Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 31:13
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it [is] a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I [am] the LORD that doth sanctify you.
13. Speak thou also ] And thou (emph.), speak thou (Exo 27:20).
Verily ] cf. on Exo 12:15 (‘surely’).
ye shall keep my Sabbaths ] the sabbaths sacred to me. Note exactly the same words in H, Lev 19:3; Lev 19:30; Lev 26:2: ‘my sabbaths,’ also, often in Ezek. (Eze 20:12-13; Eze 20:16; Eze 20:20-21; Eze 20:24, Eze 22:8; Eze 22:26, Eze 23:38, Eze 44:24); only besides in Isa 56:4 .
a sign, &c.] The sabbath, as a day observed weekly in honour of Jehovah, and kept sacred to Him, is a constantly recurring memorial of Israel’s dedication to Him, and of the covenant-relation subsisting between them. Comp. Eze 20:12 (cited below).
throughout your generations ] See on Exo 12:14. So v. 16.
that men may know (Heb. simply to know: so Psa 67:2 Heb.) &c.] that all the world may recognize, by means of the sabbath, that it is Jehovah who ‘sanctifies’ Israel, or provides it with the means of becoming a holy people. ‘I am Jehovah which sanctify [better, ‘which sancti fieth ’] you (him, them)’ is one of the dominant thoughts of H (Lev 20:8; Lev 21:15 (cf. v. 8), Lev 21:23, Lev 22:9; Lev 22:16; Lev 22:32). Comp. Eze 20:12 ‘I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that men might know [Heb. to know ] that I am Jehovah, which sanctifieth them’ (similarly v. 20); also, for the last clause, Eze 37:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 13. My Sabbaths ye shall keep] See Clarke on Ge 2:3; and “Ex 20:8“.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
My sabbaths ye shall keep: this precept is here repeated, either,
1. To show the chief use of the tabernacle, and all this cost and trouble about it, to wit, that they might there acceptably serve God, as in some measure upon every day, so especially upon the sabbath day. Or rather,
2. To restrain the time for the doing of the forementioned works: q.d. Though the work of the tabernacle and utensils be holy, and for a holy use, yet I will not have it done upon my holy day. The sabbath was not made for them, but they for it, and therefore they shall give place to it.
It is a sign between me and you. The sabbath is a fivefold sign:
1. Commemorative, of Gods creation of and dominion over them and all other things, to whom they do hereby profess their subjection.
2. Indicative, showing that they were made to be holy, and that their sanctification can be had from none but from God, as it here follows, and from the observation of Gods days and appointments.
3. Distinctive, whereby they owned themselves to be the Lords peculiar people, by a religious keeping of those sabbaths, which the rest of the world grossly neglected and profanely scoffed at.
4. Prefigurative, of that rest which Christ should purchase for them, to wit, a rest from the burden of the ceremonial, and from the curses and rigours of the moral law, as also from sin and the wrath of God for ever. See Heb 4.
5. Confirmative, both assuring them of Gods good will to them, and that as he blessed the sabbath for their sakes, so he would bless them in the holy use of it with temporal, spiritual, and everlasting blessings, as he declares in many places of Scripture; and assuring God of their standing to that covenant made between God and them. So that this was a mutual stipulation or ratification of the covenant of grace on both sides.
