God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
— Exodus 20:8, LSB
We began this commandment by returning to what God established. Through the passages that followed, remembering the Sabbath brought us into an examination of completed work, provision, deliverance, faith, and holiness.
These connections belong together as we consider what it means to rest in God.
Remember Who Established Rest
Exodus connects the seventh day with God’s work of creation and His rest. YHWH (יהוה) blesses the day and makes it holy. The command also includes the household, servants, animals, and the sojourner. Read Exodus 20:8–11.
Deuteronomy brings deliverance into the explanation. Israel must remember having been enslaved in Egypt, and servants must be allowed to rest as their masters do. Remembering freedom carries responsibility toward others. Read Deuteronomy 5:12–15.
Our own rest cannot become an excuse to overlook the burdens we place upon someone else.
Trust the Provision and Its Timing
The manna account required attention to God’s instruction. The sixth day brought a double portion; the seventh brought no gathering. What had been provided sustained them during the rest. Read Exodus 16:22–30.
Alongside this, we examined Joseph’s preparation before famine, Amos’s warning concerning hearing God’s words, and Jesus’ teachings about readiness and gathering. These comparisons helped us follow provision and response across Scripture.
The recurring questions were personal: Am I receiving what God gives? Am I listening when He instructs? What am I doing with what has been entrusted to me?
Enter Through Faith
Hebrews 4 carries the discussion from the seventh day into the continuing invitation to enter God’s rest. Hearing requires a faithful response; the passage warns against hardened hearts and disobedience. Read Hebrews 4:1–11.
This is why our study has looked beyond the Saturday-or-Sunday debate. Exodus specifies the seventh day, while Hebrews also calls its hearers to respond today. Entering God’s rest involves our response to Him.
A person turning faithfully toward God on a Tuesday need not wait for another day to hear and obey His voice.
Keep Holy What Has Been Received
Our connection with the Born Again Study remains important: receiving life by the Spirit brings responsibility to walk by the Spirit.
Paul connects that walk with fruit expressed in our conduct, including love, patience, kindness, and self-control. Read Galatians 5:16–25.
Within the understanding developed in this study, resting in God means entrusting ourselves to Him and continuing under His guidance. Keeping holy reaches into desires, motives, words, and relationships.
Love Remains Central
Jesus places love for God first and joins it with loving our neighbor. The Law and the Prophets hang upon these commandments. Read Matthew 22:37–40.
Our examination of Sabbath must remain connected to that love. Trust in the Father, faithfulness to His instruction, and care for others belong within the same life.
Threads to Follow
Bridegroom and Bride: Our next separate study will examine these roles before we return to the fifth commandment.
Father and Mother: Preserve both as we prepare to examine the command to honor them.
Continuing examination: This closes our present sequence on Commandment 4. We can return to these connections as further passages bring understanding.
Sabbath Study in Genesis: Revisit our fuller examination of the seventh day, completed work, provision, and entering God’s rest.
The books were opened…
🌿 By Maria Emilia
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