How Are We to Keep the Sabbath?

God commands us to remember the Sabbath every week and keep it holy. What does it mean to keep it holy? How can teens keep God’s Sabbath holy?

Of the 10 Commandments, the command to keep the Sabbath is the one most often attacked and ignored. Those who don’t keep it sometimes say that observing the Sabbath would be inconvenient. But Scripture tells us that the Sabbath is a great blessing when it’s observed as God intended.

What does the Bible tell us about how to observe the Sabbath day?

Blessed and sanctified

First, let’s review why the Sabbath was created.

In the first chapter of Genesis, we read about God’s work of creation, everything from the land to animal life and eventually mankind. 

The account then continues into chapter 2, where we read, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:2-3). 

God rested on the seventh day. 

It wasn’t because He was tired. Isaiah reminds us that God “neither faints nor is weary” (Isaiah 40:28). He rested on the seventh day to set an example for us to follow. But notice what else He did: He blessed and sanctified the Sabbath day. The only day of the week God set apart, or made holy, was the seventh day. (To learn more about this topic, read “Did God Create the Sabbath in Genesis 2?”)

Did He create this day just for Himself? Christ told the Pharisees that the “Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). God created the Sabbath with us in mind, as something we should observe.

So how do we observe the day God created for us?

How to observe the Sabbath

What are we expected to do?

The first instruction is in the 10 Commandments. God told ancient Israel not to work on the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:10). So, is abstaining from work all we have to do?

God provides more detail in Leviticus 23:3: “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.”

Here we again find the command not to work, but we also see the Sabbath described as a holy convocation. God expects His followers to gather on the Sabbath to worship Him. Hebrews 10:24-25 adds that another reason to assemble on the Sabbath is to encourage one another.

So, after services, should we go out and do whatever we want? No, God warns against that approach to the Sabbath. 

Speaking for God, Isaiah told the kingdom of Judah: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 58:13-14).

God warned His people to abstain from pursuing their own self-focused pleasures on the Sabbath—pleasures that have nothing to do with God or being spiritually rejuvenated. He pleaded with them instead to honor Him on the Sabbath by properly observing it—seeking His pleasure and speaking His words. God considers the Sabbath so important that anyone who profaned the Sabbath was to be put to death (Exodus 31:14).

Ideas for observing the Sabbath 

How can we observe the Sabbath to seek God’s pleasure? 

Here are some ideas:

Fellowship

Twice in the book of Hebrews, the author encouraged the brethren to exhort, or encourage, one another (Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25). Before and after Sabbath services, we can share with brethren spiritual lessons we learned during the previous week. 

Fellowshipping with others outside our age group or our circle of friends can also be beneficial on the Sabbath. Older members have experiences and insights that younger members can learn from. Younger people can help and serve the more senior members as well. These interactions can lead to strong relationships among the brethren.

Visiting and calling shut-ins

Related to fellowship is calling and/or visiting those members who can’t make it to services. These people especially appreciate visitors or calls, as they are not able to partake in regular services. Part of worshipping God is visiting other members who are going through tough times (James 1:27). 

Bible study, prayer and meditation 

The Sabbath is also a good opportunity for extra Bible study. This can include going over the messages from services, reading articles on Life, Hope & Truth, or listening to an FI Online class. We can then take additional time to meditate on (think deeply about) what we have heard or read.

With the reduced number of distractions, the Sabbath provides us with additional time we can spend in prayer with God. We can tell God about how our week or our day has been. We can also talk with Him about the messages we have heard. 

Time with family 

The Sabbath provides families an opportunity to slow down. That means we can use the time for family activities such as Sabbath-appropriate games, a group Bible study, meals or simply sitting and talking with everyone present.

Seeing creation

The Sabbath is also an opportunity to go out and enjoy God’s creation. We can sit on a bench or take a walk and meditate on the messages we heard that day. We can pray to God or ponder how He designed and created everything.

God created the Sabbath as a day for people to slow down and turn their focus toward God, to worship Him and learn His Word. God considers the Sabbath important, and so should we. We should observe the Sabbath in a way that honors and pleases God. 

For more insight on proper Sabbath-keeping, read “How to Keep the Sabbath Holy.”