When the Lord gave me the word “Sabbath” for 2026, I certainly had no idea what was in store for my family and me.
Increasing my office hours to full-time wasn’t in my wildest imagination.
The idea that my husband would eventually join me full-time wasn’t something I would have ever taken seriously.
But here we are, six months later, and the fact that God gave me this word for this year….
And the fact that He gave me the verse, “Be still, and know that I am God,” once again has so much significance.
I am over halfway through the Old Testament in my word study of the word “shabbat”, and I won’t lie, there have been times when doing this study has been a little less exciting than it was in the beginning.
But, as I flip back in my notebook, I see a common thread running through these verses.
In Exodus 5, we asked, “Who is the Pharaoh in my life that is keeping me from Sabbathing?”
We see an interesting promise in Leviticus 26:6, “I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land.”
Interestingly, the phrase, “I will rid” is “shabbat”.
This is significant because God was letting the children of Israel know that if they would be faithful to walk in His ways, they would enjoy His perfect peace.
He would “shabbat” danger and evil in their land.
Fast-forward to Isaiah.
“Gladness is taken away, and joy from the plentiful field; in the vineyards there will be no singing, nor will there be shouting; no treaders will tread out wine in the presses; I have made their shouting cease.” Isaiah 16:10
And we know what happens during the years of Isaiah and Jeremiah: The Assyrians conquer Israel, and Nebuchadnezzar conquers Judah.
God’s people are taken into captivity.
Jerusalem is destroyed, the temple is raided, and the land is overrun with wild beasts for 70 years until the Lord raised Ezra and Nehemiah to come and rebuild.
Why?
Because they failed to keep God’s command - and specifically God’s command of the Sabbath.
The fact that they were in captivity for 70 years is significant.
It goes back to Leviticus 26:2, 26:6, and 26:34-45, where God specifically told the children of Israel to “sabbath” the land.
They were to work the land for six years, and then let it rest on the seventh.
For 490 years, they failed to keep this command, and then they were taken into captivity, and the land rested for 70 years.
Do the math. It adds up. God gave the land its sabbath.
When you look at Exodus 20, you see that the first three commandments make up verses 3-7. That is approximately 1.5 verses per command.
The 4th command about the sabbath takes up a whole 4 verses, while the remaining six commandments take up the next 6 verses - 1 verse per command.
The longest commandment, by far, in the 10 commandments is the command concerning the sabbath.
God is serious about this! Far more serious than we are.
It’s not about not working on Sunday.
It’s not even about making sure that we’re in church on Sunday (important as that is).
It’s about learning to find rest in Christ and trusting Him.
So, to answer the $1,000,000 question, “Is not keeping the sabbath a sin?”
Yes. Yes, it is.
And Scripture bears this out.
Violating the 4th command is a sin.
Failing to rest in Christ is a sin.
Refusing to trust God with our finances and livelihoods while we choose to let them rest for a day is a sin.
And that sin has a consequence - captivity.
The good news is that before I reached the end of Isaiah (and spoiler alert, I’ve already studied the book of Jeremiah, so I know how it ends…), I read the promise that God would bring restoration.
You see, when we repent of our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us by His grace and cleanse us of our unrighteousness.
God would use Babylon to conquer Assyria, then the Medes and Persians would conquer Babylon, and eventually the majority of the children of Israel would return to their land.
This study is speaking volumes to me right now.
“‘It’s not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord.” Zecharaiah 4:6
It’s not by plans or strategies, better schedules, or hustling harder.
I can rest. I can walk away and leave the work behind in the evenings — and even for a whole weekend.
Because it is by the Spirit of God.
I can trust Him.
He is a good Father.
He is my Good Shepherd.
He clothes the fields and feeds the birds of the air.
As I seek first His kingdom and righteousness, HE will add all these things.
I can sabbath, truly sabbath… and I can dwell in a place of sabbath because my God cares for me!