I want to take a moment before I get into the next subject to remind our readers of our purpose for this blog. The following is taken from the description "It is our intent to ask questions, answer questions and carry on a friendly discussion of subjects pertinent to the Christian and the Bible. We will use the Bible as the authority to establish right and wrong and expect those who participate in the discussion to do the same." I wish to emphasise friendly discussion and also that the Bible is our final authority in these matters. We do allow comments from those who may disagree with our teaching and comments. However we do not allow character attacks from anyone, this is a friendly forum. We may ask for more information, scriptural support, or we may directly challenge your statements and you are free to do the same.
The sabbath has been the subject of much controversy for a long time. There are those in the religious world that say that the Sabbath is still binding today, others say the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday under the New Testament, and yet others affirm that the Sabbath was set aside by the Law of Christ. As divided as the religious world is today there may be even yet other beliefs which are held concerning the Sabbath.
While it is good to know what beliefs are held and why, our purpose in this blog is to consider what the Bible has to say as it is THE authority. So what does the Bible say about the Sabbath?
The word Sabbath in the KJV occurs 137 times. The first of these is in Exodus 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. The inspired record tells us that Israel has just recently left Egypt and are now in the Wilderness of Sin on their way to Mt. Sinai. From the context we learn that the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. It was also to be a Holy Day unto the Lord. The term sabbath is used 3 more times in this chapter (vs. 25, 26 and 29). The Sabbath day did not become codified until the Law of Moses was given as recorded in Exodus 20 (see verse 8, also 10, 11). After chapter 20 the sabbath is not mentioned again until chapter 31. At this time Moses is still on the Mt. receiving the Law from God. In Exodus 31:16-17 it is stated that the Sabbath was a perpetual covenant with the "children of Israel".
This shall serve as the basis for our study on the Sabbath. What else can we learn from the scriptures on this important topic?
Why Does It Matter?
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He remembers what the squall was, but his mom and dad never even had a
clue. Not even when the event took place. There is nothing quite like the
experience...
5 years ago
10 comments:
Dear Josiah,
It is also interesting to note as you read through the Scriptures, that the Gentiles are never recorded as observing the Sabbath. If it were an observance from the begining, would it not have 1.) been recorded in Genesis as having been practiced? and 2.) Would it also not have been recorded that Noah and his descendants (from which all the people of this earth have descended) practiced like it is noted about sacrifices?
Christian
Josiah, Just me...going to add that I've taught creation for years and just translated that 'God rested on the seventh day' into Sabbath. And you're right...no mention of Sabbath until Exodus. How interesting. Great observation! Deboraw
Dear Josiah,
I would also like to direct your attention to Deuteronomy 5:1-6 where Moses, in a preamble to reminding Israel of the Law, says that this covenant was made between the children of Israel and God. He also states that God did NOT make this convenant with their fathers (who include but are not limited to Jacob, Abraham, Noah, and Adam) but with those that were at Mount Horb and their descendants. He then goes into the very same commandments that Exodus 20 gives finishing the account of how he, Moses, was then to stand between the children and God and receive the rest of the commandments and ordinances. The covenant, therefore, was made by Moses' own words, was 1. not made with Abraham, Noah, Isaac, Jacob, or even with Adam. And 2.) the Sabbath was thus NOT a universal observance by/for all mankind.
Christian
Christian: well said
Christian,
You are correct in saying that the Old Covenant was not made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was not made with Israel either, until Israel agreed to the covenant and it was ratified with blood (Exodus 24:1-8).
But the law of God existed before the Old Covenant. God's law defines what sin is. Paul said he would not have known that coveting was a sin if it were not for the commandment that said, you shall not covet (Romans 7:7). Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). If there is no law, there would be no sin. Yet sin existed before Moses. Joseph knew he would be transgressing God's law if he committed adultery with his masters wife, because he said he could not sin against God by doing that (Genesis 39:7-9). He knew God's law, "you shall not commit adultery", even though there is no record of the ten commandments being given to the patriarchs before Moses. God's law still existed.
Also, the human race as a whole had been in rebellion against God's rule since the sin of Adam, so it is not surprising to me that mankind has not been obeying the law of the Sabbath any more than it surprises me that mankind worships idols, lies, steals, commits murder and adultery, etc. Through lack of keeping the Sabbath, mankind as a whole lost knowledge of it.
God Himself observed the Sabbath when He created it, by resting on that day, setting an example for mankind (Genesis 2:1-3). He created the Sabbath by keeping it Himself. God often teaches by example (John 13:12-16). Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, lived an entire perfect life without sin as an example of how His followers should live. God rested on the Sabbath, keeping it, for the sole purpose of making the Sabbath, creating the Sabbath day as a special day for mankind, as Jesus said (Mark 2:27-28). There was no other reason for God to rest. God did not need to rest because He was tired. He rested to create the Sabbath by His example. And He created it for mankind immediately after He created mankind, so He intended it to be kept by mankind from the beginning. He sanctified it and set it apart for a holy purpose. That was the first Sabbath. The parallel of wording between the commandment in Exodus 20:11 and creation of the Sabbath day in Genesis 2:3 shows that they are talking about exactly the same thing.
