The Taste of Sabbath: How to Delight in God's Rest

by Stuart Bryan

For if we go back to the law, we soon discover that the Sabbath was intimately connected with the preservation of justice in Israel. In particular, the Sabbath was instituted for the benefit of those who could be most easily exploited in society: servants, slaves, and immigrants—in other words, the poor and needy.

Perhaps the weekly Sabbath was wholly and completely a ceremonial command, part of the ceremonial law that passed away (like the distinctions between clean and unclean foods). The problem with this position is that the Old Testament doesn’t treat the Sabbath this way; rather, it distinguishes between the Sabbath and other laws which are ceremonial in nature. We see this in our text from Isaiah 56. In verses 3–7 God announces that when His salvation arrives, it will incorporate folks who have previously been excluded from temple life and full participation in the covenant community and covenant rituals. Who are these folks? Foreigners and eunuchs.

A careful study of the Old Testament reveals that foreigners were called to observe the Sabbath because the Sabbath is connected not simply with the Mosaic law but with creation itself.

“Is God your Creator? If so, then why don’t you imitate Him and observe a weekly day of rest?”

given that the weekly Sabbath regulated the public worship of God’s people, worship that continues to be prioritized in the New Testament; and given that the weekly Sabbath is a creation ordinance that reflects God’s own pattern of work and rest which we as Christians are called to imitate, we must conclude that the Sabbath was intended to be a perpetual institution.

When considering the various laws throughout the Old Testament, we must make a distinction between moral law and positive law.

There are other laws, however, which proceed not so much from the nature of God as from the will of God—these are termed positive law. Consider, for example, the rite of circumcision. God commanded Abraham to circumcise his children as the sign of the covenant between himself and God. Could God have chosen some other rite to serve as the sign of the covenant? Well, yes, He could have. There is no necessary connection between the sign of circumcision and God’s nature.

Given this distinction, we should clearly class the Sabbath as positive law. Worship on a specific day is not intimately intertwined with the nature of God any more than circumcision. God commanded His people to observe Saturday as the seventh day of the week—as the day of rest and the Sabbath—and so it became obligatory. He could have chosen a different day in seven or even created the world in a different number of days.

What these two passages reveal is that the Sabbath command was linked both to Creation and to Redemption.

In other words, Isaiah declares, the return from exile accomplished by the Servant of the Lord will be so remarkable that it will be a re-creation of the world.

As indicated earlier, the Gospel of Mark goes to great pains to demonstrate that Jesus came to fulfill the promises that God made in Isaiah 40–66. Mark opens his gospel by quoting Isaiah 40:3: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.”

Many had taught that when the Kingdom would come, it would arrive in one fell swoop: the enemies of God would be routed and Jerusalem exalted in one dramatic moment. Jesus overturns this teaching. The Kingdom is not like a hydrogen bomb that annihilates everyone in its wake except those in the lead refrigerator. Rather, it is like a seed that is first planted, then grows, and is finally reaped (cf. Mark 4:26–29).

Given that the New Creation of Isaiah has arrived in Christ, is it not reasonable to pose the question, “Since Exodus associates the seventh day Sabbath with the old creation, is the Sabbath transformed by the dawn of this new creation?”

The resurrection, in other words, has transformed the world: the Messiah is now Lord and Christ and the outpouring of the Spirit is proof. Each of these incidents emphasizes again and again that Sunday is the day of the New Creation, the New Redemption, the remaking of the world.

Verse 24 of Psalm 118 declares: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This is the day the stone became the cornerstone: Sunday, resurrection day, vindication day, the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day is a day of feasting and rejoicing, for in it our Christ was vindicated. Therefore, in it we find the fulfillment of the Jewish Sabbath.10

Romans 14, in particular, seems concerned with these feasts. Paul’s conclusion is that these feasts are no longer obligatory, but neither are they banned. Jewish Christians who had celebrated them throughout the course of their lives were free to continue that practice, provided that they did not require their Gentile brothers to participate.

