A sign may be used to indicate a relationship, eg: wedding rings for a married couple. God gave the Sabbath as a sign to show His covenantal relationship with His children (Exod 31:13). This is great privilege which only God’s children can enjoy. When we keep the Sabbath, it is not a burden nor a disadvantage to us. The Sabbath is mentioned at least five times in the Book of Exodus (Exod 16:23, 20:8, 23:12, 31:12-18, 35:2-3). The following are three things to note about the Sabbath.

1.  The sign of the Sabbath (Exod 31:12-13). In the midst of giving the blueprint for the construction of the Tabernacle, God commanded the children of Israel, “…my sabbaths ye shall keep” (Exod 31:13). Sabbath means rest. And “sabbaths” refer to the special days that God had appointed or set aside for certain purposes. For example, the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath day, the seventh year is the Sabbath year, the fiftieth year is the year of Jubilee. The Sabbath is a sign of the relationship between God and His people (Exod 31:13). And He sanctified them (i.e. set them apart) for Himself (Exod 31:13b).

Since the time of the New Testament, the Sabbath day had been changed from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week, and is called the Lord’s Day. Today, we keep the Lord’s Day because He is our God and we are His people.

2.  The seriousness of the Sabbath (Exod 31:14-15). The word “defileth” (Exod 31:14) has the idea of making common, i.e. to treat things that belong to God (including the Sabbath) as normal things. And those who do that were to be put to death (re: Num 15:32-36). This indicated the seriousness of keeping the Sabbath. One who despises the Sabbath day despises one’s relationship with God. Although this civil law does not apply to the church, we are still to seriously keep the Sabbath day out of love for God, and not despise our relationship with Him.

3.  The significance of the Sabbath (Exod 31:16-18). God’s covenantal relationship with man is perpetual, thus the Sabbath day is to be kept (Exod 31:16). This significance is seen when God linked creation to the Sabbath (Exod 31:17).

Hebrews 4 teaches us the four types of “rest”: salvation rest (v1,3), sabbath rest (v4), promised-land rest (v8, temporary) and eternal rest (v9). Eternal rest is what we all look forward to every time we keep the Sabbath day.

In keeping the Sabbath day, we enjoy God’s presence and the saints’ fellowship. This is a foretaste of what is to come. This enjoyment is a testimony to the world that we have this wonderful relationship with God, which they too can have.