Sabbath Scriptures

How often does God’s Word mention the Sabbath? Listed here are the  all 145 verses where the word, "Sabbath" is referenced in the Bible.

And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
- Exodus 16:23

And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a Sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
- Exodus 16:25

Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
- Exodus 16:26

See, for that the LORD hath given you the Sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
- Exodus 16:29

So the people rested on the seventh day.

- Exodus 16:30 

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Exodus 20:8

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
- Exodus 20:10

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
- Exodus 20:11

Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and you shall redeem all the firstborn of man among your sons.
-Exodus 31:13

Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
- Exodus 31:14

Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
- Exodus 31:15

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
- Exodus 31:16

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
- Exodus 35:2

Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day.
- Exodus 35:3

It shall be a Sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
- Leviticus 16:31

"'Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.

- Leviticus 19:3

"'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.

- Leviticus 19:30

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
- Leviticus 23:3

And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
- Leviticus 23:11

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete:
- Leviticus 23:15

Even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
- Leviticus 23:16

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
- Leviticus 23:24

It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.
- Leviticus 23:32

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath.
- Leviticus 23:39

Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
- Leviticus 24:8

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a Sabbath unto the LORD.
- Leviticus 25:2

But in the seventh year shall be a Sabbath of rest unto the land, a Sabbathfor the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
- Leviticus 25:4

And the Sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
- Leviticus 25:6

"'You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, even forty-nine years.

- Leviticus 25:8

"'You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.

- Leviticus 26:2

Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.

- Leviticus 26:34

As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it didn't have in your sabbaths, when you lived on it.

- Leviticus 26:35

The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them: and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they rejected my ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes.

- Leviticus 26:43

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
- Numbers 15:32

And on the Sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:
- Numbers 28:9

This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
- Numbers 28:10

Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
- Deuteronomy 5:12

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
- Deuteronomy 5:14

And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.
- Deuteronomy 5:15

And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
- 2 Kings 4:23

And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the Sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;
- 2 Kings 11:5

And two parts of all you that go forth on the Sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king.
- 2 Kings 11:7

And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the Sabbath, with them that should go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
- 2 Kings 11:9

And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king's entry without, turned he from the house of the LORD for the king of Assyria.
- 2 Kings 16:18

And other of their brethren, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the shewbread, to prepare it every Sabbath.
- 1 Chronicles 9:32

and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh;

- 1 Chronicles 23:31

even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, [even] in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tents.

- 2 Chronicles 8:13

This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;
- 2 Chronicles 23:4

So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the Sabbath, with them that were to go out on the Sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.
- 2 Chronicles 23:8

[He appointed] also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, [to wit], for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of Yahweh.

- 2 Chronicles 31: 3

To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years.
- 2 Chronicles 36:21

And madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
- Nehemiah 9:14

And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.
- Nehemiah 10:31

for the show bread, and for the continual meal offering, and for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.

- Nehemiah 10:33

In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbathday: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
- Nehemiah 13:15

There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
- Nehemiah 13:16

Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day?
- Nehemiah 13:17

Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah 13:18

And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day.
- Nehemiah 13:19

Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah 13:21

And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.
- Nehemiah 13:22

A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
- Psalms 92:1

Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can't bear with evil assemblies.

- Isaiah 1:13

Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
- Isaiah 56:2

For thus says Yahweh, "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and hold fast my covenant:

- Isaiah 56:4

Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
- Isaiah 56:6

If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
- Isaiah 58:13

And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
- Isaiah 66:23

Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
- Jeremiah 17:21

Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
- Jeremiah 17:22

And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein;
- Jeremiah 17:24

But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbathday; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
- Jeremiah 17:27

He has violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden; he has destroyed his place of assembly: Yahweh has caused solemn assembly and Sabbath to be forgotten in Zion, Has despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.

- Lamentations 2:6

Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.

- Ezekiel 20:12

But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they didn't walk in my statutes, and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them.

- Ezekiel 20:13

because they rejected my ordinances, and didn't walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols.

- Ezekiel 20:16

and make my Sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.

- Ezekiel 20:20

But the children rebelled against me; they didn't walk in my statutes, neither kept my ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath on them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.

- Ezekiel 20:21

because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols.

- Ezekiel 20:24

You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

- Ezekiel 22:8

Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

- Ezekiel 22:26

Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.

- Ezekiel 23:38

In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy.

- Ezekiel 44:24

It shall be the prince's part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.

- Ezekiel 45:17

Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
- Ezekiel 46:1

The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Yahweh on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.

- Ezekiel 46:3

And the burnt offering that the prince shall offer unto the LORD in the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish.
- Ezekiel 46:4

Now when the prince shall prepare a voluntary burnt offering or peace offerings voluntarily unto the LORD, one shall then open him the gate that looketh toward the east, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he did on the Sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.
- Ezekiel 46:12

I will also cause all her celebrations to cease: her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.

- Hosea 2:11

Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
- Amos 8:5

At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
- Matthew 12:1

But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.
- Matthew 12:2

Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
- Matthew 12:5

For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day.
- Matthew 12:8

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
- Matthew 12:10

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
- Matthew 12:11

How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.
- Matthew 12:12

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:
- Matthew 24:20

In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
- Matthew 28:1

And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
- Mark 1:21

And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the Sabbathday; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
- Mark 2:23

And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?
- Mark 2:24

And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:
- Mark 2:27

Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
- Mark 2:28

And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him.
- Mark 3:2

And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.
- Mark 3:4

And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
- Mark 6:2

And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
- Mark 15:42

And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
- Mark 16:1

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
- Luke 4:16

And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
- Luke 4:31

And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
- Luke 6:1

And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days?
- Luke 6:2

And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
- Luke 6:5

And it came to pass also on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
- Luke 6:6

And the scribes and Pharisees watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day; that they might find an accusation against him.
- Luke 6:7

Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?
- Luke 6:9

And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
- Luke 13:10

And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.
- Luke 13:14

The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
- Luke 13:15

And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbathday?
- Luke 13:16

And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath day, that they watched him.
- Luke 14:1

And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?
- Luke 14:3

And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?
- Luke 14:5

And that day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew on.
- Luke 23:54

And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.
- Luke 23:56

And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath.
- John 5:9

The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the Sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
- John 5:10

And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day.
- John 5:16

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
- John 5:18

Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the Sabbath day circumcise a man.
- John 7:22

If a man on the Sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath day?
- John 7:23

And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
- John 9:14

Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
- John 9:16

The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
- John 19:31

Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey.
- Acts 1:12

But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.
- Acts 13:14

For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
- Acts 13:27

And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
- Acts 13:42

And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
- Acts 13:44

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.
- Acts 15:21

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
- Acts 16:13

And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
- Acts 17:2

And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
- Acts 18:4

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:
- Colossians 2:16

There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
- Hebrews 4:9

Sabbath Scripture 01

Exodus 16:23 World English Bible
He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.'"