That doth sanctify you; that selecteth you out of all people, and consecrateth you to myself, and to my service and worship, a great part whereof is the observation of the sabbath. Or, that sanctifieth you by my word and ordinances, which are in more eminent and solemn manner dispensed upon the sabbath day, by the observation whereof you declare that you own me as your only Sanctifier; and so we may observe, the sabbath owns the Lord as our Creator, and as our Redeemer, and as our Sanctifier; and therefore it is no wonder God so severely enjoins the sanctification of the sabbath, and punisheth the neglect of it, it being a tacit renouncing or disowning of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel,…. Notwithstanding all that has been said and ordered concerning making the tabernacle and all things belonging to it; yet this was not to be understood to the violation of the sabbath, or the neglect of that, in which no work was to be done, no, not any relating to the tabernacle and the vessels of it; and though that was to be made, and everything belonging to it, as soon as possible, yet the sabbath was to be observed, and not broken on that account; and this the people of Israel were told of,
saying; verily, or “nevertheless” q,
my sabbaths ye shall keep not sabbaths of years, as the seventh year and the fiftieth year, but of weeks, expressed by the plural number, because there are many of them in course throughout the year, no less than fifty two; and so the apostle uses the same number, Col 2:16 and so do Heathen writers r:
for it is a sign between me and you, throughout your generations; a token of the covenant between them, of his being their God and they his people in a peculiar sense; seeing they observed the same day as a day of rest now, on which he had rested at the finishing of the works of creation, which other nations of the world did not observe; of his sanctifying and separating them from all other people; for this was not a sign between him and other nations, but between him and the people of Israel only; and was to be observed throughout their ages, as long as their civil and church state lasted, but not through others:
that [ye] may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you; had separated and distinguished them from the rest of the nations of the world; but if this law had been given to all nations, it could not have been a distinguishing sign of them from others; nor could it be known hereby that God had separated them to himself above all people; and this was done that it might be known, not only by them, for the word “ye” is not in the text, but by others, the nations of the world, as Jarchi; that they were a distinct people, having distinct laws from all others, and particularly this.
q “veruntamen”, Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Fagius, Vatablus, Drusius, Cartwright, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. r “Metuentem sabbata” Juvenal. Satyr. 14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13. Speak thou also unto the children of Israel. He inculcates the same things as before, with the addition of a few words, such as “for it is holiness unto you;” (337) by which expression he exhorts them to observe this rite as most sacred and inviolable, since by its neglect religion would fall (338) And therefore he denounces capital punishment against any who should work on that day. Hence, again, we gather the dignity and excellency of the mystery, when God deemed an apparently light transgression of it worthy of death. Still this was an act of by no means excusable contempt, to overthrow professedly, as it were, what God would have to be a mark of distinction between His people and heathen nations. The passages which follow have the same tendency, which it would have been superfluous to repeat, unless because the people were thus reminded that it was a matter of the utmost importance. By prohibiting them from lighting a fire, He anticipates all the glosses which they would have been ready enough to invent; for they would have alleged that if the pot had been put on the fire the day before, the Sabbath would not have been violated by lighting the fire. What, then, would have been more allowable than anything else God excludes, viz., that they should not employ themselves in the preparation of their food, or undertake any other earthly work, however venial. When He calls it a “perpetual” or eternal “covenant,” the Jews rest on it as a ground of their obstinacy, and wantonly rave against Christ as a covenant-breaker, because He abrogated the Sabbath. I will not contend with them as to the word גולם, gnolam, which sometimes means a long time, and not perpetuity: I will simply insist on the thing itself. Whatever was spoken of under the Law as eternal, I maintain to have had reference to the new state of things which came to pass at the coming of Christ; and thus the eternity of the Law must not be extended beyond the fullness of time, when the truth of its shadows was manifested, and God’s covenant assumed a different form. If the Jews cry out that what is perpetual, and what is temporary, are contraries to each other, we must deny it in various respects, since assuredly what was peculiar to the Law could not continue to exist beyond the day of Jesus Christ. Besides, the Sabbath, although its external observation is not now in use, still remains eternal in its reality, like circumcision. Thus the stability of both was best confirmed by their abrogation; since, if God now required the same of Christians, it would be putting a veil over the death and resurrection of His Son; and hence the more carefully the Jews persevere in the keeping the festival, the more do they derogate from its sanctity. But they calumniate us falsely, as if we disregarded the Sabbath; because there is nothing which more completely confirms its reality and substance than the abolition of its external use. To this point also may my readers apply what I have written on Gen 17:0, (339) lest I should weary them in vain by my prolixity; and again, in treating of the sacrifices, I have adverted to some things which relate to the same doctrine. When, in Exo 34:0, God especially commands them to rest “in earing-time and harvest,” (340) it is not as if He would let loose the rein for the rest of the year; but He rather draws it tighter, since no necessity must interrupt this sacred observance. Else it might have seemed a just pretext, if, on account of continued rains, or other ungenial weather, ploughing should be difficult, husbandmen were to be released from the obligation of the law, lest their resting should have produced sterility. The same opinion might have prevailed as to the ingathering of the harvest, lest it should have been spoilt on the ground. God, however, allows of no dispensation; but the Sabbath is to be observed, though at the risk of general loss.
