The Fourth Commandment

(Genesis 2:2-3) "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

(Exodus 20:8-11) "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, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For 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."

(Isaiah 56:5-6) "Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;"

(Isaiah 66:23) "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." Isaiah prophetically writes that ALL peoples, both Jew and Gentile will worship on the Sabbath. This is the promise that Chist Jesus fulfilled, when God gave salvation to the Gentiles, as well as, the Jew.

(Mark 2:27) "And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:" The Sabbath day was made long before God sent Moses to free the Israelites, long before the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God, it was even made before Adam was. The Sabbath was made for ALL, not for just the Jews.

If Jesus or the Disciples had changed the seventh day Sabbath to another day, most of the New Testament would reflect such an extreme and controversial change. (Matthew 5:17-20) "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

(Exodus 31:13) "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you." (Exodus 31:17) "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

The Sabbath is a special sign between God's children and Him, that we may KNOW that it is God Himself that sets us apart from the rest of the world. We do not choose for ourselves which day we sanctify, as the rest of the world has.

As rebellious children that follow their contemporaries, as Adam did in the garden of Eden, many Christians have not kept the 4th Commandment. We honor this Commandment out of faith and we believe our Lord God, as Moses did, knowing what is best for us. (Hebrews 4:11) "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."