To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath - There is nothing either in the text or context that seems to show or tell that the Sabbath was now first given to the Israelites, as some have supposed.

On the contrary, it is here spoken of as being perfectly well known, from its having been generally observed. The commandment, it is true, may be considered as being now renewed; because they might have supposed that in their unsettled state in the wilderness they might have been exempted from the observance of it.

Thus we find 1. That when God finished his creation, he instituted the Sabbath; 2. When he brought the people out of Egypt, he insisted on the strict observance of it; 3. When he gave the Law, he made it a tenth part of the whole, such importance has this institution in the eyes of the Supreme Being! 

Here is a plain intimation of the observing a seventh day Sabbath, not only before the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai, but before the bringing of Israel out of Egypt and THEREFORE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.

If the Sabbath had now been first instituted, how could Moses have understood what God said to him, Exodus 16:4, concerning a double portion to be gathered on the sixth day, without making any express mention of the Sabbath? And how could the people so readily take the hint, Exodus 16:22, even to the surprise of the rulers, before Moses had declared that it was done with regard to the Sabbath, if they had not had some knowledge of the Sabbath before?

The setting a part of one day in seven for holy work, and in order to that for holy rest, was a divine appointment ever since God created man upon the earth.

23. To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath — This passage shows that the Sabbath was known and observed among the Hebrews before the fourth commandment was given at Sinai.

The division of the days into weeks seems to have been known among all the Shemitic (Semitic) nations from the earliest historic period, and this cannot fairly be accounted for except by a wide-spread tradition of the sacredness of the number seven, descending from the very origin of the race.

Wilkinson shows that the seven-day division was known to the Egyptians, as proved by the seven days’ fete of Apis, the four times seven years of Osiris, the ten times seven days’ mourning for the dead, and the six times seven days of mortification imposed upon the priests.

The Pythagoreans borrowed the week from Egypt, and the Roman world adopted it early in the second century. (Rawlinson’s Herod., 2:282.)

It is probable that the week division and the sanctity of the Sabbath were known to the Hebrews from their very origin as a people. We find that a week was the period of duration of the wedding feast in the time of Jacob. Genesis 29:27.

Here, as in the creative week, God observes the Sabbath as an example to man.

Sabbath Scripture 02 & 03

Exodus 16:25, 26 (World English Bible)

25 Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none."

Eat that today - The practical observance of the Sabbath was thus formally instituted before the giving of the law. The people were to abstain from the ordinary work of everyday life: they were not to collect food, nor, as it would seem, even to prepare it as on other days.

 v. 23. The law was very strict, that they must bake and seeth, the day before, and not on the Sabbath day. This does not now make it unlawful for us to dress meat on the Lord’s Day, but directs us to contrive our family affairs so that they may hinder us as little as possible in the work of the Sabbath.

Works of necessity, no doubt, are to be done on that day; but it is desirable to have as little as may be to do of things necessary to the life that now is, that we may apply ourselves the more closely to the one thing needful.

That which they kept off for their food on the Sabbath day did not putrefy, v. 24. When they kept it in opposition to a command (v. 20) it stank; when they kept it in obedience to a command it was sweet and good; for everything is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 

3. The intermission of the manna on the seventh day.

God did not send it then, and therefore they must not expect it, nor go out to gather, v. 25, v. 26. This showed that it was not produced by natural causes, and that it was designed for a confirmation of the divine authority of the law which was to be given by Moses. Thus God took an effectual course to make them remember the Sabbath day; they could not forget it, nor the day of preparation for it.

Some, it seems, went out on the seventh day, expecting to find manna (v. 27); but they found none, for those that will find must seek in the appointed time: seek the Lord while he may be found. 

God, upon this occasion, said to Moses, How long refuse you to keep my commandments? v. 28. Why did he say this to Moses? He was not disobedient.

No, but he was the ruler of a disobedient people, and God charges it upon him that he might the more warmly charge it upon them, and might take care that their disobedience should not be through any neglect or default of his.

It was for going out to seek for manna on the seventh day that they were thus reproved. Note, (1.) Disobedience, even in a small matter, is very provoking. (2.) God is jealous for the honor of his Sabbaths. If walking out on the Sabbath to seek for food was thus reproved, walking out on that day purely to find our own pleasure cannot be justified.

Sabbath Scripture 04

Exodus 16:29

29 Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." 30 so the people rested on the seventh day.

Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath,
These are either the words of Yahweh directly, or the Angel of the LORD Yahweh, out of the cloud continued; or the words of Moses communicating to the children of Israel, upon what God Yahweh had said to him, and would have them observe and take notice, that whereas the LORD had given them a Sabbath, or enjoined them a day of rest:

therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days.
Wherefore they had no occasion to go out in search of manna, as well as it was a vain thing to do it; and especially as it was against a command of God, and being ungrateful in them, as there was such a provision made for them:

Everyone stay in his place.
In his tent for that day, giving himself up to religious exercises, to pray and praise, instruct his family, and in all things serve the Lord he was directed to:

Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.
Not beyond two thousand cubits, as the Targum of Jonathan, which is the space the Jews generally fix upon for a man to walk on a Sabbath day, so far he might go and no further; and which perhaps is the same space as is called a Sabbath day's journey, (See Acts 1:12).

Acts 1:12

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

The Syriac version renders it, "about seven furlongs", or near a mile; A sabbath day's journey, according to the Jews, was two thousand cubits from any city or town, and which they often called, (tbv Mwxt) , "the bound of the Sabbath" ^F19; and which they collect partly from ( Numbers 35:4 Numbers 35:5 ) which they understand thus ^F20:

``a thousand cubits are the suburbs (of the city), and two thousand cubits the bounds of the sabbath.''

