Exodus 20:8-11: Edit history

Context

This is the fourth of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai (according to the numbering used in Judaism and by most Protestants), and it receives the longest explanation of any of the commandments. It prescribes six days of labor and forbids work on the seventh day, not only for the individual but also for children, male and female servants, livestock, and the stranger. As its basis, it cites the creation account, in which God made heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh (Genesis 2:2-3).

In the restatement of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, the basis for the same commandment becomes Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The Sabbath is therefore understood as a day commemorating both creation and liberation.

Interpretation

• The Sabbath principle as moral law: The Reformed tradition holds that the principle of setting apart one day in seven for God belongs to the perpetual moral law, but that the day itself was changed to the first day of the week after the resurrection of Christ. The Westminster Confession of Faith calls the Lord's Day "the Christian Sabbath" and teaches that believers should rest from work and recreation and devote themselves to worship, piety, and works of mercy. The strict Lord's Day observance of the Puritan tradition grew out of this view.
• Fulfillment in Christ: Several traditions, including Lutheranism, hold that the ceremonial elements of the Sabbath commandment have been fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 4:9-10). They regard Sunday less as a legal obligation than as the day on which the church gathers to commemorate the resurrection, and they also appeal to Romans 14:5: "One man esteemeth one day above another."
• Saturday Sabbath observance: The Seventh-day Adventist Church observes Saturday as the Sabbath, holding that the commandment explicitly specifies the seventh day, that is, Saturday, and that there is no biblical basis for changing it. The major denominations defend the legitimacy of Sunday worship by pointing to accounts of the New Testament church gathering on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

Debates and Issues

The provision extending rest to laborers, servants, livestock, and foreigners supports the interpretation that this commandment concerns not only personal piety but also society, guaranteeing a right to rest. The words of Jesus, who healed on the Sabbath, that "the sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) are read alongside it as a caution against legalistic observance. See also Sabbath and the Lord's Day.

In Korean Churches

From their earliest days, Korean Protestant churches have emphasized strict Lord's Day observance, regarding such practices as refraining from buying and selling on Sunday and avoiding examinations or athletic competitions held on that day as marks of faith. Today, as a growing number of church members in Korea must work on Sundays, discussion continues over how this practice should be understood.

Related Passages

• Genesis 2:2-3
• Deuteronomy 5:12-15
• Mark 2:27-28
• Colossians 2:16-17
• Hebrews 4:9-10