God set the Sabbath in creation. It is a moral statute commanding cessation from ordinary labor one day in seven. God set in creation the necessity for all people to rest and for the land to rest. The full command is,
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; 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. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exo 20:8-11 NAS)
The fourth commandment directly regulates all labor and the use of land. Its scope touches individuals, families, servants, immigrants, animals, agriculture, debt relief, healthcare and more. God established in creation the need for people to rest. It is against Gods Law to work people nonstop without allowing them time off, to take care of their family needs, and to heal from illness. When resources are consumed without rest, society breaks down, people become unwell, and the land becomes exhausted.
The word “seventh” is used with the word “Sabbath.”
The Hebrew word “shabbat” means “sabbath” and the word “shebi‘i” means “seventh.” The Greek word “sabaton” is “Sabbath” and the word “hebdomos” is “seventh.” The words “Sabbath“ and “seventh” are used together throughout the Bible. An example is Exodus 16:26.
“Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” (Exo 16:26 NAS)
The Sabbath is always specifically referred to as the seventh day of the week because it is in reference to God resting on the seventh day of creation.
“And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Gen 2:2-3 NAS)
During the time when the Ten commandments were given to Moses, each day of the week started in the evening and ended before the evening of the next day.
“And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Gen 1:5 NAS)
In relation to our current calendar, the seventh day begins at sundown Friday evening and ends sundown Saturday evening. It is clear regardless of when the sabbath starts or begins on the calendar: one day in seven is sanctified for rest from labor.
What Breaks the Sabbath?
Scripture never says failure to worship on a given day breaks the Sabbath. In the Bible, Sabbath-breaking is tied to commerce, unjust gain, opening markets, hauling goods, and profiteering on the seventh day. The command to keep the Sabbath holy has nothing to do with a designated worship day. Nowhere does Scripture call Christian worship a replacement for the Sabbath. More important, the Sabbath was not made for worshiping God. The Sabbath was made for man.
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27 NAS)
The Sabbath is broken when society unceasingly continues commerce, land exploitation, servitude, and any other activity that ultimately exhaust resources, damages the land and over works the people.
“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. 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. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? ” (Neh 13:15-22 NAS)
“Thus says the LORD, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. “And 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… 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 shall kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.” (Jer 17:21-27 NAS)
The object of the fourth commandment is to stop work and profiteering that devours neighbor and land.
Under some circumstances penalties for breaking the Sabbath were severe.
God made the Sabbath law to prevent permanent exploitation, endless debt, or monopolistic hoarding. While Israel was wandering in the wilderness for forty years, a man was put to death for gathering wood on the Sabbath.
“Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So all the congregation brought him outside the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.” (Num 15:32-36 NAS)
The Israelites were in the desert with almost no resources. Wood, water, food and every necessity was scarce. After repeated warnings, a willful disregard of the law during such severe scarcity brought the death penalty to the repeat offender. The purpose was to stop predatory gathering that could endanger the whole camp. These penalties show how seriously God protects rest, equity, and shared provision.
The Sabbath was made for man and not for our duty to God.
The Sabbath was established for the care for family, employees, animals, the land, and debt relief. The Pharisees accused Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Law for plucking grain on the Sabbath.
“At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions; how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent? “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.” (Matt 12:1-6)
The Pharisees did not correctly understand the Law of God. The poor and animals were allowed to take the leftovers from a field for a meal.
“But on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.” (Exo 23:11-12 NAS)
A homeless person collecting one meal from a fallow field does not break the sabbath. The fourth commandment guard’s the needy. It does not establish ritual restrictions.
“And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and became hungry, he and his companions: how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he gave it also to those who were with him?” And He was saying to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. “Consequently, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:25-28 NAS)
Jesus interpreted the Law correctly when He said it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.
“And He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.” (Mark 3:4 NAS)
Coming to the aid of one’s household is not optional. Rescuing an ox, or a son from harm in a pit on the Sabbath is required.
“And He said to them, “What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it, and lift it out? “Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Matt 12:11-12 NAS)
God commands all people and the land to rest after six days.
The command to keep the Sabbath holy extends to the household, servants, immigrants, animals, and even the land.
“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.” (Exo 23:12 NAS)
“You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.” (Exo 34:21 NAS)
The Sabbath shapes agriculture too: the land must periodically lie fallow so it stays fertile and keeps yielding food.
“And you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.” (Exo 23:10-11 NAS)
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. ‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.” (Lev 25:2-4 NAS)
One day each week, ordinary work and profit-seeking stops. This rest covers everyone, employers, employees, families, guests, immigrants, and even animals. The Sabbath protects creation: it conserves the soil, checks exploitation of workers and the poor, and promotes fair sharing. God condemns exploitation.
“Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales.” (Amos 8:4-5 NAS)
The Sabbath is for the benefit of the people.
The fourth commandment protects the exploitation of people and resources. If a Hebrew had to serve another for whatever reason, that Hebrew was to be released from their service after six years by law.
“If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment.” (Exo 21:2 NAS)
This was also true for those who were indebted but were not required to have involuntary servitude to another. After every seven years all debt was to be forgiven.
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. “And this is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’s remission has been proclaimed.” (Deut 15:1-2 NAS)
The Sabbath was a day for healing.
Works of mercy and necessity, healing, rescue, household care, and relief for the poor are all lawful and expected on the Sabbath. Priests bore healthcare duties: examining skin disease, ordering quarantine, overseeing purification, and other duties for the health of the people. The priest would be required to reexamine the person “on the seventh day” as part of a healing cycle. Therefore, healing on the Sabbath is sanctioned in God’s Law.
“And the priest shall look at him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the infection has not changed, and the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days. “And the priest shall look at him again on the seventh day; and if the infection has faded, and the mark has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean; it is only a scab. And he shall wash his clothes and be clean.” (Lev 13:5-6 NAS)
Jesus repeatedly healed on the Sabbath. It was a requirement for the priest to heal on the Sabbath. The pharisees did not correctly understand the Law of God. The pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by healing people.
“But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” And departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they questioned Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”– in order that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, “What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it, and lift it out? “Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” And he stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.” (Matt 12:1-13 NAS)
Some duties the priests performed broke the Sabbath but they were found innocent. Jesus restored a withered hand, a paralytic, and a man born blind, and healed many more. Jesus rebuked leaders for neglecting their duties that God required in His Law. To withhold aid on the Sabbath is contrary the Sabbath.
“And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.” And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made erect again, and began glorifying God. And the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the multitude in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; therefore come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water him? “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” And as He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.” (Luke 13:10-17 NAS)
Some claim Leviticus 23:3 commands a worship service on the Sabbath.
Assemblies and offerings were scheduled on the seventh day but this is not the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Many people cite Leviticus 23:3 to claim the Sabbath is primarily for assembling a worship service. That is not accurate. Leviticus 23 lays out the Lord’s appointed times, holy convocations with offerings and feasts, that were scheduled on various calendar days and not solely on the seventh day. It is a calendar of ceremonial observances tied to seasons.
“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these.’” (Lev 23:2 NAS)
Leviticus 23 is not defining the Fourth Commandment’s requirement to “keep the Sabbath holy.” Rather, it is a list of many appointed days beyond the weekly Sabbath of observances connected to the seasons. The following are examples.
- The Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month (Leviticus 23:5).
- The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day; holy convocations on the first day and the seventh day of the feast; no laborious work on those days (Leviticus 23:6–8).
- The Feast of Firstfruits, the priest waves the sheaf “the day after the Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:11).
- Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) is counted as seven complete Sabbaths plus one day (“count fifty days”) with a grain offering (Leviticus 23:15–16).
- The Day of Atonement is the tenth day of the seventh month; a holy convocation and a “Sabbath of complete rest” (Leviticus 23:27–32).
- The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) has holy convocations on the first day and the eighth day with no laborious work on those days (Leviticus 23:34–36).
So, Leviticus 23 commands assemblies and suspends work on several appointed days that are not the weekly Sabbath. If someone insists on holding church services on the Sabbath because of Leviticus 23:3, consistency would require observing all the appointed days in Leviticus 23 and not “cherry-picking” one verse while overlooking all the others in the same context.
Christ fulfilled the appointed times in His work as our messiah.
The priestly offerings and feast days on the “sabbaths” were the keeping of the promise pointing to what Christ would do for His people. The Law’s function is to reveal sin and lead us to Christ.
“By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified” (Rom 3:20)
These appointed times were fulfilled by Jesus Christ who perfectly kept the Law, offered Himself as the once-for-all sacrifice, rose, ascended, and intercedes for His people. This is why the Apostle Paul says not to judge in respect to a Sabbath day.
“Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16-17 NAS)
These appointments by God are not a part of the Fourth Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Their timing often fell on the seventh day precisely to foreshadow Messiah’s work of the Passover, Firstfruits, Resurrection, Pentecost, Day of Atonement, Booths and all the appointed times.
Importantly, when the prophets condemn “new moons and sabbaths” they target Israel’s corrupt assemblies and sacrifices and not the Fourth Commandment.
“Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies– I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.” (Isa 1:13 NAS)
While the appointed times set by God in Leviticus 23 are fulfilled by Christ, this does not mean the fourth commandment to keep the Sabbath holy is no longer to be obeyed. The Sabbath rest is crucial to a functioning society.
God blessed the seventh day at creation and commanded one day in seven for rest. This moral Sabbath command guards people, animals, and land from relentless exploitation, and it directs us toward mercy, equity, and shared provision. Scripture ties Sabbath-breaking not to missing a service, but to unceasing commerce, unjust gain, and extractive practices that harm neighbor and soil. While Israel’s appointed times and priestly rites were shadows fulfilled in Christ the Fourth Commandment’s creational rhythm endures: cease from ordinary labor, refresh your household, relieve the poor, and do good. In Christ, “the Lord of the Sabbath,” we receive forgiveness for our failures and the grace to practice a holy rest that honors God, protects the vulnerable, and stewards His world.