And these were so many middling paces; for so they say ^F21,

``a walk of two thousand middling paces, this is the bound of the Sabbath.'' And that this was the proper space they also gather from ( Joshua 3:4 ) it being the distance between the ark and the people when they marched; and though this was not fixed by the law, yet being a tradition of the elders, was strictly observed by them:

So when Ruth desired to become a proselytess, the Targumist on ( Ruth 1:16 ) introduces Naomi thus speaking to her; ``says Naomi, we are commanded to keep the Sabbaths, and the good days, (or feasts,) and not to walk above "two thousand cubits";'' i.e. on those days; for to go further was reckoned a profanation of them: so it is said <sup>F23</sup>, ``the Sabbath day is profaned with the hands by work, and with the feet by walking more than "two thousand cubits".''

Yea, this was punishable with beatings ^F24: ``a man might go on the Sabbath without the city two thousand cubits on every side--but if he went beyond two thousand cubits, they beat him with the beating of rebels,'' or in the same manner a rebellious son was beaten.

Nay, not only they might not go out of a city or town where they were, further than this, but from whatsoever place they happened to be, as appears by these following rules ^F25;

``if anyone falls asleep in the way (or on the road), and he does not know that it was dark (and so that the Sabbath is begun), he has two thousand cubits (allowed him) on every side.--Whoever is on a journey, and it is dark, and he knows a tree, or a hedge, and says, let my Sabbath (or sabbatical seat) be under it, he says nothing; but if he says, let my Sabbath be at the root of it, then he may go from the place of his feet, and to the root of it, two thousand cubits, and from the root of it to his house two thousand cubits; by which means he may go four thousand cubits after it is dark. But if he does not know (any), and is not expert in walking, and says, let my Sabbath be in my place, (i.e. in which he stands,) then from his place he has two thousand cubits on every side.''

Hence, in some copies it is here inserted, "such being the distance that the Jews could walk"; that is, were allowed to walk by their canons. They call two thousand cubits a mile ^F26; and if the Mount of Olives was seven furlongs from Jerusalem, it was pretty near a mile; but if but five furlongs, it was little more than half a mile: perhaps the true distance might be six furlongs, since Josephus says ^F1, the tenth legion was ordered to encamp six furlongs from Jerusalem, at the Mount of Olives, which was over against the city to the east; agreeably to which Epiphanius ^F2, who had been a Jew, and was born in Palestine, says,

``it was not lawful to go on the Sabbath day beyond six furlongs,'' which were three quarters of a mile.

Sabbath Scripture 05

Exodus 20:8

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

By abstaining from all servile work and business, and from all pleasures and recreations lawful on other days, and by spending it in religious exercises, both internal and external. This the Israelites are bid to "remember", by observing it in such a manner, because this command had been given them before at the first time the manna was rained about their tents, ( Exodus 16:23 Exodus 16:25 Exodus 16:26 ) and because it was a command of positive institution, and not a part of the law of nature, and therefore more liable to be forgotten and neglected.

Jewish writer Ebben Ezra observes, all the laws of the Decalogue are according to the dictates of nature, the law and light of reason, and knowledge of men, excepting this: wherefore no other has this word "remember" prefixed to it; there being somewhat in the light of every man's reason and conscience to direct and engage him in some measure to the observation of them.

In what day of the week this Sabbath was to be kept next follows; for all to the end of the eleventh verse belongs to this command, which is the fourth.

Sabbath Scripture 06

Exodus 20:10

10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 

But the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God.

Many preachers and pastors like Dr. Gene Kim over the internet promote the idea, that the Sabbath commandment is a commandment of Moses or it is from the Law of Moses or it is an instruction/injunction of Prophet Moses.

It’s okay to say that Moses communicated the commandment about the Sabbath day. But as Exodus 20:10 clearly shows and states that the Seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh God. It is a direct commandment of God Yahweh. It is a Sabbath dedicated and devoted to God Yahweh.

You shall not do any work in it,

of a servile nature, exercise any trade or any hand labor, or any kind of work for pleasure or profit, only works of mercy and necessity. No labor or handicraft was to be exercised, according to the Jewish canons ^F6, until the going out of it, or the appearance of the stars:

nor your son, nor your daughter,

neither a man nor his children, male and female, such as were under age, and under the tuition, direction, and care of their parents, who were to instruct them in this kind, and not suffer them to work on this day, and much less oblige them to it; for as for those that were grown up, and no longer under the inspection of parents, and were heads of families themselves, they are included in the word "thou", and are in the first place charged in this command;

your male servant, nor your female servant,

this is to be understood, according to the Jews, not of hired servants, concerning whose rest from labour a man was not bound ^F7, but of such as were born in their house, and bought with their money; and of such menservants as were circumcised, and in all things professed to be proselytes to the Jewish religion, and to conform to it; for as for one that only received the commands of the sons of Noah, and was not circumcised, he might do work for himself on the sabbath day, but not for his master; and no Israelite might bid him work on the sabbath day for the necessity of an Israelite, though he was not his master ^F8. If a servant does work without the knowledge of his master, and it is known to all that he does it without his knowledge, there is no need to separate him from it, or take him off of it ^F9: so maidservants, when they did things without the knowledge of their masters and mistresses, and without being bid to do it, they were free to do it: thus, for instance, they say ^F11,

``a cheese which maids make of themselves, of milk that belongs to an Israelite, is lawful when he does not bid them make it:''

nor your livestock,

of any sort whatever that is used to labor, because if the cattle did not rest, servants could not, who are concerned in the care and use of them: in ( Deuteronomy 5:14 ) , the ox and the ass are particularly mentioned, because laborious creatures; the one were used in ploughing, and treading out the corn, and the other to ride upon, and carry burdens; and concerning the latter the Jews have this canon ^F12,

``he who is going in the way, (or on a journey,) and has sanctified for himself the day, and has money with him, and has an ass; and though he has with him an idolater, he may not put his bag upon his ass; because he is commanded concerning its rest; but he may give his bag to the idolater to throw it upon it; and at the going out of the Sabbath he may receive it from him, and even may not give him a reward for it;''

but not only those, but all sorts of cattle were exempt from labor on this day, as horses, camels, mules which, according to the Jewish canons, as they were not to be employed in work by the Jews, so they were not to be let or lent out to an idolater ^F13: nor the stranger that is within thy gates: who was a proselyte of the gate, and not of righteousness; as for the proselyte of righteousness that was circumcised, and professed the Jewish religion, about him there could be no doubt concerning his rest on this day; but the proselyte of the gate, his case was not so clear, and therefore is particularly expressed; and by which description it should seem that he was not obliged by this law, had he not been within their gates, or a sojourner in anyone of their cities; since it was contrary to the laws and usages among whom they dwelt, and might be an offence to some, and a snare to others, and, as Grotius thinks, might be to their detriment, get their work and their gain from them, they are forbid to work; and yet, according to the Jewish writers ^F14, they might work for themselves, though not for an Israelite, as before observed.

