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The Sabbath—Part One
Lloyd Elias Scalyer
Editor’s Note: In March 2003, we began a series on the Levitical feasts.
Thus far, we have looked at eight of the nine prescribed feasts: Passover,
The Feast of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Firstfruits, The Feast of Weeks,
The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Feast of Tabernacles,
and Shemini Atzeret. This final article examines the Sabbath. As we stated
in the note that accompanied the first article, the author’s intention,
and ours, is that a better understanding of these feasts will increase
our appreciation of God’s glorious provision of salvation through his Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ. Additionally, we pray that it will please God to
equip us to use the Old Testament Scriptures to display Messiah to those
of natural Israel that he is pleased to bring into our lives.
Disagreements over the observance or the non-observance of the Sabbath
have become an issue in the church and have caused many schisms, church
splits and name-calling in the body of Messiah, for what seems like an
eternity. The heart of this conflict lies in differing understandings of
the nature, function, and duration of the Sabbath.
Some hold that the Sabbath is still in effect and we should celebrate it
on Saturday. Some believe that since the New Covenant Scriptures do not
repeat a command for its observance, the practice of keeping the Sabbath
on Saturday is invalid. They maintain that Sunday has become the Christian
Sabbath. Still others say the Sabbath, as we know it in the Old Covenant
Scriptures, is no longer in effect and that believers should celebrate
on Sunday (the original day of the Feast of First Fruits), since that is
the day the Lord rose to be with his Father in Heaven. Another group looks
for fulfillment of the Sabbath in the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who is Lord
of the Sabbath. They believe that in Christ, there is a New Creation, where
the day of worship is neither spelled out nor accentuated.
In actuality, in the New Creation, a specific day of worship is not ordained;
worship of our bridegroom and master is to be continual. It is to occur
no matter what we are doing, for all our waking hours, seven days a week.
The important point to remember is that Y’shua-Jesus is the Messiah of
Israel and the savior of the nations. He and he alone deserves all worship,
all the time.
Many worthy saints who have gone before us looked for the time when Israel
would recognize Y’shua-Jesus as their true Lord. Charles Hodge, a great
theologian of the last century wrote the following:
The second great event, which according to the common faith of the church,
which is to precede the second advent of Christ, is the national conversion
of the Jews …. that there is to be such a national conversion may be argued
... from the original call and destination of that people. God called Abraham
and promised that through him, and in his seed, all the nations of the
earth should be blessed … A presumptive argument is drawn from the strange
preservation of the Jews through so many centuries as a distinct people.
As the rejection of the Jews was not total, so neither is it final. First,
God did not design to cast away His people entirely, but by their rejection,
in the first place to facilitate the progress of the Gospel among the Gentiles,
and ultimately to make the conversion of the Gentiles the means of converting
the Jews … Because if the rejection of the Jews has been a source of blessing,
much more will their restoration be the means of good ... The restoration
of the Jews to the privileges of God’s people is included in the ancient
predictions and promises made respecting them ... The plan of God, therefore,
contemplated the calling of the Gentiles, the temporary rejection and final
restoration of the Jews ...
He shows that the rejection of the Jews was not intended to result in their
being finally cast away, but to secure the more rapid progress of the Gospel
among the heathen, in order that their conversion might react upon the
Jews, and be the means of bringing all, at last, within the fold of the
Redeemer …
The future restoration of the Jews is, in itself, a more probable event
than the introduction of the Gentiles into the church of God. This, of
course, supposes that God regarded the Jews, on account of their relation
to Him, with peculiar favor, and that there is still something in their
relation to the ancient servants of God and His covenant with them, which
causes them to be regarded with special interest. As men look upon the
children of their early friends with kinder feelings than on the children
of strangers, God refers to this fact to make us sensible that He still
retains purposes of peculiar mercy towards His ancient people.
As the restoration of the Jews is not only a most desirable event, but
one which God has determined to accomplish, Christians should keep it constantly
in view even in their labors for the conversion of the Gentiles. (Systematic Theology, V3, James Clark & Co. 1906, p. 805 and A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1836, pp. 270-285, passim. Now published
by Banner of Truth Trust.)
We will examine the Sabbath by asking and answering three questions.
1. How and why was the Sabbath day established?
2. How was and is the Sabbath day celebrated?
3. What are the implications of the Sabbath day under the New Covenant?
1. How and why was the Sabbath day established?
The premier text on the Sabbath comes from Exodus 20:8-11.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you nor your son
or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor
the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens
and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh
day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (NIV)
The Sabbath commandment is part of the group of commandments we call the
Ten Commandments. It cannot be considered independently of the other nine
commandments, nor can it be taken independently of the multitude of other
injunctions that God gave to Israel. In total, according to Jewish authority,
there are six-hundred thirteen laws of the Torah; some of the laws were
for men, others were for women, and still others concerned temple worship.
As a body, these laws defined Israel and her relationship to Yahweh Elohim-the
Lord God.
Given the multitude of laws and injunctions that God gave to Israel, it
was not possible for anyone except Messiah to be able to accomplish all
of the Law’s requirements. The purpose of giving Israel the commandments
and laws was to show them what they needed for their spiritual salvation.
It is a foregone conclusion that they could not possibly complete them
and therefore, they would not be able to become acceptable to Yahweh Elohim.
The Sovereign Lord set Israel apart and gave them the Sabbath so that in
their day of rest they would remember him; they were to call to mind the
salvation he gave them from oppression in Egypt and his gift of the land
of milk and honey. The Sabbath was to remind them that each of them was
in a personal covenantal relationship with him as their Lord-Creator and
Savior, and of their obligation to follow his precepts.
Throughout the Old Covenant Scriptures, we find other injunctions regarding
the Sabbath. From Exodus 31:13-17, we learn that anyone who desecrates
the Sabbath by working must be put to death. Israel, and not the Gentiles,
was to observe the Sabbath in their generations as a lasting covenant.
"‘Say to the Israelites, "… this will be a sign between me [Elohim] and you [the Israelites] for the generations to come [forever]"’" (Ex. 31:13, NIV, emphasis added).
In Ezekiel 20:12, the prophet records God’s words to him, "‘"Also
I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that
I the LORD made them holy."’" Notice, the Scripture is clear
in these verses; God gave the Sabbath to Israel and not to the Nations.
Additionally, it was God who would make Israel holy. Anyone who knows and understands the six-hundred
thirteen laws of Torah realizes that it was impossible for Israel or any
other nation, in and of themselves, to complete them.
A summary of the requirements of the Sabbath is as follows:
1. No one is to leave home (Exodus 16:29b).
2. No one may work (Exodus 20:10).
3. No one may cook (Exodus 35:3).
4. Observation of the Sabbath is coupled with the honoring of one’s parents
(Leviticus 19:3).
5. Every Sabbath, set special bread before the Lord (Leviticus 24:5-8).
6. No one may gather wood (Numbers 15:32).
7. On the Sabbath day, make double the animal sacrifices as well as the
meat and drink offerings (Numbers 28:1-10).
8. Visits may be made to men of God (2 Kings 4:23).
9. No one may carry a burden (Jeremiah 17:21).
10. No one may buy or sell (Amos 8:5).
The Sabbath was restrictive because Jehovah Elohim-the Lord God wanted
the children of Israel to be free from the distractions of this world when
they were to have communion with him.
In Leviticus 11:45, God reminds the Israelites why they are to follow his
commandments. "I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt, to be
your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy."
Holiness as defined in the Holy Scriptures can come only from God. As Israel
would attempt to follow Elohim’s statutes from their hearts, he would make
them holy. Deuteronomy 6:25 says, "… if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be
our righteousness" (NIV, emphasis added). Human beings have no righteousness in and of themselves;
their righteousness can only come from doing all of God’s commandments.
The giving of the Sabbath was to establish a personal commitment between
each member of the nation of Israel and his/her Sovereign Lord. If a person
did all the law, he/she had righteousness; if a person did not do all the law, he/she did not have any righteousness.
The Sabbath, in the times of the Old Covenant, was the hinge pin that would
enable the children of Israel to complete the balance of the Ten Commandments
and all of God’s statutes in God’s own righteousness. The individual would
complete and fulfill the law when he/she threw his/herself upon Yahweh
for mercy, because only then could he/she keep the totality of the law.
By keeping the Sabbath day holy and not just refraining from work, people
would create an atmosphere in their homes that would fulfill the Sovereign
Lord’s first three commandments and give them his strength to uphold all
the other statutes that he had given them.
After reviewing the commandments in the beginning of Deuteronomy 5, the
chapter ends with these words from verse 32, "So be careful to do
what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right
or to the left. Walk in all the way that the LORD your God [Yahweh your
Elohim] has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong
your days in the land that you will possess."
In chapter six of Deuteronomy, Moses begins his recitation of the commands,
decrees, and laws that the Lord told him to teach Israel. We read that
the Lord promises the blessing of a good life in a good land if the people
will fear him and follow his decrees. Verse 4, "Hear O Israel: the
LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart
and all your soul and all your strength. These commandments that I give
you this day are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your
houses and on your gates."
God gave Israel his Sabbath so that the individual Israelites would stop
their daily routine and seek the Lord for strength and wisdom to be able
to fulfill his commandments, decrees, and statutes.
2. How was and is the Sabbath day celebrated?
Israel as a nation was just like any other people. They were of the natural
creation and sought the things that they could taste, touch and smell.
Within that natural creation, there was always a remnant that strove after
the Lord and sought to fulfill his regulations from their hearts. They
understood the Scriptures that say, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom; the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" (Ps.
111:10a, Prov. 1:7a, NIV). Those of the remnant remembered how their Sovereign
Lord had dealt with the Egyptians and with the nations whose land he had
given them. They had a healthy fear of what he could do and they loved
him even more because of what he had done.
Time after time, the Lord Almighty chastised Israel as a nation for their
Sabbath violations. By violating the Sabbath, they were dishonoring the
Lord and his word. The Sovereign Lord sent them into captivity for seventy
years so the land would receive the Sabbath rests that were due it.
