The Sabbath is a concept created at the beginning of time (first mentioned in Genesis 2:2-3) where, after God finished creating the Earth in six days, He took the seventh day to enjoy what He had done—the Bible describes it as having ‘rested’ (Genesis 2:2). This day of rest was made holy, a structure intended for man to follow as we work for six days and rest on the seventh. After Moses received the Ten Commandments, this day of rest was commemorated as a law in the Israelite nation and is one that continues to be respected to this day. However, not all God-fearing religions have the same perspective—on day, or method of respect.
Let’s look at a few.
Judaism
Judaism is the term for the official religion of the ancient Israelites and the modern Jewish nation. Its history is the same as that of the Bible’s Old Testament, and thus, they respect the Sabbath (or rather, Shabbat) as it was commanded at the time, observing the Mosaic laws. Although what is and isn’t an appropriate activity for Shabbat isn’t exactly defined, prohibited activities included baking and cooking (Exodus 16:23-29), buying and selling (Nehemiah 10:31), gathering wood (Numbers 15:32-36), and lighting a fire (Exodus 35:3). The overall direction is that ‘any work’ is prohibited (Exodus 20:10). Rabbis added to this list, including 39 more categories of prohibited work, such as agricultural activities, constructive work, etc¹. Traditionally, Shabbat begins 20 minutes before sundown on Friday and ends when the first three stars have risen after sundown on Saturday. Shabbat activities typically include attending synagogue, studying the Torah (the Jewish religious text; the first five books of the Bible), praying, hosting dinners with friends, and spending quality time with loved ones through song and discussion². Judaism is often considered the most traditional branch of those who observe a form of Sabbath.
Seventh-Day Christianity
Although many Christians still observe a Sabbath day, there is debate about which day Sabbath or the ‘day of rest’ should occur on. Seventh-day (Saturday) respecting denominations of Christianity include the Seventh-day Adventist church (which Sabbath Blessings is aligned with). In this denomination, Sabbath is still respected on the Saturday, or the original seventh day. They do not consider Sabbath to have been ‘done away with’ at Jesus' death as other non-Sabbath-keeping churches believe but rather consider it to have been maintained along with the rest of the commandments. Seventh-Day Adventism believes that Jesus’ death freed us from the need for sacrifice but kept the Ten Commandments and everything in them intact. In fact, the need to maintain Sabbath as a holy day of rest is considered vital to respecting God’s laws³.
Bible references to support this include:
• Jesus died on Friday, rested in His grave during the Sabbath day, and rose on a Sunday (Mark 15:37; Mark 16:9)
• Jesus tells us to be hopeful that we don’t have to escape hard times on the Sabbath (Matthew 24:20)
• We see the disciples still respecting the Sabbath after Jesus’ death by performing Sabbath-typical activities on the day, such as attending synagogue and meeting with each other (Acts 17:2)
Sabbath typically begins at Friday sundown and continues until Saturday sundown. Due to the rather unclear instructions on what is or is not considered ‘work’, there is often great individual variation in what is or is not considered a ‘Sabbath appropriate’ activity. However, most Sabbath-keeping denominations are less ‘strict’ than traditional Judaism, instead following Jesus’ interpretation of the law as seen in the New Testament. Here, Jesus made it clear that ‘Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath’ and that He is ‘Lord, even of the Sabbath’ (Mark 2:27-28 KJV). In these verses, we see the clear allowance for several activities on the Sabbath day that might otherwise have been forbidden, including helping and spending time with the community and finding oneself food (Luke 6:6-11; Matthew 12:1-8). In these verses, Jesus points out that the purpose of the Sabbath is to give us rest and allow us to do good⁴.
Sabbath-keepers also argue that Sabbath is stated to ‘continue forever’ in verses such as Isaiah 66:22-23. Thus, they argue that Sabbath will never be abolished, and so continue to celebrate it.
