I often hear questions about how the Old Testament commandment for the Israelites to keep the Sabbath day holy applies to us in the New Covenant. In the OT the Sabbath was Saturday. They would do no work on the Sabbath for one primary reason that we learn from Deuteronomy 5:15...
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. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
They were to keep the Sabbath day to remember that God worked to free them from Egyptian slavery. They did not do the work, God did. Therefore their day of no work is a day to remember God's work.
This principle still applies to us today, but in a slightly different way.
The Sabbath Today
Today there is no particular Sabbath day like there was in the Old Testament.
We do have a day of the week consecrated to the Lord - Sunday - because Jesus rose from the grave on a Sunday. If it works for you, this is a natural day to take a regular Sabbath.
But for some this doesn't work - i.e. ministers. If God wanted everyone to rest from their work on Sundays, all ministers would be in violation of this command. But remember what Jesus said in Mark 2:27...
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
This means it's not a rule to be slaved over. It's a gift God has given us that we should receive and accept because it's for our good.
Can I Work on My Sabbath?
This also means that it's OK to mow the yard on whatever day of the week you feel like it.
For some, tasks like mowing the yard are a good way to recharge and "rest" from their current job. For instance my job doesn't involve a lot of manual labor but does involve a whole lot of mind-labor. Mowing the yard is a good way for me to rest and recharge.
Also, the Sabbath isn't a legalistic 24-hour period. It's a principle. You need regular and consistent time for rest and recharging. But if you break it up rather than make it one continuous 24-hour period, no big deal. That's not a sin. The sin is overworking yourself and thinking life depends on how hard you work.
A significant portion of time each week is good, and it also mirrors God's activity in creating the world - he rested on the 7th day.
Two Important Lessons
More than that, taking a regular Sabbath is important because we need to constantly remind ourselves of two things.
First, we're not God. We get tired. Not only that, but even the work we do, if not blessed by God, is done in vain (see Psalm 127:1).
Second, we need to remember that we are not saved by our works but by the work of Jesus on the cross. Taking time of rest and no work helps us to remember that salvation is not about work... it's not about what we do. We can't do enough to merit heaven. But Jesus did all that was required on the cross. It's God's work, not ours, that saves us.
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