Chapter 10.11
Sabbath
Saturday
or Sunday - Origin – Purpose
Old
Covenant – New Covenant - Seventh Day Adventist
The
Fourth Commandment – Does the day affect your salvation?
First
Word
The
discussion concerning the Sabbath arises not from our obedience to
observe the Sabbath, but of “when” to observe it; some say Saturday and others say Sunday.
I certainly enter into this discussion with BS, a
Belief System that is “biased” being raised a
Christian and not a Jew, but, what does the Word say?
Fourth Commandment
From
the Hebrew word Shabbat; to cease and desist; an abstention
from work. The belief that Israel’s “Time” and “Land” ultimately belongs to God.[1]
Webster: The Sabbath; The Seventh
day of the week (Saturday), set aside by the
fourth commandment for rest and worship and observed by Jews and some Christian
sects,[2]
with Sunday, the first day of the week as the usual Christian
day of rest and worship.
The Sabbath began at sunset on Friday
evening and lasted till sunset on Saturday evening. God bound Israel to follow
His law and no other; “The Law”
demanded reverence, obedience and service; to record, study, remember and obey
under penalty of being “STONED TO DEATH”. With that said; you could say; they took the
Sabbath very seriously.
The
Fourth Commandment:[3]
The Sabbath is a Holy day on which man should rest from any normal work
and cause no one else under his authority to work. [4] We are commanded to work six days and rest on
the seventh. The Sabbath was made for man to enjoy a day
of REST. [5]
DON’T BUY ANYTHING FROM ANYONE ON THE SABBATH
CAUSING THEM TO WORK.[6]
The penalty
was death.
Sabbath Rest - for your crops
Sabbath means rest even for
your fields and crops. Six years
you should grow crops on your land and the seventh year, let it lay
barren. Let the land rest.
Leviticus 25:3-5
– Let the field lay barren in the seventh year
3 For six years sow your fields, and for six
years prune your vineyards and gather their crops.
4 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.
5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of
your untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest. NIV
Sabbath Rest for your finances
There was a set time of seven
Sabbaths of years. Seven times Seven; forty nine years that land could be sold and men be
made slaves. Because of poverty, men
would have to sell their land or
even submit themselves as slaves just to live, but in the 50th year of Jubilee,
the land must be returned, debts forgiven and slaves freed. Obviously there were rules concerning this, which I
won’t cover here.
This was a Sabbath Year of no
work in the fields’; you could eat from the fields, but not harvest it.
It was just a year of celebration and rest.
Leviticus 25:8-13 - Seven Times Seven Sabbaths –
Year of Jubilee
8 "`Count
off seven Sabbaths of years--seven times seven years-- the seven Sabbaths
of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
9 ...The tenth
day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet
throughout your land.
10 Consecrate
the fiftieth
year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.
It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family
property and each to his own clan.
11 The fiftieth year
shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or
harvest the untended vines.
12 For it is a
jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the
fields.
13 "`In
this Year of Jubilee everyone is to return to his own property. NIV
Sabbath Observance – The reason why
The Sabbath is a memorial
to the completion of God’s creation in six day and resting on the seventh; not
of weariness, but of reflection.[7] By this action God ordained a pattern for
living; this would be a shadow of the observance of the Sabbath some 2000 years
later. Israel was commanded to observe
the Sabbath; to remember God bringing the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt.[8]
There was a bunch of Sabbaths the Israelites observed as directed by
God; the seventh
day of the week; plus the first,[9] Tenth[10] and
fifteenth[11]
day of the seventh month; plus the first and eighth day of the celebration week. The Sabbath is a sign, a memorial of an EVERLASTING COVENANT between God and
Israel.[12] The keeping of the Sabbath is the most sacred of
observances;
the Sabbath was given to THE JEWS, NOT
TO THE GENTILES; it belongs to Israel
Birth of the Christian Church
The early Christian Church
was known as “The
Way”,[13]
and the followers of Christ were called Christians.[14] The
Jews considered the followers of The Way to be “a party within Judaism” and were
allowed to worship side by side at the synagogue and temple on the Sabbath. The
Pharisees and others added to the law with far
more specifics than it was intended, causing THE
LAW to
become a BURDEN instead of a rest.
