03.11. The Sabbath

THE SABBATH.

Students should review SOUND DOCTRINE - Vol. I., pp. 70-83; Vol. II., pp. 54-67. The persistent claims of the Sabbatarians and the frequent reference to the Sabbath by others, show great confusion among people who attend church services. For this reason we think it timely to discuss the subject. first mention of sabbath. There is no law in the book of Genesis relative to the Sabbath, nor any indication that it was observed for the first twenty-five hundred years of the world’s history. The first mention we have of the Sabbath is in connection with the giving of manna (Exodus 16:22-30). In preparation of the Sabbath they were required to gather twice as much on the sixth day as on previous days; for the Sabbath was "a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath unto Jehovah." The whole circumstance shows that the people were unacquainted with such an institution. About thirty days later, the Sabbath law was incorporated in the Ten Commandments, spoken from Mount Sinai and written on tables of stone (Exodus 20:1-26). given to ancient Israel only. "And Jehovah said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel . . . and he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments" (Exodus 34:27-28). not given to fathers. "And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and observe to do them. Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Jehovah made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day" (Deuteronomy 5:1-3). Immediately following this statement Moses rehearsed to them the Ten Commandments, which included the Sabbath Commandment, and declared to them that this covenant was not made with their fathers, but with all who were there that day. when was the sabbath given? The time when the Sabbath was given is clearly shown in the preceding references; but, as additional proof, let us read again: "Thou earnest down also on Mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and madest known unto them thy holy Sabbath" (Nehemiah 9:13-14). Here it is affirmed that he made known to them his Sabbath at Mount Sinai. sign between God and Israel. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever" (Exodus 31:16-17; see Ezekiel 20:10-12). why sabbath was given to Israel. "And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by aft outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:15). The reason here assigned why they should keep the Sabbath could not apply to any other people. Gentiles were never servants in the land of Egypt. not given to gentiles. "And what great nation is there, that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day" (Deuteronomy 4:8). Certainly all "this law" includes the Sabbath (see Romans 2:14).

LAW OF MOSES—LAW OF GOD.

Sabbatarians make the claim that the Ten Commandments is the "law of God," as contrasted with statutes and judgments, ceremonies, etc., which were made known through Moses, and contend that all the law, save the Ten Commandments, has been done away. This claim is without foundation in fact, and is made by them in an effort to defend their unscriptural claim that Christians should observe the Sabbath. law of Moses is law or Jehovah. "And they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded to Israel" (Nehemiah 8:1). "Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God" (Nehemiah 8:18). "And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of a day" (Nehemiah 9:3). The eighth and ninth chapters of Nehemiah describe a protracted effort on the part of Nehemiah and associates to teach the people. The people asked Ezra to bring "the book of the law of Moses" (Nehemiah 8:1). He brought "the law" before the assembly (Nehemiah 8:2). He read therein, and the people gave attention to "the book of the law" (Nehemiah 8:3), "the words of the law" (Nehemiah 8:13). Day by day he read in "the book of the law of God" (Nehemiah 8:18), "the book of the law of Jehovah" (Nehemiah 9:3). Any one can see that these terms are used interchangeably, that they all refer to the same book or law. Hence, inspired writers made no distinction between "law of Moses" and "the law of Jehovah." Even what Joshua wrote was written in "the book of the law of God" (Joshua 24:26). Certainly he did not write on the tables of stone, nor did he add to the Ten Commandments, the very thing the Sabbatarians call "the law of God." Such distinction exists only in the biased brains of Sabbatarians. In one short paragraph Luke uses these terms interchangeably: "And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord). . . . And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law. . . . And when they had accomplished all things that were according to the law of the Lord, they returned unto Galilee" (Luke 2:22-39). greatest commandments. Sabbatarians claim that the Ten Commandments are the law of God, and that this law was never to be repealed, but that all the other commandments in the Old Testament were repealed. A lawyer asked Jesus: "Which is the great command­ment of the law? And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets" (Matthew 22:35-40). These commandments are found in Deuteronomy 6:5. They are not in the Ten Commandments, the thing the Sabbatarians call the law of God. Thus by their false position they make the greatest commandments part of the law of Moses. The fact is, these two commandments are the sum, the essence, of the law. All the other requirements of the law, including the Ten Commandments, are regulations growing out of these two fundamental commandments. Every law or command intended to regulate our actions in things specially pertaining to God is included in the commandment to love God with all we have and are; and every law, or command, seeking to govern us in our relations to our fellow man finds its roots in the command to love our neighbor as ourself. Hence, the Sabbatarian would do away with the foundation upon which all the other laws, including the Ten Commandments, rest, and retain the Ten Commandments without a foundation. THE LAW.

