THE SABBATH AND ISRAEL
THE SABBATH AND ISRAEL
“Then the Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.” (Ex 31:12-13)
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Note that Moses was to “say to the Israelites you must observe my Sabbaths. The Sabbath was a sign between God and the Israelites for generations to come.
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After pointing out that anyone desecrating the Sabbath was to be put to death, Moses repeats: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.'" (Ex 31:16-17)
INDICATIONS THAT THE SABBATH WAS EXCLUSIVELY FOR ISRAEL
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In Genesis we are told that: “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Gen 2:2-3)
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We know that God rested on the seventh day, and we can “assume” that Adam and the other patriarchs also rested every seventh day but the Bible does not say so.
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We can “assume” that Noah and his sons kept the Sabbath, but the Bible does not say so. ■
We can “assume” that because Abram kept the requirements, commands, decrees, and laws of God that he also observed the Sabbath, but the Bible does not say so (Gen. 26:5). ■
We have no record of the Israelites observing the Sabbath until they came out of Egyptian bondage. It is doubtful that they observed the Sabbath in Egypt because they were slaves (Ex. 1:8-14; 5:6-21).
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The Bible makes no specific mention of anyone keeping the Sabbath until the Israelites left Egypt. The first use of the word “Sabbath” in the Bible is in Ex. 16:23.
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There was, however, reference to days in which no work was to be done with reference to the Passover. These instructions were given as Israel was preparing to leave Egypt, God said: “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord — a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat — that is all you may do.” (Ex 12:14-16)
THE SABBATH AND MANNA
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As we have said, the first time the word “Sabbath” is found in the Bible is in Ex.16:23. As you can see, it was mentioned in association with the gathering of manna: “Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it
melted away. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much — two omers for each person — and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, ‘This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'" (Ex 16:21-23)
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Israel ate manna for 40 years in the wilderness. “The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.” (Ex 16:35) The Israelites obviously kept the Sabbath for 40 years in the wilderness. We have no record, however, of any other nation on earth keeping the Sabbath or eating manna.
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Manna was a super natural gift from God to feed the Israelites.
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Manna started falling from heaven in the wilderness when Israel needed food (Ex. 16:4). It stopped falling from heaven when they entered the Promised Land: “The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.” (Josh 5:12)
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The manna had a supernatural ability to meet the needs of the Israelites. Those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered little did not have too little (Ex. 16:18).
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If the Israelites tried to hoard their manna it became full of maggots and stank (Ex. 16:20).
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On the sixth day, however, God miraculously preserved an extra day’s ration because on the Sabbath no manna fell from heaven (Ex. 16:24, 25).
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The Israelites were learning that even though they rested on the Sabbath, God would still provide for them.
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As we have said, we have no record of any other nation receiving manna from heaven or learning lessons from it about the Sabbath.
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In the third month after leaving Egypt God made a covenant with the Israelites (Ex. 19:1). This covenant was exclusively with Israel. If they obeyed this covenant then out of all nations on earth they would be God’s treasured possession (Ex 19:5).
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The Scriptures are explicit that the Gentiles did not have the law (Rom. 2:14). ■
This covenant God made with Israel was the Ten Commandments (Deut. 4:13). ■
The fourth commandment was to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy (Ex. 20:8).
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Moses assembled “the whole Israelite community” and informed them that whoever did work on the Sabbath was to be put to death (Ex. 35:1-2).
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Even gathering wood on the Sabbath was a capital offense (Nu. 15:32-36). ■
We have no record of any other nation putting people to death for working on the Sabbath.
THE SABBATICAL YEAR AND THE JUBILEE
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Just as Israel learned that God would still provide for them when they rested on the seventh “day”, they were also promised that God would take care of them if they rested
on the seventh “year”: “The Lord said to Moses on Mount Sinai, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for you — for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker and temporary resident who live among you, as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land. Whatever the land produces may be eaten.” (Lev 25:1-7)
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Every 50th year was the Jubilee. It too was a Sabbatical year. This meant that because both the 49th year and the 50th years were Sabbath years, the Israelites would have to raise enough food on the 48th year to last them for three years. God promised to meet this need: “You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.” (Lev 25:20-22).
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We have no record of any other nation observing a Sabbatical year or receiving such promises from God.
