The Origin of The Sabbath
Before Christ and before there were any Christians, Jews had been worshipping God on the 7th day of the week (the Sabbath). Let’s look at the Bible to understand how this began. In Genesis 2:1-3, we see that by the 7th day of creation, God had completed the heavens and the earth and God rested from His work. The Bible also says that He blessed it and sanctified (set apart) it. Many people believe that from this point in history, all mankind observed the Sabbath. However, I do not believe this is accurate according to the Bible. In fact, there is no mention of people observing a sabbath rest until Exodus 16 when Moses and the children of Israel are in the wilderness. You might be surprised to learn that there is no mention of Adam & Eve keeping the sabbath. Or Enoch, or Methuselah, or Noah, or Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob (later named Israel). In fact, there is no record of Sabbath keeping until God calls the descendants of Israel out of Egypt. In Exodus 16:22-26, Moses has to explain the sabbath to the Israelites. It seems that they did not know about it.
Sabbath Given to Sons of Israel, Not Christians
In Exodus 19-20, God makes a covenant with the sons of Israel at Mt. Sinai and gives them this covenant in the form of ten commandments written on stone tablets (Exodus 19:5-6, 20:8-11). One of these commands given to them was to observe the sabbath which was the 7th day of the week. In Deuteronomy 5, the ten commandments are repeated by Moses. In Deuteronomy 5:2-3, Moses reminds them of the covenant that was made between God and the Israelites. He also tells them that God DID NOT make this covenant with their fathers. Because the sabbath observance was part of this covenant, this means that their ancestors did not keep the sabbath. It was for them only. But why did God make them observe the sabbath day of rest every week? In Deuteronomy 5:15, God tells them that the sabbath is a reminder that God brought them out of slavery in Egypt, therefore they will observe the sabbath day. At this point I think it is important to note who God brought out of Egypt. The text says that the sabbath was designed for the Israelites to remember that they were brought out of Egypt. Exodus 31:17 also states that the sabbath was a sign between God and the sons of Israel. Christians today were never brought out of Egyptian slavery.
Killed For Breaking the Sabbath
Many who observe the sabbath today do not observe it properly. No work could be performed on the sabbath. In fact, it was a day of complete rest. Exodus 35:1-3 tells us that anyone who was found breaking the sabbath was to be put to death. Do you know anyone who enforces this rest rule today? In Numbers 15:32-36, there is an example of a man caught gathering sticks on the sabbath and God commanded that he be put to death. If God expected Christians to observe the sabbath today, then God’s punishment for not observing it should also be the same.
Burnt Offerings On the Sabbath
In Numbers 28:9-10, we learn that the sabbath was to be observed with a burnt offering to God. You also might recall that only a priest was allowed to offer up the burnt sacrifices. And to be a priest, you had to be from the tribe of Levi. Do you know of any sabbath keepers today who observe the commanded sabbath offerings? And if so, are they performed by a priest from the tribe of Levi? How can the sabbath still be in effect, but not the burnt offering?
Sabbath Travel Restricted
In Exodus 16:29, God expected his people to not travel on the sabbath. The Bible says “let no man go out of his place on the seventh day”. In Acts 1:12, we see the phrase “sabbath day’s journey.” Travel was restricted to less than a mile on the sabbath day. However, many people claiming to keep the sabbath today travel long distances in order to “keep the sabbath” when in reality they are breaking the rules for the sabbath.
Be Consistent – Rather, Follow The New Covenant
If you are going to keep the sabbath, you need to keep all of the rules concerning the sabbath. Fortunately, for Christians, we don’t live under that covenant between God and the sons of Israel. We live under a new covenant between God and all mankind. That covenant was made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, his burial, and resurrection. We have to study our Bibles carefully to understand the difference between this new covenant and the old covenant with Israel.
In my next post, we will explore how all of these rules of the old covenant (including the sabbath observance) was done away and replaced by a new covenant of Christ (Hebrews 8:13).