A CONFLICT arose over the nature of worship; i.e.; Salvation
and Righteousness
did
not come from offerings and sacrifices, but by obeying
God in Spirit
and in Truth;[15] by doing the Word. This forced them to worship separately. Although the temple and synagogues were still
considered sacred, we are given many examples that the believers gathered in
the followers of THE WAY’S homes.[16]
Paul pretty much told them that they did not have to observe both The Lord’s Day
on Sunday,[17]
and the Jew’s
Sabbath on Saturday; but many did,
clinging to “Tradition”.
Colossians 2:16
– Observance of the Jew’s Sabbath not required.
16 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.NIV
Sabbath Worship
Each Sabbath the Rabbi read
Scriptures from the Book of the Law; and explained the Law;[18] the
Synagogue was known as “The House of the Book”. The Muslims referred to Jews as “The people of
the Book”; Christians should be known for that same reason;
During the week they would have “TORAH
SCHOOL”
for the young boys to learn scripture, etiquette, music, practical knowledge
and warfare to supplement their “Home Schooling”.[19] There were no books; they had to memorize
scripture.
They believed if a verse was not spoken OUT LOUD, it would soon be forgotten.
On the “The
Lord’s Day” we should imitate the early church as they gathered to
hear the word of God and worship; and have “Sunday School” to teach our
children.
Far Out Stuff
All male Jews were expected
(by
tradition) to wear two phylacteries at morning prayers; one
on their forehead and one on their left arm. These were small leather cases containing four
scriptures from the Torah; oddly enough, they did not wear it on the Sabbath.
In my BS,
I see this command as SYMBOLIC of keeping the
Word of God in your mind and in your actions, however they took it
literally. What the Jews deem as being obedient, the world deems as being weird.
I include the FOUR SCRIPTURES for you to understand their devotion.
Exodus 13:1-10 – FIRST
Scripture
1 The LORD said
to Moses,
2
"Consecrate to me every firstborn male. The first offspring of every womb
among the Israelites belongs to me, whether man or animal."
3 Moses said to
the people, "Commemorate this day, the day you came out of
4 Today, in the
month of Abib, you are leaving.
5 When the LORD
brings you into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites and
Jebusites--the land he swore to your forefathers to give you, a land flowing
with milk and honey--you are to observe this ceremony in this month:
6 For seven days
eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the
LORD.
7 Eat unleavened
bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among
you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders.
8 On that day
tell your son, `I do this because of what the LORD did for me when I came out
of
9 This observance
will be for you “like” a sign on your hand and a reminder on your forehead that
the law of the LORD is to be on your lips. For the LORD brought you
out of
10 You must keep
this ordinance at the appointed time year after year.
NIV
Exodus 13:11-16 – SECOND
Scripture
11 "After
the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and gives it to you, as he
promised on oath to you and your forefathers,
12 you are to
give over to the LORD the first offspring of every womb. All the firstborn
males of your livestock belong to the LORD.
13 Redeem with a
lamb every firstborn donkey, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck.
Redeem every firstborn among your sons.
14 "In days
to come, when your son asks you, `What does this mean?' say to him, `With a
mighty hand the LORD brought us out of
15 When Pharaoh
stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in
16 And it will be
“like” a sign on your hand and a symbol on your forehead that the LORD brought
us out of Egypt with his mighty hand."
NIV
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – THIRD
Scripture
4 Hear, O
Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
5 Love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
6 These
commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
7 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.
8 Tie them as symbols
on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
9 Write them on the
doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
NIV
Deuteronomy 11:3-21 – FOURTH
Scripture
3 the signs he
performed and the things he did in the heart of
4 what he did to
the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the
waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought
lasting ruin on them.
5 It was not
your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at
this place,
6 and what he
did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened
its mouth right in the middle of all
7 But it was
your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.
8 Observe
therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the
strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to
possess,
9 and so that
you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give
to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 The land you
are entering to take over is not like the
11 But the land
you are crossing the
12 It is a land
the LORD your God cares for; the eyes of the LORD your God are continually on
it from the beginning of the year to its end.
13 So if you
faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the LORD your God
and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul—
14 then I will
send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you
may gather in your grain, new wine and oil.
15 I will
provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16 Be careful,
or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to
them.
17 Then the
LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it
will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish
from the good land the LORD is giving you.
18 Fix these words of
mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them
on your foreheads.
19 Teach them to
your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along
the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
20 Write them on the
doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days
and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to
give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the
earth.
NIV
Here’s where we are
NOTE: The people of Israel were called Israelites; ten of the
tribes were scattered and lost. The
people of the largest remaining tribe Judah were called Jews. Today all of the Nation of Israel is referred
to as Jews. (The remnants of
Israel; the Jews are
commanded to observe the Sabbath; Saturday; PLUS other Sabbaths. The Sabbath is a gift to enjoy and is a time
of REST for man, animals and the land. It is also a Holy Day
set aside to REMEMBER God;
Hearing His Word, Worship and Praise.
Seventh Day Adventist
The
Seventh Day Adventist say; that The Lord’s Day or
the Sabbath is
on SATURDAY. This is THE doctrine their Church hangs their
hat on. If you celebrate the Lord’s Day
on Sunday, you are doomed to spend eternity in Hell. This doctrine “YOKES” the believer in the bondage of LEGALISM
Before
Adventist there was also Seventh Day Baptist.
A Sabbaths days’
journey was a distance of only 2000 cubits; with 20 inches being a cubic they
could only walk about 3,333 feet or .63 miles.
If you are under
The “Sabbath” originated with the Ten Commandments
and Moses on Mount Sinai. It was a
covenant between God and Israel; the Jew’s “Sabbath” was SATURDAY and still is.
We are not made holy by keeping man made
rules that somehow make us righteous. Since
a 24 hour day was not made until the 4th day of creation, I’m not
sure how anyone can accurately tell which day is which. Just saying
Those observing Sunday should not judge or impose their opinions on those that
observe Saturday.[20] Their behavior is guided by their reverence
and fear of God and are at Christian liberty[21]
to do so as long as the observation is not deemed “necessary
for salvation”.
All sins can be forgiven except the sin of
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit; known as the unpardonable sin.[22] This
would include worshiping God on a different day and having to work on the “Sabbath”
or walking more than .63 miles; we are no longer condemned by the Law.[23]
After the Resurrection
After
the Resurrection of Christ, the early Christians began to observe the
day that Jesus was resurrected from the grave as the new covenant; the new
way. They observed the Sabbath
or “Lords
Day” on “Resurrection Sunday” which was the first day
of the week; a new
beginning.[24]
The Jews continued to observe Saturday
as the Sabbath
and the Christians set apart Sunday to be observed as “The Lord’s Day” which we also
commonly call our Sabbath.
The Sabbath
actually refers to the Jews; “The Lord’s Day” refers to the Christians (I understand many will disagree with this.)
The Lord’s Day is a weekly
memorial to Christ’s resurrection from the dead;[25] a
celebration of a new creation, God making all things new,[26] a
day of triumph and glory, the tomb is empty. Rejoice in “The Lord’s Day”. [27]
He is risen; He is risen indeed.
Christ honored the disciples by
manifesting Himself multiple times on the first day of
the week.[28] The feast of harvest was seven weeks long; 49
days; the 50th day was Pentecost; Sunday, the
first day. The Holy Spirit descended
on the day of Pentecost, the first day of
the week.[29] Some scholars have calculated that Jesus
ascended on the first day of the week. No OT Sabbath
regulation or observances were transferred to the Lord’s Day to make it a “Christian Sabbath.” The “Sabbath” relates to the Old Covenant and “the Lord’s Day” relates to the New Covenant.
NOTE: The day of rest became “most noted” for
Christians when Emperor Constantine in the fourth century A.D. designated Sunday as a
Holy Day for the entire Roman
Empire.
The Day of the Lord
The
Lord’s Day is only mentioned once in scripture and that is in the
Revelation,[30]
and since Revelation is about end times, in my BS, I don’t believe John was talking
about Saturday
or Sunday,
but the End Times “The Lord’s Day”;
when
Jesus Christ will return for His Bride; the Church.
