[ ] Do you find yourself continually struggling with various physical illnesses?

[ ] Are you facing burnout?

[ ] Do you almost always seem exhausted?

[ ] Are you facing a business failure?

[ ] Do you find yourself morally weak or susceptible to temptations?

[ ] Are you emotionally near the end of your rope?

[ ] Do you find yourself always associating with a lower class of people?

[ ] Are you experiencing a drought?

    I grew up in a good Christian family.  My father was a minister and my mother was an avid church goer.  Although my dad worked hard farming for a living, he always set aside Sunday as a day of rest.  I remember that as a boy, I once begged my mother to go fishing with a friend one Sunday.  Later, my mother became very upset at  herself for allowing me to go fishing on a Sunday afternoon.  As an adult, I refused to do any secular work on Sunday.  You see, I had been taught that Sunday had taken the place of the Sabbath mentioned in the 4th commandment because Jesus was resurrected on Sunday.  I had accepted the idea at face value without really studying the Word.  However, as I have studied the Word and laid the traditions of various churches on the shelf, I have come to see the Sabbath as the day of rest.  The following material is a result of that Study.

    What does the word "Sabbath" mean?

The word "Sabbath" means "to rest from labor".

    What is the premise of observing the Sabbath?

Genesis 2:1-3 "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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."

Notes: (1) The Sabbath was the seventh day.  (2) God rested on the seventh day. (3) God blessed the seventh day.  (4) God sanctified (set it apart from the other days) the seventh day. (5) Therefore we should follow God's example to set apart the seventh day.

    When was the Sabbath instituted?

We understand that it was instituted at the end of creation (Genesis 2:1-3) long before God gave the Law to Moses in Exodus 20:8.  We find in Exodus 5:5 that the Pharaoh was upset at Moses for making the people rest from their burdens.  "And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens" (Exodus 5:5).  Most likely this was a reference to the people keeping the Sabbath (seventh day) as a day of rest.

In Exodus 16:15-24 God gave instruction to Moses concerning the gathering of the "manna".  On the sixth day, the people were to gather twice as much as the other days.  However, instead of breeding worms on the seventh day as it would have on other days (being left over), God blessed the bread that the people might eat it without working on the seventh day.  Again, this was some time before God gave the Ten Commandments. Please note what God said to Moses: "And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?   See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.  So the people rested on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:28-30).

    What was the Old Testament consequence for breaking the Sabbath?

It was death.   Exodus 31:15  "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."    Exodus 35:2  "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death."  We see this instituted when someone was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath in  Numbers 15:36,  "And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses."

Exodus 20:9-11 "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."  Today, Saturday is considered the seventh day   world wide.  Sunday is the "first day" of the week.  The word "hallow" or "holy" means "to be set apart".  Again, God rested on the "seventh day."  The seventh day was to be different from the other days.

First, let me ask a question, "Which specific day is set apart unto the Lord?"  (1)  Exodus 31:15 "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."  It was the seventh day and it was "holy to the LORD".  (2)  Isaiah 58:13 "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."  God called it HIS "holy day" and "the holy of the LORD".  (3) Jesus declared in Mark 2:28,  "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath."  Therefore, the Lord's day can be none other than the Sabbath or seventh day.

    Didn't the disciples change the day to the first day of the week (Sunday)?

In Acts 20:7, the disciples did eat together on the first day and Paul preached to them.   Acts 20:7 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."  However, nothing is mentioned about changing the Sabbath or making Sunday the Sabbath. It doesn't even say that they entered into worship on the first day of the week.

Paul instructed the individuals to put aside a mission offering.   I Corinthians 16:2  "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."  This passage doesn't even say that they met together, but rather that an offering was laid aside on an individual basis.  It may have been that some went from house to house gathering the offering.  It may be that they didn't go about to collect the offering on the Sabbath as the people didn't collect the manna on the Sabbath.

    Is the keeping of the Sabbath optional or a command?

