Six days are appointed for doing all ordinary labor, in contrast with the seventh day which is the Lord's Sabbath of rest and worship. The precept belongs to the Sabbath or fourth commandment among the Ten Commandments, in the first four that state obligations to God, given to Israel after deliverance from Egypt through Moses. The day specified is the seventh-day Sabbath as God's memorial of creation, not Sunday, which is a spurious sabbath without sacredness and not to be put in its place by human authority, with compelling its counterfeit observance identified with the mark of the beast. Its keeping still calls for sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will to perfect Christian character, bringing the Lord's blessing in cooperation with obedience.
Meaning and Historical Setting
Six days are appointed for labor and doing all ordinary work, in contrast with the seventh day, which is the Lord's Sabbath and a day of rest. The command to work six days is part of the Sabbath commandment given to Israel, placing ordinary labor within that command so that work is done during the six days and rest kept on the seventh day which belongs to the Lord and is to be kept holy. The six days before the Sabbath are assigned for labor and the completion of ordinary work, and the six-day work period is paired with the seventh day set apart for rest and worship. The six days are ordinary, literal days, not indefinite periods of time.
The rest embraces the household, including servants, animals, and resident strangers, so that work ceases for all on the seventh day. The verse is part of the Sabbath or fourth commandment within the Ten Commandments, belonging to the first four commandments that state obligations to God. The commandment was given for Israel after its deliverance from Egypt, delivered through Moses and taught in the wilderness. It was given to Moses by Christ for Israel after its deliverance, presented as a command and not a matter for human authorities or convenience to revise.
Moses recapitulated the law, including this verse, at the Jordan to the new generation preparing to possess Canaan, so they would understand the need to obey God's law. This was done just before his death when the appointed time to possess Canaan was at hand, because the fathers had died in the wilderness and the promise was now to be fulfilled to their grown children. Many were small children when the law was given with no remembrance of its grandeur and others were born in the wilderness, and few of the present generation were old enough to comprehend the awful solemnity when the law was first spoken from Sinai and repeated at the river Jordan. He rehearsed the deliverance from Egypt and the wilderness journeyings and told of the journeyings since leaving Egypt and of their fathers' great transgressions that brought God's judgments and kept that generation from entering the promised land. He repeated the Ten Commandments with all the circumstances connected with the giving of the law and recapitulated the law, presenting the claims of His law anew as they were soon to pass over Jordan and take the promised land, lest they fail to realize the necessity of obeying the Ten Commandments and all the laws and judgments given through Moses, with obedience enjoined as the condition of prosperity.
The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 4-8, which sets out what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself. Its commandments are definite, express His will, and were to be kept, obeyed, walked in, and taught to children. Israel was to observe them and walk in God's ways as a people set apart to Him.
Doctrine and Present Application
Six days are given for labor and ordinary work and for doing all of one's work, while the seventh day is set apart as the Lord's Sabbath and is to be kept free from work. The command specifies the seventh day, not Sunday. It is not to be replaced with the first day, nor revised by human authority or convenience, nor are those who keep the day God named to be oppressed. The seventh-day Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, while Sunday is a spurious sabbath without sacredness established in God's Word. Replacing the Sabbath with Sunday is a counterfeit of the fourth commandment, and compelling people to keep that counterfeit is the mark of the beast and its image.
The verse belongs to God's law whose requirements are definite and express His will, and violating the laws governing human physical nature is also sin against that law. Transgression of these commandments is connected with the curse upon the earth, upon animals, and upon human beings, and with the suffering that follows departure from them. The instruction of the chapter requires sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will, and this requirement applies to God's people today as well as to Israel in the wilderness. Obedience to the fourth commandment is needed to perfect Christian character, and yielding the will to God in this matter makes efforts to save soul, body, and spirit more effectual.
Keeping the commandment calls for self-examination of obedience, for reverence for God, and for freedom from clouded unbelief. Obedience brings the Lord's cooperation and blessing, and disobedience gives no ground to expect His blessing, while professing to serve the Lord while refusing its precept is disobedience. The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 4-8, which sets out what God required in order that His people might be a holy people set apart to Himself, who were to keep His commandments, observe them, and walk in His ways. Those chapters are to be studied now with profit, because the day of God's great final review is near when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds, and because the present is the time of investigation when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity. God's people were freed to honor and keep the Sabbath in serving Him.