First-Day Christianity
Many branches of Christianity no longer respect the original seventh-day Sabbath or even consider the keeping of it as a current law. This was a gradual change that began after Jesus’ death, with the spread of Christianity into the Gentile areas, such as ancient Rome. Rather than adopt the full practice, some leaders encouraged the combining of Christian practices with pagan ones. This was made official by Roman Emperor Constantine I, who issued a civil decree that officially commanded that Sunday would replace Saturday as a day of rest. The reasons for this decree were largely that Sunday aligned more with the sun-worshipping pagan practices of the time, as they already worshipped on Sunday.⁵
However, in order to make this more legitimate, the Roman church justified the change through these reasons:
• that God made ‘light’ on the first day of the week (Genesis 1:3),
• that it was the ‘Lord’s Day’ after Jesus rose on the Sunday (Mark 16:9),
• that Paul instructs people to set aside a portion of their earnings on a Sunday (1 Corinthians 16:2)
• that it mentions in the Bible that the disciples once met on the Sunday (Acts 20:7)
• Paul stated that people weren’t to judge others regarding festivals, new moons, celebrations, or a Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16)⁶
As there is no direct mention of the change of the Sabbath in any Biblical passages, Seventh-day keepers argue that there are conversely verses that mention the disciples maintaining the Sabbath instead. When it comes to Colossians 2:16, it is considered to be referring to the practice of sacrifices and 'holy days', which Seventh-day keepers consider to have been done away with at Jesus' death, rather than the Sabbath itself⁷
Islam
In Islam, to keep the ‘Sabbath’ is considered against the Quran, as it is believed that God (Allah) does not need rest as he is above all human attributes. This means that Islam does not believe that Allah rested after the Earth’s creation or set aside a ‘day of rest’ as such. However, they do respect Friday as a day of prayer, which may be considered comparable to the ‘Sabbath.’ Friday is the only day when Muslim men are required to practice prayer in a mosque rather than praying privately. The women, however, can still choose to pray in private. Rather than take off a full day, it is believed to be better to simply take off the time needed for Jummah prayer. Friday is the chosen day to respect as it was the day that Adam was created, and it is believed to be the day that he was expelled from Eden. It is also believed that the Day of Judgement (or ‘the Hour’), which is when Islam believes that Allah will resurrect all of humanity and then judge them, will be on a Friday⁸. Due to its distinction from Christianity or Judaism, Islam considers it necessary to avoid celebrating the Sabbath, as it is a distinguishing factor of the religions, and would be against the Quran to do so⁹.
Overall...
The Sabbath has long been a topic of discussion—and sometimes debate—among the world’s major monotheistic religions. However, at its core, the Sabbath was created for us, offering a much-needed break from the demands of daily life. Regardless of religious affiliation, the idea of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and renewal is a powerful one. After all, in our fast-paced world, who wouldn’t benefit from a dedicated day to pause, recharge, and reconnect? Why not use the day God set aside for us for its intended purpose?
Footnotes
¹ Orthodox Union. (n.d.). The 39 categories of Sabbath work prohibited by law. Retrieved from https://www.ou.org
² My Jewish Learning. (n.d.). Ask the expert: What to do on Shabbat? Retrieved from https://www.myjewishlearning.com
³ Adventist.org. (n.d.). What Adventists believe about the Sabbath. Retrieved from https://www.adventist.org
⁴ Adventist.org. (n.d.). The Sabbath throughout the Bible. Retrieved from https://www.adventist.org
⁵ Catholic Answers. (n.d.). Did the early church move the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? Retrieved from https://www.catholic.com
⁶ Multiple authors. (n.d.). Sabbath in Christianity. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_in_Christianity
⁷ Adventist.org. (n.d.). The Sabbath in Colossians 2. Retrieved from https://www.adventist.org
⁸ Bernier, T. (28 June, 2020). Why don’t Muslims observe the Sabbath? Can I? Retrieved from https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/dont-muslims-observe-sabbath/
⁹ Multiple authors. (n.d.). Sabbath in Islam. Retrieved from https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Sabbath_in_Islam
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