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34 facts about the Sabbath

Why keep the Sabbath day? What is the object of the Sabbath? Who made it? When was it made, and for whom? Which day is the Sabbath? Is it the first day of the week (Sunday) or the seventh day of the week (Saturday)?

Here is what the Bible says.

  1. After working the first six days of the week in creating this earth, God rested on the seventh day. (Genesis 2:1-3; Hebrews 4:4)
  2. The seventh day is the Sabbath. Sabbath means “rest.” (Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:10)
  3. The Creator blessed the seventh day. (Genesis 2:3)
  4. He set apart (sanctified) the seventh day. (Exodus 20:11)
  5. The Sabbath is a memorial of creation. Every time we rest upon the seventh day, as God did at creation, we commemorate that grand event. (Exodus 20:11) It is also a sign between God and us that He sets us apart as His special people. (Ezekiel 20:12; Revelation 12:17)
  6. Jesus says Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27), that is, for the whole human race. Therefore, it was given not only to the Jew but to everyone.
  7. God gave the Ten Commandments at Sinai. (Exodus 19:20) In the fourth commandment, God reminds us that He established the Sabbath thousands of years before. (Exodus 19:20; 20:8-11)
  8. The week originated at creation. The Bible indicates that it continued unbroken through the centuries from creation (Genesis 2:1-3) to Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11) to apostolic times. (Acts 13:13, 44).
  9. The manna miracle showed that the Sabbath was already sacred before God gave the Ten Commandments at Sinai (Exodus 16:4, 27-30).
  10. The seventh-day Sabbath was com­manded by the voice of God Himself. (Deuteronomy 4:12, 13)
  11. God wrote these commandments on tables of stone with His own finger. (Exodus 31:18)
  12. God’s commands were preserved in a sacred wooden chest (ark) in the most holy room of the sanctuary. (Deuteronomy 10:1-5)
  13. God said we are to rest on the Sabbath even in extra busy times. (Exodus 34:21)
  14. The Sabbath is a symbol of the contract between us and God, by which we remember that He is our God. (Ezekiel 20:12)
  15. God promised that Jerusalem would stand forever if the Jews would keep the Sabbath. (Jeremiah 17:24, 25)
  16. One of the reasons why God allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed was Israel’s desecration of the Sabbath. (Jeremiah 17:27)
  17. God sent Israel into Babylonian captivity for breaking the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:18)
  18. God has pronounced a special blessing on all Jews and non-Jews ­who will keep the Sabbath. (Isaiah 56:6, 7)
  19. The Lord encourages us to think of the Sabbath as a delight, honorable. (Isaiah 58:13)
  20. When the Son of God came, He worshiped on the seventh day. (Luke 4:16; John 15:10)
  21. The seventh day is the Lord’s day. (See Revelation 1:10; Mark 2:28; Isaiah 58:13; Exodus 20:10)
  22. Jesus vindicated the Sabbath as a merciful institution designed for man’s good. (Mark 2:23-28)
  23. Instead of abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus carefully taught how it should be observed. (Matthew 12:1-13)
  24. Jesus admonished His disciples to pray that they would not have to flee from the coming destruction of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. (Matthew 24:20)
  25. After His death, the women who were followers of Jesus “Rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56: (Exodus 20:8-11)
  26. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, called it the “Sabbath day” (Acts 13:27. Compare verses 14, 42, 44.)
  27. In the great Christian council, A.D. 49, in the presence of the apostles and thousands of disciples, James calls it the “Sabbath day.” (Acts 15:21)
  28. It was customary to meet for prayer upon the Sabbath day. (Acts 16:13)
  29. As was his custom, Paul “Reasoned with them out of the scriptures”: on the Sabbath day. (Acts 17:2, 3)
  30. The Book of Acts alone gives a record of Paul teaching and preaching on at least 84 Sabbath days.
  31. The Bible never records any dispute between Christians and Jews as to which day is the Sabbath. This indicates that Christians still observe the same day as the Jews did.
  32. The Sabbath is mentioned 59 times in the New Testament and always with respect. In no instance is it even implied that the Sabbath was abolished or changed.
  33. There is no record in the Bible that God has ever removed His blessing or sanctification from the seventh day.
  34. The Sabbath remains forever. (Hebrews 4:9; Isaiah 66:22, 23)