genesis 3:17
¹⁷ Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.

The key here is : “In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life”. You must work hard in order to eat. Those who are lazy will have negative consequences.

Proverbs 24:30–34
³⁰ I passed by the field of the sluggard And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, ³¹ And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles; Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. ³² When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. ³³ “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” ³⁴ Then your poverty will come as a robber And your want like an armed man.

Proverbs 19:15
¹⁵ Laziness casts into a deep sleep, And an idle man will suffer hunger.

If we do our work on the six days, as commanded, we will be able to rest on the Sabbath, because we would be prepared.

4. The Sabbath is the seventh day

We have discussed this at length in the first part of this series. We are not to change YHVH’s commandments. He said we are not to add to it or subtract from it (Deut 4:2).

5. No work is allowed on the Sabbath

Honouring the Sabbath day as a nation will result in the blessing of the nation

Once again, we see the promise of wonderful blessings, if Israel, as a nation, were to keep the Sabbath. These blessings could apply to us as well IF we were obedient as a nation. These are blessings of good leadership and prosperity.

Jeremiah 17:21–25
²¹ ‘Thus says YHVH, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²² “You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. ²³ “Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction. ²⁴ “But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares YHVH, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ²⁵ then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.

Jeremiah 17:27
²⁷ “But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.” ’ ”

The only work permitted on the Sabbath day was the work in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. Sacrifices were done every day of the week, there were even special sacrifices on the Sabbath and feast days.

The priests also made showbread on the sabbath (Lev 24:8; 1 Chron 9:32)

6. The Sabbath is a day of rest

Genesis 2:2
² By the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

YHVH, Himself gave us the best example of what we are to do on the Sabbath. It is a day of rest. This rest will have as reward refreshment. We are physically and spiritually refreshed when we rest on the Sabbath.

Exodus 31:17
¹⁷ “It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days YHVH made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

Exodus 23:12
¹² “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.

YHVH completed His work on the six days. We should plan our week in such a way that we can complete our tasks in order to rest on the Sabbath.

7. No buying and selling is allowed on this day

Nehemiah 10:31
³¹ As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

Buying and selling on the Sabbath is profaning the Sabbath, Nehemiah even calls it an evil thing!

Nehemiah 13:15–19
¹⁵ In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. ¹⁶ Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. ¹⁷ Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? ¹⁸ “Did not your fathers do the same, so that our Elohim brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.” ¹⁹ It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.

Proper planning and preparation will make the need to buy something on the Sabbath unnecessary.

8. We are to prepare for the Sabbath

We have seen that preparation is like a golden thread through each of the instructions for the Sabbath. This is very significant as we will see later.

When I think about preparing for the Sabbath, I am reminded of the Jewish people in the Old City of Jerusalem. That is a great example for us! At three o’clock, all or most of the shops are already closed; you see men walking home with a bouquet of flowers for their wives. Young boys are washing the passages and sidewalks of the old city. Everybody is on their way home to get ready for the Sabbath. Everything quiets down until just before the start of Sabbath, the streets start buzzing again with people, this time you see, nicely dressed, families walking towards the wall to pray or on their way to synagogue. By this time, the food and homes are prepared for this special day. They really go to lengths to prepare for the Sabbath.

Although we don’t believe in following all their traditions, we certainly can learn a lot from them regarding setting the day apart and preparing for it. It is not just any day; it is a day set apart by the King of the universe.

Twice as much on the sixth day

On the sixth day, the people would bring in twice as much manna as they gathered daily. Think about what these words imply. Did they purposefully go out to gather for two days on the sixth day? It says in verse five: “when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” Let us look at this in detail.

Exodus 16:4–5
⁴ Then YHVH said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. ⁵ “On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

Exodus 16:22–23
²² Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³ then he said to them, “This is what YHVH meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to YHVH. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

The leaders of the congregation seemed surprised when they went to tell Moses. Moses explained to them that YHVH caused them to gather twice as much on the sixth day. This was to show them that it was an extra provision from YHVH for the Sabbath day. Whatever they gathered on the sixth day was enough for two days. The manna was supernatural provision, and the gathering of it was also miraculous. Whatever they gathered was just enough. Though, those who purposefully set aside for the next day, the day not being a Sabbath, had a stinky, wormy surprise the following morning!

Exodus 16:29–30
²⁹ “See, YHVH has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

YHVH’s provision makes it possible to rest on the Sabbath. He caused the Israelites to gather enough on the sixth day for the seventh day, to enable them to rest.

Likewise, will YHVH provide for us enough to enable us to rest on the Sabbath. However, we do have to prepare this provision on the 6th day. “Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” They went out and gathered on the 6th day, and afterwards; they prepared it. In like manner, are we to prepare on the 6th day for the seventh day. YHVH provides; we are to prepare.

We have experienced this! A few years ago, we had a group that gathered at our home on a Sabbath. We came together late on the afternoon, and everybody brought food, adequate for their family, to share. It would sometimes happen that people didn’t have sufficient time to prepare or couldn’t bring food for whatever reason. The amazing thing was that we unfailingly had more than enough. In fact, there was always left over.

No cooking on the Sabbath

It is a huge blessing for every woman to be able to rest from food preparation for one day a week, and it is not difficult to do. Plan your meals for the Sabbath beforehand, do your shopping and prepare all the meals in advance. Another option is to eat only fresh fruit and vegetables on Sabbath. Be creative! YHVH gave us these instructions for our good.

Exodus 16:23
²³ then he said to them, “This is what YHVH meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to YHVH. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day

Does this mean we are not to leave our dwelling places on the Sabbath?

