The COMMANDMENTS (6)
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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.”—Exodus 20:8-11
On the seventh day of the creation week “God rested from all His work,” and set that day apart as a memorial of His mighty enterprise. He “blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,” or set it apart as special. (Cf. Gen. 2:1-3) When Adam sinned, God’s sabbath rest was broken, and there is no mention of the sabbath again until the issuance of this commandment for the children of Israel. A study of scripture reveals that the sabbath actually commemorates two things: God’s role as creator (Ex. 20:11) and His role as redeemer, so noted in the reiteration of the commandments in Deut. 5:6ff, where we read in verse 15, “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
The objective of the Sabbath, as far as man is concerned, is suggested in Lev. 23:3, “…the seventh day is the sabbath of rest…” The Lord Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for man [Mk. 2:27],” and certainly one of God’s gracious objectives in ordering it was for our physical refreshment and renewal. A second, and obvious purpose was to maintain the awareness of His people of His Lordship and continuing involvement in their lives, both as creator, redeemer and Lord. In this connection it was established as a periodic day of worship; “keep it holy.” Disregard for the sabbath principle is a disregard for God, and for the believer’s covenant relationship with Him (see Ex. 31:16-17).
Responsibility for maintaining the sabbath was assigned to men, heads of households, who were to exercise government over family, servants, enterprise and visitors. God has always laid responsibility for spiritual order upon men (i.e. the male) and will hold them accountable.
Probably of all the commandments this one is the most lightly regarded in Christendom today, but it behooves us to note the severity with which God imposed it. “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death [Ex. 31:14-15 (See also Ex. 35:1-3)].” Scripture gives us an illustration of the exaction of the death penalty for violation of the sabbath; see Numbers 15:32-36.
With this background it is, perhaps, not surprising that in the gospels we see a running battle between the religious fundamentalists of the day and the Son of God, who seemed to exhibit a more relaxed attitude toward the Sabbath. For example we have in Mark 2, early in His ministry, the Pharisees indicting His disciples for snacking on grain as they walked through the fields on the sabbath day. It was then that Jesus declared that they misunderstood the purpose of the sabbath, which was to be a blessing, not a burden; and, that they failed to recognize His Person as “Lord of the sabbath.” (See Mk 2:23-28)
When we come to the New Testament era, the sabbath is no longer emphasized. Two considerations have been noted: First, that on the sabbath day the Son of God was in the grave. Second, that on “the first day of the week” He rose from the dead. There was a mighty transition from the Old Testament dispensation of the Law to the dispensation of Grace. The early church began to gather for fellowship and worship of the risen Christ on the first day of the week. Those who trust Christ as Savior move from periodic rest to a permanent sabbath-rest in Him. When that transition is made by an intelligent faith, He becomes our rest, and every day is (should be) devoted to the Lord. “For he that is entered into His [sabbath] rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his [Heb. 4:10].” That is the great redemptive sabbath that the day anticipated, and we are “no longer under the Law.”
However, in my judgment the value of the one-in-seven principle remains to be recognized as we move from here to eternity. It should serve the believer as a reminder of our dependence upon God for our existence and for our destiny. It should provide special time for fellowship and worship. And, it will prove beneficial in the practical matter of rest and recuperation from the busy-ness of this mad, rushing world. It is both spiritually and physically therapeutic.
Time is a gift from God. We have it only as He extends it to us. It is well that we set a day apart for Him in recognition that, after all, we owe Him everything. The “first day of the week” is a good time to keep sacred as a reminder that without His grace we would be law breakers in the first degree and candidates for eternal destruction.
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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