1) It is the only one of the Ten Commandments that God specifically said to remember. "Remember the Sabbath day..." (Ex.20:8). The implication is that of all the Ten Commandments, this is the one which is most likely to be forgotten.
2) It is the only one of the Ten Commandments that God specifically said to keep. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). To "keep" means to guard or protect. The implication is that of all the Ten Commandments, this is the one which is the most likely to be lost if it is not guarded and protected.
3). It is the only one of the Ten Commandments that God said to sanctify. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (Ex. 20:8). The implication is that of all the Ten Commandments, this is the one which is the most likely to loose its holy character and become unimportant in the eyes of God's people.
4). It is the only one of the Ten Commandment which, if kept, reminds people that God is the Creator of the universe. Thus it is the only commandment which, if kept, proclaims on a weekly basis that the theory of evolution is false.
5). It is the only one of the Ten Commandments that God calls "a sign" between Himself and His people forever (Ex. 31:13-17; Ezek. 20:12, 20). If God's people do not keep the Sabbath, they do not bear the eternal sign of His covenant, much like a bride who cast away the wedding ring her husband gave her.
6). It is the only one of the Ten Commandments that deals with both the "vertical" relationship (man to God) and the "horizontal" relationship (man to man). The Commandments listed before the Sabbath Commandment tell us how to honor God; the Commandments listed after the Sabbath Commandment tell us how to treat our fellow man. The Sabbath Commandment deals with both. It is "a sabbath unto the Lord thy God" and honors Him as the Creator. It affects human relationships by providing rest for children, servants, and strangers.
7). Although it is only one of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath Commandment does not take up just one-tenth of the text of the Ten Commandments. It takes up about one-third of the entire text, more than any of the other nine.
8). The Sabbath is the very first thing that God declared holy. (Gen. 2:3, "sanctified")
9). God called the Sabbath His "law" and one of His "commandments" even before the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai. (Ex. 16:4, 28-30).
10). The Sabbath will be kept in the new earth. (Isa.66:23)
11). God promises to bless the non-Jewish "stranger" (i.e. Gentile foreigner) who keeps His Sabbath. (Isa. 56:1-8)
12). God promises to "cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob" is dependent on you keeping the Sabbath. (Isa. 58:13f)
13). Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God told His people that they could avoid the destruction of Jerusalem if they would only keep the Sabbath. But if they continued to treat it as any other day, the city would be destroyed. (Jer. 17:19f)
14). Sabbath-breaking was one of the sins which led to the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews. (Ezek. 20:13, 20f; 22:8, 26)
15). The Sabbath is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible.
16). The Bible says that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath.
17). Since the time of Moses, there has never been a time in history when the seven-day weekly cycle has been forgot ton. Even when the majority of the Jewish people broke the Sabbath, they always knew which day of the week it was. And there has always been a remnant, a significant number of Jewish people, who have faithfully kept the Sabbath and preserved the seven-day weekly cycles.
18). The Bible says nothing whatsoever about the Sabbath being changed from Saturday, the seventh day of the week, to Sunday, the first day of the week. Those who teach a Sunday Sabbath have to go to sources outside the Scriptures to argue their case.
19). The few Bible verses that mention the first day of the week do not say or even suggest that Sunday had replaced Saturday as the Sabbath. To read this idea into the text is blatant eisegesis (reading what you want to into the text).
20). Jesus declared Himself Lord of the Sabbath, thus testifying that the seventh day is the true "Lord's Day."
Read more about The Holiday Of The Sabbath.
Written by Daniel Botkin and published in Gates of Eden magazine Sept-Oct 2005. Reposted with permission.