We are to look at the context. It is about the gathering of manna. The Israelites gathered manna, that is what they did in the wilderness. That was one of their jobs, the other was to build the tabernacle, but that is not our context here. We are not to go out of our dwellings to gather food, to work, in order to provide. Prepare in advance!

9. We are not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath

Exodus 35:2–3
² “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to YHVH; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. ³ “You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day.”

The literal meaning of “do not kindle a fire” is: “do not to burn a fire.” The context here is work. The Israelites used fire in their building of the tabernacle and also in their food preparation.

The instruction not to kindle a fire on the Sabbath is about being prepared. If you’re prepared adequately, you would not have to work or prepare food on the Sabbath.

10. We are to observe the Sabbath

Exodus 31:13
¹³ “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

The word “observe” in Hebrew is “shamar” some translations have it as guard.

In order not to be redundant, we won’t mention again that it is all about being prepared!

11. Have a set apart convocation

Leviticus 23:3–4
³ ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to YHVH in all your dwellings. ⁴ ‘These are the appointed times of YHVH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.

The translators have given three possible meanings to the word convocation from their understanding of the text:

• an assembly
• a reading
• a calling

You can read more about what having a holy convocation means in “You shall have a holy convocation”

We know that fellowship is important. We learn from each other and interact with each other. However, we do not see any wrong in staying home on the Sabbath.

The closest gathering on a Sabbath is about an hour’s drive from our  home. We have found from experience that staying home on the Sabbath is for us as a family a delight. . We don’t have to rush to get ready for an assembly just to get frustrated sitting in the traffic for hours. Instead, we have a restful day at home. We teach our children, do Bible study, enjoy family time and rest. Afterwards, we are refreshed! To us, it is a day spend with YHVH, His Word and family.

Saying that, we do not condemn anybody for going to or having an assembly. We sometimes have a gathering at home with like-minded friends, that too is an assembly. We always have lots to learn from what everybody shares.

12. Do good on the Sabbath

Y’shua is a great example for us! He kept the Sabbath perfectly, and yet He healed on the Sabbath. This is what He said after He healed the man with the withered hand.

Mark 3:4
⁴ And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

Also Matt 12:10–13 and Luke 6:6–8

Later on Y’shua healed another man on the Sabbath.

Luke 14:3–5
³ And Y’shua answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” ⁴ But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. ⁵ And He said to them, “Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”

We have to be prepared to do good to others, always, even on the Sabbath! Y’shua did and we are His followers!

Psalm 92
A Psalm, a Song for the Sabbath day.
¹ It is good to give thanks to the Lord And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
² To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,
³ With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.
⁴ For You, O YHVH, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
⁵ How great are Your works, O YHVH! Your thoughts are very deep.
⁶ A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this:
⁷ That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.
⁸ But You, O YHVH, are on high forever.
⁹ For, behold, Your enemies, O YHVH, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered.
¹⁰ But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
¹¹ And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
¹² The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Planted in the house of YHVH, They will flourish in the courts of our Elohim.
¹⁴ They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,
¹⁵ To declare that YHVH is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

The Sabbath is everlasting

The Sabbath was instituted by YHVH at the creation of the world and will continue for evermore!

Isaiah 66:22–24
²² “For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares YHVH, “So your offspring and your name will endure. ²³ “And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says YHVH. ²⁴ “Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

We already came across quite a few blessings for keeping the Sabbath. Here are some more! These verses also prove the perpetually of the Sabbath.

Isaiah 56:2
² “How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Isaiah 56:4–5
⁴ For thus says YHVH, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, ⁵ To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

Isaiah 56:6–7
⁶ “Also the foreigners who join themselves to YHVH, To minister to Him, and to love the name of YHVH, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; ⁷ Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

Take note, these people, the eunuchs and foreigners, were not allowed to offer in the Temple (Lev 22:24). No man, of Levitical descent, with a defect was allowed to serve as a priest (Lev 21:17-21). This will be different in the Kingdom, where YHVH will even exult those former “outcasts” who choose to keep His covenant! This is yet another proof that the Sabbath is everlasting for it will still be observed in the Kingdom!

Land sabbath

The annual and land Sabbaths are in a very real way connected to the weekly Sabbath in that it is part of YHVH’s cycle.

• He has a weekly cycle, in this weekly cycle the seventh day Sabbath is His day.
• He also has a yearly cycle with the feasts described in Leviticus 23 as His days,
• a seven year cycle with the Sabbatical year as His year
• a fifty year cycle or Jubilee cycle.

Just go and study how many times YHVH refers to His Sabbaths in plural.

Exodus 31:13
¹³ “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

Ezekiel 20:20
²⁰ ‘Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am YHVH your Elohim.’

Ezekiel 22:26
²⁶ “Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane,
and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean;
and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

Nehemiah 10:31
³¹ As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

Conclusion

We have seen throughout this study that preparation is very important in our observance of the Sabbath. It makes it possible for us to rest on the Sabbath. The Sabbath, its preparation and preparedness to do what is pleasing to our Heavenly Father is giving us a taste of things to come. The coming Kingdom is the seventh millennial day, a “day” of peace and rest. Every week as we prepare for and observe the Sabbath, we are preparing ourselves for the Kingdom.

Are you ready for YHVH’s Kingdom? Will you have the sign of the covenant and will you be sealed with YHVH’s mark? Or will you have the mark of the beast and be doomed forever?

Revelation 14:9–11
⁹ Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, ¹⁰ he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of YHVH, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹ “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

It is not too late yet, believe in Y’shua as your Saviour and choose a life of obedience to YHVH. Choose life, everlasting life!

Revelation 14:12
¹² Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of Elohim and their faith in Y’shua.

If you would like to learn more about the Feasts, Sabbatical and Jubilee Cycles, you can study the following articles: