Written for: Pentateuch
Paper: 2/3
Date Written: 11/16/2007
Time Spent on Paper:
Reading and classifying Scriptures: 1 hour 30 min.
Writing the Paper: 10 hours 36 min.
Typing the Paper: 10 hours 36 min.
Total Time: 12 hours 6 min.
The
Sabbath
Perhaps few
things have been more hotly debated in the past century
as the subject of the Christian Sabbath. Argumentative
darts have barraged back and forth between groups of
different theological stances. Some say that the
Sabbath is no longer as clearly defined, and that
‘one’s conscience must be the guide.’ While others hold
to near legalism. What is the proper view? What does
the Bible itself say about the matter? These are a few
of the questions I will delve into throughout the
course of this paper.
1. What is the Sabbath?
Before we
dig too deep, we must first gain a basic understanding
of the where the concept of the Sabbath comes from, and
what it involves. The Sabbath day, in its essence, is
to be considered a special day of the week, set apart
to God.
Exodus
20:8 says that
we are to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
“Holy” here can be defined as “separation.” So, the
concept here is that the Sabbath day is to be separated
from the other days of the week. Just what this
“separation” looks like will be discussed later.
Deuteronomy
5:12 is another
example of what the essence of the Sabbath day is. It
says, “Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify
it, as the
LORD thy God hath commanded thee” (italics added).
“Sanctify” can also be translated as “separation” so
the same concept is reinforced. The Sabbath day is to
be separate.
2.
When was the Sabbath instituted?
The first
mention of the Sabbath occurs in
Genesis 2:2-3, which
states, “And on the seventh day God ended his work
which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day
from all his work which he had made. And God blessed
the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it
he had rested from all his work which God created and
made.” The Sabbath was established at Creation when God
ceased from working on the seventh day (the Sabbath
Day).
Exodus 20:8-11 verifies
the fact that God intended His resting on the seventh
day to be an example of our workweek.
The fact that God rested on this day is extremely
significant. It is the basis for our understanding that
the Sabbath is not a “Jew only” requirement. The Jewish
nation did not come into existence until the call of
Abraham (Genesis
12), and
because of this you cannot logically say that the
Sabbath was solely for that nation because the Sabbath
was instituted when God rested on the seventh day (the
Sabbath day) as recorded in
Genesis 2:2-3.
For even further clarification of God’s intention for
the “seventh” (Sabbath) day we can look at
Genesis 2:3, “And God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it he had rested from all his work which God
created and made.” There should be no misinterpretation
of what God meant by His example of “resting” on the
seventh day. Verse 3 clearly states that he
“sanctified” it, or set it apart.
It
is also important to notice that, as Brown says, “The
Sabbath was instituted before sin entered the world
[before mankind sinned] and is part of God’s eternal
design and plan for mankind.” The Sabbath was not
brought about because sin entered the world, it
predated it.
3.
Why is the Sabbath still applicable to us today?
The
evidence supporting the assertion that the Sabbath is
still applicable to us today is substantial. First, as
stated in
Genesis 2:2-3 earlier,
the Sabbath was instituted at Creation, and thus is
intended for all mankind. Second, throughout the Bible
the assertion is continually reinforced. A sample of
the Old Testament passages that state this are as
follows:
Exodus 20:8 “Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy”
Leviticus
19:30 “Ye shall
keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I [am]
the LORD.”
Deuteronomy
5:12 “Keep the
sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath
commanded thee.”
Isaiah
56:2 “Blessed
[is] the man [that] doeth this, and the son of man
[that] layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from
polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any
evil.”
Ezekiel
44:24 “And in
controversy they shall stand in judgment; [and] they
shall judge it according to my judgments: and they
shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine
assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.”
However,
the Sabbath is not a concept found only in the Old
Testament. It is dealt with extensively in the New
Testament as well. Jesus Himself observed the Sabbath
(Luke
4:16, 31; 6:6; 13:10). A few
samples of the mention of the Sabbath in the New
Testament verses are provided below:
Matthew
12:8 “{For the
Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.}”
Mark 2:27 “And he
[Jesus] said unto them, {The sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the sabbath:}”
Acts
13:42 “And when
the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought that these words might be preached to them the
next sabbath.”
