Commandments to Help Us Rest

The 4^th Commandment is to remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.

Exodus 20:8-11

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁰But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: ¹¹For in six days Yehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

The Ten Commandments are repeated in Deuteronomy 5 and for the 4^th commandment there is a additional insight for keeping the sabbath.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as Yehovah thy God hath commanded thee. ¹³Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: ¹⁴But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that Yehovah thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore Yehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

In Exodus 20, God tells the reader that He, Jehovah made the Heaven and Earth in 6 days and rested on the 7^th day. Jehovah blessed and sanctified the Sabbath.

In Deuteronomy 5, God tells us further that we were slaves in Egypt, now we are free. We are to remember how with mighty signs and wonders God brought us to Freedom. Therefore, God commands us to keep the Sabbath for several reasons.

Also there is a commandment in the New Testament for keeping the Sabbath.

Hebrews 4:9

⁹There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Rest is the Greek word Sabbatismos {sab-bat-is-mos’}(G4520). It is in the Bible one time. Its meaning is: Keeping of a Sabbath. Hebrews 4:9 should have been translated

⁹There remaineth therefore a KEEPING OF A SABBATH to the people of God.

So there is a commandment for New Testament Believers to keep the Sabbath.

This page will not discuss what day is the Sabbath. For that discussion, refer to Romans 14:5 Esteem One Day Above Another. This page is intended to discuss what a Sabbath is, and what does it mean to keep the 4^th Commandment.

The 4^th Commandment, Exodus 20:8

⁸Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The word “Remember” here is from the Hebrew word ZAKAR {zaw-kar’}(H2142). It means, “to recall”. We are to keep the Sabbath day as a Remembrance.

And in Deuteronomy 5:12

¹²Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as Yehovah thy God hath commanded thee.

The word “Keep” is from the Hebrew word SHAMAR {shaw-mar’}(H8104). It means “to observe”.

The following pages will go through the various aspects of Keeping the Sabbath.

Return to Sabbath