Sabbath Scripture 07

Exodus 20:11

for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them,

An Eternal fact is stated and reiterated over here again at Exodus 20:11 that the Heaven, the Earth and the Sea were a direct product of Creation and not Evolution. The Almighty Creator God Yahweh created it in 6 days.

and rested the seventh day; which does not suppose labor, attended with weariness and fatigue; for the Creator of the ends of the earth fainteth not, neither is weary, ( Isaiah 40:28 ) nor ease and refreshment from it, but only a cessation (completition) from the works of creation, they being finished and completed. In other words, the Almighty creative works were completed and finished and hence he came to a rest or rested from his creative works.

God worked six days, and, having done his work completely, ceased from it and rested, so it was fit and proper, that as the Israelites and all of mankind had six days allowed them to labor in, and do all their work, rest of mankind especially the Worshippers of this God Yahweh too should rest on the seventh day, just like their God did, they and all that belonged to them, or had any connection with them:

therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

The number 3 biblically represents divine wholeness, completeness and perfection. If there ever was a desire to highlight an idea, thought, event or noteworthy figure in the Bible for their prominence, the number 3 was used to put a divine stamp of completion or fulfillment on the subject.

We have a natural human habit of looking for patterns of three. This habit we can find in our regular casual conversations. You hear people say all the time expressions like “three’s company” or conversely, “three’s a crowd” or “the third time’s the charm,” or “bad news always comes in threes.” We are not sure where our habit of thinking in three’s originated, but when one goes looking for “threes” you can certainly find them in the Bible as well.

The use of the number three is abundant in the Bible. Some of the few examples are: Noah had three sons (Gen. 6:10). Three visitors appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18:2). Jonah was inside the belly of the fish three days and nights (Jonah 1:17). Jesus answered Satan’s threefold temptations with three scriptural references (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus’ ministry lasted approximately three years. Peter denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62), and three times Jesus affirmed his love (John 21:15-17).

The phrase “holy, holy, holy” appears twice in the Bible, once in the Old Testament (Isaiah 6:3) and once in the New (Revelation 4:8).

There are many references to the number 3 but nothing quite as important as the climax of our faith and Jesus’ redemptive work, his resurrection on the third day (Luke 24:7). No doubt the biblical authors often employed the number or wrote in patterns of three to provide a special emphasis or a clue that there was more than meets the eye in the events recorded.

With the above in mind, let’s approach the end part of Scripture Exodus 20:11 and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

Three things are mentioned here one after the other.

1.     Yahweh God RESTED on the seventh day.

2.     Yahweh God BLESSED the seventh Sabbath day.

3.     Yahweh God SANCTIFIED it or MADE IT HOLY.

After his work of creation, when God rested on the seventh day, "God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it" (Genesis 2:3). When God spoke about this event as he gave the Ten Commandments, he said, "Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). The verb translated "sanctified" (Genesis 2:3) (Hb. קָדַשׁ , Htr. qādash) is the same verb translated "hallowed" (Exodus 20:11), but notice that in God's spoken version, he says that he blessed "the Sabbath day". So the Sabbath must have existed since the creation, and this is why the seventh day is called, "the Sabbath of Yahweh your God" (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:14). God even refers to the Sabbath day as, "my holy day" (Isaiah 58:13), and "the holy Sabbath to Yahweh" (Exodus 16:23). God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17), so as far as he is concerned, the seventh day is still blessed and sanctified by him. If our heart is filled with love, which fulfils the law, then it would be full of God, because, "God is love" (1 John 4:8; 4:16), and we would keep the seventh day holy, just as he did. He gave us an example right back there at the beginning. Jesus told us to be like God when he said, "You be therefore perfect, even as your father who is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48), and showed us the principle that people do the deeds of their father:

Sabbath Scripture 08

Exodus 31:14, 15, 16

14 You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

This is a new enactment, and must be regarded in conjunction with the new dignity attached to Sabbath observance by its having become the special covenant sign between God and His people. The Sabbath-breaker now threw himself out of covenant with God, and not only so, but did what in him lay to throw the whole people out of covenant. His guilt was therefore great, and the assignment to it of the death-penalty is in no way surprising; rather, it is in accordance with the general spirit of the code (see Exodus 21:16-17; Exodus 21:29; Exodus 22:18-20, &c.). When the occasion arose, there was no hesitation in carrying the law out (Numbers 15:32-35).

Cut off.—Or, separated, set apart from. His act at once cast him out from the number of God’s people, made him an outlaw, ipso facto excommunicated him.

The penalty of death for breaking the Sabbath seems to moderns over-severe; but the erection of Sabbath-observance into the special sacramental sign that Israel was in covenant with God made non-observance an offence of the gravest character. The man who broke the Sabbath destroyed, so far as in him lay, the entire covenant between God and his people - not only broke it, but annulled it, and threw Israel out of covenant. Hence, when the sin was committed, no hesitation was felt in carrying out the law. (See Numbers 15:32-36.)

PLEASE NOTE

1.    shall surely be put to death;

2.    shall be cut off from among his people. 

3.    Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

God Yahweh repeats the above death penalty 3 Times because the whole keeping of the law stands in the true use of the Sabbath, which is to stop working and so obey the will of God.

Please read and review the explanation of the repetition or when a matter is repeated 3 times in the Bible for emphasis and to communicate seriousness in Sabbath Scripture 07 explanation. 

Sabbath Scripture 09

Exodus 35: 2, 3

2' Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.'"

You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.'"

The kindling of fire in early times involved considerable labor. It was ordinarily affected by rubbing two sticks together, or twisting one round rapidly between the two palms in a depression upon a board. Fire only came after a long time.

Moreover, as in the warm climate of Arabia and Palestine artificial warmth was not needed, fire could only have been kindled there for cooking purposes, which involved further unnecessary work, and had already been forbidden (Exodus 16:23).

Not to kindle the fire thus refers to not to get disturbed or distracted in the daily activities of cooking in the kitchen. God Yahweh wants our total disconnection with our day to day activities that are considered perfectly normal. He wants our total attention (even of the women of the household who are responsible for making meals). So by not kindling the fire and keeping the kitchen closed from cooking and cleaning activities, has a twofold benefit.

Men who are working in Secular modern jobs always get a minimum 1 day weekly off on some day (In Arab Mid East countries its Friday, Only in one country of Nepal its Saturday and rest of the world its Sunday) in all countries of the world. But what about the Woman? The Sister, the Daughter, the Wife, the Mother, the Grandmother who is working all the days of the week, cooking 3 or more meals daily 24/7/365 days of the year nonstop? Do these modern day home maker or house manager or house wife does not need a break or rest too?

1.    So by NOT kindling the Kitchen cooking fire (even if it’s a Gas fire or Electric Stove in modern kitchens) the women gets a weekly break and holiday from their routine work of preparing Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch and Snacks the whole day, every day for their respective families.

2.    So by woman not working or cooking & cleaning in the kitchen on a Sabbath day, they too get some extra time to dedicate and devote to the Work and Worship of God Yahweh.

Sabbath Scripture 10

Leviticus 23:3

3 You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.

Leviticus 23:11

11 on the day after the Sabbath. He will lift it up+ in dedication to me, and I will accept you. 

Leviticus 23:15

15 Seven weeks after you offer this bundle of grain, each family must bring another offering of new grain. 

Leviticus 23:16

16 Do this exactly 50 days later, which is the day following the seventh Sabbath. 

Leviticus 23:24, 25

24-25 to say to the people of Israel:

The first day of the seventh month+ must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar.

Leviticus 23:32

32 This is a time of complete rest just like the Sabbath, and everyone must go without eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth.

Leviticus 23:39

39 Remember to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do any work on the first day or on the day following the festival. 

LEVITICUS 23 – THE FEASTS OF THE LORD

A.    Listing of the Feasts.

1.     (1-3) The Sabbath.

a.     The feasts of the LORD: This chapter introduces us to the seven annual feasts Israel celebrated. These feasts are rich with symbolic and prophetic significance.

b.     The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest: The Sabbath was not properly a feast, but like the feast days, it was a day set apart unto the LORD, and so a reminder regarding the Sabbath is here.

2. (4-5) The feast of Passover.

a.     On the fourteenth day of the first month: On the Jewish ceremonial calendar, the first month was known as Nisan; Passover was held on the fourteenth of Nisan each year.

b.     The LORD’s Passover: Passover was meant to commemorate Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, and with the sacrifice of the lamb for each family, show how the blood of the lamb averted the judgment of God for each Israelite family.

3. (6-8) The feast of Unleavened Bread.

a.     The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD: The feast of unleavened bread was a week-long celebration the week immediately following Passover (from Nisan 15 to Nisan 21). This feast showed the purity Israel was to walk in (illustrated by eating only bread without leaven, a type of sin) after the blood-deliverance of Passover.

4. (9-14) The feast of firstfruits.

a.     Then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest: The day following Passover’s Sabbath was a time to give the firstfruits of the harvest to God. The idea was to dedicate the first ripened stalks of grain to God, in anticipation of a greater harvest to come.

i.              “The firstfruits at Passover would be barley, which ripens in the warmer areas as early as March.” (Harris)

5. (15-21) The Feast of Pentecost (also called the Feast of Weeks).

a. Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD: Fifty days after the feast of firstfruits, at the completion of the wheat harvest, Israel was to celebrate the feast of Pentecost by bringing a new grain offering to the LORD; and by waving two loaves of leavened bread unto the LORD.

6. (22) Generosity to the poor and stranger.

a. You shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap: This repeats the command of Leviticus 19:9-10; this was a law to provide a means for the poor and the stranger to eat by working for themselves and gleaning what was left behind. This was an appropriate reminder right after the law concerning the harvest feast of Pentecost. 

7. (23-25) The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah).

a. A memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation: On the first day of the month Tishri on the Jewish ceremonial calendar, the feast of trumpets was held; trumpets were blown to gather together God’s people for a holy convocation.

8. (26-32) The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

a. Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement: On the tenth of Tishri, the people gathered again for a holy convocation; but this was not a celebration feast, but a day to afflict your souls in humble recognition of one’s sin and need for atonement.

b. And you shall afflict your souls: The specific priestly procedures for the Day of Atonement were described in Leviticus 16. This passage records the command for the people of Israel to set that day aside as a solemn day of reflection.

9. (33-44) The Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth).

a.    The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles: On the fifteenth day of the Jewish month Tishri (on the Jewish ceremonial calendar); the Feast of Tabernacles was a time to rejoice in God’s deliverance and provision for Israel during the time of wilderness wandering; a time when having come into the promised land, looking back with gratitude on all God had done to deliver and provide in the tough times of the wilderness.

b.     On the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath rest: The Feast of Tabernacles began and ended in rest; it was all about celebration and rest and refreshment.

i. We see here also the great social good God intended in the Sabbath and in the Feasts; in other ancient cultures, there was no day off, and there were no holidays. Here, God commands both holidays and “vacation days” – all centered on Him!

B.    The prophetic significance of the feasts of Leviticus 23.

1. Structurally, the first four feasts are linked together, and the last three feasts are also linked – and there is a separation of time between these two groups of feasts.

2. The group of the first four feasts relate to the work of Jesus in His first coming, of His earthly ministry.

a. The feast of Passover clearly presents Jesus as our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), the Lamb of God who was sacrificed, and whose blood was received and applied, so the wrath of God would pass us over.

b. The feast of Unleavened Bread relates time of Jesus’ burial, after His perfect, sinless sacrifice on the cross, during which He was received by God the Father as holy and complete (the Holy One who would not see corruption, Acts 2:27), perfectly accomplishing our salvation.

i.              We may regard the burial (or actually, entombment) of Jesus as a small thing in God’s redemptive plan; but it was an essential part of Paul’s gospel: For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

c. The feast of Firstfruits relates to the resurrection of Jesus, who was the first human to receive resurrection; He is the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18) and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… Christ the firstfruits, afterwards those who are Christ’s at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23)

d. The feast of Pentecost obviously is connected with the birth of the Church and the “harvest” resulting (Acts 2); significantly, in the ceremony at the feast of Pentecost, two unleavened loaves of bread are waved as a holy offering to God, speaking of the bringing of “unleavened” Gentiles into the church.