It is one of the Ten Commandments. 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."

No. It was established at the end of creation by God long before the Jewish people came into existence.   Mark 2:27  "And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." Jesus said the Sabbath was made or "man", not for the Jews only. When was the Sabbath created? It was created in the beginning before the Jewish nation came into existence.  Paul brought the whole city together (both Jews and Gentiles) on the Sabbath.  Acts 13:14, 42, 44 "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. .... 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."  Furthermore, the Sabbath was included in the Ten Commandments which is for everyone, not just Jews.

    Did Jesus and the Apostles keep the Sabbath?

It was the "custom" of Jesus to observe the Sabbath.   Luke 4:16  "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."  Jesus also in one sense kept the Sabbath even by resting in the grave on the Sabbath.  It was Paul's "manner" to observe the Sabbath.   Acts 17:2  "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures."  Acts 18:4  "And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."

    Didn't Jesus come to destroy the keeping of the Law?

No.   Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 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."  Note: (1) Jesus came to fulfill the keeping of the Law. (2) It said that the Law was not to pass away until "all be fulfilled".  (3) He that keeps the Law and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

The keeping of the Law is for our benefit.   Deuteronomy 6:24  "And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day."  Furthermore, in the last book of the New Testament in the last chapter God says there is a blessing for keeping the commandments.   Revelation 22:14  "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Finally, as a part of the New Covenant, the law is to be written in the heart of believers.   Ezekiel 36:27  "And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."  Hebrews 8:10  "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."
 

No. The third commandment is not specifically addressed in the New Testament.   Exodus 20:7 "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."  This does not mean that we are free to use God's name in vain.  However, the third commandment may be alluded to in  Matthew 23:22,  "And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon."  All the commandments are alluded to in I John 3:24 "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us."   Furthermore, Revelation 14:12 states, "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

    Must we change our Sunday worship service to the Sabbath (between 6:00 p.m. Friday and 6:00 p.m. Saturday)?

No. My purpose of this study outline is to give principles regarding the observing the Sabbath and to show the benefits of observing the Sabbath, but not to create a bunch of legalistic applications.   II Corinthians 3:6 "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."  However, we should at least on an individual level set aside the Sabbath (Saturday) as a day of worship.

    What should be done about working for emergency services such as a nurse working in an hospital?

Jesus made allowances for emergency services.   Luke 14:5  "And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?"   Furthermore, Jesus healed on the Sabbath.   John 5:8-9  "Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.  And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath."  There is also usually a rotation that one can keep Saturday as the Sabbath.

    Shouldn't we follow hundreds of years of church tradition in keeping the Sabbath on Sunday?

We are not to follow the traditions of men if they contradict the Word of God.   Matthew 15:6b  "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."    Furthermore, Jesus stated in  Mark 7:13,  "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."

    Wasn't the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday because Jesus arose from the grave on the first day of the week?

Jesus was indeed resurrected on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1-7).  However, we have NO instructions in Scripture to change the day or evidence in Scripture that the day was changed.

(1) God calls the Sabbath His holy day, not ours.   Isaiah 58:13 "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."  (2) God only gives us grace (divine ability) to do what He commands for us to do.  Question:  How many Believers you know really observe Sunday according to the guidelines of observing the Sabbath?

Normally in any legal system, a statute continues in effect until it is repealed.  However, the Sabbath is to be observed perpetually.  Exodus 31:16  "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." Therefore, the Sabbath was to be observed perpetually.  Furthermore, the observance of the Sabbath as one of the commandments is seen during the seven years of tribulation which is yet to come.  Revelation 14:12  "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."   Moreover, The Sabbath is to be observed during the future reign of Christ. Isaiah 66:22-23 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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."

"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:    Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ"  (Colossians 2:16-17).  This has been a problem passage for many including myself.  It didn't seem to fit with other scriptures.  Then as the Spirit was leading me, I decided to look up the verse in the original Greek.  Literally, the passage should translated "or the sabbaths".  The expression by context is dealing with various "feast days" and not the Sabbath.  Note the difference in the plural form and the singular form of the noun.  The feast days are also addressed in Romans 14:4-6, 17 concerning eating and drinking.