Six days are appointed for doing all ordinary labor, in contrast with the seventh day which is the Lord's Sabbath of rest and worship. The precept belongs to the Sabbath or fourth commandment among the Ten Commandments, in the first four that state obligations to God, given to Israel after deliverance from Egypt through Moses. The day specified is the seventh-day Sabbath as God's memorial of creation, not Sunday, which is a spurious sabbath without sacredness and not to be put in its place by human authority, with compelling its counterfeit observance identified with the mark of the beast. Its keeping still calls for sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will to perfect Christian character, bringing the Lord's blessing in cooperation with obedience.
Meaning and Historical Setting
Six days are appointed for labor and doing all ordinary work, in contrast with the seventh day, which is the Lord's Sabbath and a day of rest. The command to work six days is part of the Sabbath commandment given to Israel, placing ordinary labor within that command so that work is done during the six days and rest kept on the seventh day which belongs to the Lord and is to be kept holy. The six days before the Sabbath are assigned for labor and the completion of ordinary work, and the six-day work period is paired with the seventh day set apart for rest and worship. The six days are ordinary, literal days, not indefinite periods of time.
The rest embraces the household, including servants, animals, and resident strangers, so that work ceases for all on the seventh day. The verse is part of the Sabbath or fourth commandment within the Ten Commandments, belonging to the first four commandments that state obligations to God. The commandment was given for Israel after its deliverance from Egypt, delivered through Moses and taught in the wilderness. It was given to Moses by Christ for Israel after its deliverance, presented as a command and not a matter for human authorities or convenience to revise.
Moses recapitulated the law, including this verse, at the Jordan to the new generation preparing to possess Canaan, so they would understand the need to obey God's law. This was done just before his death when the appointed time to possess Canaan was at hand, because the fathers had died in the wilderness and the promise was now to be fulfilled to their grown children. Many were small children when the law was given with no remembrance of its grandeur and others were born in the wilderness, and few of the present generation were old enough to comprehend the awful solemnity when the law was first spoken from Sinai and repeated at the river Jordan. He rehearsed the deliverance from Egypt and the wilderness journeyings and told of the journeyings since leaving Egypt and of their fathers' great transgressions that brought God's judgments and kept that generation from entering the promised land. He repeated the Ten Commandments with all the circumstances connected with the giving of the law and recapitulated the law, presenting the claims of His law anew as they were soon to pass over Jordan and take the promised land, lest they fail to realize the necessity of obeying the Ten Commandments and all the laws and judgments given through Moses, with obedience enjoined as the condition of prosperity.
The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 4-8, which sets out what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself. Its commandments are definite, express His will, and were to be kept, obeyed, walked in, and taught to children. Israel was to observe them and walk in God's ways as a people set apart to Him.
Doctrine and Present Application
Six days are given for labor and ordinary work and for doing all of one's work, while the seventh day is set apart as the Lord's Sabbath and is to be kept free from work. The command specifies the seventh day, not Sunday. It is not to be replaced with the first day, nor revised by human authority or convenience, nor are those who keep the day God named to be oppressed. The seventh-day Sabbath is God's memorial of creation, while Sunday is a spurious sabbath without sacredness established in God's Word. Replacing the Sabbath with Sunday is a counterfeit of the fourth commandment, and compelling people to keep that counterfeit is the mark of the beast and its image.
The verse belongs to God's law whose requirements are definite and express His will, and violating the laws governing human physical nature is also sin against that law. Transgression of these commandments is connected with the curse upon the earth, upon animals, and upon human beings, and with the suffering that follows departure from them. The instruction of the chapter requires sanctification of mind, soul, and body and perfect obedience to God's will, and this requirement applies to God's people today as well as to Israel in the wilderness. Obedience to the fourth commandment is needed to perfect Christian character, and yielding the will to God in this matter makes efforts to save soul, body, and spirit more effectual.
Keeping the commandment calls for self-examination of obedience, for reverence for God, and for freedom from clouded unbelief. Obedience brings the Lord's cooperation and blessing, and disobedience gives no ground to expect His blessing, while professing to serve the Lord while refusing its precept is disobedience. The verse belongs to Deuteronomy 4-8, which sets out what God required in order that His people might be a holy people set apart to Himself, who were to keep His commandments, observe them, and walk in His ways. Those chapters are to be studied now with profit, because the day of God's great final review is near when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds, and because the present is the time of investigation when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity. God's people were freed to honor and keep the Sabbath in serving Him.