In Deuteronomy 5, the Bible records that when the Lord commanded the Israelite nation to observe the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, they were not only to rest from all their work, but also to “remember that [they] were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD [their] God brought [them] out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (Deuteronomy 5:15, English Standard Version throughout). Remembering God’s deliverance from Egypt was imperative to ancient Israel’s observance of the Sabbath, but as Christians today, this command also carries vital lessons for us to remember in our observance of the Sabbath day. If we recount their story as slaves in Egypt, we’ll see that the seventh-day Sabbath is a day for physical rest, in addition to a day to focus on the liberation we received through the mighty act of His Son, and the promise of His Kingdom to come.

Remembering the salvation God has granted us will help us find rest on the weekly Sabbath day.

When famine had raged throughout Egypt and Canaan during the life of Joseph, Joseph’s family—who became the nation of Israel—came to Egypt in need of disaster relief (Acts 7:11). Because Joseph was faithful to God, he was granted the correct interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams of famine and abundance, and the people flourished. However after several generations, a subsequent Egyptian Pharaoh forgot all the good Joseph had done for Egypt, and he became threatened by the Israelites’ ever-growing prominence in their country (Acts 7:17-19). So the Israelites were forced into slavery, and Pharaoh had all their firstborn sons killed to control their population. Yet God revealed to Moses—an Israelite raised as Egyptian royalty—that He would redeem this people from slavery (Exodus 6:1-8). And through the miraculous 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, God set an estimated 3 million people free.

Freedom from slavery to sin

The liberation of the Israelite people through the plagues and parting of the Red Sea is a symbol of God granting us freedom from our own enslavement to sin as Christians (John 8:34). The final judgment that God brought on Egypt was the plague of death on all the first-born sons in Egypt. But anyone who had put the blood of an unblemished lamb over their doorpost was passed over from God’s judgment and protected from death, just as God had promised. Jesus Christ fulfilled this same act of liberation as our Passover lamb. His death and resurrection allow us to have the penalty of death to pass over us for the sins we commit in our lifetime if we agree to take part in His plan of salvation and rest.

God’s redeeming act on the night of the Passover was followed by the Israelite nation escaping from the Egyptians through the Red Sea. When we are baptized into the body of Christ, we are symbolically cleansed from our sins and enter a covenant with God, just as the Israelites did when they left Egypt (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Although our baptism may not seem as miraculous physically speaking, we should know that this act and the sacrifice that was made by Jesus Christ on our behalf is far greater than the miracles in Egypt, because through it God has opened a way of eternal salvation for you and all of humanity—whether an Israelite or not (our booklet God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind covers this in more detail).

Put to permanent rest the sinful nature

But remembering God’s forgiveness is only part of the reason we need to remember the story of Israel being redeemed from Egypt. On the Sabbath, we should also focus on putting our sinful nature to rest and forgiving the grievances we have with others (Luke 11:4). The book of Hebrews, which was originally written to an audience of direct Israelite descendants, reminds us that “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses . . . [therefore we must] exhort one another . . . that none of [us] may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:3-14).

When Israel made an agreement to be obedient to God after their deliverance from Egypt, God reassured them that He was going to give their people the Promised Land of Canaan if only they would choose to be faithful to Him. The Israelites were a prideful, unbelieving and rebellious people though. Whenever relying on God became difficult they sought their former life as slaves in Egypt, and as a result the generation that first left Egypt was not allowed to enter Canaan (Hebrews 3:16-19). We likewise must resist the same temptation they had to re-enslave themselves to the deceiving lure of Egypt, the symbol of a life of bondage to sin (Galatians 5:1).

Our promised land of God's Kingdom

Finally, the land that was promised to ancient Israel symbolizes an even greater land of promise: the coming Kingdom of God, which will be established at the return of Jesus Christ. His Kingdom will be an everlasting Kingdom, establishing justice and peace for the New heaven and earth to come (for more information, read our booklet Christ’s Reign on Earth: What It Will Be Like). For this reason, the book of Hebrews also admonishes us that “while the promise of entering his rest [the Kingdom of God] still stands, let us fear lest any of [us] should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to [Israel], but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened . . . there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God [so] strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:1-11).

Remembering the salvation God has granted us will help us find rest on the weekly Sabbath day. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice allowed the penalty for sin to pass over us, and if we have crossed through the Red Sea of baptism, we must be united in faith and remember to never turn back to the life we once lived as slaves to sin. God’s Kingdom, the land of promise, will come to this Earth and establish peace. So, reminisce the salvation and rest that God has so graciously offered us, and treasure the Sabbath day, the symbol of ultimate rest for all of humanity.