     We are to remember the Sabbath.

It is the only one of the Ten Commands that God says that we are specifically to remember.   Exodus 20:8  "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."  Maybe God said to remember the Sabbath because He knew how easy it would be for us to forget it.

    We are to do no work on the Sabbath or have others work for us.

Exodus 20:10  "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."

    We are to "hallow" it.

This means that we are to "set it apart" or make it different from the other days of the week.   Jeremiah 17:22  "Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers."

    We are to make the Sabbath a day of rest.

Exodus 31:15 "... but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest ...."  This may be the hardest for you to do.  This can be major battle for me, just to stop to rest.

    We are to make the Sabbath holy to the LORD.

This means that we are to set our attention on the Lord that day.  Exodus 31:15 "...but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD...."

    We are to commemorate God as the Creator by keeping the Sabbath.

Exodus 20:11  "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."

    It is to be a sign between God and the Children of Israel.

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."  Although God's focus has turned away with the natural Israel during this church age, He has created a spiritual Israel.   Romans 11:17  "And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree."    Galatians 3:29  "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  Observing the Sabbath for Believers can be an open door to witnessing to the rest that we find in Jesus.

    We are to bear no burden or kindle no fire.

Jeremiah 17:27  "But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched."  Again, this is referring to labor.

    We are to reverence God's sanctuary on the Sabbath.

Leviticus 26:2  "Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD."  Here, the term "Sabbaths" is used in the context ten commandments. From a New Testament view, the body of the Believer is to be the temple of God.   I Corinthians 6:19  "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

    We are to assemble for teaching, ministering, and prayer on the Sabbath.

Leviticus 23:3 "Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings."  The term "convocation" means a sacred gathering possibly for a reading.   Hebrew 10:25  "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."   (1) Jesus and Paul taught on the Sabbath.   Mark 6:2  "And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?"   John 7:14 "Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught."  Acts 17:2  "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." (2)  Jesus healed on the Sabbath.   John 9:14  "And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes."  (3)  Paul prayed on the Sabbath.  Acts 16:13  "And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither."

    We are to worship on the Sabbath.

Jeremiah 17:26  "And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD."   Notes: (1) One was to bring offerings (tokens of commitment). (2) One was to bring incense (a symbol of prayer).  (3) One was to praise God.  The worship may be both in private and in public worship.

    We may keep the Sabbath by doing good.

Jesus responded to the question about doing good by saying in Matthew 12:11-12, "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."

    We are not to do extensive travel on the Sabbath.

Matthew 24:20  "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day."  One was permitted only to travel a short distance, because of the effort exerted in travel.   Act 1:12 "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey."  Again, we should understand that travel in Biblical times was often by foot and exhaustive.

    We are not to buy or sell on the Sabbath.

Nehemiah 10:31  "And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt."  Isn't it strange that Saturday is usually the biggest "sales" day in many businesses. In this area, even most people have their garage sales, Saturday.

    We are to avoid doing our own pleasure or speaking our own words on the Sabbath.

Isaiah 58:13 "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."   We are to redirect our attention off of what we want and place it upon what God would want. It is not to be a day of entertainment.  Isn't it strange that most sporting events are held Friday nights and Saturday.  Have you ever set aside the Sabbath just to think God's thoughts?

    We are to delight ourselves in the Sabbath.

Isaiah 58:13 "... and call the Sabbath a delight ...."  In other words, we are to look forward to the Sabbath and purpose to enjoy it.  Once we start it, we will look forward to the rest and time with the Lord.

    We are to delight ourselves in the LORD on the Sabbath.

Isaiah 58:14 "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD ...."  The LORD is to be the center of the Sabbath.  We should seek to do HIS pleasure.

