Sabbath Preparation

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8–11 NIV

With God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy, we must connect with God’s great and merciful plan of salvation. We must be cleansed by His blood, through repentance and through the overcoming of sin. This process is carried out in the sanctuary of heaven. We learned, that without this, we have not the faintest possibility of obeying God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy. We must accept and act upon the grand truths of the new covenant made by God the Father and His Son, Jesus.

Let’s explore God’s guidelines as to the instructions given us on how we are to prepare for the Sabbath and when we are to make this preparation.

There are two statements that will give us a framework from which to understand our study.

“The Sabbath given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is also the sign of Him as the Sanctifier. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness.” Counsels for the Church, 261. And, “The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God.” The Great Controversy, 488. Why are the subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment so important, and what connection do they have to the keeping of the Sabbath? Simply put, the sanctuary is where the process of sanctification is carried out, and the investigative judgment is the last phase of that process. The Sabbath, truly kept, is a sign of our acceptance of God’s sanctification in our lives. Please keep these thoughts in your mind as a background to this study.

This study is primarily based on a section in Testimonies, vol. 6, 350–368, called The Observance of the Sabbath. Just prior to one of the subsections entitled Preparation for the Sabbath is this admonition: “We must be guarded, lest the lax practices that prevail among Sundaykeepers shall be followed by those who profess to observe God’s holy rest day. The line of demarcation is to be made clear and distinct between those who bear the mark of God’s kingdom and those who bear the sign of the kingdom of rebellion.

“Far more sacredness is attached to the Sabbath than is given it by many professed Sabbathkeepers. The Lord has been greatly dishonored by those who have not kept the Sabbath according to the commandment, either in the letter or in the spirit. He calls for a reform in the observance of the Sabbath.” Ibid., 353.

We will see this statement borne out as we progress through the study. The very first sentence under the subtitle “Preparation for the Sabbath” are these words: “All through the week we are to have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment.” Ibid. So first we need to study what kind of preparation God asks us to make throughout the week, and then we will look specifically at the preparations to be made on the preparation day, Friday.

Throughout the week we are to:

  1. Have the Sabbath in mind and be making preparation to keep it according to the commandment.
  2. Preserve energy during the week so as to not be exhausted on Sabbath. (“None should permit themselves, through the week, to become so absorbed in their temporal interests, and so exhausted by their efforts for worldly gain, that on the Sabbath they have no strength or energy to give to the service of God. We are robbing the Lord when we unfit ourselves to worship Him upon His holy day. And we are robbing ourselves as well. …“Let not the precious hours of the Sabbath be wasted in bed. On Sabbath morning the family should be astir early.” Child Guidance, 530.)
  1. Daily pray that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon you. If we remember that in order to keep the Sabbath holy, we must ourselves be holy, it is a logical thing to follow this principle. “All who regard the Sabbath as a sign between them and God, showing that He is the God who sanctifies them, will represent the principles of His government. They will bring into daily practice the laws of His kingdom. Daily it will be their prayer that the sanctification of the Sabbath may rest upon them. Every day they will have the companionship of Christ and will exemplify the perfection of His character. Every day their light will shine forth to others in good works.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 353. Sanctification means the act of making holy.
  2. Speak right words.
  3. Keep the spirit free from irritation.
  4. Live as in the sight of a holy God.
  5. Passages of Scripture should often be spoken, especially those that prepare the heart for religious service. The Bible is very clear on this: Deuteronomy 6:6–9 KJV says, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” And also Psalm 119:11 KJV, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” These are just two from among many.

Remember, this study just touches the surface of the principles involved.

Now we will move on to the preparations to be made specifically on Friday, the preparation day. We will begin with instructions for our physical surroundings.

  1. See that the clothing is in order for Sabbath
    • Washed
    • Mended
    • Shoes shined

“Many need instruction as to how they should appear in the assembly for worship on the Sabbath. They are not to enter the presence of God in the common clothing worn during the week. All should have a special Sabbath suit, to be worn when attending service in God’s house. While we should not conform to worldly fashions, we are not to be indifferent in regard to our outward appearance. We are to be neat and trim, though without adornment. The children of God should be pure within and without.” Ibid., 355.

Messages to Young People, 352, elaborates on dress in this way: “We do not discourage neatness in dress. Correct taste is not to be despised nor condemned. Our faith, if carried out, will lead us to be so plain in dress … that we shall be marked as peculiar. But when we lose taste for order and neatness in dress, we virtually leave the truth; for the truth never degrades, but elevates.”

  1. See that all possible cooking is done
  2. Lay all secular work aside
  3. Put all secular papers out of sight

“On Friday let the preparation for the Sabbath be completed. See that all the clothing is in readiness and that all the cooking is done. Let the boots be blacked and the baths be taken. It is possible to do this. If you make it a rule you can do it. The Sabbath is not to be given to the repairing of garments, to the cooking of food, to pleasure seeking, or to any other worldly employment. Before the setting of the sun let all secular work be laid aside and all secular papers be put out of sight. Parents, explain your work and its purpose to your children, and let them share in your preparation to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment.” Ibid., 355, 356.

Now we will examine an even more important preparation, the preparation of the heart.

  1. All differences between brethren should be put away, whether family members or church members
  2. Let all bitterness, wrath and malice be expelled from the soul
  3. In a humble spirit, “confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” James 5:16 KJV.
  4. Make special arrangements that every member of the family may be prepared to honor the day which God has blessed and sanctified

And finally, towards the close of the preparation day, we are instructed as follows:

  1. Jealously guard the edges of the Sabbath
  2. Welcome the Lord’s day with quietness of mind
  3. Before sunset let the members of the family assemble to read God’s word, to sing and pray

“Before the Sabbath begins, the mind as well as the body should be withdrawn from worldly business. God has set His Sabbath at the end of the six working days, that men may stop and consider what they have gained during the week in preparation for the pure kingdom which admits no transgressor. We should each Sabbath reckon with our souls to see whether the week that has ended has brought spiritual gain or loss.

“It means eternal salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord. God says: ‘Them that honor Me I will honor’ (I Samuel 2:30).” Ibid., 356.

Did you get that? “It means eternal salvation to keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord.” That is powerful. If we keep the Sabbath holy unto the Lord, we have eternal salvation. Friends, do you want that eternal salvation? Let us work together, pray together, unite as one in praying to the God of our salvation to help us reform, so that we may fulfill God’s desire to sanctify us that we may indeed “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.”

[All emphasis added.]

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.