Acts 15:21 “For Moses
of old time hath in every city them that preach him,
being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.”
But not only is the sabbath instituted at Creation,
permeated throughout the Old Testament, and
recapitulated in the New Testament, it also foretold to
exist throughout eternity.
Isaiah
66:22-23 “For as the
new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain
before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your
name continue. And it shall come to pass from month to
month, and from
sabbath to sabbath, that all
flesh shall come to worship before me in Jerusalem,
saith the Lord.”
There can be little doubt about whether the Sabbath day
is still applicable to us given the previous evidence.
It was instituted at Creation for all people, and it
will be carried out in eternity.
4.
What are the universal principles of the Sabbath?
There are
at least four universal principles stated in Scripture
that are applicable to our lives today. We will now
look at each of these in turn.
a. The Sabbath day is a holy day.
As was
briefly, and necessarily, discussed in point number
one, the Sabbath day is to be a holy day, sanctified to
God. To summarize briefly this concept I give you the
following Scriptural evidence:
Exodus
20:8 “Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Deuteronomy 5:12 “Keep the
sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath
commanded thee.”
The Sabbath
day was intended to be a dramatic shift in lifestyle
from the rest of the week. It was intended to be the
best day of the week. A time of relaxation and rest (as
will be discussed later). Not a time of drudgery as
some view it today, but, as Psalm 92 says, a time for
instrumental music and exuberant celebration.
There are
over one hundred references in Scripture regarding the
Sabbath. While not all of these come in a form that is
directly applicable to our lives today, they were built
on principles that continue to guide us. This concept
is the under girding of the Universal
Principle/Specific Application Principle of
Interpretation. A universal principle is a truth that
is based on the unchanging and timeless character of
God and never changes. It transcends time and culture
and is applicable to all people at all times.
A specific application, however, is what a universal
principle looks like in the clothes of a certain
culture. In the Old Testament, for example, many of the
laws that some see today as meaningless are actually
universal principles in disguise. They are commands
given by God to teach His people about Himself.
Therefore, if we view these laws through the UP/SA
lens, we can discern what God was trying to teach His
people through a specific command given to them in
their culture, and then how that universal principle
affects us today.
There are many examples of specific applications that
support the concept that the Sabbath day is to be holy,
or separate.
Exodus 16:26 states,
“Six days shall ye gather it [manna]; but on the
seventh day, [which is] the Sabbath, in it there shall
be none.” The Israelites were commanded to gather their
food (manna) six days of the week, but they were
instructed not to on the Sabbath because it was to be
kept separate, a holy day. God did not simply expect
them to starve on the Sabbath day; however, he made
provision for His command to be followed by allowing
them to collect two days ration of manna for the
Sabbath. During the rest of the week this added portion
would have spoiled overnight, but God sustained the
food and allowed it to be edible so His people would
not be forced to work on the Sabbath
(Exodus
16:23, 25, 29).
b.
The Sabbath day is to be a time of worship.
God’s
design for the Sabbath is that there should be a time
of public worship to Him. For example, look at
Leviticus 19:30 “Ye shall
keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I [am]
the LORD.” The Sabbath day was intended to be a time
for us to draw nearer to God. Davidson says it
exceptionally well by stating, “God longs to celebrate
with us a love relationship more intimate than anything
human lovers have ever experienced. He loves us so much
that He can’t wait a whole year or even a month for a
special time with us. So every week He has set aside a
whole day, a Sabbath, for intimate fellowship—an
all-day date with us, His beloved.”
There are a plethora of other verses that support the
assertion of an assembly for worship on the Sabbath. A
selection are given below.
Leviticus
23:3 “Six days
shall work be done: but the seventh day [is] the
sabbath of rest, an holy
convocation; ye shall
do no work [therein]: it [is] the sabbath of the LORD
in all your dwellings.”
Leviticus 26:2 “Ye shall
keep my sabbaths, and reverence
my sanctuary: I [am]
the LORD.”
Numbers
28:25 “And on the
seventh day ye shall have a holy
convocation; ye shall
do no servile work.”
Deuteronomy
16:8 “Six days
thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day
[shall be] a solemn
assembly to the LORD
thy God: thou shalt do no work [therein].”
As was
stated earlier under point number three, we have in the
New Testament examples of our divine example, Jesus
Christ, observing the Sabbath. And because we know from
other Scripture (John 1:14) that Jesus is God’s Word
incarnate, His actions have just as much validity and
authority as the written Word. A few examples of Jesus’
observance of worship on the Sabbath are as follows.
Mark 2:28 “Therefore
the Son of man is Lord
also of the sabbath.”
Luke
4:16 “And he
[Jesus] came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up:
and, as his
custom was, he went
into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for
to read.”
Luke
6:6 “And it
came to pass also on another sabbath, that he
[Jesus] entered
into the synagogue and taught:
and there was a man whose right hand was withered.”
Luke
13:10 “And he
[Jesus] was teaching in one
of the synagogues on the
Sabbath.”
We are also
exhorted in
Hebrews 10:25 to continue
our worship on the Sabbath, “Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of
some is;
but exhorting one
another and so much
the more, as ye see the day approaching.” As the
evidence indicates, the assembling for worship on the
Sabbath is not something solely for “Bible times,” but
is still crucial for our Christian walk today.
c.
There should be no work on the Sabbath day.
In a
society where productivity is demanded, and many jobs
require employees to work on the Sabbath day, to say
that this command goes cross-grain culturally is an
understatement. Yet, this assertion is emphasized over,
and over again throughout Scripture. Its fine points
have been debated fiercely by opposing sides, yet the
premise is still clear, “ye shall do no work
therein:
it is
the sabbath
of the LORD in all your dwellings” (Leviticus 23:3).
Just what specifically is meant by “no work” moves from
the universal principle to the specific application,
and will be dealt with more thoroughly a little later.
But it is best to interpret this phrase as not
performing any gainful, secular employment, or working
for your own interest. This distinction must be made,
as some forms of work are necessary such as eating, and
religious work. Below are a few of the verses that
teach abstention from work on the Sabbath.
Genesis 2:2 “And on the
seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and
he rested
on the seventh day from all his work
which he
had made.” So, God Himself refrained from working on
the Sabbath day.
Exodus
20:10 “But the
seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy GOD: [in
it] thou
shalt not do any work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, not thy
maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is]
within thy gates:” Not only are we not to work, but
neither are we to instruct those under our authority to
work.
Exodus 23:12 “Six days
thou shalt do thy work, and on the
seventh day thou shalt rest: that
thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of they
handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.”
Leviticus
23:8 “But ye
shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD
seven days: in the seventh day [is] an holy
convocation: ye shall do no
servile work [therein].”
Numbers
28:25 “And on the
seventh day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye
shall do no
servile work.”
This issue
is not to be taken lightly. God is terribly serious
about this issue. In fact, so much so that he required
the death penalty!
Exodus
31:15 “For six
days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is
a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever
does any work on the sabbath day shall
surely be put to death.”
This is not
an optional issue. Brown comments on this concept by
saying, “There were not many sins for which the penalty
was physical death. When God did require capital
punishment, it was to teach that His standard for that
particular area of life was inflexible. Thus it seems
incredible to me that people teach that God no longer
cares in the New Testament dispensation whether or not
we honor one day out of seven as a “Sabbath” unto the
Lord.”
As was stated earlier, some genres of work are
acceptable on the Sabbath. Jesus evidenced this during
His ministry. However, these types of work do not
violate any of the universal principles associated with
the Sabbath. Brown breaks this down into three types of
“deeds.”
i.