    We may meet basic necessities on the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:1-5 "At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day.   But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"

Hebrews 4:4  "For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works."  Hebrews 4:8-10  "For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."  The Old Testament saints were unable to enter the rest from the works of the law; however, Jesus fulfilled the works of the law that through faith we might enter into his rest.   Hebrews 4:11 "Let us labour [be diligent] therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."  We don't do good works to be saved (in the spirit-man) in order to go to heaven.  We don't even do good works to keep the salvation of the spirit-man.

(1)  God created the heavens and earth and everything in them in six days and rested on the seventh. (2) Looking at God's time table, Peter said,  "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (II Peter 3:8).  From Biblical record, it has been almost 6,000 years since creation. At the end of the 6,000 years Jesus is to come again and set up a thousand years reign.  Satan will be bound during the millennium.

Revelation 20:2-3  "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."   This will complete a week of years (6,000 + 1,000 = 7,000). (3) Therefore, by keeping the Sabbath we are reminded of the second coming of Christ.

    The Sabbath is for our benefit.

Mark 2:27  "And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." If it is for us, and it is certainly for our benefit.

Exodus 31:15 "... but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest ...." Many times we just wear ourselves out because we don't get the rest we need.  My first counsel to some of my clients is to go home and get some rest, then come back and I will counsel with them.

    The Sabbath is to bring refreshment to us.

Exodus 31:17 "... for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."  If God was refreshed, we should also be refreshed by observing the Sabbath.

    The Sabbath observance benefits in Leviticus 26:2-12.

We understand that the keeping of the Sabbath was a part of what is listed. Leviticus 26:2-12  "Ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.  If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;  Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.  And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.  For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.  And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."

  NOTES:
    1. Rain in due season.
    2. Increase of the harvest.
    3. Peace in the land.
    4. God would rid the beasts of the land.
    5. God would chase out the enemy before us.
    6. We will become fruitful and multiply.
    7. He will establish His covenant with us.
    8. We will have abundance of both the old grain and the new.
    9. He will set His tabernacle in our midst (we will know His presence).
    10. He will walk in our midst.
    11. We will be accepted by Him.
    12. He will be our God and we will be His people.

    God will BLESS us if we observe the Sabbath.

Isaiah 56:2  "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil."  "To bless" means to do good to.

    The Benefits according to Isaiah 58:13-14.

Isaiah 58:13-14 "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."

 Notes: (1) He will cause us to ride upon the high places of the earth (place of honor or respect). (2) He will feed us with the heritage of Jacob (fruitfulness and prosperity).

    The benefits according to Jeremiah 17:24-26.

Jeremiah 17:24-26 "And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein;   Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD."

Notes: (1) We will be brought before royalty.  (2) God will bring people to worship with us.

    When we observe the Sabbath, we place ourselves in position to receive revelation from God.

Revelation 1:10-11 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."  We often have to be still to hear from God.   Psalms 46:10  "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

    We put ourselves in position to receive physical health and healing when we observe the Sabbath as a part of the commandments of God.

Exodus 15:26  "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee."   Exodus 23:25  "And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee."  We should understand that the root of all desease is in the breaking of the commandments of God.  (Exodus 28:15ff).

    We may be overcome by the BLESSINGS by observing the Sabbath as part of the commandments of God.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God."  (See verses 3-14)  Notes: (1) We will be blessed where ever we are. (2) We will become fruitful. (3) Our business will become prosperous. (4) We will overcome our enemies. (5) God will bless whatever we put our hands to do. (6) We will be set apart unto the Lord. (7) God will prosper us in goods, family, and harvest. ((8) God will make us the lender, not the borrower. (9) The Lord will send rain in its season. (10) God will place us in leadership positions.

By personal experience, I am coming to greatly look forward to each Sabbath as a day of rest from the activities of daily living.  It is a time to relax, focus my attention on the Lord, spend time in the Word, worship, and receive a renewal of spiritual life.  This also gives me a mental, emotional, and physical renewal. I now have a greater zest for living.