Call the Sabbath a Delight
“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 day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.
God gave the Sabbath commandment to help us refocus our minds off ourselves and our concerns and interests. Instead, we are to especially focus on God and His priorities during this 24 hours of holy time. But this doesn’t mean the Sabbath is to be boring or drudgery. It should be a delight to be able to be refreshed and spiritually strengthened by drawing close to God and spending time with those who are called to be His children.
The New Revised Standard Version makes the first part of verse 13 more clear: “If you refrain from trampling the sabbath …”
God calls the Sabbath “My holy day.” “God claims it as His day; to take it for our pleasure is to rob Him of His own” (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary on Isaiah 58:13 ).
God promises great blessings to those who honor Him on the Sabbath. These blessings recall the blessings of security and abundance mentioned in the Song of Moses ( Deuteronomy 32:9, 13 ).
For related reading, download our free booklet The Sabbath: A Neglected Gift From God.