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When the nation of Israel failed to observe the Sabbatical year, God placed them in captivity so the land could enjoy it’s Sabbaths: “Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.” (Lev 26:34-35)
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The Israelites apparently did not observe the Sabbath year for 490 years, hence their seventy year captivity in Babylon: “He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah.” (2 Chron 36:20-21)
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We have no record of any other nation being punished for violating the Sabbath year.
THE SABBATH BEGAN IN THE EVENING
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Based on the book of Genesis, the Hebrew day began in the evening. “The evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:5). This fact is repeated 5 more times in the first chapter of Genesis (vs. 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
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Nehemiah rebuked the men of Judah for violating the Sabbath. Therefore he ordered that the doors of the city be shut when the evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem (Neh. 13:15-22). The Sabbath obviously began in the evening.
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On the day Christ was crucified the Jews did not want bodies left on crosses during the Sabbath. Therefore, as evening approached, the two thieves had their legs broken and their
bodies were taken down before the Sabbath began. Since Jesus was already dead, a Roman soldier did not break his legs but thrust a spear into His side (Jn. 19:31-35).
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As you know Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and buried it in his own tomb for “it was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin” (Lk. 23:50-54).
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We repeat, the Sabbath obviously began in the evening and ended some 24 hours later. •
Jesus said that there were 12 hours in the day (John 11:9). This is true for people living in Israel, but it is not true of people living further north. The further north you go the longer are the days. At the North pole the days are 6 months long.
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There are multiplied thousands of people who live North of the Arctic Circle. If they observed the Sabbath from evening to evening it would be much longer than 24 hours. •
We know that God expected Israel to keep the Sabbath, but we have no proof that He expected other nations to do so.
THE ISRAELITES WERE NOT TO LIGHT A FIRE ON THE SABBATH
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“Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, ‘These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” •
In Tel Aviv, the average temperature in January ranges from 57°F to 79°F. In Barrow, Alaska the average temperature in January is 4°F below zero.
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We know that the “whole Israelite community” was forbidden to light a fire on the Sabbath, but we have no Scriptural proof that this regulation was for any other nation.
THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL
The transition from Judaism to Christianity was very difficult for many. The Jews saw themselves as: “ a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth .. . ” (Rom 2:19-20). At the same time they saw the Gentiles as filled with futile thinking, “darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” (Eph 4:18-19)
One primary question in the early church involved how much of Jewish Law could be imposed on the Gentiles. In order to solve this controversy, the apostles, and elders met with the whole church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-29). At the conclusion of this conference they wrote a letter to “The Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia” (Acts 15:23). In this letter they concluded: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29)
As long as the Jewish believers understood that salvation was not achieved by Law, they were free to circumcise their children and observe the holy days and feasts of their Jewish faith. Paul, for example, circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). Paul also kept the Jewish feasts and lived in obedience to the Law (Acts 21: 20-25). If someone was circumcised in order to be saved, however, they would be severed from Christ and fall from grace. “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal 5:2-6)
If God had wanted the Gentiles to observe the Sabbath, the Jerusalem Council would have been the perfect place to end all controversy. They concluded, however, as we have already mentioned, that only four things from Jewish law were necessary for the Gentiles to observe (Acts 15"28 - 29)
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1. Abstain from food sacrificed to idols.
2. Abstain from blood.’
3. Abstain from the meat of strangled animals.
4. Abstain from sexual immorality.
The Sabbath, which was such an integral part of the nation of Israel, was not to be bound upon Gentile believers.
THE WEAK BROTHERS
Many believe that a restrictive life style is a sign of spiritual strength. The Scriptures, however, teach the opposite. Note:
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” (Rom 14:1-2)
Note that it was the “weak” brethren who ate only vegetables!
Rome, as you know, was a melting pot of people from all over the world. Since it is the eternal purpose of God to unite people in Christ, there was to be no division over such disputable matters as diet.
“The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Rom 14:3-4)
And there were also different opinions regarding holy days.
“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:5-8)
The Jerusalem Council took place around A.D. 49 and the Roman letter is dated around A.D. 57-58. Thus, consistent with the decrees sent out from Jerusalem, Sabbath keeping was voluntary. It was not to be bound upon any believer in Christ.
