Counsel #1 — The Bible Sabbath

Picture: Counsel #1 — The Bible SabbathCWe 137.1

The seventh-day Sabbath is the memorial of God’s creation of Planet Earth (Genesis 2:1-3). Right in the heart of the Ten Commandments, the fourth states that God set apart the seventh day as holy (Exodus 20:8-11). The Hebrew word for Sabbath is shabbat, meaning “to rest from labor” or “day of rest.”CWe 137.2

“It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people.”^{[147]https://www.adventist.org/the-sabbath/}CWe 137.3

“Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:16, 17 NKJVCWe 137.4

“In Eden, God set up the memorial of His work of creation, in placing His blessing upon the seventh day. The Sabbath was committed to Adam… Its observance was to be an act of grateful acknowledgment, on the part of all who should dwell upon the earth, that God was their Creator...” Ellen White in Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48CWe 137.5

Reflect: What ways do you honor the Sabbath? How could you honor it more fully?CWe 137.6