But let us say that Paul is explicitly addressing the weekly Sabbath. Do his comments undermine our case? I don’t believe so for two reasons. First, Paul’s argument is not against the Sabbath per se, but against the way it was being abused. The Colossians, in particular, were being taught that the keeping of various religious rituals—among them the Sabbath—was necessary to attain salvation.

The fundamental problem of the Pharisees, in other words, was not their application of the Sabbath law, but their failure to grasp the identity of Jesus.

To pull a point from the last chapter, Jesus clearly categorizes the Sabbath as positive law—law introduced not so much because it inherently reflects the character of God but rather because it expresses His will. In particular, the Sabbath expressed God’s desire for man’s rest and refreshment: for liberty, joy, health, fullness, happiness, growth. Consequently, the things done on the Sabbath should be things that promote life, promote well being, and advance the joy and happiness of men while upholding the honor and worship of God.

How did Isaiah define Sabbath keeping (cf. Isa. 56:1–2)? Keeping justice; preserving life; preventing exploitation.

The Sabbath was not made to oppress or to destroy but to liberate.

Since Jesus considered corporate worship a necessity for His spiritual development and growth, can we really claim to be able to survive on less? He who enjoyed a perfect relationship with His Heavenly Father nevertheless felt it was critical to attend the public gatherings of the people of God. On the Sabbath, He did not retreat into a cave like a hermit. He did not go out and meditate on the hills overlooking the beautiful Judean countryside. He went to the synagogue and worshiped with God’s people.

Consider first the centrality of teaching in corporate worship. As a society, Israel was oriented around the Word of God. It was the custom in the synagogues each Sabbath to read portions from the Old Testament Scriptures and then to invite a rabbi or teacher to comment upon the text. Whereas other cultures were oriented around images or idols as the means of communing and communicating with their deity, Israel was oriented around the Word. When the Israelites met Yahweh at Mount Sinai, they saw no shape or form; they only heard His voice. Consequently, Israel was to orient herself around the life-giving Word of her God (cf. Deut. 4:1–40), not dead and lifeless idols (cf. Ps. 115:1–11).

As we consider Jesus’ battle with the demon in the synagogue, we might be tempted to conclude that it has little application today. After all, most of us live in post-Christianized civilizations where the prevalence of demon possession is marginal. We don’t typically run into demon-possessed individuals when we enter the bars downtown, let alone the churches. So how does this story apply to Sabbath-keeping? The answer is that through corporate worship Christ continues to go to war against His enemies every Lord’s Day. Worship is warfare. When the people of God gather and worship, we wage war on the enemies of God.

Resting every seventh day reminds us that the Gospel is not primarily about what we do but about what God does for us and through us. In Exodus 31:13 God declares to Moses: Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”

The biblical vision of worship, therefore, is a far cry from the sickeningly sweet drivel that is commonly called worship in the modern church. One of the reasons God’s enemies have been triumphing of late is because our worship has been so namby-pamby and impotent. We have defined worship as merely “expressing emotion.” But this is not the only, nor indeed the primary, definition of worship used in Scripture. Worship is an expression of love and affection (cf. Ps. 18:1ff), but it is much more. In particular, worship is warfare. And so at least some of our music should be martial in its tone. But how often do modern choruses make you want to march into battle? How often do they even call the Lord to go to battle? We should be willing, even as the Psalms are, to sing against God’s enemies and call upon Him to defend His Name. “Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered; Let those also who hate Him flee before Him” (Ps. 68:1).

Thus far Mark has begun to supply us with a vision for a typical Lord’s Day. It should be filled with corporate worship so that we might learn from God through His Word and ask Him to go to war against His enemies. It should be apparent that Jesus’ Sabbath observance was thoroughly grounded in the Old Testament mandate that the corporate worship of God be regularized. Jesus prioritized corporate worship and, as those called to imitate our Lord and Savior in all things (cf. Col. 3:10), we must prioritize corporate worship as well. “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord’” (Ps. 122:1).