“Deeds of
mercy, such as
healing, or feeding animals, are permissible (Mat.
12:10-12; Mark 3:2-5; Luke 6:6-10; 13:10-17)”
ii.
“Deeds of
necessity, such as
the proper care of animals, are permissible (Mat.
12:10-12; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:2-5)”
iii. “Deeds
associated with worship, such as
priests offering sacrifices, are permissible (Mat.
12:5). The priests had to kill the animals for the
sacrifice, skin them, cut them up as prescribed by God,
and place them on the altar. This involved work on the
Sabbath. But it was not “secular” work for personal
financial gain. It was work associated with God’s
requirements for worship.”
d.
The Sabbath day is a day of rest.
Another
universal principle of the Sabbath is that of rest.
This concept runs very closely with that of abstention
from work on the Sabbath. In fact many verses present
them in conjunction with one another. You must not only
refrain from secular work, you must rest.
How ironic is it that in a culture that, as stated
before, is extremely performance driven we are
commanded to not only desist from secular work, but
also to rest? These commands portray the benevolent
character of God. They actually require us to do
something good for ourselves, rest. This is yet further
evidence that God has our best interest at heart, just
as
Jeremiah 29:11 states,
“For I know the plans that I have for you, ‘declares
the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to
give you a future and a hope” (New American Standard
Bible).
It is important to notice just what this rest looks
like in our modern day. Are we to be lazy lumps of
matter laying around all day on the Sabbath? Not in the
least. Brown states it well by saying, “It is not to be
a day of idleness. We are to employ ourselves in
religious exercises. And we are to keep the whole day
holy, not just a few hours during church.”
A few of the profusion of verses supporting the
assertion of rest on the Sabbath are listed below.
Exodus
23:12 “Six days
thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou
shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and
the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be
refreshed.”
Exodus
34:21 “Six days
thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt
rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.”
Leviticus
16:31 “It [shall
be] a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict
your souls, by a statute for ever.”
Luke 23:56 “And they
returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested
the sabbath day according to the commandment.”
5.
What does a specific application look like
today?
We
have looked extensively at the universal principles;
let’s now look at a specific application of those
principles. A specific application is considered
binding to us today if it can be broadly applied within
our culture.
ϖ
No buying or selling on the Sabbath.
An example
of a specific application that applies to us today is
the command to neither buy nor sell on the Sabbath day.
This command is found in
Nehemiah 10:31 “As for the
peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the
sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the
sabbath or a holy day.” This command can still be
practically carried out in our culture today, and thus
is still binding. This specific application finds its
source in the universal principle abstention from work
on the Sabbath. As you will remember, we are not to
work on the Sabbath, but neither are we to cause anyone
else to work on the Sabbath. And because of this, when
you buy an item you are causing someone to work on the
Sabbath, and, hence, you are breaking one of the
universal principles.
6. What is a basic principle on how to keep the Sabbath
day holy?
While this
is not a step-by-step manual on how to keep the Sabbath
day holy, it is a good principle with which to guide
your specific actions. It’s found in Isaiah 58:13-14.
Isaiah
58:13-14 (NASB) “If
because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing
your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath
a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And
honor it, desisting from your own
ways, From
seeking your own
pleasure
And speaking your
own word, (14)
Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make
you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed
you with
the
heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the
LORD has spoken.”
Brown makes an astute observation on this passage,
“Interestingly, the only place where God directly tells
us how
to delight
ourselves in Him is here in Isaiah 58:13-14. The Lord
is saying that when we take pleasure in the day He has
set aside for rest, then we will be delighting in Him.
When we look at the Sabbath from the perspective that
it reflects God’s loving provision for rest and
refreshment, should we not thank Him for the blessing
of a whole day set aside to spend time drawing near to
Him?”
7.
What day of the week is the Sabbath on?
Much debate
has raged in recent years over this topic. Some say
that it’s still Saturday (the seventh day), as recorded
in the Old Testament. Others state that it has changed
to Sunday (the first day). Still others proclaim that
it really doesn’t matter what day of the week you
observe, as long as you observe one day of the week.
