There is ample evidence in the Bible to show us that the Sabbath that God commands us to keep today is the same seventh day that God rested on and blessed when He created the earth. Each week, when we keep the Sabbath, we can be sure that on this day, however many years ago, God concluded His work of creating the earth. We are reminded to worship Him as our creator. We are also protected from any false theories of how the Earth came into existence.
Creation Affirmation
The Sabbath spoken of in the commandment to keep the Sabbath is the same Sabbath that was instituted at creation. The clearest evidence of this is in the commandment itself. God provides the reason for keeping it holy and His reason is that it was instituted at creation. After calling us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, God says,
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exodus 20:11 (NIV)
In a previous article, I provided evidence of God’s people keeping the Sabbath before the time of Moses. Suppose that, during the time that they were slaves in Egypt, God’s people forgot which day was the seventh day. When they left Egypt, and they were living in the desert, God reminded them of which day it was when He gave them manna from heaven. For six days of the week, they were to collect this miracle bread that fell from the sky. Manna that was kept overnight went bad. However, on the sixth day, they were to collect enough for the Sabbath. The manna that they collected on the sixth day did not go bad overnight allowing the Israelites.
No Room for Doubt
God repeated this miracle every day and every week for 40 years. In addition, in giving the ten commandments at Sinai, God reaffirmed that this seventh day is the day that they ought to keep holy and that it is the same day that was sanctified at creation.
Since manna fell from heaven and since the ten commandments were given at Sinai, Jews have always kept the seventh day, Saturday holy. There can be no doubt, therefore, that Saturday is the seventh of the week, the day that we should keep holy according to the fourth commandment, the very day that God made holy at creation.
A Day or The Day
Does it matter that we keep a specific day holy? Or, can we keep any day holy as long as it is the seventh day after six days of work? Are we still remembering creation if we do so? Firstly, there is no account in the days of the Jews of them understanding the commandment in this way. If any Jew decided to work on the seventh day, reasoning that they had kept, say, the fourth day holy, they would have been guilty of and punished for committing a crime.
Secondly, in order to observe another day as holy, you would need to commit a sin. Let’s say you decide to keep Tuesday holy. The first time you do so, your work week would be only 2 days long (Sunday and Monday). Now, it is true that the second time you do it, your work week will be 6 days long. However, to initiate your practice, you will have broken the commandment by not working for 6 days. Persisting in sin does not make it right.
If we accept that a seventh part of the week should be kept holy, we must also accept that this seventh part must be the seventh day, Saturday. Any other day is not the seventh part according to the order that God put in place at creation. Any other day would not be a memorial of creation.
Ever a Blessing
Anything that God requires of us will always be for our benefit and our protection. We might not know all the benefits of doing what God says and we might not know all the dangers He is protecting us from. There is safety in obedience. We can be sure that we are keeping the right day. Let’s do as God commands and continue to remember our Creator each Sabbath day.