Sabbath Rest and Social Justice

Understand the Issue

Throughout history, the Sabbath has provided an opportunity to combat and, at least to some degree, dismantle the distinctions of socio-economic status within human society. Thousands of years ago people were already talking about the Sabbath as a day that would be a blessing to society. Few people would argue that human society today desperately needs these same Sabbath blessings.

Throughout history, the Sabbath has provided an opportunity to combat and, at least to some degree, dismantle the distinctions of socio-economic status within human society. For example, in the fourth commandment given by God at Mt. Sinai, the Sabbath was to be a day of reset for all people:

“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.”
Exodus 20:8-10

The command to cease from work on the seventh day of each week was intended for all people within society. The command regarding this sacred day extended to guests and even beasts of burden. Moses, the prophet that led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, also spoke of the Sabbath as a safeguard against social inequality and oppression of society’s most vulnerable people. Enlarging upon the idea of a rest once every seven days, Moses commanded Israel to observe a type of sabbath rest every seventh year. On this year crops would not be planted, allowing the land to lie fallow. Every fiftieth year, following seven of these seven-year cycles, slaves were to be set free, land that had been sold was to revert to its original owner, and debts were cancelled. As Moses wrote, “Therefore you shall not oppress one another, but you shall fear your God…” (Leviticus 25:17).

The command to cease from work on the seventh day of each week was intended for all people within society.

Centuries after God gave the Ten Commandments through Moses, the prophet Isaiah further explained the social implications of Sabbath rest. In Isaiah 58, a chapter that concludes with powerful promises of blessings that come from true Sabbath rest, he wrote,

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?”
Isaiah 58:6-7

That’s amazing! Thousands of years ago people were already talking about the Sabbath as a day that would be a blessing to society. Few people would argue that human society today desperately needs these same Sabbath blessings.

Jesus Christ once said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). Did you catch that? The Sabbath was never intended for just one tribe, or ethnicity, or nation. It was made for all people. In fact, the Bible predicts that in the future, humanity will observe the Sabbath together. “ ‘And it shall come to pass that…from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:23). Perhaps the answer to many of this world’s problems really is a weekly Sabbath rest.

Is Sabbath a Christian Holiday?

The Biblical Sabbath has always been the seventh day of the week, what we call Saturday. However, the “Christian Sabbath” is today almost universally recognized as Sunday, the first day of the week. This day of worship dates back to the convergence of religious and political power under the Roman Catholic Church in the middle ages.

Sabbath Rest and the Environment

Many wars are fought over natural resources and food production, and the same technologies that have allowed for tremendous increases in crop yields also exact terrible collateral damage on the environment and on humanity. Tthe Bible’s Sabbath rest on the seventh day of each week, and the principles of wisely using and safeguarding the resources found in our environment, could make a difference for us today.

Sabbath Rest: A Common Experience

From its first mention in Genesis 2, the Sabbath is presented as a day of rest to be shared and experienced with others. The prophet Isaiah revealed that the Sabbath was intended not just for the Jewish community, but also for the “sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord” (Isaiah 56:6). God created the Sabbath to be a blessing for all people!

What Day is the Sabbath?

The word Sabbath literally means “rest,” and the Bible says that God blessed and sanctified, or set apart as holy, this first Sabbath rest day as a memorial of His finished work of creation. This is why the fourth commandment begins with a call to remember the seventh-day Sabbath rest.

What Is the Sabbath?

The idea of a weekly Sabbath, or day of rest, may seem strange to many people living in today’s fast-paced, modern culture. But the concept has been around a long time. Christians, Muslims, and Jews have observed weekly “holy days” for centuries—even millennia. The earliest documented reference to a Sabbath day of rest is found in the biblical book of Genesis.