Sabbatarians make the contention that the words "the law" always have reference to the Ten Commandments. This is not always true, as may be seen by reference to the following: 1 Corinthians 14:34; Matthew 12:5; Matthew 22:36; Acts 23:3; Acts 5:34. Many more can be cited. moral and ceremonial law. Sabbatarians contend that the Ten Commandments are the moral law, and that the law of Moses is the ceremonial law; that the ceremonial law has been abrogated, but that the law of God, the moral law, the Ten Commandments, is still in force. Let us see some of the commands in "the law of Moses," "ceremonial law," and see if they are ceremonies. "And a sojourner shalt thou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress him: for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt. Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child" (Exodus 22:21-22). Are these commands ceremonies? "If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt release it with him" (Exodus 23:4-5). "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am Jehovah" (Leviticus 19:16). "Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe" (Deuteronomy 16:19). Are these commands only ceremonies? Study the Ten Commandments and see if the Sabbatarians are correct in making the claim that they are a perfect moral law. Do the Ten Commandments forbid lying, save on your neighbor? Do they forbid coveting, save only that which belongs to your neighbor? The words spoken by Moses are the law of Jehovah, just as the Ten Commandments are the law of Jehovah, and he who would know the law of Jehovah for ancient Israel must read all the law given in that dispensation. The Ten Commandments, the fifth excepted, is a system of negative law. With the fifth excepted, they do not require one to assist others in any way, no matter what may be their condition. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS THE COVENANT. When the Israelites reached Sinai God gave them the Ten Commandments, and they are specifically called the covenant. "And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments" (Exodus 34:28). "And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone" (Deuteronomy 4:13). "When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water. And Jehovah delivered unto me the two tables of stones written with the finger of GodAnd it came to pass that at the end of forty days and forty nights, that Jehovah gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant" (Deuteronomy 9:9-11). Let it be observed: (1) The Ten Commandments are called the covenant. (2) That God made this covenant with them at Horeb. the new covenant made. "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake" (Jeremiah 31:31-32). Sabbatarians make a distinction between God’s law and the law of Moses. God’s law, then, is God’s covenant, the one he made with Israel. In making this distinction Sabbatarians forever ruin their plea for the perpetuity of God’s law, the covenant God made; for in the foregoing quotation Jehovah contrasts the covenant to be made with the covenant which he made with Israel, and shows that the covenant he made with Israel was to be superseded by the new. Read the eighth, ninth, and tenth chapters of Hebrews, and see that God has made the new covenant. This new covenant is not like the old. perpetual—forever—generations. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever" (Exodus 31:16-17). Sabbatarians claim that, since the Jews still have generations, and that perpetual and forever do not end, the Sabbath is still binding. Such contention will make binding the following: 1. The passover feast. "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12:14). 2. Perpetual incense. "And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations" (Exodus 30:8). 3. Burnt offering. "It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations*’ (Exodus 29:42). 4. Fringes. "Speak thou unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations" (Numbers 15:38). Do Sabbatarians do these things? The same terms which describe their duration describe the Sabbath’s duration. The facts are that the people broke the covenant (Isaiah 24:5), and then God broke the covenant he made with them (Zechariah 11:10-11).

LAW OF THE SABBATH. The decalogue, which the Sabbatarian claims to be eternally binding on all nations, contains the bare command to remember the Sabbath day. The Ten Commandments contain no penalty for Sabbath violation. A law without a penalty is no law, for it cannot be enforced. Sabbatarians must go to what they call the law of Moses to find the penalty for Sabbath violation, and they declare this law has been annulled; more, they have God giving the eternal law, and Moses giving the law to enforce it. Moreover, outside of what they call the ceremonial law, they can find no penalty for the infraction of the Sabbath law. This again makes the greater rest on the less. But what was required on the Sabbath? Rest. What was the nature of the rest required? No work to be engaged in by them, or their children, or servants, or cattle (Exodus 20:19). must not prepare food. "This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Jehovah: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning" (Exodus 16:23). abide in your place. "Jehovah hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:29). showbread. The showbread was to be prepared and renewed every Sabbath (1 Chronicles 9:32; Leviticus 24:8-9).

Two lambs slain. Two lambs were sacrificed every day, and on the Sabbath two additional lambs were sacrificed (Numbers 28:1-10). This was the law for every Sabbath. If there is a Sabbath now, it is necessarily one of "every Sabbath," and two additional lambs must be sacrificed and the table of showbread attended to. These things belonged to "every Sabbath." If the Sabbath continues, so must these services continue; if these services have ended, so has the Sabbath. kindle no fires. "Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day" (Exodus 35:3). penalty. "Whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death" (Exodus 35:2). Example of the execution of the death penalty is found in Numbers 15:32-36. circumcision on the sabbath. The law required the circumcision of the male child on the eighth day after its birth. This, say the Sabbatarians, was a ceremonial law. The law required rest on the Sabbath day, and the law required the male child to be circumcised on the eighth day after its birth. If a child was eight days old on the Sabbath (and some of them were), one of these laws had to be broken. Which? "Moses hath given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers); and on the sabbath ye circumcise a man. If a man receive circumcision on the sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken; are ye wroth with me, because I made a man every whit whole on the Sabbath?" (John 7:22-23). Thus the Sabbath law was broken in order to observe the law of Moses. sheep in the pit. Jesus said to the Jews: "What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?" (Matthew 12:11). Here they violate the Sabbath law in performing acts of mercy to a dumb brute. Not to destroy the law. "Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17.) possibly the passage in Luke makes this clearer: "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall" (Luke 16:17). Christ did not say that the law would stand "till heaven and earth pass away," but that it would stand till it was fulfilled. He spoke not of the length of the law, but of the certainty of its fulfillment. Did Christ fulfill the law? (see Luke 24:44). When fulfilled, the law expired by divine limitation. it could not give life. "If there had been a law given which could make alive, verily righteousness would have been by the law" (Galatians 3:21). not binding on Christians. "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law" (Romans 3:19). "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid" (Romans 6:15).

Christians were never commanded to keep the Sabbath, and the sin of breaking the sabbath was never charged against any one in the new dispensation.

TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION.

• Discuss Moses as a Lawgiver.

• Incidents of Mount Sinai.

• Requirements to Teach the Law in Old Testament.

• Results of Universal Observance of Sabbath Law.

• Breaking Old and New Covenants Contrasted (Hebrews 10:28-29).

QUESTIONS.