Abraham also kept the Sabbath. God said that Abraham kept an entire body of God's law. Genesis 26:5 says, "because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." This shows that the law of God existed before Moses. It also shows that just because a law is not specifically mentioned before Moses does not mean it didn't exist or wasn't observed. The evidence that the Sabbath was included in this law is the reference to "My law" that God makes in Exodus 16:4-6 when He says that He will test Israel to see if they will keep God's law. God is not creating a new law. He is making reference to a law that already existed prior to the ten commandments and prior to the Old Covenant. This has to be the same law that Abraham obeyed. There is no record of God changing any laws from the time of the flood until Moses, and no record of God creating the Sabbath day by blessing it and sanctifying it after Genesis chapter 2. So since the Sabbath law existed before the Old Covenant, it must have been included in the same body of law that Abraham kept. The whole context of the test of Israel was their willingness to obey the Sabbath law (Exodus 16:27-30).
Notice, in the fourth commandment, God says, "...Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:11). The parallel wording shows that this is pointing to the seventh day of creation when God rested, "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:3). This answers the question of when God made the Sabbath day. It was made when God blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. When was that? It was at creation, because Genesis says God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. What this shows is that the seventh day of creation which God blessed was not just that one day, but the Sabbath day itself, every seventh day from that time, which is what the Sabbath is. Therefore the Sabbath must have existed in Abraham's day, and since God says that Abraham obeyed God's laws, he must have kept the Sabbath.
Many people do not want to believe that Sabbath observance is included in the New Covenant and that Christians today should keep it. They have been taught or prefer to believe that the Sabbath was only included in the Old Covenant and therefore ended when the Old Covenant ended. That is not the teaching of the Bible, but some people can't see it.
It is hard for most people to give up their traditions or their opinions. They tend to interpret the Bible to fit what they believe or want to believe without realizing they are doing it. That is how strong an effect tradition can be on the human mind. People who put their traditions before the Bible may be very sincere. They don't realize themselves how much their traditions are affecting how they interpret the Bible.
I do not believe in the Sabbath because it was my tradition. I was raised Roman Catholic. It is not convenient for me to keep the Sabbath or many things I have learned from the Bible. No one else in my family keeps the Sabbath or believes what I believe. That has alienated them from me to a degree, not to mention the difficulties Sabbath observance can and sometimes has caused in the work place. But I had to make a choice to believe God or my family traditions and what is convenient for me, and I chose to believe what God says in the Bible.
But I also know that many people are not willing, or are not able, to do this.
Author: no one in this discussion has ever denied that God had laws for the people to live by before He made the covenant with the Israelites at Sinai. In fact examples have been offered to show just that. However it is impossible from the scriptures to demonstrate that the sabbath was part of that law!
Consider:
1. Sabbath never mentioned before Exodus 16.
2. Instruction had to be given at that time on how to properly observe the sabbath. Exodus 16:4ff.
3. Scriptures say God rested on seventh day, not the sabbath.
To paraphrase a godly man of old "choose you this day whom ye will believe, the word of God or the word of H.W. Armstrong!"
For the record, Herbert W. Armstrong told his radio listeners and magazine readers, "don't believe me believe your Bible." He encouraged others to check up in the Bible for themselves to see if what he taught was true. He was also willing to be corrected and to admit and correct mistakes that were pointed out to him.
Although some of his followers did believe him, I was one who didn't. I checked up on what he said, and I believe the things I believe because that is what the Bible teaches, and I do not rely on anything Herbert W. Armstrong said for authority for my doctrinal beliefs. This is why I have not quoted Mr. Armstrong in answering your questions, but the Bible only.
I took about ten years proving whether the things taught by Mr. Armstrong were correct or false. I was very skeptical, and I used the Bible only as my authority, and I spent most of that time proving that the Bible was inspired by God.
And I am not following Herbert Armstrong's interpretation of scripture. He taught that we should not interpret the Bible but let the Bible interpret itself, using clear scriptures, such as James 2:10-11 interpret less clear scriptures, such as some of the difficult passages in Paul's writings. That is what I do, not because Herbert Armstrong said this, but because it makes sense.
Certainly I learned from him, and I would not have found many of the scriptural proofs for the doctrines I believe if he hadn't pointed them out. His teachings have been important for me in that sense. In the same manner, I am willing to learn from Josiah and Christian if you point out something in scripture I hadn't considered before. But getting ideas and information from someone is not the same as proving it. Mr. Armstrong has taught me things, but I reserve firm acceptance of those things until I can prove it from the Bible.
I hope you will not be offended when I say this, but your answers suggest that you are following traditional church teachings and are letting them color your understanding of scriptures. I am not saying you do this deliberately. You are probably not even aware of it. I did the same thing when I read the Bible when I was Catholic, and I was not even aware how much I was doing it. It is not easy to break out of pre-conceptions and look at the scriptures objectively.
Author: I am not offended by your suggestion that I am blinded by traditional church teaching. If it makes any difference to you I was raised a Methodist but then someone cared enough for my soul to show me the scriptures. When opened with the intent of seeing what they say rather than making them fit my understanding I get past the denominational creeds and cultish dogmas of human origin. The inspired word of God is a great treasure chest of knowledge, and more powerful than most will admit. When properly handled will lead all men to the same conclusions. II Timothy 2:15
Josiah, After re-reading the last comments--again, there is an interesting thought here. One thing to note is that most denominations have some things right. Some of their teachings are correct. Therefore just because they teach a thing does not necessarily make it wrong. Jesus does say: Matthew 9:16 And no man putteth a piece of undressed cloth upon an old garment; for that which should fill it up taketh from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
17) Neither do men put new wine into old wine-skins: else the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins perish: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins, and both are preserved.
But the point he is making is to tell people ('author' included) that he (Jesus) is not combining the "Old Law with His (Jesus') New Covenant.
No, it is important to read the Bible and not be concerned whether there are some 'traditional church' teachings in what you believe, but is it taught by the scriptures. Deboraw
Point well spoken!
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