Tell the Israelites: You must observe my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you will know that I am the LORD who consecrates you.
Observe the Sabbath, for it is holy to you.
Whoever profanes it must be put to death. If anyone does work on it, that person must be cut off from his people. (Exodus 31:13-14)
The penalties for breaking the Sabbath were stiff according to God’s law. Why?
The major reason was that it was a constant reminder to the people that they belonged to God. That he had consecrated them for himself.
Another word for “consecrated” is “sanctified.” Both words have the idea of being made pure and set apart for God.
But what strikes me is that God tells them, “I am the one who consecrates you. I am the one that purifies you. I am the one that sets you apart for myself.
“It’s not what you do that makes you holy in my sight. It’s what I do.”
The writer of Hebrews carries that idea over to us as believers.
He talks about another Sabbath rest, the one that the Old Testament Sabbath and the “rest” that came from entering the Promised Land pointed to. (Joshua 21:44, Hebrews 4:1-11)
Just as God made the original creation by his own power and invited his people to join in his rest, Jesus has made us new creations by his own work on the cross and invites us to join in his rest.
We no longer try to establish our own righteousness. (Romans 10:3)
Rather we rest in what Jesus has done for us. He’s the one who consecrates us and makes us holy in his sight through his work on the cross, not us.
Anyone, then, who breaks the Sabbath rest established by Jesus by trying to establish his own righteousness is cut off from God’s people and suffers eternal death.
So let us heed the words of the author of Hebrews.
Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest… (Hebrews 4:9-11)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 