In Exodus 24 the Lord summons Moses to meet with Him on Mount Sinai, where he remains for forty days and forty nights. During this time, God gives detailed instructions on the construction of the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, the priestly garments, and the like. God concludes His instructions by reminding Moses to keep the Sabbath day.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’” (Exodus 31:12-17)
My Sabbaths.
Some might think the plural use indicates all the Sabbath festivals. Others might think it refers only to the fourth commandment. Whatever the case, the context of the passage is the Sabbath day (i.e., the weekly day of rest).
You shall keep.
“The reason for the fresh inculcation of the fourth commandment at this particular period was, that the great ardor and eagerness, with which all classes betook themselves to the construction of the tabernacle, exposed them to the temptation of encroaching on the sanctity of the appointed day of rest. They might suppose that the erection of the tabernacle was a sacred work, and that it would be a high merit, an acceptable tribute, to prosecute the undertaking without the interruption of a day’s repose; and therefore the caution here given, at the commencement of the undertaking, was a seasonable admonition” (JFB).
In other words, the Sabbath’s importance superceded the urgency of the tabernacle’s construction. Legalistic and self-sufficient hearts are quick to work relentlessly for God without resting in God.
Between Me and you.
“By keeping the Sabbath holy, according to his directions, Ex 20:8-11, they would show that they were his people, and that he was their God. It would also be a great means of preserving among them a right knowledge of God, and thus making them holy and preparing them for heaven” (Justin Edwards). We were made to know God. Forgiveness of sins, as astounding and amazing as it is, is really a means to an end: being reconciled to God. The Sabbath provision provides a means of grace by which we can know God better, thus preparing us for our appointed end: a completely restored and eternal relationship with God in Heaven.
The Sabbath of rest.
“Heb. the sabbath of sabbaths, or, of sabbaths, i.e. the great and chief sabbath, as the song of songs is the most excellent song, the holy of holies is the most holy, &c. The Jews had many sabbaths or days of rest, but this is here preferred before them all, by this emphatical repetition of the same word; and by this argument the foregoing duty is pressed upon them” (Matthew Poole). All other sabbaths and festivals take a back seat to the supreme festival: the weekly Sabbath.
A perpetual covenant.
“Because it is a sign of this future rest and blessedness, therefore the religious observance of it must be perpetually kept up. The type must continue in force till the antitype come” (Adam Clarke).
The children of Israel forever.
“The Jews, by observing one day in seven, after six days’ labour, testified and declared that they worshipped the God who made the world in six days, and rested the seventh; and so distinguished themselves from other nations, who, having first lost the sabbath, which was instituted to be a memorial of the creation, by degrees lost the knowledge of the Creator, and gave that honour to the creature which was due to him alone” (Matthew Henry).
He rested and was refreshed.
“[Not that] he had been weary with working, which surely he could not be with speaking a few words, nor can God be weary with any thing, Isa 40:28; but it notes the pleasure or delight God took in reflecting upon his works, beholding that every thing he had made was very good, Ge 1:31” (Matthew Poole). This is a reminder of the kind of rest God enjoyed: beholding the goodness of His finished work. Our manner of rest is to take its cue from God’s manner of rest. That is, we can rest by delighting in the completed and finished work of God on our behalf.
Let me end this post with one more quote from John Greenhalgh, who helps us understand the significance of the weekly Sabbath as revealed in its repeated use in the Old Testament.
“The meaning of the sabbath has been expounded before, but its continual injunction as revealing the heart of God cannot be overlooked. He knew what His people were, and how they would always fail under responsibility, so that, in this sense, He was never disappointed in the result. On the other hand, the annexation of the sabbath to every relationship between Himself and the people shows how earnestly (if such language may be employed) He longed that His people should enter into the consummation of His purposes for them, and have the enjoyment of blessed fellowship with Himself in sharing His rest” (John Greenhalgh, on Exodus 31:13).
Commentaries Cited from
Hall, Kay. Online Bible. Beersheba Springs: Ken Hamel, 2000. CD-ROM.
Commentaries Used
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary
The Family Bible Notes, by Justin Edwards
Annotations upon the Holy Bible, by Matthew Poole
Eclectic Notes, compiled by John Greenhalgh
An Exposition of the Old and New Testament, by Matthew Henry
Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke
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