THE SABBATH

[Alex2165]

THE SABBATH

Genesis 2.2-3
2.”And by the Seventh Day GOD completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the Seventh Day from all His work which He had done.

3.The GOD blessed the Seventh Day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which GOD had created and made.”


Exodus 20.8-11
8."Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.

9.Six days you shall labor and do all your work.

10.But the Seventh Day is a Sabbath to the Lord your GOD, you shall not do any work, you, your son, or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns."

11.In six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth, the sea and all that is in them, but rested on the Seventh Day, therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and consecrated it.


Ezekiel 20.12.19-20
12."Moreover, I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between Me and them, so that they might know that I the Lord sanctify them.

19.I the Lord am your GOD, follow My Statutes and be careful to observe My Ordinances,

20.and hallow My Sabbaths that they may be a sign between Me and you, so that you may know that I the Lord am your GOD."


GOD blessed, sanctified, and consecrated Sabbath Day (Genesis 2.3) (Exodus 20.11). So the Sabbath Day became the Holy Day (Exodus 20.8). This is done only for the Sabbath Day, not for any other day of the week, and so it remains as such not only in the past, but also today and in the future for all humanity to observe, forever.


SON OF MEN IS THE LORD OF THE SABBATH

Matthew 12.8
8.”The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."


Mark 2.27-28
27.Then He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath,

28.so the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”


Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Why? Because He established, blessed, consecrated, and sanctified. Jesus never violated Sabbath Day but always observed it.


Isaiah 66.23
23.”And it shall be from new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.


"Sabbath was made for humankind" This means that Sabbath made for all humans of the Earth, and not for Jews only. It will be a Day then all mankind will worship the Lord on the Sabbath Day, the Day that the Lord GOD finish His works, consecrated and blessed, paying obedience and respect to the Lord.


A HOLY CONVOCATION OF THE SABBATH DAY

Leviticus 23.3
3."Six days shall work be done but the Seventh Day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation (WORSHIP), you shall do not work, it is a Sabbath to the Lord throughout your settlements."


SABBATH AS FORGIVENESS OF DEBT

Deuteronomy 15.1
1.Every Seventh Year you shall grant a remission of debts.



SABBATH OF THE LAND

Exodus 23.10-12
10."For six years you shall sow your land and gather yield,

11.but the Seventh Year you shall let it rest and lie abandoned, so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.


Leviticus 25.2-4.21
2."Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: 'When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land shall observe a Sabbath for the Lord.

3.Six years you shall sow you field and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in their yield,

4.but in the Seventh Year there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for the land, a Sabbath for the Lord, you shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.

21.I will order My blessing for you in the sixth year, so what it will yield a crop for three years.


23.The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, the land is Mine, with Me you are but aliens and tenants."


In many statement presented here appeared a certain pattern "Sabbath for the Lord." Not to Jews, not to humans, but FOR THE LORD only. If it FOR THE LORD only, this means it must be observed, it is FOR THE LORD our GOD as a sing of respect, fear, and obedience.


SABBATH AS A DELIGHT IN THE LORD

Isaiah 58.13-14
13."If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on My Holy Day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Holy Day of the Lord Honorable, if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests or pursuing your own affairs,

14.then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the Earth, I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, the mouth of the Lord has spoken."


SABBATH - THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Hebrews 4.4-5.9-10
4.He has thus said somewhere concerning the Seventh Day, "And GOD rested on the Seventh Day from all His works" (Genesis 2.2),

5.and again in this passage, "They shall not enter My rest." (Psalm 95.11)

9.There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of GOD.

10.The one who has entered His Rest, has himself also rested from his works, as GOD did from His.


"The one who has entered His Rest," means the one who entered the Kingdom of GOD. "His Rest," most likely means His Kingdom. "Has himself also rested" means physically died and entered the Kingdom of GOD. "From his works," means our life, which compared to 6 days of work "as GOD did from His (work)."


So the Kingdom of GOD compared here to the Sabbath, and as the Lord GOD rested in His Kingdom on the 7th Day after 6 days of His work, and so the humans, those who obeyed Commandments of the Lord and observe His Sabbath Day, shall enter the Sabbath Rest - Kingdom of GOD, after their physical life - "6 working days" (figuratively speaking).


JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND SABBATH - THE KEY TO SALVATION

Isaiah 56.1-2
1.Thus says the Lord, "Maintain Justice and do what is Right, soon My salvation will come and My deliverance be revealed.

2.Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil."


TEACHING ON THE SABBATH


Luke 4.31
31.”And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath,”


Luke 13.10
10.”And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,”


Practically all Jewish holidays and rituals are done on the Sabbath Day. Teachings also was performed on the Sabbath Day, as well as today in the synagogues. When Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Law, He fulfilled all 10 Commandments included Sabbath Day. Jesus never violated a single ordinance of the Law, but fulfilled the Law completely.

In addition to all that have been said, Jesus died on the Sabbath Day, on the day of Passover, as Passover "LAMB."

Why Christians do their worship on Sunday? I think the answer on this question Isaiah answered perfectly:

Isaiah 29.13 (KSB)
13.Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me (Jeremiah 12.2.6) (Ezekiel 33.31) (Matthew 15.7-9) (Mark 7.6-7-13)and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote (Mark 7.7-9) (Titus 1.14) (Colossians 2.20-22).

 

[Salty]

You mention that we should observe the Sabbath

Do you believe that we should also keep the other hundreds of Old Test laws?

Bonus Question
Where in the NT does it require us to keep the Sabbath?

 

[Yeshua1]

You mention that we should observe the Sabbath

Do you believe that we should also keep the other thunders of Old Test laws?

Bonus Question
Where in the NT does it require us to keep the Sabbath?

sabbath was never given to the gentile Church!

 

[Iconoclast]

Hebrews4:9
9 there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God,

 

[Alofa Atu]

You mention that we should observe the Sabbath

As the saying goes ... 'Yep.'

Do you believe that we should also keep the other thunders of Old Test laws?

"other thunders"? Explain, otherwise, see:

Powerpoint:
https://archive.org/download/sticks-stones-do-you-stone-the-sabbath-breaker/Sticks & Stones - Do You Stone The Sabbath Breaker.pptx

Bonus Question
Where in the NT does it require us to keep the Sabbath?

Bonus response. What Pharisaical rule is it that the "NT" (Matthew - Revelation) must plainly spell it out, as if God had not already made it clear in the OT (Genesis to Malachi)?

Never-the-less, read Hebrews 3-4, Revelation 14:6-12. It's all there, and in several other places to be provided when needful.

Simply view playlist here -

 

[Salty]

600+ laws ---

Hebrews4:9
9 there doth remain, then, a sabbatic rest to the people of God,

What version did you quote?

Heb 4:9
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (KJV)


The NASB does use the word Sabbath - (g4520) but it is referring to a rest not necessary the 7th day of the week.

 

[Alofa Atu]

600+ laws ---


What version did you quote?

Heb 4:9
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (KJV)


The NASB does use the word Sabbath - (g4520) but it is referring to a rest not necessary the 7th day of the week.

Consider context:

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.​

Hebrews 3-4 (among many others; John 14:15; Exodus 20:6; Isaiah 56:1,8; John 10:16; Isaiah 56:2-7, Acts 4:24, 14:15; Revelation 10:6, 14:6-7, &c).

Hebrews 3-4 is clear.

Hebrews 4:3, "my (God's) rest" and "the works were finished from the foundation of the world", which is a direct reference to Genesis 2:1-3. It even uses the word "finished". God rested the 7th day in Genesis 2:1-3. It is His rest, the 7th day, the sabbath (rest) of the LORD thy God, Exodus 20:8-11.

Hebrews 4:4, "he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works", which "certain place" is Genesis 2:1-3; re-cited in Exodus 20:8-11. The 7th day the sabbath (rest) of the LORD thy God.

Hebrews 4:5, "my (God's) rest)", citing Psalms 95, which is citing Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 20:8-11, etc. Again, this is the 7th day the sabbath (rest) of God at Creation in Genesis 2:1-3.

Hebrews 4:6, "remaineth", from when? "from the foundation of the world" as per Hebrews 4:3 and thus it is not new, but has been around from the beginning.

Hebrews 4:9, "rest", sabbatismos, literally and truly sabbath keeping in scripture and in all known extant Greek sources, dictionaries, and so on and again "remaineth".

Hebrews 4:10, "his (God's) rest", which is the 7th day the sabbath (rest) of the LORD thy God from Genesis 2:1-3., "as God did from his (works)", which "works were finished from the foundation of the world" as per Hebrews 4:3.