(337) “For it is holy unto you.” — A. V.
(338) “ Ils mettoyent bas la religion comme pour la fouler au pied;” they would cast down religion as if to trample it under foot. — Fr.
(339) Vide C.’s Comment on Genesis, Calvin Society’s edit., vol. 1 pp. 447, et seq.
(340) We must beware of being misled by what is a very common misapprehension, not without the authority of some of our English Dictionary-writers, as if “ earing-time” were the time of gathering the ears of corn, instead of a derivative from the Saxon “erian,” cognate with and equivalent to the Latin “ arare,” to plough. See C.’s Latin, “ in aratione .”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) It is a sign between me and you.Circumcision had been given as a covenant sign to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 17:9-13); but its adoption by many of the heathen nations had rendered it no longer a distinguishing mark by which Gods people could be certainly known from others. Thus a new sign was needed. The observance of one day in seven as a day of holy rest became henceforth the distinguishing sign, and proved effectual. It was not likely to be adopted, and in point of fact was not adopted, by any of the heathen. We find it in the latest time of the Jewish nation still regarded as the special mark and badge of a Jew (Juv. Sat. vi. 159, 14:96; Mart. Epig. 4:4, 50:7, &c.).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
EXPOSITION
THE PENALTY FOR NOT OBSERVING THE SABBATH. Various reasons have been given for this recurrence to the sanctity of the sabbath. Kurtz connects it with the giving of the two tables, in which “the law of the sabbath held a particularly prominent place.” Kalisch and others view it rather as the sequel to the directions concerning the tabernacle, and as designed to teach “that the holy service in the tabernacle could not supersede the observance of the sabbath, but derived front that observance its true value.” A third set of critics regard the recurrence to the subject as purely practicalbeing intended to meet an immediate dangerthat of the people, in their zeal to erect the tabernacle, setting sabbath observance at nought. (So Jarchi, Aben-Ezra, Clark, Rosenmuller, Canon Cook, and others.) It is to be observed, however, that the present passage is not a mere repetition. It adds to former notices (Exo 20:8-11; Exo 23:12) two new points:
1. That the sabbath was to be a sign between God and Israel, a “distinguishing badge,” a “sacramental bond” (Cook); and
2. That its desecration was to be punished with death (Exo 31:15). These were supplementary points of so much importance as to furnish ample reason against their announcement being delayed.
Exo 31:13
Verily. Rosenmuller suggests, “Nevertheless.” But there is no need for any change. It is a sign. Hitherto circumcision had been the only visible “sign” that the Israelites were under a special covenant with Godhis people, bound to him by special ties (Gen 17:9-14; Act 7:8). The adoption of circumcision by the Egyptians and other nations (Herod. 2.104) had produced the effect that this “sign” was no longer distinguishing. It might be still” a sign of profession “; but it had ceased to be “a mark of difference “; and some other mark was therefore needed. Such the observance of the sabbath by entire abstinence from servile work became. No other nation adopted it. It continued to Roman times the mark and badge of a Jew.(Juv. Sat. 6.159; 14.96). That ye may know, etc. By keeping the sabbath day as a day of holy rest the Israelites would knowi.e; would realise severally in their own per sons, that God was their sanctifier. Sanctification would be the fruit of their obedience.
Exo 31:14
Every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death. To defile the sabbath was to do any unnecessary servile work upon it. Works of mercy, works of necessity, and works connected with religious observance were not prohibited. (See Mat 12:1-7; 10-12.) The penalty of death for breaking the sabbath seems to moderns over-severe; but the erection of sabbath-observance into the special sacramental sign that Israel was in covenant with God made non-observance an offence of the gravest character. The man who broke the sabbath destroyed, so far as in him lay, the entire covenant between God and his peoplenot only broke it, but annulled it, and threw Israel out of covenant. Hence, when the sin was committed, no hesitation was felt in carrying out the law. (See Num 15:32-36.)
