Genesis 2:1-3

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Genesis 2:1-3

God created everything.  We read how he does this in 6 days.  Is it literal days?  Is it symbolic days?  I don't know.  God created everything in 6 days and here we read how he rested on the 7th day.  God shows us the pattern he wants us to follow, working for 6 days and using the 7th day to rest.  When the 10 commandments are given, creation is referenced.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner 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 on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 20:8-11

God worked for 6 days and rested on the 7th day.  In the same way, we are to work 6 days and rest on the 7th day.

The Sabbath is not so much a mandate as it is a blessing.  It is a blessing to be given a day to rest.  Just read one of the accounts where Jesus is criticized for not obeying the Sabbath.  The one I'm thinking about is found in Mark 2, Matthew 12 or Luke 6.  The pharisees may have been trying to follow God's laws, but they ended up imposing heavy burdens upon people with their man made rules and laws.  The Sabbath was not meant to be a burden but a blessing and meant for rest.  The pharisees had made themselves the lords or creators of the Sabbath with all their restrictions.  But, Jesus is the one who created the Sabbath in the first place.  We should listen to him over what pharisees have to say about the Sabbath.