Hebrews 4:11, "that rest" (ie God's rest), the 7th day the sabbath (rest) of the LORD thy God.

 

[Alex2165]

Salty wrote:

"Do you believe that we should also keep the other thunders of Old Test laws?."

Yes I do believe that we should keep other THUNDERS of the Old Testament, 10 Commandments for example, which relevant and today, because they contains basic essential moral standards necessary to become GOD'S people. Actually, and some other spiritual thunders of the OT also quite significant and necessary for spiritual growth and perfection in Christ.

The question for you Salty: "Who give 10 Commandments and other Ordinances of OT to Hebrews?"


Salty wrote:

"Bonus Question
Where in the NT does it require us to keep the Sabbath?"

No requirement in NT to keep the Sabbath. But according of how Jesus behave and observe the Sabbath Day, why when those who call themselves "Christians" which I assume means "the followers of Christ" do not observe the Sabbath Day as Jesus Christ did?

I suppose you read and this statement in my post:

Hebrews 4.4-5.9-10
4.He has thus said somewhere concerning the Seventh Day, "And GOD rested on the Seventh Day from all His works" (Genesis 2.2),

5.and again in this passage, "They shall not enter My rest." (Psalm 95.11)

9.There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of GOD.

10.The one who has entered His Rest, has himself also rested from his works, as GOD did from His.

This statement cannot be ignored, and if we assume that the Book to Hebrews was written by Paul who himself became a Christian and one of the Apostles of Christ, shall we take this powerful statement seriously and pay attention to that Paul meant by describing Sabbath in such great way?

In verse 9 Paul wrote, "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of GOD." What you think Salty, whom Paul actually meant by calling them "the people of GOD?"


PASSOVER.

The "communion" that almost every church celebrate, in reality called as Passover and was done on Friday night by Jesus. When Jesus celebrated His last Passover (communion, last supper) with His 12 disciples, it was Friday, and Jesus commanded, "Do this in remembrance of Me." Luke 22.19.

But His crucifixion was on the Sabbath Day, according to the Law of Passover (on 14th day of the first month), otherwise Jesus would not be able to fulfill the prophesy written about Him, because He is Passover Lamb, the Guilt Sacrifice for the sins of humanity according to the Law of Moses.

So subsequently remembrance (Passover, communion, last supper) of Jesus must be conducted on the Sabbath Day, on the Day Jesus was crucified.

So how you guys celebrate Passover on the Sunday, on completely wrong day?


And of course I also have a bonus question for you Salty: "WHERE IN NT DOES IT REQUIRE US TO KEEP THE SUNDAY?"



To Yeshua.

You wrote: " sabbath was never given to the gentile Church!."

Of course not Yeshua, and it should not be given to any church, gentile or not.

The Sabbath is given to all humanity to observe as universal Holy Day for all peoples of the world without any exceptions, just like 10 Commandments.

The Sabbath was consecrated, sanctified, and blessed before the human races even existed, except Adam who was created on the 6th day. This means that Sabbath became universal blessed and sanctified Day for all humanity to follow.

No Jews, no Law of Moses, existed on the 6th day of GOD'S creation, so for whom GOD sanctified, consecrated, and blessed the Sabbath Day, for Himself to observe, or may be only for His Son to observe?

 

[Salty]

Consider context: .

YEs, context should be considered - but you did not answer my question to Iconoclast

 

[Iconoclast]

600+ laws ---


What version did you quote?

Heb 4:9
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (KJV)


The NASB does use the word Sabbath - (g4520) but it is referring to a rest not necessary the 7th day of the week.

Hello Salty,

youngs literal translation.
I believe it in indicates a one day in 7 rest,the first day of the week.
the word sabattimos means the keeping of a sabbath.
not the ot. mosaic sabbath,but the nt.Lords day.

 

[Alofa Atu]

YEs, context should be considered - but you did not answer my question to Iconoclast

I had not thought it my prerogative to answer your question to Iconoclast, even though I have responded to some of your questions in general.

 

[Alofa Atu]

YEs, context should be considered ...

An entire contextual study is already prepared (by myself) here -

Hebrews 3-4 [KJB], the 7th Day the Sabbath of the LORD JEHOVAH - "my rest" "remaineth" to My people.

 

[timtofly]

The Sabbath was the first 1000 years on earth. The Lord's Day is the final 1000 years on earth. Both were set apart as being Holy unto God.

