The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.’” (Exodus 31:12–13).

Capstone of the Law was the sabbath law. What began with “I am the LORD your God…you shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex 20:2-3), climaxes with God’s desire for the sanctity of His people. Immediately after giving this last commandment, God “gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God” (Ex 20:18).

Keeping the seventh day of the week special was God’s way of reminding them (“a sign”) of their specialness in His eyes. In fact, His command to keep the sabbath day holy was His activity of sanctifying them. And when they kept this law, they were entering into that sanctification. There is always the human part that cooperates and comes alongside the divine part. As Paul says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal 5:25).

God was serious about this and imposed capital punishment for its violation: “Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people” (Ex 31:14). If someone did work on the sabbath, the Law said they should immediately die! Yet they were told to “celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant” (Ex 31:16). It’s hard for us today to fathom living under this kind of law.

So why don’t we “celebrate” the sabbath today? Christians set aside Sundays for worship, ostensibly to commemorate Christ’s resurrection on the first day of the week. Some have even applied the sabbath laws to preclude working on Sundays. But of poignant interest is the striking absence of support for the sabbath laws by our Lord Jesus Christ or His disciples, even while we see the other nine commandments affirmed throughout the New Testament.

What does this sabbath law in the OT tell us about God that is unchanging? He is still the God who sanctifies (Heb 2:11); He sets His people apart as special. It begs the question: what activities, behaviors and attitudes is He working in our lives that we need to keep in step with? If we do not cooperate with Him, we may not face physical death, but we will experience the death of our spiritual growth. He wants us sanctified; that is serious business!

Lord, You have commanded me, “Be holy, for I am holy.” That is my desire and my hope; I want to keep in step with what You desire for my life.