3. Between the first set of four feasts and the second set of three feasts, there is a significant time gap – almost four months, which, significantly, was a time of harvest in Israel; even as our current age is a time of harvest for the church, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.(Romans 11:25)

4. The second group of the last three feasts relate to events connected with the second coming of Jesus.

a. The feast of Trumpets speaks of the ultimate assembly of God’s people at the sound of a trumpet – the rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), and of the gathering of Israel for the special purpose God has for them in the last days.

b. The Day of Atonement not only speaks of the ultimate, perfect atonement Jesus offered on our behalf, but also of the affliction – and salvation – Israel will see during the Great Tribulation.

i. It will truly be a time when the soul of Israel is afflicted, but for their ultimate salvation; as Jeremiah 30:7says regarding that period: Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it, and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 

c. The feast of Tabernacles speaks of the millennial rest of comfort of God for Israel and all of God’s people; it is all about peace and rest, from beginning to end.

i. Tabernacles is specifically said to be celebrated during the millennium (Zechariah 14:16-19).

5. Significantly, there is good evidence that each of the four feasts relevant to the first coming of Jesus saw their prophetic fulfillment on the exact day of the feast.

a. Jesus was actually crucified on the Passover (John 19:14). His body would have been buried, and His holy and pure sacrifice acknowledged by God the Father during the Feast of Unleavened Bread following, and He would have risen from the dead on Firstfruits, the day after Passover’s Sabbath. Additionally, the church was founded on the actual day of Pentecost.

b. For this reason, many speculate it would be consistent for God to gather His people to Himself at the rapture on the day of the feast of trumpets – on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. This can certainly be regarded as a possibility.

Sabbath Scripture 11

Leviticus 24:8

8 Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.

That is, the priest or priests then ministering, who should bring new cakes and place them in the above order, having removed the old ones, which was done in this manner; four priests went in, two had in their hands the two rows (of bread), and two had in their hands two cups (of frankincense); four went before these, two to take away the two rows (of the old bread), and two to take away the two cups (of frankincense); and they that carried in stood in the north, and their faces to the south and they that brought out stood in the south, and their faces to the north; these drew away (the old bread) and they put them (the new), and the hand of the one was over against the hand of the other, as it is said, "before me continually", ( Exodus 25:30 ); that is, at the same time the hands of the one were employed in taking away, the hands of the other were employed in setting on; so that there was always bread upon the table: [being taken] from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant; God requiring it of them, and they agreeing to give it, as they did, either in meal or in money; for this was at the expense of the community.

Sabbath Scripture 12

Leviticus 25: 2, 4, 6

2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, 'When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to Yahweh.

4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to Yahweh. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard

6 The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant, and for your stranger, who lives as a foreigner with you.

A Sabbath of rest for the LAND - The express prohibition of sowing and reaping, and of pruning and gathering, affords a presumption in favor of the sabbatical year beginning, like the year of Jubilee Leviticus 25:9, in the first month of the civil year Leviticus 23:24, the seventh of the sacred year, when the land was cleared of the crops of the preceding year.

The great material advantage of the institution must have been the increased fertility of the soil from its lying fallow one year out of seven, at a time when neither the rotation of crops nor the art of manuring were understood. It must also have kept up a salutary habit of economy in the storing of grain. Compare Genesis 41:48-56.

Sabbath Rest for the Land from being abused and overused.

Its great spiritual lesson was that there was no such thing as absolute ownership in the land vested in any man, that the soil was the property of Yahweh, that it was to be held in trust for Him, and not to be abused by overworking, but to be made the most of for the good of every creature which dwelt upon it.

 Sabbath Scripture 13

Numbers 15:32

32 While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 

CONTEXT IS NEEDED HERE

33 Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 34 They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him.35 Yahweh said to Moses, "The man shall surely be put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp." 36 All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Why did God Yahweh kill a man for picking up sticks on the Sabbath?

Better question is, why would man pickup sticks on the Sabbath knowing that the penalty for doing so was death?

You can't say He didn't have evidence of God's existence, which is the excuse of many today. The Israelites then had ample evidence of His very existence

The whole community of Israel didn't stone a person. Not only did the rabbis never understand it that way, but it would have been impossible. Moshe, Aharon, and the established college of elders (later known as Sanhedrin) were responsible for performing the punishment.

This ‘narrative’ reading and context of Numbers 15:32 sees ‘food production’ as the typical case of ‘work’ and sees ‘food production on the Sabbath’ as the ‘paradigm case’ of Sabbath-breaking.

The uncertainty ensures that the case must be resolved by the parties concerned and since, unusually, God is the only offended party, only God can determine whether capital punishment applies and, if so, the form it should take.

Ultimately, the offender’s behavior is judged to be sufficiently close to the paradigm to deserve death because it evokes Israel’s experience of total servitude in Egypt. ‘Sabbath-gathering’ reflects a desire to return to the economic conditions associated with Pharaoh’s rule and thus signifies the rejection of Yahweh’s lordship.

We can speculate as to what that intent was directed to (starting a fire so as to be separated, maybe an incorrect form of worship, etc.) but the basic issue as I see it is one of rebellion against Yahweh.

How can you allow that to continue in the congregation and also be of one mind, one heart, consecrated to Elohim and a partner in the covenant?

Putting it all together

Seeing the Sabbath as a day of rest and of giving rest, a day of feasting, and a day of con-vocation helps make some sense of what is going on. God as host calls His people together to the feast. The shared meal makes them one body (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:17) as they gather to the fire of His presence, His hearth fire, which is doubled for the day.

This man's sin is not merely gathering sticks. If he kindles his own fire, he is not participating in the community, the body. But you don't stoke up a fire on a feast day just for yourself. This, in addition to dividing the community, places him over and against God. For him to kindle his own fire on the Sabbath is to kindle a rival fire. He is setting himself up as a rival host calling a rival gathering on the Lord's feast day. Now the seriousness of the crime and the proclamation of the death penalty becomes clearer.