A few years later (A.D. 62-63), Paul wrote to the Colossians: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)
The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a “family” (Eph. 3:15). In a family there are young and old, strong and weak, mature and immature. Weak and immature people are to be loved and helped, not driven out of the family of God. There is certainly nothing wrong with resting one day in seven, but there is something wrong with attempting to bind this on others as a matter of law.
TRUE THINGS AND COPIES
God obviously had a reason for commanding Israel to observe the Sabbath. Among other things, it was to teach us about our eternal rest in heaven. Please consider that many “physical” things have a “spiritual” meaning.
In the parable of the shrewd manager, Jesus made a comparison between “worldly” wealth and “true” riches (Lk. 16:11). Worldly wealth is temporary, true riches are eternal. Worldly wealth is insecure. Moth and rust can corrupt it and thieves can steal it. That’s why Jesus said to store up treasures in heaven (Matt. 7:20). Remember! The things we see are temporal. It is the things we cannot see that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).
The Scriptures provide a number of examples to illustrate this truth.
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Worldly wealth is temporal and true riches are eternal (Lk. 16:11),.
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The Samaritan woman drank physical water and thirsted again. Jesus offered her “living water” that would satisfy her thirst forever (Jn. 4:14).
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Moses gave physical bread but Jesus is the true bread from heaven (Jn. 68:32).
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Physical fruit grows on a physical vine, but Jesus is the true vine and His Father is the
Gardner (Jn. 15:1).
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The sons of Aaron ministered in an earthly tabernacle, but Jesus ministers in the true tabernacle which is set up by the Lord and not by man (Heb. 8:2).
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“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence” (Heb 9:24). ■
Christian worship is contrasted to Jewish worship with this stunning comparison: “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear.
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you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Heb 12:18-24)
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The earthly and temporary Sabbath is therefore used by God to represent the true rest which is promised in heaven to faithful believers (Heb. 3:7-4:11).
THERE IS THEREFORE A SABBATH REST FOR ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Even though God gave the Sabbath to Israel, He had a larger purpose in mind.
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What happened to the Israelites is specifically said to be an example for everyone: “These things happened unto them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11).
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Most of the Israelites died in the wilderness and did not enter into the Promised Land. The Scriptures teach: “As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall — every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.” (Num 14:28- 30)
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The book of Hebrews warns believers to learn from the Israelites: “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" (Heb 3:7-11)
This is a quote from the 95th Psalm. God promised His people rest in the Promised Land
but they did not enter because of unbelief. The same truth is repeated a few verses later in Hebrews:
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion. Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Heb 3:15-19)
AS WE HAVE SAID, THERE IS A SPIRITUAL APPLICATION TO THIS! THE EARTHLY SABBATH WAS INTENDED TO TEACH US ABOUT OUR ETERNAL REST IN HEAVEN!
“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath — rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” (Heb 4:8-11).
THE ULTIMATE SABBATH REST IN HEAVEN IS FOR EVERYONE! PLEASE BE FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH THAT YOU MIGHT ENTER INTO THAT REST!
THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK
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The Jewish people met for worship on the Sabbath, which was the seventh day of the week.
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The Christians, however, met on the first day of the week.
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The first day of the week is not the Sabbath. It is the day the Christians met for worship. •
Here are some of the reasons why the Christians met on the first day of the week. •
Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; Mk. 16:2; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1).
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Jesus appeared to His disciples on the first day of the week (Lk. 24:13, 27, 34; Jn. 20:11- 18; Etc.)
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Jesus appeared to His disciples in the upper room on the first day of the week. Since Thomas was not present, however, Jesus waited a week to also appear to Thomas on the first day of the week (Jn. 20:26-29).
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Soon the number of believers meeting in the upper room had grown to about 120 (Acts 1:12-15).
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The church began on the Day of Pentecost which came on the first day of the week (Lev. 23:15-16).
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“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1). Apparently they were already meeting for worship on the first day of the week.
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The early church was admonished not to forsake assembling (Heb. 10:25). We have no reason to doubt that this assembly was on the first day of the week.
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We know the early church met to “break bread” on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). •
We also know the early church met on the first day of the week and took up offerings (I Cor. 16:2).
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It is clear from both the Scriptures and church history that while the Jews met for worship on the seventh day of the week, the Christians met on the first day of the week.
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There is nothing wrong with resting on the seventh day, but there is something wrong with insisting that others do so.
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“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)