The Point of the Sabbath

To emphasize the importance of an idea, communicators often repeat it. We find this to be true in everyday life, for parents regularly repeat household rules to their children, organizations frequently repeat their mission statements and visions to their constituents, and employers commonly repeat their expectations to their employees. Likewise, Scripture repeats certain teachings and ideas in order to underscore their importance. Jesus, for instance, viewed the title Son of Man as vital for understanding His mission, since He used that title for Himself more than any other.

If repetition signifies the importance of a concept, then Sabbath is a central biblical theme, especially in the book of Exodus. Today’s passage is the fifth section of Exodus that features teaching related to Israel’s observance of the Sabbath (see also Ex. 16; 20:8–11; 23:12; 31:12–17). Exodus 35:1–3 describes the Lord, through Moses, telling the Israelites again that they were to work six days and rest on the seventh. Interestingly, this text makes it plain that the people are to refrain from even the labors that they might otherwise consider necessary. Verse 3 forbids the kindling of a fire in one’s dwelling place on the Sabbath day. This is a reference to cooking one’s food, a task that has a good claim to being necessary given that food is necessary for survival. Of course, food can be prepared ahead of time, and many things can be safely eaten without cooking them first, so God could include cooking in what not to do on the Sabbath.

Ultimately, however, the Sabbath is not God’s giving us an exhaustive list of dos and don’ts. We can think of any number of situations in which kindling a fire might be necessary on the Sabbath to preserve life, such as preparing medicine or other treatment for someone who is ill. In such circumstances, Jesus tells us, keeping the Sabbath would mean kindling the fire to provide assistance (Matt. 12:9–13). The point of the Sabbath laws is not to overly restrict us or establish rules to govern our Sabbath behavior in the minutest detail. That is the way to legalism. Instead, the Sabbath is given for our good and for God’s glory.

We conclude as much from the express words of the Sabbath rule—“rest”—and its placement at the head of the section that is concerned with the building of the tabernacle and thus with worship (Ex. 35–40). Figuring out how to keep the Lord’s Day—the new covenant Sabbath—may be difficult at times, but we will not go far wrong if we do our best to make it a day of rest and worship.