Sabbath is not a term which most of us use in everyday life. It is one of those religious words that we ministers like to throw around…as if everyone else understands what we mean. So let's begin with the most basic definition of Sabbath. In the Hebrew it is derived from the word "shavath" which means repose, or to cease exerting oneself. "Shabbat" which is the current Hebrew word for the Sabbath is a specialized form of shavath, and means a weekly cessation from work. Depending on one's translation of the scriptures, Sabbath is used around 170 times in the Old Testament and almost 70 times on the New Testament. Thus it is one of the key concepts contained within the scriptures.
The idea of Sabbath is rooted in the story of creation. As Genesis begins, we read about God creating all that there is. For six days God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. God created light and dark, the earth, plants, animals and finally humans. When God had finished creating God took a break. In Genesis 2:1-3 we read, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested (savath-ed) from all the work that he had done in creation." The concept of rest then is grounded in the very essence of God. If God can rest, then so can the rest of creation.
Sabbath next appears in the Noah story when the ark comes to "rest" in the seventh month. Though this is not a direct reference to the Sabbath, it highlights how important Sabbath (and the seventh) had become in scripture. The next direct reference to keeping a Sabbath occurs during the Exodus. In the Exodus (the movement of God's people out of slavery in Egypt into the wilderness and then into the land of promise) God provides the people with food and water. The food comes in the form of manna (a bread like substance that springs up at night and can be harvested in the morning) and quails. In the 16th chapter of Exodus the people of Israel are told that they are to collect manna for only six days and not on the seventh. The seventh day is in fact to be a day of rest. The gift of God is that the manna that comes on the sixth day will be adequate to feed the people on the seventh day as well.
The Sabbath becomes enshrined in the community when it is mentioned in the Ten Commandments. In Exodus 20:8-11 we read, "Remember the sabbath day, and 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; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it." Once again we see how the concept of Sabbath is tied directly back to creation. In a sense if we are made in the image of God then our lives ought to reflect God's life…including that of a weekly rest. In the Book of Deuteronomy and its restating of the Ten Commandments, the reason given for keeping the Sabbath is two-fold. First it is to be kept because God commanded it. Second it is to be kept as a remembrance that the people of God were once slaves in Egypt and forced to work every day. The Sabbath becomes a reminder that God's yoke is easier than that of Pharaoh.
The concept of Sabbath also applies to the land and indebtedness. In Judaism there is a sabbatical (Sabbath) year. This year occurs on the seventh year of a seven year agricultural cycle. In the Sabbath year the land was to lay fallow. No agricultural activity was allowed. In essence the land was not allowed to work just as people and animal were not allowed to work on the weekly Sabbath. At the same time, at the end of this year all debts, except those owed to foreigners, were to be forgiven. This was rest from working for others. The Book of Deuteronomy refers to it as "release."
Summing up Sabbath, it is an intentional act of rest that is given to all of creation.
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