Exo 31:15
The sabbath of rest. Rather, “a sabbath.” There were other sabbaths besides that of the seventh day (Exo 23:11; Le Exo 25:2-12; etc.). By the expression, “a sabbath of rest”literally, “a rest of resting”the idea of completeness is given. Perhaps the best translation would be”in the seventh is complete rest.”
Exo 31:16
For a perpetual covenant. The sabbath is itself a covenanti.e; a part of the covenant between God and Israel (Exo 24:4)and it is, also, a sign of covenanti.e; a perceptible indication that the nation has entered into a special agreement with God, and undertaken the observance of special laws.
Exo 31:17
It is a sign. See above, Exo 31:13. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth. See the comment on Exo 20:11. And was refreshed. Literally,” and took breath.” The metaphor is a bold one, but not bolder than others which occur in holy scripture (Psa 44:23; Psa 78:65). It does but carry out a little further the idea implied in God’s “resting.” We cannot speak of any of God’s acts or attributes without anthropomorphisms.
HOMILETICS
Exo 31:13-17
Covenant signs.
To each covenant which he has made with man, God has attached some special sign or signs. And each sign has been significant, has set before the mind of those to whom it was given some great religious truth.
I. THE FIRST COVENANT SIGN WAS THE RAINBOW. God had destroyed by a deluge the whole human race, except eight persons. It pleased him, after this, to enter into a covenant with Noah and his sons (Gen 9:8, Gen 9:9), and through them with the human race, that he would never bring such a destruction upon the world again (Gen 9:11). Of this covenant he appointed the rainbow to be the sign, symbolising by its brightness and beauty his own mercy (Gen 9:14-17). Here the religious truth taught and impressed by the sign was that precious one, that God is not only a just, but also a merciful God.
II. THE SECOND COVENANT SIGN WAS CIRCUMCISION. When God selected Abraham out of the entire mass of mankind to be the progenitor of the chosen race and of him especially in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, and entered into a covenant with him, it was in these words”Thou shalt keep my covenant, thou and thy seed after thee in their generationsthis is my covenant which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee, every man child among you shall be circumcised” (Gen 17:9, Gen 17:10). Hence the covenant itself was called “the covenant of circumcision” (Act 7:8). This rite of initiation, the covenant sign of the Abrahamic dispensation, shadowed forth the great truth that man has an impurity of nature, which must be put away before he can be brought near to God and received into his full favour.
III. THE THIRD COVENANT SIGN WAS THE SABBATH. Its institution to be a covenant sign is set forth in the words, “Verily, my sabbaths ye shall keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations” (Exo 31:13). It witnessed to the truth that God requires distinct and open acknowledgment at the. hands of men, and not only so, but material worship at stated times, the least that will content him being one day in seven. The nations, when they served him at all (Act 10:35), served him irregularly. They knew nothing of a definite day, or a formal apportionment of time, for his service. By the institution of the Sabbath the Israelites were taught, and through them the world, that God is interested in man, claims his thoughts, sets a value on his worship, and will not be satisfied with mere occasional acknowledgment, but demands that a fixed proportion of our time shall be dedicated to his worship exclusively.
IV. OTHER COVENANT SIGNS. NO further covenant signs were given until our Lord came upon earth. Then two were instituted in the Sacraments. Baptism taught the same truth as circumcisionthe need of putting away impurity; but taught it by a simpler rite, and one to which no exception could be taken. The Lord’s Supper taught a new truth, the necessity of reconciliation through the death and atoning blood of Christ. It witnessed to the certain fact that man cannot save himself, cannot atone for his own sins, but needs a mediator, a redeemer, an atoner, to make satisfaction for him.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
Exo 31:12-18
The Sabbath.
If this prohibition to work upon the Sabbath is introduced, as probably it is, lest the people, in their zeal for the service of the sanctuary, should be tempted to infringe upon the holy day, it has certain obvious sides of instruction turned towards ourselves. We cannot but see in it the high honour which God puts upon his Sabbath.
1. It is the one command of the Decalogue to which reference is made in the conclusion of this series of instructions. This implies its great importance. It shows that, in God’s esteem, the observance of the Sabbath was intimately bound up with the best interests of Israel.