 

[Salty]

Hello Salty,

youngs literal translation.
I believe it in indicates a one day in 7 rest,the first day of the week.
the word sabattimos means the keeping of a sabbath.
not the ot. mosaic sabbath,but the nt.Lords day.

Thank you

Blue Bible

 

[Sai]

You’re breaking the Sabbath every Friday night.


Joy unspeakable full of glory

 

[Sai]

Salty wrote:

"Do you believe that we should also keep the other thunders of Old Test laws?."

Yes I do believe that we should keep other THUNDERS of the Old Testament, 10 Commandments for example, which relevant and today, because they contains basic essential moral standards necessary to become GOD'S people. Actually, and some other spiritual thunders of the OT also quite significant and necessary for spiritual growth and perfection in Christ.

The question for you Salty: "Who give 10 Commandments and other Ordinances of OT to Hebrews?"


Salty wrote:

"Bonus Question
Where in the NT does it require us to keep the Sabbath?"

No requirement in NT to keep the Sabbath. But according of how Jesus behave and observe the Sabbath Day, why when those who call themselves "Christians" which I assume means "the followers of Christ" do not observe the Sabbath Day as Jesus Christ did?

I suppose you read and this statement in my post:

Hebrews 4.4-5.9-10
4.He has thus said somewhere concerning the Seventh Day, "And GOD rested on the Seventh Day from all His works" (Genesis 2.2),

5.and again in this passage, "They shall not enter My rest." (Psalm 95.11)

9.There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of GOD.

10.The one who has entered His Rest, has himself also rested from his works, as GOD did from His.

This statement cannot be ignored, and if we assume that the Book to Hebrews was written by Paul who himself became a Christian and one of the Apostles of Christ, shall we take this powerful statement seriously and pay attention to that Paul meant by describing Sabbath in such great way?

In verse 9 Paul wrote, "There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of GOD." What you think Salty, whom Paul actually meant by calling them "the people of GOD?"


PASSOVER.

The "communion" that almost every church celebrate, in reality called as Passover and was done on Friday night by Jesus. When Jesus celebrated His last Passover (communion, last supper) with His 12 disciples, it was Friday, and Jesus commanded, "Do this in remembrance of Me." Luke 22.19.

But His crucifixion was on the Sabbath Day, according to the Law of Passover (on 14th day of the first month), otherwise Jesus would not be able to fulfill the prophesy written about Him, because He is Passover Lamb, the Guilt Sacrifice for the sins of humanity according to the Law of Moses.

So subsequently remembrance (Passover, communion, last supper) of Jesus must be conducted on the Sabbath Day, on the Day Jesus was crucified.

So how you guys celebrate Passover on the Sunday, on completely wrong day?


And of course I also have a bonus question for you Salty: "WHERE IN NT DOES IT REQUIRE US TO KEEP THE SUNDAY?"



To Yeshua.

You wrote: " sabbath was never given to the gentile Church!."

Of course not Yeshua, and it should not be given to any church, gentile or not.

The Sabbath is given to all humanity to observe as universal Holy Day for all peoples of the world without any exceptions, just like 10 Commandments.

The Sabbath was consecrated, sanctified, and blessed before the human races even existed, except Adam who was created on the 6th day. This means that Sabbath became universal blessed and sanctified Day for all humanity to follow.

No Jews, no Law of Moses, existed on the 6th day of GOD'S creation, so for whom GOD sanctified, consecrated, and blessed the Sabbath Day, for Himself to observe, or may be only for His Son to observe?

Especially the 10 Commandments should not be mandatory today with the rest of the 603. That’s obviously what Hebrews teaches.


Joy unspeakable full of glory

 

[Iconoclast]

Thank you

Blue Bible

The Sabbath Articles | Resources from Ligonier Ministries
See the article by Sinclair Ferguson....

 

[Iconoclast]

Sabbath Rest
by Sinclair Ferguson

The anonymous author of Hebrews found different ways of describing the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of them, which forms the underlying motif of chapters 3 and 4, is that Jesus Christ gives the rest that neither Moses nor Joshua could provide. Under Moses, the people of God were disobedient and failed to enter into God’s rest (3:18). Psalm 95:11 (quoted in Hebrews 4:3) implies that Joshua could not have given the people “real rest” since “through David” God speaks about the rest he will give on another day (Heb. 4:7). This in turn implies that “There remains a sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9).

