The fourth commandment also deals with the person of God and when to worship him.
It is called the Sabbath day, and was to be set aside for a couple of reasons, although there is a certain level of flexibility built into it.
The key, though, is to remember the Lord and do so in an attitude of worship.
The Lord God wrote (Ex 31:18),
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy (Ex 20:8-11; 19:3, 30; 31:13-17; Lev 23:3; Dt 5:12-15)
The word shabbat or Sabbath literally means to cease, desist, or rest, and the Exodus 20:8-11 passage gives one reason why.
The Lord created the cosmos, and everything within it, in six days, and then rested on the seventh.
It was to serve as a model for mankind, so that he may do all his work in six days, and then rest on the seventh.
Of course, resting from one’s labors was not the only thing a person was to do, for the Sabbath day was also a worship day: it is “to the Lord your God.”
Recognizing what the omnipotent, sovereign, infinite Lord had done at creation was to be forever on the minds of mankind.
But, the Book of Deuteronomy provides another reason why the Sabbath was to be remembered and remain holy.
Deuteronomy 5:15 tells us, “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.”
The Sabbath, therefore, carries with it redemptive qualities, as the Jews were once enslaved, while in Egypt, and only by a mighty act of God would they be set free from their servitude.
Moreover, since Egypt is a type for the world, when a person is redeemed or “born again,” that person is rescued from certain bondage to sin and the wrath of God.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon the Christian to obey the Fourth Commandment, if for no other reason than to thank and worship God for his gracious provision in providing redemption and hope where otherwise there was neither.
That said, some have made the actual Sabbath day a point of contention, with some, even during New Testament times, claiming one day to be more holy than another.
Is the Sabbath to be remembered on Saturday or Sunday, in other words?
Such a question, though, fails to consider the real intent of the Sabbath, and it ends up becoming a point of legalese that some wish to lord it over people and ultimately nullify the grace of God (Gal 2:21).
It is why the Apostle Paul would write,
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Col 2:16-17).
Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27).
Worship on the Sabbath day, in other words, is not so much about which day of the week it occurs upon, as much as the attitude of worship the worshiper engages in when it occurs.
Not everyone may be able to worship on a Saturday or Sunday, but maybe on a Monday or Friday, instead.
So long as a person works his or her six days, and then reserves at least one day a week to rest in recognition of what God did during creation OR to reflect upon the redemption God completed at Calvary, the worshiper is going to be just fine.
Again, it is hard to understand why certain people would wish to prevent posting the Fourth Commandment in public, and especially in the public schools.
It has nothing to do with creating a national religion, but simply recognizing that all human beings are created in God’s image and that God has provided a pattern of success when it comes to work, worship, and life in general.
But, then again, when they are hostile toward God to begin with, and spend most of their time suppressing the truth about God, it becomes obvious why such individuals wish to block any recognition of God’s presence, even though theologically and anthropologically speaking, it is totally impossible.
Mankind is naturally religious, regardless of denials to the contrary, and trying to keep God out of the conversation, even when it deals with the Sabbath, is sheer foolishness.
God deserves mankind’s veneration, and God provided the pattern for when and why it needs to take place, and that for man’s benefit.
We, as human beings, would do well to recognize and obey God’s pattern.