This is why (1) we are commanded to sing the Psalms (cf. Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16) and (2) so many of the psalms speak of “enemies” (e.g., Ps. 3:7; 5:8; 6:7,10; 7:6; 8:2; etc.). This is also why the imprecatory psalms, the psalms calling down curses upon the enemies of God, are important for us to sing. By singing them, we call upon God to go to war against His enemies —to conquer them by converting them (cf. Ps. 83:16) or destroying them (cf. Ps. 137).

Rather than embody the Sabbath in a way that highlighted its glory and life-giving vitality, the Pharisees trivialized it and used it to enslave others to their own strictures of conscience.

The Old Testament presents the Sabbath not as a fast but as a feast.

So when God rescued and redeemed Israel, He restored the Sabbath to them: they got to rest. However, many wanted to continue to act like slaves. Somehow they became convinced that the life they had lived in Egypt was good (cf. Num. 11:4–6). Consequently, serious retraining was necessary in the Mosaic era.20 God showed them what it meant to live as a free people for their own good (cf. Deut. 12:28).

If we combine Jesus’ example of feasting with the Old Testament teaching on the Sabbath and the Messianic kingdom; and then if we throw in the astonishing news of Jesus’ resurrection, it should be clear why the worship of the early Church was characterized by such joy and festivity. How could worship be anything but festive? Jude remarks that the false teachers who had infiltrated the church “are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves” (v. 12, cf. 2 Pet. 2:13). Similarly, Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthians for their divisive feasting reveals that their celebrations were far more robust than ours frequently are. After all, he rebukes the rich for becoming drunk and satiated while the poor were left hungry (cf. 1 Cor. 11:20–22). And the problem was not that they were feasting but that they weren’t waiting for the poor to enjoy the feast. In other words, Paul does not rebuke the feasting but assumes it and encourages them to include the poor. The Lord’s Day is a feast, not a fast.

The leaders in Israel were chafing at the Sabbath because it was preventing them from exploiting the poor. A close examination of Isaiah 58 reveals that it is this same problem he is addressing. His restriction on the “pleasures” of the people is not forbidding mirth and joy: it is forbidding exploitation and avarice. This is evident as we study Isaiah’s rebuke of the Israelites’ fasting earlier in the chapter. Rather than fast to show true contrition for their sin, the Israelites were putting on an external show. Isaiah rebukes them with these words, “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers” (58:3b). In Hebraic parallelism, Isaiah indicates that the exploitation of the laborers was the pleasure that the people were finding. It is this same “pleasure” that the Israelites were to shun on the Sabbath. Oppressing the needy was forbidden; joy, refreshment, and recreation were not.32

And so what should our Lord’s Day look like? Rest, worship, instruction, feasting, fellowship, mercy. These are our priorities; these are the things that characterize a typical Sabbath day. Once we get this right, we’re in a position to answer other related questions—should I work on the Lord’s Day? If so, under what circumstances? Should I engage in organized sports? Should I patronize businesses? These are all important questions that need answers. But if we jump to these types of questions without getting the heart of the Lord’s Day first—feasting, delight, liberation, worship, joy—then we will become nothing more than modern day Pharisees. The Lord’s Day should be the best day of the week. “Huh? Run myself ragged on the Lord’s Day? No thanks—I’d rather drive my clunker, feast with my family, and study God’s Word.”

And so, in our families, let us consider how to make the Lord’s Day the best day of the week. Let us break out the fine china; fix the best food; drag out the sweets; open a bottle of good wine; invite friends and family; read and study and enjoy the Word of God together; and pray corporately with joy. The Lord’s Day should be the best day of the week. So we should consider how to make it so given the ages of our children and the opportunities the Lord has placed before us.33 And when we face some decision about what to do on the Lord’s Day, we need to ask ourselves, is this thing that we are considering accentuating the feast or pulling us away from it?