In speaking of this rest (3:18; 4:1, 3-6, 8) the author consistently used the same word for “rest” (katapausis). Suddenly, in speaking about the “rest” that remains for the people of God, he uses a different word (sabbatismos, used only here in the NT) meaning specifically a Sabbath rest. In the context of his teaching, this refers fundamentally to the “Sabbath rest” which is found in Christ (“Come … I will give you rest,” Matt. 11:28-30). Thus we are to “strive to enter that rest” (4:11).

Since Augustine, Christians have recognized that the Bible describes human experience in a fourfold scheme: in(i) creation, (ii) fall, (iii) redemption and (iv) glory. We are familiar with echoes of this in the Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 9) and in Thomas Boston’s great book Human Nature in its Fourfold State. It is no surprise then that the Sabbath, which was made for man, is experienced by him in four ways.

In creation, man was made as God’s image—intended “naturally” as God’s child to reflect his Father. Since his Father worked creatively for six days and rested on the seventh, Adam, like a son, was to copy Him. Together, on the seventh day, they were to walk in the garden. That day was a time to listen to all the Father had to show and tell about the wonders of His creating work.

Thus the Sabbath Day was meant to be “Father’s Day” every week. It was “made” for Adam. It also had a hint of the future in it. The Father had finished His work, but Adam had not.

But Adam fell. He ruined everything, including the Sabbath. Instead of walking with God, he hid from God (Gen. 3:8). It was the Sabbath, Father’s Day, but God had to look for him!

This new context helps us to understand the significance of the fourth commandment. It was given to fallen man—that is why it contains a “you shall not.” He was not to work, but to rest. Externally, that meant ceasing from his ordinary tasks in order to meet with God. Internally, it involved ceasing from all self-sufficiency in order to rest in God’s grace.

Considering this, what difference did the coming of Jesus make to the Sabbath day? In Christ crucified and risen, we find eternal rest (Matt. 11:28-30), and we are restored to communion with God (Matt. 11:25-30). The lost treasures of the Sabbath are restored. We rest in Christ from our labor of self-sufficiency, and we have access to the Father (Eph. 2:18). As we meet with Him, He shows us Himself, His ways, His world, His purposes, His glory. And whatever was temporary about the Mosaic Sabbath must be left behind as the reality of the intimate communion of the Adamic Sabbath is again experienced in our worship of the risen Savior on the first day of the week&mdash the Lord’s Day.

But we have not yet reached the goal. We still struggle to rest from our labors; we still must “strive to enter that rest” (Heb. 4:11). Consequently the weekly nature of the Sabbath continues as a reminder that we are not yet home with the Father. And since this rest is ours only through union with Christ in His death and resurrection, our struggles to refuse the old life and enjoy the new continue.

But one may ask: “How does this impact my Sundays as a Christian?” This view of the Sabbath should help us regulate our weeks. Sunday is “Father’s Day,” and we have an appointment to meet Him. The child who asks “How short can the meeting be?” has a dysfunctional relationship problem—not an intellectual, theological problem—something is amiss in his fellowship with God.

This view of the Sabbath helps us deal with the question “Is it ok to do … on Sunday?—because I don’t have any time to do it in the rest of the week?” If this is our question, the problem is not how we use Sunday, it is how we are misusing the rest of the week.

This view of the Lord’s Day helps us see the day as a foretaste of heaven. And it teaches us that if the worship, fellowship, ministry, and outreach of our churches do not give expression to that then something is seriously amiss.

Hebrews teaches us that eternal glory is a Sabbath rest. Every day, all day, will be “Father’s Day!” Thus if here and now we learn the pleasures of a God-given weekly rhythm, it will no longer seem strange to us that the eternal glory can be described as a prolonged Sabbath!

 

[Iconoclast]

The Fourth Commandment reveals the absolute sovereignty of God over man with regard to the use of his time—labor, rest, worship and recreation. The Sabbath, reflecting the rest of God upon finishing the work of creation, comes to man as a Divine blessing and gift, not a restriction or burden (Isa. 58:13–14). The division of this Commandment is four–fold:

first, the strongest admonition both to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy [set apart].

Second, the recognition of work,

Third, rest from work.

Fourth, the reason for the Sabbath. It reflects the Divine rest after the work of creation—a rest of pleasure and satisfaction.