2. The Sabbath is declared to be a sign between God and the Israelites. It was to be a memorial to future generations that Jehovah had made a covenant with the nation, and had sanctified them to himself. But its very selection for this purpose was a tribute to its importance. The reason of the selection could only be that the Sabbath was in itself a boon of the highest kind to Israel, and had important bearings on the state of morals and religion. A well- or ill-spent Sabbath, as all history shows, has much to do with the character both of the individual and of the community. The Sabbath, further, is a “sign” in this respect, that it is at once a means for the promotion of true religion, and a test or indication of its presence. A disregard of Divine authority shows itself in nothing more readily than in a disposition to break in upon the day of restto take from it its sacred character.
3. The Sabbath is not to be infringed upon, even for the work of the tabernacle. There was no such excessive haste, no such imperative call, for the sanctuary being finished, that the Sabbath needed to be broken by the plying of handicrafts, in order to get it done. We are taught that even our zeal for God’s work is not to be allowed to betray us into unnecessary infractions of the day of rest. This is not, of course, to be applied to spiritual work, to afford an opportunity for which is one end of the giving of the Sabbath.
4. The breaker of the Sabbath was to be put to death. This was not too severe a punishment for the deliberate breaking of a law so repeatedly enforced, and the observance of which had been made by Jehovah a “sign” of the covenant between himself and Israel. Slight as the act seems, it was, in this case, a crime of a very flagrant order. It was punished as an act of treason. At the conclusion of these commands, God gave to Moses the two tables of testimony, “tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” A symbol
(1) of the perpetuity of the law,
(2) of its want of power to regenerate (2Co 3:7).J.O.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Exo 31:13. Verily, my sabbaths ye shall keep As the precept of observing the sabbath has been so strongly enjoined before, it seems reasonable to conclude, that the repetition in this place has reference only to the workmen, and the work of the tabernacle; which, the Lord here informs them, is not to break in upon their observation of that great and important duty: and, accordingly, he adds, Exo 31:14 whosoever doth any work therein, (even of this sacred sort, for the furnishing of the tabernacle,) that soul shall be cut off from among his people. See also Exo 31:15. Understanding the precept in this view, their version seems to be just, who would read, nevertheless my sabbaths ye shall keep, to make it known, that I, Jehovah, have sanctified you: i.e. “separated you from all the world to be my peculiar people.”
For it is a sign between me and you In Exo 31:17 it is said, It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever, for in six days, &c. “The meaning of which,” says Hallet, “seems plainly to be this: that, as the sabbath was appointed in memory of God’s having finished the work of creation in six days, and of his having rested on the seventh; so the Jews, by observing this sabbath, did testify their belief in the Creator of heaven and earth; and profess themselves to be the servants and worshippers of the true God, in opposition to the idols who made not the heaven and earth: at the same time the idolatrous nation of Egypt, from which the Israelites were delivered, and the other idolatrous nations which lived around them, had renounced the worship of the true God, and so would not observe his sabbath. The observation of the sabbath, therefore, was a sign that men were not idolaters, but worshippers of the true God. As it was appointed at the beginning of the world, it was appointed for all mankind. And it would equally serve for a sign between God and any other nation, as between God and the Hebrews; provided any other nation had kept the sabbath, that other nation would hereby have been as much proved by this sign to be worshippers of the true God, and as much distinguished from their idolatrous neighbours, as the Hebrews hereby were. But the truth is, all other nations had forsaken the worship of God, and apostatized to idolatry; and only the Jewish nation adhered to him. To be a standing evidence that they did adhere to him, God ordered them to continue to observe the sabbath; from the observation whereof other nations were gone astray: the solemn worship of God on which day would more strongly be a sign that they were not idolaters, than their mere resting from their labours could be.” See more in Hallet, vol. 3: p. 115. Poole observes, that “the sabbath was a five-fold sign: first, Commemorative, of God’s creation of and dominion over the Israelites, and all other things; to whom they do hereby profess their subjection. 2nd, Indicative, shewing, that they were made to be holy; and that their sanctification can be had from none but God, as it here follows, and from the observation of his days and appointments. 3rdly, Distinctive, whereby they owned themselves to be the Lord’s peculiar people, by a religious keeping of those sabbaths which the rest of the world grossly neglected and profanely scoffed at. 4thly, Prefigurative, of that rest which Christ should purchase for them; to wit, a rest from the burden of the ceremonial, and from the curses and rigours of the moral law; as also from sin, and the wrath of God for ever. See Heb 4:4-5.” “And 5thly, Confirmative, both assuring them of God’s good will towards them; and that, as he blessed the sabbath, so he would bless them in the holy use of it, with temporal, spiritual, and everlasting blessings, as he declares in many places of Scripture: and assuring God of their standing to that covenant made between God and them; so that this was a mutual stipulation or ratification of the covenant of grace on both sides.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it [is] a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I [am] the LORD that doth sanctify you.