The Day of the Lord is mentioned 24
times in scripture and all point to the end of times and for sure not the Sabbath. It was the early church that began to use the
phrase “The
Lords Day” for Sunday.
Jesus Comments
We
have a new covenant in Jesus Christ[31]
and He is the mediator and Lord of the Sabbath.[32] We as Christians believe that the Ten
Commandments written by the finger of God
are a wonderful thing to govern our life by, especially the fourth commandment,
remembering the Sabbath
Day to keep it Holy. The fact
is, we would do well to live by all of them; but now we have just two
commandments spoken from the
mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the SON of the Living God:[33]
1)
Love
the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind
2)
Love
your neighbor as your self
All the laws and the prophets hang on
these. If we do these two things, we
will fulfill the Law.
Paul’s Comments
Many
thought it blasphemy to worship God on Sunday instead of Saturday,
believing that those that did were deceived and would go
to hell. Paul had some
thoughts on this when he wrote; that we were once in
bondage to hundreds of laws of legalism[34] that
had been added to God’s word. That we
were now FREE;[35]
out of bondage to the weak and beggarly elements of legalism; why would we go back
into bondage?[36]
Paul said; don’t let anyone judge
you (impose their opinion on you) concerning the
celebration of the Sabbath.[37] Peter said to respect others positions and
not use our freedom to hurt these people.[38]
The Take Away
God
set a pattern of rest when he created the world in six day and then rested
on the seventh. God DID NOT name the seventh day, the Sabbath. The Hebrew
Word Sabbath means; to cease from work, to desist, to REST - The Sabbath was made
for man; man was not made for the Sabbath
God gave Israel the fourth commandment to
remember the Sabbath
day and keep it Holy.
a)
It is a time for Israel to remember their
deliverance from Egypt.
b)
It is a sign between God and Israel, that they
are His chosen people.
c)
It was not
a sign to the Gentiles or other nationalities; it belonged only to Israel.
d)
It is an observance of rest on Saturday
for the people, their workers, beast of burden and their land. It must be noted that Israel had many
different Sabbaths
The Lord’s Day is the observance
of rest and worship by Christians on Sunday.
It is a memorial to the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Sunday,
the first day of the week. Many in the Early Church worshipped on Saturday
and Sunday.
We are not to impose our opinion on those who choose to worship on a different day
unless the DAY is made a “REQUIREMENT FOR SALVATION”.
The
Jew’s are under the Old Covenant; to break one of the OT laws, is to break all of them.
The
Christian is under the New Covenant and
is free from condemnation.
The Jew’s
“Sabbath”
is on Saturday and
the Christians “Lord’s day” is on Sunday.
Seventh Day Adventist: Embrace Saturday as their day of Worship AND they also make it a requirement for Salvation.
IF it is
deemed a sin to worship on a different day than your neighbor; it is a sin that
can be forgiven. If you belong to the
Lord, nothing can separate you from His love.
Today the term Sabbath
and The Lord’s
Day have become synonymous, although
they are not
. The Christian
joins the Jew in keeping “The day of Rest” Holy. Pray for the peace of Israel.
Galatians
5:1 – Don’t be entangled again with the bondage
of legalism
1 Stand fast
therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled
again with a yoke of bondage.
