The Sabbath and Legalism Do Not Mix

By Craig Ashton Jr., June 15, 2024

I would not be exaggerating if I told you that I read or recite the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 at least once a week. Each time I read it, I try to go a little deeper in my understanding of the meaning rather than simply seeing it as a straightforward command.

This week, I learned that the command about not working on the Sabbath is not about controlling other people’s behavior (your son, daughter, manservant, maidservant, or stranger visiting your gates) but about imposing your own will on others. How often has the Sabbath command been used to control other people’s behavior? During the time of Jesus, the Sabbath commandment had been multiplied into hundreds of subcategories. It had become mechanical, with the Sabbath focused on rules and regulations rather than on fellowship and communion with God. We, too, can take a legalistic approach towards the Sabbath and find ourselves looking for loopholes to get around its rigidity or seeking conformity at another person’s expense. I find it significant that God did not define work in the Sabbath command—in fact, very little detail is specified in the Bible—leaving room for creativity.

God is not against work. He is against our addiction to self-reliance. I think the Sabbath should be defined in terms of its sacred meaning rather than reduced to a legalistic argument. I find it significant that the word keep actually means to guard that which is cherished or treasured. If we cherish and delight in the Sabbath, we will avoid a mechanical ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to it. It will then be more about knowing that I am completely loved by God and that I was made to live in a restful world that lacks nothing and where no harm or hurt exists. The Sabbath will then be about trusting what God is doing and what it say’s about His character, as He whispers to our hearts about the importance of love and communion with Him.

Craig Ashton Jr.