Linked with Sabbath Rest
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Since "the Fall" that divine rest which Christ offers to sinful humanity has been linked with the Sabbath rest.[1]
Exod 31 (v. 12) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, (v. 13) Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: "Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."
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So, the Sabbath is a sign, that we may know that God is the one who sanctifies us.
Because the Sabbath was made for man, it is the Lord’s day. It belongs to Christ....By Him it was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier....and that by His power we are reconciled to God.... Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ’s power to make us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel of God.[2]
Can we sanctify ourselves? If you are working for merit, then you are trying to sanctify yourself!
Unless you recognize the word of God day by day as a creative energy in your life, your Sabbath-keeping is a fraud; because the Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It is "a sign between me and you, that [ by which ] ye may know that I am the Lord your God," the Creator of all things.[3]
Now continue reading with the book of Exodus: Exod 31 (v. 16) Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
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The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant! What does perpetual mean?
Webster’s Dictionary defines:
Perpetual—continuing forever, valid for all time, everlasting
Let's continue reading in Exodus 31:
Exod 31 (v. 17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.
What was God resting from? Gen 2 (v. 1-2) ....A completed and finished work....
By the time we complete this lesson, we will see that God always, rests after finishing a completed work.
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What else did God do after He finished working?
Gen 2 (v. 3) Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it....
Webster’s Dictionary defines:
Sanctify—to set apart for a sacred purpose or for religious use
The Sabbath has continued in the weekly cycle from the dawn of creation until now. The Sabbath began in the Garden of Eden, and the Sabbath will be celebrated when this earth is renewed after Christ’s second coming. The Sabbath beautifully represents a forever relationship with God. We need that kind of forever in our lives. We need a place that reassures us that we are in an eternal relationship with the heavenly Father.[4]
What else can we discover about the Sabbath day?
The Sabbath was included in the 10 commandments as part of the covenant God made with Israel.[1]
For those who argue that the Law was done away with on the cross, should be advised that the Sabbath was around before the Law was given to God’s people by Moses.
Does that really mean, the Sabbath was around before the commandments were presented to the people?
Let's investigate this:
The first attempt to bring the 10 commandments to the people of God was in Exodus 20.
Exod 20 (v. 1-17) ....And God spoke the 10 commandments to Moses and the people.... (v. 18) Now all the people witnessed the thundering,...and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. (v. 19) Then they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
So in Exodus 24, we see Moses next attempt at communicating the Law to God's people.
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Exod 24 (v. 12) Then the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain....and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."
Then continuing with Exodus 32, as the story goes, the people rebelled against God.
Exod 32 (v. 7-9) ....the people made a golden calf and worshiped it....
(verses 19-20) ....Moses broke the tablets at the foot of the mountain....
Then finally in Exodus 34, Moses is able to present the 10 commandments to the people.
(verse 29) Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand.... (v. 32) Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandants all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.
Why was it necessary to give them the Ten Commandments on tables of stone? Why did God draw particular attention to the Seventh-day Sabbath just before Moses descended from the mountain? The people had forgotten the true essence of God and in so doing, they had lost vision of how blessed and special they were as God’s creation.[5]
So, in the story timeline, it was not until (Exod 34) that Moses actually presented the 10 commandments to the people.
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Now let's compare that verse with what happened in Exodus 16 with the Sabbath:
Exod 16 (v. 22) And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. (v. 23) ....Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.
(verse 26) Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh (7th) day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none.
The Sabbath was given to man, way before the Law was given to the people of God!!
God brought the Moral Law to man at a certain point in time. When Moses presented the 10 commandments in (Exod 34).
God brought the Sabbath to man at a certain point in time. When He completed a perfect creation in (Gen 2).[1]
Gen 2 (v. 2) And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh (7th) day from all His work which He had done.
The Sabbath was never intended to be confined to Israel; it was not a Jewish holy day....Far from it! God gave the Sabbath to men and women thousands of years before there was a Jew. God did not restrict such a blessing to one race only. He invited all people to remember and keep the Sabbath with Him....[6]
Look at what happened just before that, in: Gen 1 (v. 31) Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth (6th) day.
So near the end of the sixth day, who was created? (verse 27) So God created man in His own image....male and female He created them.
So, after Man and Woman were created on the 6th day, they were introduced to the Sabbath rest, on the 7th day.[1]
God works for six days and then rests on the 7th day, in celebration of a finished work.[1]
Man begins by resting on God’s Sabbath day and then works the other six days.[1]
The significance of the Sabbath rest was to celebrate what God has done for you!
References:
1. Savior of the world Bible Course, (2000), Lesson 15, “Entering God’s Rest.”
2. E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, p.288, par.2
3. Jones & Waggoner, (1995). Lessons on Faith, (from a sermon by A.T. Jones in 1899), p.57. Teach Services.
4. Mark Finley, (2002). Satisfied: How God can meet your deepest needs, p.75-76, Pacific Press.
5. Dan Jarrard, (2008). Why I am a Sabbath-keeping Christian, p.12
6. Mark Finley, (1995). Beyond Orion's Gates, p.147, Hart Research Center.
Image #1: Perpetual-Infinity, (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ratecity.com.au/pension-funds/perpetual-wealthfocus-superannuation-fund/perpetual-wealthfocus-wholesale-pension-plan
Image #2: 119 Ministries, (n.d.). If the Law of God is forever, when did “forever” become temporary? Retrieved from https://www.quotesmixer.com/quotes/old-indian-sabbath-quotes-480d7e.html
Image #3: Salvation: Sanctification, (2011). Set apart for God. Retrieved from http://www.velocity.net/~edju70/web/saved7.htm
Image #4: Look and Learn, (2011). Moses breaks the tablets. Retrieved from https://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/7302/moses-breaks-the-tablets/
Image #5: The Creator’s Calendar, (2012). Gather twice as much. Retrieved from http://www.thecreatorscalendar.com/Articles/Articles/Articles.html
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