(NKJV)
Colossians
2:16- Don’t let anyone condemn you for celebrating Sabbaths
16 So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or
new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
(NLT)
Romans
8:38-39 – Worshiping
different day CANNOT separate you from God
38 I am convinced that NOTHING can ever separate
us from God’s love. NEITHER
death nor
life,
NEITHER angels nor demons, NEITHER
our fears
for today nor our worries about tomorrow—NOT EVEN the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
39 NO POWER in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, NOTHING in all
creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(NLT)
[1] Genesis 2:2-3 – God
rested on the seventh day
[2] Exodus 31:16-17 – The
Jews are commanded to observe the Sabbath; it is a
sign between me and the Israelites forever
[3] Exodus 20:8-11 - The fourth Commandment: "Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy”
[4] Mark 2:27-28 – "The
Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
[5] Numbers 15:32-36 – Break
the Sabbath and "The man must die”
[6] Nehemiah 10:31 – DON’T BUY
ANYTHING ON THE SABBATH
[8] Deuteromy 5:15 – Remember
you were once in bondage. God brought you out of there with a mighty hand; God
has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day -- Exodus 31:16-17 - The Sabbath
is a CELEBRATION
-- Deuteronomy 5:12 – Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it HOLY
[9] Leviticus 23:23-24 –
Sabbath the 1st day of the seventh month
[10] Leviticus 16:29-31 –
Sabbath of Rest - 10th day – Day of Atonement
[11] Leviticus 23:39 – Sabbath
the 15th day of the seventh month
[12] Ezekiel 20:12 – THE SABBATH IS A
SIGN BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL so they would know that the LORD made them holy. -- Exodus
31:13 – The Sabbath is a SIGN between me and you for
generations to come
[13] John 14:6 – Jesus said, “I am The Way”; no one comes to the Father except
through me. -- Acts 19:23 – Many disturbed about “The
Way”. -- Acts 24:14 – “The Way” was
called a sect -- Acts 24:22 – “The Way” was well known -- Acts 9:1-2 – Saul/Paul,
before being called of the Lord wanted to kill those who followed “The Way” -- Acts 19:9 – Some publicly maligned “The Way” and became obstinate; because they refused to believe
[14] Acts 11:26 –THE
DISCIPLES WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS.
[16] Philemon 1:2 – Church
meets in the home of Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier -- Romans 16:3-5 - Church
meets in the home of Priscilla and Aquila --
Colossians 4:15 – Church meets in the home of Nympha
[17] Galatians 4:10-11 – Don’t add Tradition; the Jewish Sabbath rituals to your
salvation
[18] Acts 13:44 – Gather on
the Sabbath to hear the word of God --
Acts 13:27 – The Word is read out loud EVERY Sabbath -- Acts 13:14-15 – Read the Word
on the Sabbath
[19] Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – HOME
SCHOOLING;
talk about scripture when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up
[20] Colossians 2:16 – DON’T PUSH YOUR
OPINION ON OTHERS.
[21] Romans 14:5-6 – It’s OK to observe the day you consider sacred
[22] Mark 3:28-29 – All sin
will be forgiven except blaspheme against the Spirit
[23] Romans 8:1-2 – We are no
longer condemned by the Law.
[24] Acts 20:7 – They came together on Sunday the first day -- Corenthians 16:2 – Paul instructs the tithes to be gathered on the first day.
[25] Matthew 28:1 – Jesus rose on the first
day of the week
[26] Revelation 21:5 – God says "Behold, I make all things NEW."
[27] Psalm 118:24 – This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad
in it.
[28] Mark 16:9 – Jesus appeared on the
first day of the week -- Matthew 28:1-9 – Jesus
appeared to the Disciples on the first day of
the week -- Luke 24:13-31 – Jesus appeared
to two on the first day of the week --
Luke 24:34 – Jesus appeared to Simon on the first day of the week -- Luke 24:36 – Jesus appeared to the Eleven on the first day -- John 20:26 – And after eight days (Sunday) Jesus appeared to the
Eleven; the first day of the week
[29] Acts 2:1-4 – The Holy
Spirit descended on The Day of Pentecost; the first day of the week.
[30] Revelation 1:10 – On The Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit
[31] 2 Corenthians 3:6 –
Christ gave us a NEW covenant;
the LETTER of the law kills, but
the SPIRIT gives life
-- Hebrews 7:22 – Jesus has become the guarantee of a BETTER
COVENANT
[32] Mark 2:28 – Jesus is Lord
of the Sabbath. -- Hebrews 9:15 – Christ is the Mediator of the NEW covenant
[33] Matthew 22:37-40 – Just
Two Commandments; Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind: and `Love your neighbor as yourself.'
[34] Galatians 4:9-12 – Legalism puts you in bondage
[35] John 8:36 – Jesus has set
us free; so if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed -- John 8:32 – We
are free in Christ to worship --Romans 8:1-2 – We
are not condemned; we have been set free
[36] Galatians 5:1 – Don’t go back to the bondage of legalism
[37] Colossians 2:16 – Don’t let anyone judge you concerning the Sabbath
[38] 1 Peter 2:16-17 – Live as
servants of God
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