What is the Sabbath and how did people practice it in the Bible?
One of the Ten Commandments given to God’s people in Exodus 20 (ESV) is to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” For God’s people in the Old Testament, the Sabbath day (Saturday) was a day of rest. This day was a day to be set aside for the Lord. As God rested on the seventh day of creation,His people were to also rest from their work. In Leviticus 25, we see that even the land and work animals were to be given a Sabbath rest every seven years. This was practical in that it allowed fields to be left uncultivated and restore nutrients. In that seventh year, whatever the land produced would be used for people and animals, but not sold commercially. This was a reminder of the importance of rest and reflection on God’s gifts, but it was also a very poignant lesson that the days we have, the things we enjoy on this earth, don’t really belong to us. When God’s people rested on a day or rested their land, they were reminded that these things belong to the Lord. He has control.
Do Christians still observe the Sabbath? What do Lutherans believe about keeping the Sabbath day?
In Martin Luther’s Small Catechism his explanation of the Sabbath day commandment is, “We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.”
Participating in regular worship is one way we keep the Sabbath day holy. And as we return to God’s Word and His teachings, we find that He truly gives us the rest we need from our labors. When Jesus says in Matthew 11:28 (ESV), “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” we can trust that He means it. We make it a practice to go to God’s Word in worship and in our own personal study knowing that we will receive God’s guidance, encouragement, and Words of life. This is rest compared to the efforts of our sinful nature to justify our bad behavior, control every situation that might make us feel vulnerable, and search for purpose and direction outside of our Savior. The ultimate Sabbath rest we look forward to is when we rest from all of our labors in our eternal home with Jesus.