The Bible seems to suggest that God wants us to stay home on the Sabbath, so is it even necessary to go to church?

The reason God told the Israelites to remain in their places was because they were out looking for bread on a day when there would be none. God was not suggesting that they sit in their tents for 24 hours. “In his place” really means “in the camp.” God did not want them out gathering sticks or making bread, as these were labor (Numbers 15:32). Of course, they did water, feed, and milk their flocks (Luke 13:15).

God wants us to gather for worship on the Sabbath, which He calls a “holy convocation” in Leviticus 23:3—”Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation.” Convocation means “to convene or come together for a public purpose.”

This was also Jesus’ example. “As His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day” (Luke 4:16). Even the word “synagogue” means to come together and is made up of two words— syn (together) and agein (to lead or bring).

Acts 13:44 shows that the disciples gathered in the synagogue for study on the Sabbath, and they also came together for prayer. And on the next Sabbath, almost the entire city came together to hear the Word of God. “On the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there” (Acts 16:13).

One of the most important features of the Sabbath is when God’s people come together for corporate worship. When we neglect to do this, we rob God of the collective worship He deserves and ourselves of the blessings of fellowship we need. “Seven days without church makes one weak.”

Key Bible Texts

See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:29 KJV)