That being said, there were also periods of great revival when it was evident
that the spirit of Elohim was stirring the people to be observant to the
will and laws of their Sovereign God. Just as there were many homes in
the past, many homes today revere the Sabbath day and keep it holy. The
Sabbath day not only was for rest and separation from the world’s activities,
but it also was for the contemplation and adoration of Yahweh Elohim-the
Lord God.
To understand Israel’s view of the Sabbath, we must consider it in light
of the rest of God’s Law. Within the five books of Moses, we have the famous
six-hundred thirteen laws of the Torah that many people talk about and
few know and understand: some are for men, some are for women, and some
deal with religious worship. Within the six-hundred thirteen laws, the
Sovereign Lord gave Israel ten commandments. Within those ten, the first
three deal specifically with Israel’s relationship to God as their Sovereign
Lord. By observing the fourth commandment in the way Elohim wanted them
to observe it, they would be given strength and energy to draw closer to
him personally.
This closeness would engender within them a love to do his will. But alas,
even though Israel was set apart as a separate people and given laws and
precepts to follow as a nation, they chose not to follow God’s ways. Instead,
they followed the evil ways of the countries around them.
In the time of the Prophet Jeremiah, once again, Yahweh in his grace and
mercy gave the people a chance to repent of their evil and turn from their
evil ways. They chose to reject the Lord’s pleadings and instead, followed
the desires of their hearts. The Lord God then sent them into captivity
in Babylon. During their captivity, some groups promoted the Sabbath day
so that the Israelites would remain separate and not become absorbed into
the Babylonian culture.
Eventually*1, the Pharisees emerged as a distinct religious and political group that
fostered personal responsibility and strict observance of the Sabbath.
They maintained that in addition to the written law, there was also an
Oral Law given to Moses at Sinai. This law was not written, but was passed
orally by holy men from generation to generation. They maintained that
all of Israel was to observe this oral law in addition to the written Law
in Torah. They worked closely with the people, encouraging them toward
holiness.
The Pharisees were jealous of the power of the Temple priests and sought
to undermine their authority whenever they could. They developed synagogues
to promote their theology among the people on a weekly basis. The average
Israelite would only come to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple three times
a year for the Levitical convocations. They felt removed from the priesthood.
The people felt closer to the Pharisees, since they attended synagogues
weekly for the teaching and preaching services held there.
As a result of weekly Synagogue meetings, the Sabbath day observance eventually
changed from personal individual observance to one of corporate worship
on a weekly basis. Yahweh Elohim in his written word never told the Pharisees
or anyone else to do this. There is no place in Scripture that the Lord
God commands corporate worship on a specific day or that people must have
corporate worship one or more times a week. The Judeo-Christian culture
worships weekly without any written revelation because the Pharisees started
that process and the apostles continued it.
The Pharisees rejected the idea that God was only in the Temple. They believed
that God was everywhere and therefore believed that their Synagogue worship
would be as equally pleasing to God as the Temple worship.*
After the destruction of the Temple, the people were forced to look to
the teachings of the Pharisees as a guide for their daily life as well
as for instruction on how they could enter into the eternal kingdom. Their
formula for attaining eternal life in Heaven came to be called Rabbinic
Judaism. Both the Ultra Orthodox and Orthodox communities practice a Pharisaic
form of Rabbinic Judaism. In the Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox communities,
the Sabbath is rigorously observed and becomes part of their system of
works that will give them entrance into the eternal kingdom. Other branches
of Judaism practice their own versions of Rabbinic Judaism, which vary
from the conservative to the ultra-liberal.
Many Jewish people today treat the Sabbath with honor and reverence. They
look forward to the coming of the Sabbath so that they can take their rest
in the Lord. Within these groups, the Sabbath is held in higher regard
than any other holiday. It is a family day when parents and children do
things together at home or in the Synagogue.
In the Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox systems of Rabbinic Judaism, there is
a special list of activities that are prohibited on the Sabbath, because
it is a time when everyone should focus on Elohim and not on the pressures
of the world around them. Generally, the following regulations are in force
now: no buying, selling or doing any other work, no cooking or purchasing
of food or any other supplies, no carrying of burdens for any appreciable
distance and only walking for a limited specified distance (usually to
a Synagogue service). Because cooking is prohibited on the Sabbath, there
is a festive meal before the Sabbath begins on Friday. This is the time
when the father will bless his wife as well as their children. During the
day on Saturday, everyone eats food that was cooked before sundown on Friday.
On Saturday, after sundown, a special meal is prepared again. It is a joyful
time when anyone who observes the Sabbath feels a direct connection with
all other people who are also celebrating this convocation. The meal on
Friday night welcomes in the Sabbath, while the meal on Saturday night
bids it goodbye for another week.
In addition to Jewish people, varied groups of Christians celebrate the
Sabbath and worship on Saturdays. Generally speaking, while they worship
on Saturday, they do not follow the restrictions of either biblical or
Rabbinic Judaism.
To be continued.
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1. The information within the asterisks comes from Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 13, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem Ltd., pages 363-364. P.O.Box
7145, Jerusalem, Israel.
Copyright 2005 Soundofgrace
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