“If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shall honour him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13, 14.

“It [the Sabbath] belongs to Christ…. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him, it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in the earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church and that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, “I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctifies them”—make them holy. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God….

To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.” –Maranatha, p. 244.

Questions to think about:

Is the Sabbath a delight for us?

Why is the Sabbath not a delight for some but just a form of service?

What does it mean for God’s children to have a Sabbath rest?