It's easy to let our imagination run wild when a story has little detail. One can think the innocent man was just picking up some twigs and was executed. Or we can believe that God is good and just and that this man was a rebel and that he was indifferent towards God leading him out of Egypt, supplying him with water and manna and quail, giving him a day to rest, and supplying all his needs and he therefore chose to work on the Sabbath when it was so clear that he should not.

Numbers 15: 22 – 31

Keeping this story in context, the earlier verses (22-31) outline the ability to provide an offering for atonement (forgiveness) from having committed sin without realizing it or "out of ignorance". So Elohim Yahweh provides a way for those who are acting incorrectly by virtue of not knowing Him as they should.

Next we have the admonition for those who "act presumptuously" (30 & 31).

30 "'But the soul who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, the same blasphemes Yahweh; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of Yahweh, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.'"

The penalty for this is that individual is to be cut off from the congregation. Why? Verse 31 tells us it is because that individual has despised the Word of Yahweh and broken His commandment, or in other terms that individual has committed rebellion against Yah. It isn't about the action of the hands (whatever that may be) but it is the intent of the heart. Just like Yahshua spoke of as recorded in Matthew 5 and on (Sermon on the Mount).

Aren't Sabbath breakers supposed to be stoned?

Exodus 31:14 reads, "Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people."

If the reader will turn to Deuteronomy 13:6, 10; 21:18, 21; 22: 21-28, and all of Leviticus 20, he will read there a whole series of injunctions concerning the putting to death of persons who were idolaters, who were rebellious to their parents, who committed adultery or were guilty of incest, who cursed father or mother -- in fact, who violated any part of the moral code. Indeed, someone has estimated that no less than nine of the Ten Commandments are specifically mentioned in connection with the penalty of death for their violation.

Now we would ask the Sabbath objector: do you believe that the idolater, for example, ought to be put to death, or the son who curses his father? Of course you answer no. Then, according to your logic, if you believe that this penalty should not be enforced today, you evidently believe that it is no longer wrong to be an idolater, for example, or for a son to curse his father. But such a conclusion would obviously be monstrous, to say nothing of being unreasonable. Yet it would be no more unreasonable than the contention that because present-day Sabbathkeepers do not believe Sabbathbreakers should be put to death, therefore the Sabbath law is abolished. This kind of reasoning proves too much, and thus proves nothing.

We agree that if a law has no penalty, it has no force. but it does not follow that because we do not believe in stoning people therefore we believe there will be no punishment for those who violate the Sabbath or any other part of the law of God.

The only difference between the ancient Jewish order of things and ours today is as regards the time of punishment and the executor of the punishment. When God was the direct ruler, He saw fit to have an immediate punishment inflicted. Now the evil-doer must look forward to the last great day of judgment . (See Heb. 10:26-29)

Therefore let not the Sabbathbreaker feel at ease in his mind simply because God has not suddenly brought sudden judgment upon him for his violation of the fourth precept of the decalogue , which declares that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, Creator of heaven and earth.

The story is told of a certain godless man who found special delight in flaunting his disobedience of the Sabbath command . He lived in a locality where the other farmers near him where devout Sabbathkeepers. When October came and he harvested his crop, he found that he had even more in his barn than his neighbors.

Meeting the Sabbathkeeping minister on the street one day, he gloatingly mentioned this fact. The minister's only reply was: "God does not always make a full settlement in October." No better answer could have been given.

The faithful Sabbathkeeper awaits the day of final judgment to receive his full reward for obedience to God, the Creator of the whole earth. And likewise, the Sabbath violator must await that last great day of accounting in order to receive the final reward for his failure to obey the explicit command of God. The violation of the law of god is sin, the scriptures inform us (1 John 3:4), and the wages of sin is death (rom. 6:23). is that not sufficient penalty?

What of the command against kindling fires on the Sabbath? exodus 35:3 reads, "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day." Our answer, a briefly, is this:
 

The prohibition against kindling a fire is not part of the fourth commandment of the decalogue. And it is the precepts of the Decalogue that we consider moral and thus eternally binding.

There were many civil as well as ceremonial statutes given to Israel that had limited duration. for example, there were civil statutes that declared how a slave should be treated. (See ex. 21: 1-11.) The Sabbath objector finds in these statutes on the holding of slaves, for example, no justification for slavery today. Instead, he agrees with the Sabbathkeeper that many of the statutes given to Israel through Moses were an adaptation of great moral principles to the degree of moral understanding of the Israelites, or to particular situations that existed locally. Therein lies the basic distinction between the moral commands of the Decalogue given to Israel directly by God on Sinai, and the host of other statutes given through Moses.

Now if the Sabbath objector feels free to discard the statute on the care of slaves while holding that nine of the ten commands of the Decalogue are still in force, are we not equally reasonable in discarding the statute against kindling fires on the Sabbath while holding that all ten commands of the Decalogue are still in force?

Is it not even certain, from the context, that the command to the Jews against Sabbath fires was intended to apply to other than their wilderness journeying. The command comes as a preface to a series of commands concerning the erection of the tabernacle, which commands had life only so long as the tabernacle was under construction, and then died by limitation. The Jews themselves have never been agreed on whether the prohibition against Sabbath fires extended beyond the wilderness period.

In the wilderness the temperature was rather generally warm, hence fire would hardly be needed to protect against sickness. The Israelites were instructed to bake and seethe on the sixth day such of the manna as they desired to eat in that form on the Sabbath day. Hence there was no need to kindle a fire for cooking on that day.

Again, to "kindle" a fire in those times meant to engage in very real and extended labor. As the Pulpit Commentary in its comments on Exodus 35:3 observes:

"The kindling of fire in early times involved considerable labour. It was ordinarily effected by rubbing two sticks together, or twisting one round rapidly between the two palms in a depression upon a board. Fire only came after a long time. Moreover, as in the warm climate of Arabia and Palestine artificial warmth was not needed, fire could only have been kindled there for cooking purposes, which involved further unnecessary work .... The Jews generally view the precept as having had only a temporary force."

In the light of these facts, how could the prohibition against kindling fires raise any possible doubt as to the moral quality and permanency of the fourth command of The Decalogue ?

