4FPW Index

Bible Study 12
A Day To Remember

God created the heavens and the earth in six days. What did He do on the seventh day to make it His special day?

"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made;

he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it."

Genesis 2:2, 3

Which day is the seventh day?
The Dictionary's answer:
"Seventh day, saturday, the seventh day of the week"
(Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary, Unabridged Second Edition, 1973).

Throughout the Bible, what unique expression or name is given to the seventh day?
"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

According to Scripture, to whom does this day belong?
"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work."
Exodus 20:8-10

Note: In a previous lesson, the importance of God's Ten Commandments has been noted. God wrote them with His own finger. A simple reading of the Ten Commandments will reveal how many words God devoted to the Sabbath Commandment (4th Commandment) as compared with the other nine.

What three specific commands are encompassed in the fourth (Sabbath) commandment?

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."
Exodus 20:8

"Six days shalt thou labour …"
Exodus 20:9

"In it thou shalt not do any work."
Exodus 20:10

Think it through:

Jesus' Words:

"I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
John 15:10

Jesus' Example:

"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

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
and today, and for ever."
Hebrews 13:8

According to the New Testament,
Who created all things?
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."
Hebrews 1:1, 2

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... All things were made by him… He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."
John 1:1, 3, 10, 11, 14

Note: Jesus created our world. The Creator Himself came to die for us. One who is equal with God, for He is God. By remembering to keep the Sabbath holy, we acknowledge our faith in Jesus, not only as our Saviour, but also as Creator.

Which day of the week did the Apostle Paul keep holy?
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures."
Acts 17:2

Did Paul teach both Jews and Gentiles on the Sabbath?
"And he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.... And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them."
Acts 18:4, 11

According to the Book of Acts, when did the Gentiles request that the truth of Christ be presented to them?
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.... And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God."
Acts 13:42, 44

So many centuries have passed, can Christians today be certain just which day is the seventh day of the week?

The Bible Answer:
"This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never
man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on."
Luke 23:52-54

Note: Christ died on "Good Friday." Friday, the sixth day of the week was called the preparation day by the jews. They were to prepare for the Sabbath which would begin at sundown on Friday. God's creation days began with the evening, or dark part, first; the daylight portion followed (Genesis 1:5-31). Hence God's instruction to observe Sabbath from "even (evening) unto even." (See Leviticus 23:32; also Mark 1:21, 32).

"And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to
the commandment."
Luke 23:55-56

Note: The closest followers of Christ observed the Sabbath at His death and afterward. Jesus Himself rested in the tomb over the Sabbath hours, keeping God's commandments even in His death!

"And they returned,… and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre … and found not the body of Jesus."
Luke 23:56; 24:1, 3

Note: This Scripture passage is very helpful in establishing the fact that the seventh day of the week, the day we call "Saturday," is the seventh day of the week mentioned in the Bible, the day called "The Sabbath" (see Mark 16:1, 2).

Good Friday	Saturday	Easter Sunday
6th Day of the Week	7th Day of the Week	1st Day of the Week
Calvary	The Sabbath Day of Rest	Resurrection

Sabbath Facts:

The Sabbath was given to be a blessing
to humanity:
"And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath."
Mark 2:27

The Sabbath is the Lord's day:
"Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
Mark 2:28

The Sabbath is not for work or business:
"In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath … and I testified against them … which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I … said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Nehemiah 13:15-17

The Sabbath is not for secular pleasure-seeking, but a day for spiritual pursuits:
"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: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Isaiah 58:13, 14

When Jesus creates the new earth, what will we do on the Sabbath?
"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord … it shall come to pass, that from … one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord."
Isaiah 66:22, 23

What did Jesus say is lawful to do on the Sabbath?
"He went into their synagogue: 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. 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? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days."
Matthew 12:9-13

Thought Promises:

"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
1 John 2:5, 6

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
1 John 5:3

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