“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
The Sabbath is a sacred day, a holy day. It is the Sabbath of the LORD our God. Since it is His day, He tells us exactly how we are to behave on that day. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD 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: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.” Exodus 20:8–11
God is a just God; He gives us six days and only takes one for Himself. In those six days we can do all our regular things, including talking every-day talk to our friends, our family, church brothers and sisters, neighbours, even work mates; but on the seventh day, He asks us to do spiritual things, to do holy things, as it is His day—“the Sabbath of the LORD thy God.”
He says through Prophet Isaiah: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13–14
God wants the best for us and seeks to bless us. In the verses above He promises a blessing, but when we violate this command we displease Him. It was a great sin during the time of Old Israel, as He says: “Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among His people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:14–17
Today we are spiritual Israel; and while physical death for this commandment is not seen here today, the recording angels are making record of all who violate this commandment and each one will have to give an account as “for by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matthew 12:37. This can turn into eternal death. It is that serious. The recording angel listens to every conversation and sees every act of Sabbath defilement.
Since God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, He is expecting His people to be obedient, as when He gave this commandment to the children of Israel. It was not enough to have their clothes and food ready. They were required to keep the day sacred. It is clear— speaking our own words and doing our own pleasure violate the Sabbath. Yet, young and old, Sabbath after Sabbath, ignore the sanctity of the Sabbath. It is widespread, speaking our own words and, many times, doing our own pleasure. It is a great problem amongst us. Let us ask ourselves: Are we sanctifying the Sabbath or violating the Sabbath? Today we consider ourselves to be the Israel of God, but have we also forgotten the sacredness of this commandment? Are we truly keeping the day holy as He says? While we may prepare for the Sabbath by getting our physical things ready, do we prepare our minds so that when it comes we would be under His sanctifying influence, where Isaiah 58:14 becomes our experience? Finally, do we call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, where we truly find pleasure in going to church, reading His word? If we have to be home, do we read, pray, sing? It seems that the enemy does not want God’s people to be sanctified by the keeping of this exact commandment. It is for this reason that the all-knowing God placed the word: “remember” at the beginning of this fourth commandment—“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
The early Adventists understood what God entrusted them with; they immediately received it. The Spirit of Prophecy states: “The Spirit of God impressed the hearts of those students of His word. . . . They had been honestly seeking to know and to do God’s will; now, as they saw themselves transgressors of His law, sorrow filled their hearts, and they manifested their loyalty to God by keeping His Sabbath holy.” –The Great Controversy, p. 434
God is calling for a Sabbath reform, as keeping the Sabbath is not just to abstain from work or cooking; it is to control our minds and our thoughts, throughout the Sabbath hours. It is to fast from our own words. Have you ever fasted from your own words? To fast means to withhold or to cease for a period. Even though fasting is identified with eating, we can use this analogy of fasting as a way of ceasing from speaking our own words on the Sabbath day. I believe God has given us this special day to teach wonderful lessons in holiness. When done with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can bring it into other areas of our lives from day to day.
When we are on a break, from one programme to the next, or at lunch time, it is still as sacred as when we are in the service; therefore, we must cease from speaking our own words about fashion, cars, business, food and any common conversation. We read in 1 Peter, “As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, be ye holy: for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14–16. It is, therefore, important to guard our conversation even more on God’s holy Sabbath. Only with the help of the LORD can we tame the tongue.
What to do? First ask God for His help. It is a holy day and only the holy God can sanctify us. Ask Him to give us power to obey. We must then act on it. The best way to avoid speaking our own words and doing things on God’s holy Sabbath day is to talk about the blessings that God gave during the week, or about missionary experiences. If possible, sing hymns in our hearts—it is to stay continually in the presence of the most holy God. Pray silently in our hearts, as often as possible. It is also to keep our conversation on heavenly things. If it is lunch time, it is to meditate on the Sabbath School lesson or the sermon just preached. We are often brought to the test by ones coming with common conversation, while it may be difficult, we must not join in, or we should seek to turn the conversation to holy talk. Eventually people will get used to us fasting from our own words, and even take us as an example of not bringing worldly conversation to the table. Reading quietly is also a way of avoiding engaging in unholy conversation. Also the youth should seek to avoid speaking their own words when they come together, and set an example for the younger ones; even personal phone conversation must be sanctified. Jesus left us an example—instead of sitting with His peers when He was a young boy, He was found conversing with the Rabbis.
In conclusion, the Sabbath can prove to be a blessing in many ways; for example, visit or call the shut-in who may be lonely and need uplifting, go for short walks. Fresh air in nature helps us to see the God of creation and it is a good time to tell our children about God’s love in nature. It is also to be a witness to the world that God still has a people keeping His commandments and have the faith of Jesus—overall when this is done by His people, He will do exactly as He promises. “Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:14
May God help us and “To day if ye will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 3:7–8
Shartery Garcia