Exodus 31:12-18  Four times in these 7 verses God commands Israel to observe His sabbaths.

v13 Observe My Sabbaths - for this is a sign between Me and you;  so that you can know that the Lord sanctifies you
v14 Observe the Sabbath - for it is holy to you; it is a matter of life and death; it is a matter of community
v15 Observe the sabbath - with complete rest; no work is to be done;
v16 Observe the sabbath- to celebrate an ongoing covenant with God
v17 Observe the sabbath - as an eternal sign between Israel and God;  for it is a copy of the pattern that God Himself set during creation.

God comes again to this commandment, a re-emphasis on this one particular requirement of the Law; a final reminder to Moses before He hands over the stone tablets.  Why?
Why not a reminder to have only one God?
Why not a reminder to love?
Why is such emphasis put on the observation of a day of rest?

Genesis 1:31- 2:3  " And God saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts; And by the seventh day God completed His work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

God sanctified the seventh day, He set it apart and consecrated it as something holy.  In keeping this day separate from the everyday, by ceasing from work, the people of Israel would honor the covenant that they had made with God.  It would be a sign that they were still "in it" with Him.  A sign that they were still "set apart" or sanctified too.   It was an outward acknowledgement of an inward commitment to live in covenant relationship with the Holy One.  It was a  precious gift....and  was to be celebrated as such.

I know that some believe that we should still observe the sabbath.  I know the reasoning for both sides of the argument.  I know also that we are no longer under the Law.  And I know that Hebrews teaches us that Jesus IS our sabbath rest.  That even this sacred day points to Him. I know that everything that Moses received on the mountain was just a "copy and shadow of the heavenly things.." ( Hebrews 8:4)

So, is it safe to say that when we enter into covenant with Jesus,  when we "rest" in His Work, the work of redemption that He accomplished for us by His death on the cross, that we are observing the "sabbath" in a new way? We have entered into an eternal sabbath... an eternal rest, which is holy and blessed, sanctified by God.  We cease from our labors - for we cannot add to anything that Christ alone has done.  Just as we cannot add to God's work of creation... we cannot add to Christ's work of redemption.  We must rest in it.  Observe it. Keep it holy. Know that it is the Lord that sanctifies us as we rest in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh Father in heaven, You are Holy and all Your ways are holy!  We cannot accomplish the work of sanctification by our own self-efforts.  We come to the One Who makes us stop our labor and struggling... and rest in the True Sabbath, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear, Lord of the Sabbath.  Fill our hearts with Truth.  Let Your Word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths.  We need You and You alone. We are weary in our own labors... we come to You, Whose yoke is easy and burden is light. Amen.