Sabbath Scripture 14

Numbers 28:9, 10

9 "'On the Sabbath day two male lambs a year old without blemish, and two tenth parts [of an ephah] of fine flour for a meal offering, mixed with oil, and the drink offering of it: 10 this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering, and the drink offering of it.

Sabbath Scripture 15

Deuteronomy 5: 12, 14, 15

12 "Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you. 13 You shall labor six days, and do all your work; 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God, in which you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

The differences between Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15 initially appear to be insignificant. Exodus 20:8 states, “Remember (zakar) the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” In contrast, Deuteronomy 5:12 has “Observe (shamar) the Sabbath day, and keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.”

The choice of the writer to use shamar, which also means “to keep,” is perhaps intentional given that “to remember” suggests naming or calling something to mind, while “to keep,” implies to habitually continue or cause to continue a course of action.

However, the motive for keeping the Sabbath in Deuteronomy 5 is significantly different.

Deuteronomy 5:15 explains that the reason is because of God’s redemptive act on Israel’s behalf during the exodus experience rather than because God rested on the seventh day. The people are to keep the Sabbath in remembrance of their enslavement in Egypt.

The Jewish prayer before and after the Sabbath meal expresses this viewpoint by including the words “Once we were slaves in Egypt, now we are free people.”

The Sabbath keeping has a 3 Fold Effect on Worshippers of Yahweh:

1.    Sabbath keeping supports Creationism. Sabbath is related to the Hebrew verb shabat, “to rest,” “to cease.” Nevertheless, the earliest mention of a day set aside for rest in the Bible is found in the first creation account (Genesis 1:1-2:4a).

2.    Sabbath keeping reminds us that Yahweh God is our Liberator. “We have to observe the Sabbath, to rest (and make sure that others family, servants, slaves, hired person, guests at home, even strangers under our care also rest, including the land and animals too), and to acknowledge that God is the source of our existence (Deuteronomy 5:12). However, we must not forget the reason for this rule: the liberation from the slavery endured in Egypt (verse 15).”

3.    Sabbath keepers want to enter into the final Sabbath rest of the Lord. There are a few prophetic Bible passages that indicate Sabbaths and Feasts could be kept in the kingdom of God (Isaiah 66:23, Ezekiel 44:24, Zechariah 14:16.) So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:9-11

Sabbath Scripture 16

2 Kings 4: 23

23 He said, "Why would you want go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "It's alright."

Very Interesting Miraculous event by Prophet Elijah, so we read the full story from 2 Kings 4: 18 – 37.

Elisha Raises the Shunammite's Son

18 When the child was grown, it happened one day that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 He said to his father, "My head! My head!" He said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20When he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door on him, and went out. 22She called to her husband, and said, "Please send me one of the servants, and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God, and come again." 23 He said, "Why would you want go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath." She said, "It's alright." 24Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, "Drive, and go forward! Don't slow down for me, unless I ask you to." 25 So she went, and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. It happened, when the man of God saw her afar off that he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, there is the Shunammite. 26 Please run now to meet her, and ask her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'" She answered, "It is well." 27 When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. Gehazi came near to thrust her away; but the man of God said, "Leave her alone; for her soul is troubled within her; and Yahweh has hidden it from me, and has not told me." 28 Then she said, "Did I desire a son of my lord? Didn't I say, Do not deceive me?"

29 Then he said to Gehazi, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand, and go your way. If you meet any man, don't greet him; and if anyone greets you, don't answer him again. Then lay my staff on the face of the child." 30 The mother of the child said, "As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." He arose, and followed her. 31 Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Therefore he returned to meet him, and told him, saying, "The child has not awakened."

32When Elisha had come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid on his bed. 33He went in therefore, and shut the door on them both, and prayed to Yahweh. 34 He went up, and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, and his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. He stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child grew warm. 35 Then he returned, and walked in the house once back and forth; and went up, and stretched himself on him. Then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 He called Gehazi, and said, "Call this Shunammite!" So he called her. When she had come in to him, he said, "Take up your son." 37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground; and she took up her son, and went out.

TYPICAL MIRACLES WROUGHT BY ELISHA.

General introduction. 

The miracles of this chapter are all of them miracles of mercy.

The first miracle and last miracle consist in the multiplying of food, and thus belong to the same class as our Lord's feeding the four and the five thousands, and Elijah's increasing the meal and oil of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:10-16).

The second miracle is the resuscitation of a dead person, and belongs, consequently, to the very narrow class of such recoveries—of which in the Old Testament there are three only (see 1 Kings 17:17,1 Kings 17:23; here; and 2 Kings 13:21).

The third miracle consists in rendering fit for man's use that which was previously unfit, not by human skill or science, but by miracle; and is analogous to the act of Moses whereby the waters of Marah ceased to be hitter (Exodus 15:25), and to that other act of Elisha himself, whereby the waters of Jericho were healed (2 Kings 2:19-22).

Sabbath Scripture 17

2 Kings 11: 5, 7, 9

 5 He commanded them, saying, "This is the thing that you shall do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king's house; 6 A third part shall be at the gate Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard. So you shall keep the watch of the house, and be a barrier. 7 The two companies of you, even all who go out on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of the house of Yahweh around the king. 8 You shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand; and he who comes within the ranks, let him be slain. Be with the king when he goes out, and when he comes in." 9 The captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they took every man his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the Sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. 

a.     Jehoiada sent and brought captains: Jehoiada was a godly man who was concerned with restoring the throne of David to the line of David, and taking it away from this daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.

b.     On the Sabbath: Jehoiada chose the Sabbath for the day of the coup because that was the day when the guards changed their shifts, and they could assemble two groups of guards at the temple at the same time without attracting attention.

c.     He made a covenant with them and took an oath from them in the house of the LORD: From the place where the oath was made and the context of the oath, we learn that the worship of the true God was not dead in Judah. These captains and bodyguards and escorts could respond to their responsibility before the LORD.

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANCE TO ABOVE STORY

And showed them the king’s son: This was a dramatic moment. For six years everyone believed there were no more surviving heirs of David’s royal line, and there was no legitimate ruler to displace the wicked Athaliah. The secret had to be secure, because the king’s son would be immediately killed if his existence were revealed. The captains and bodyguards and escorts must have been shocked by the sight of this six-year-old heir to the throne.

2 Kings 11:12

12 Then he brought out the king's son, and put the crown on him, and [gave him] the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, "Long live the king!"