The First Commandment reveals the absolute sovereignty of God over our worship; the Second, the spirituality of our worship; the Third, our inward– attitude in worship. The Fourth Commandment reveals the absolute sovereignty of God over our time—work and rest, worship and vocation, labor and recreation.
One must work before he can rest. Six days are the God–given time– frame for work. Note that six days of work are not necessarily commanded, but rather that all man’s work is to be done within six days that he might rest on the seventh: The opening words “Six days shalt thou labour…” must not be arbitrarily separated from the remainder of the statement, “…and do all thy work,” implying a six–day time–frame for work that the Sabbath might remain separate as a day of rest.

The weekly Sabbath was not the only “Sabbath” that God commanded Israel to observe. There were weekly (Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15), monthly (Numb. 28:11–15; Rom. 14:5–6) and yearly Sabbaths (Ex. 12:1–20, 43–50; Lev. 23:15–44; Numb. 28:16–25; 29:1–40), one observed every seven years (Ex. 23:10–11; Lev. 25:1–7, 18–22; 2 Chron. 36:20–21) and one observed every fifty years (Lev. 25:8–18). Some were purely rest–days, some were feast–days and some were days of corporate worship.


To correctly understand the full significance of the weekly Sabbath, one must understand the whole Sabbath–principle commanded by God. The following is a short study on the various “Sabbaths”: The Sabbath–principle of Israel was a principle of rest for man, animals and the land, instituted by God. It looked back to creation and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, looked to God in covenant–relationship and looked ahead prophetically to the redemption of the whole creation. This principle was also a principle of celebration. Both typically anticipated the redemption– rest in the Lord Jesus Christ and in future glory (Deut. 5:12–15; Rom. 8:18– 23; Heb. 4:1–11; 2 Pet. 3:7–18).


To be biblical and consistent, one must make a distinction between the provisional [ceremonial, civil] and the perpetual: The Sabbath [rest and
101
worship]–principle is perpetual, as reflected in both God’s creation–rest (Gen. 2:2–3; Ex. 20:11) and the need for man to rest, i.e., “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk. 2:27).

The Sabbath–principle points ahead to the redemptive rest in the Lord Jesus Christ (Deut. 5:12–15; Heb. 4:1–11. Note that Heb. 4:9 literally reads “a Sabbath rest” in the Gk.), and so has a typical significance which will find complete fulfillment in the final redemption of man and the earth, when the Sabbath rest of God and man shall find its ultimate realization (Rom. 8:18–23; 2 Pet. 3:13). What, then, in essence, is the perpetual and ultimate significance of the Sabbath? The Sabbath is described as “the Sabbath of the Lord God,” i.e., his Sabbath and is traced back to his primeval rest of celebration, accomplishment, satisfaction [“all was very good”] and anticipation (Gen. 2:1–3). The national or covenant significance to Israel was both temporary and typological (Ex. 16:25–30; 23:10–12; 31:13–17; Deut. 5:12–15), awaiting its true and full significance among believers within the New or Gospel Covenant (Heb. 4:1–11). Believers are now brought into union with Christ and so rejoice in his finished redemptive work and spiritually “rest” by faith in him. We celebrate our glorious salvation. Note the anticipation of that “[Sabbath–]rest which remaineth for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). We await our future glorification (Rom. 8:14–23) and the restoration of all creation which, again, will render everything pristine and “very good” in the creation of “new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:7–13). With creation ultimately and infallibly restored, and the elect of God finally and fully redeemed, the full and final rest of God will be accomplished. The Sabbath then, ought to be a celebration of our redemption, a delight, a rest, both physical and spiritual and an anticipation of that glory which is to come. Such thoughts ought to sanctify and make the Lord’s Day a delight.

While it is true that in neither the Old or New Testaments did God explicitly change the weekly Sabbath from the seventh to the first day, since the resurrection of our Lord, Christians have met on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; Acts 2:1ff; 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10). It was our Lord’s resurrection–day, the Day of Pentecost, which marked out the New Testament church as God’s ordained institution for this Gospel economy by the empowering of the Spirit; and anticipates the full and final restoration of all things, of which his resurrection was but the first declaration. The first day (traditionally “Sunday”) thus distinguishes Christian worship from Jewish worship. This was the inspired apostolic practice throughout the New Testament. Thus, observing the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day is not merely traditional; it is implicitly and explicitly biblical (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2).
From Baptist Catechism with commentary, by W.R. Downing, used by permission

 

[Alofa Atu]

The anonymous author of Hebrews

Paul.