Ver. 13. Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep, ] q.d., Though this sanctuary work is to be done, yet it shall be no Sabbath day’s work. The good women in the Gospel forbare on the Sabbath to anoint the dead body of our Saviour, “resting according to the commandment.” Luk 23:56
For it is a sign.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
children = sons.
My sabbaths. Another special reference to this in connection with any special position in which Israel might be placed. (1) The manna, Exodus 16; (2) the giving of the law, Exodus 20; (3) the making of the Tabernacle, Exodus 31.
you. Israel, not the church of God.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Verily: Exo 20:8-11, Lev 19:3, Lev 19:30, Lev 23:3, Lev 25:2, Lev 26:2
a sign: Exo 31:17, Neh 9:14, Eze 20:12, Eze 20:20, Eze 44:24
that ye may: Lev 20:8, Lev 21:8, Eze 37:28, Joh 17:17, Joh 17:19, 1Th 5:23, Jud 1:1
Reciprocal: Gen 2:3 – blessed Exo 16:29 – hath given Exo 20:10 – the seventh Exo 35:2 – Six days Jos 4:6 – a sign Isa 56:2 – keepeth the Isa 58:13 – turn Jer 17:22 – neither do Rom 4:11 – the sign
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 31:13. Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep This had been mentioned thrice before, Exo 16:23; Exo 20:8; Exo 23:12; but seems here to be repeated lest they should think the sacred work enjoined in this chapter would warrant their breaking in upon the holy rest of that day. Wherefore the clause had better be translated, Nevertheless my sabbaths shall ye keep; for ach is often an exceptive particle, and is so rendered here by Arias, Montanus, Le Clerc, Junius, and Tremellius. It is a sign between me and you Some late commentators have quoted Poole here, as follows: The sabbath is a five-fold sign; 1st, Commemorative of Gods creation and dominion over them and all things, to whom they hereby profess their subjection. 2d, Indicative, showing that they were made to be holy, and that their sanctification could be had from none but God, as it here follows and from the observation of Gods days and appointments. 3d, Distinctive, whereby they owned themselves to be the Lords peculiar people, by a religious keeping of those sabbaths, which the rest of the world grossly neglected, and profanely scoffed at. 4th, Prefigurative of that rest which Christ should purchase for them, namely, a rest from the burden of the ceremonial, and the curses and rigours of the moral law, as also from sin and the wrath of God for ever, Heb 4:5 th, Confirmative, both assuring them of Gods good will to them, and that, as he blessed the sabbath for their sakes, so he would bless them in the holy use of it, with temporal, spiritual, and everlasting blessings; and assuring God of their standing, and that they would stand to the covenant made between God and them. So that this was a mutual stipulation or ratification of the covenant of grace on both sides. Certainly the institution of the sabbath was a great instance of Gods favour, and a sign that he had separated them from all other people; and their religious observance of it was a great instance of their duty to him. God, by sanctifying this day among them, let them know that he sanctified them, and set them apart for his service, otherwise he would not have revealed to them his holy sabbaths, to be the support of religion among them. The Jews, by observing one day in seven, after six days labour, testified that they worshipped the God that made the world in six days, and rested the seventh; and so distinguished themselves from other nations, who, having first lost the sabbath, the memorial of the creation, by degrees lost the knowledge of the Creator, and gave the creature the honour due to him alone.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, {f} Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it [is] a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I [am] the LORD that doth sanctify you.
(f) Though I command that these works be done, yet I do not want you to break my Sabbath days.