7 Promises of the Sabbath

People often consider Sabbath-keeping a burden—or worse, as legalistic. But the Bible points to the Sabbath as a day of blessing. Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Sabbath was designed to be a special gift to humanity, but amid the controversy between good and evil, it has been maligned.

While the Bible is full of promises, let’s look at a few that are especially focused on the Sabbath.

• A gift of time — In the beginning, God gave humans the gift of sacred time to spend in fellowship with their Creator (Genesis 2:1–3).
  
  
• Freedom from work — Since sin brought exhausting toil, the Sabbath is a weekly rest from work for everyone, including animals (Exodus 20:8–11).
  
  
• A blessing of joy — Those who keep the Sabbath are promised joy and fulfillment in life (Isaiah 58:13, 14).
  
  
• A special blessing for our children — As we show our dedication to God by keeping His Sabbath holy, He promises to gather our children to Him and bless them (Isaiah 56:2–9).
  
  
• Security — God has given to us the Sabbath as a sign of our saving relationship with Him, giving us security in the midst of a world of falsehood and deception.(Ezekiel 20:20).
  
  
• Renewal in Christ — Jesus came as God in the flesh to show us how to live and how much God wants to save us from sin so that we can live eternally with Him. He claimed the Sabbath as His holy day and then showed us how to keep it. (See Mark chapter 2.)
  
  
• Hope of eternity — God’s promise of a new world, free from sin, is concurrent with an unbroken cycle of Sabbath worship (Isaiah 66:22, 23).

Jesus’ promise to each of us is, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3). As the final days of earth’s history pass by, you may have family and friends who have questions about the importance of the Sabbath. Click here for a great resource that you can share with them.