Exodus 31 · a question people ask
Why would working on the Sabbath mean death?
The chapter says it plainly: "Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people" (31:14), and again, "Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death" (31:15). The reasons it gives for keeping the day are that it "is holy to you" (31:14), that it is "a sign between me and you" (31:13), and that it is kept "for a perpetual covenant" (31:16). The Ten Commandments give the Sabbath command with no penalty (20:8-11). In Numbers, the people held a man found "gathering sticks on the Sabbath day" until the LORD answered, "The man shall surely be put to death" (Numbers 15:32-35). When Jesus was asked, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?" (Matthew 12:10), he answered, "Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day" (Matthew 12:12).
The verses
““Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.”
“While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been declared what should be done to him. The LORD said to Moses, “The man shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him with stones outside of the camp.” All the congregation brought him outside of the camp, and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.”
“And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.””