Let’s briefly look at some of the evidence.
It is well established the original Sabbath occurred on
the seventh day of the week, or Saturday. Genesis 2:3
clearly states that, and it was the precedent
throughout the Old Testament. So why was there a change
at some point in time to Sunday, the first day of the
week?
To answer
that question brings us to the second view, that the
Sabbath should be observed on Sunday. Brown gives an
excellent argument for the change.
a. Jesus is
the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mat. 12:8)
Because
Jesus is “Lord of the Sabbath” He has the authority to
change on which day of the week the Sabbath should be
observed. As Brown says, “[the Sabbath] is a designated
day of the week that God tells us to treat in a
special, holy way.”
b.
“Under the
New Covenant, the Apostles were led by “the Lord of the
Sabbath” (Mat. 12:8) to change the day of Sabbath
worship to the first day of the week in honor of Jesus’
resurrection.”
c.
“The change
of the Sabbath day occurred in the first century and
Christian worship on Sunday, known widely as the
Christian Sabbath, has been the practice of the Church
throughout the last two millennia.”
The
following verses are examples in the New Testament that
the Sabbath had been changed to the first day of the
week, Sunday.
Acts
20:7 “And
upon the
first day of the week, when the
disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued
his speech until midnight.”
1
Corinthians 16:2 “upon
the
first day of the week let every
one of you lay by him in store, as God hath provided
him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Revelation
1:10 “I was in
the Spirit on the
Lord’s day, …” “The
Lord’s day” is also known as the first day of the week.
Some
have taken
Romans 14:5 as a
license to choose any day of the week in which to
observe the Sabbath.
Romans
14:5 “One man
esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth
every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in
his own mind.”
However,
they ignore the fact that nowhere in this passage does
Paul use the term Sabbath. And as such, it is wrong to
assume that Paul had the Sabbath in mind when he wrote
that statement. Brown states, “the context suggests
that Paul is probably addressing the issue of “holy
days” in general (like Passover, Pentecost, the Day of
Atonement, etc.). His point is similar to that
of
Colossians 2:16. Our
salvation does not stand or fall on whether we all
esteem the same holy days. Rather, we must all stand
before God and give an account for ourselves (Rom.
14:10, 12); therefore, we should do all that we do for
the Lord (Rom. 14:6-8).”
8.
What does Colossians 2:16 really teach?
Colossians
2:16 “Therefore
let no on act as your judge in regard to food or drink
or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath
day”
Brown gives four comments on this verse.
a.
The Greek
does not have the word “day” following the word
Sabbath. And the word Sabbath is not singular, but
plural. So Paul is saying, “Let no one act as your
judge in regard to sabbaths.”
b.
The context
of the verse involves “food,” “drink,” “festivals,” and
the “new moon” in relation to the Sabbath. Therefore,
when you combine this with the use of the plural
“sabbaths,” it is probable that Paul is not actually
referring to the Sabbath day, but of the Sabbath days
“that were associated with the Jewish feasts, Sabbaths
which did not fall on Saturday.”
c.
Paul may be
teaching that even though the ceremonial laws were
important to the new Jewish Christians who were just
starting to understand the differences between the Old
and New Covenant; it did not apply to the Gentile
Christians.
d.
Even if we
assume that Paul was
talking
about the Sabbath day, he would not be throwing the
concept away; he would instead be instructing us that
our relationship with Christ cannot be “judged” on
whether or not we observe certain religious practices.
The Sabbath is perhaps one of the greatest gifts God
has given to his children. Let us not treat it with
apathetic disrespect. Instead, seriously consider your
current treatment of the Sabbath. Are you considering
it as an awesome blessing from God? He has given us an
opportunity to set our busy lives aside, quiet
ourselves, and focus on Him for an entire day. And to
think that He does this for our own well-being! We
truly serve a gracious and wonderful God!
Bibliography
Brown, Allan. The Sabbath and the Christian.