What about the Sabbath?

The question of today’s blog involves a keeping of the Sabbath as a holy day. This is clearly one of the Ten Commandments, and thus, a part of the old law, given Moses on Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. But there are many who mistakenly point to the observance of the Sabbath as originating at creation when GOD rested on the seventh day and blessed it (Gen 2: 2-3). Let’s examine this more closely.

The actual term ‘Sabbath’ does not appear in the first 65 chapters of the bible, a period of about 2500 years. In Genesis 2, the term Sabbath is not used. However the Hebrew verb translated ‘rested’ in verse 2 is the origin of the noun Sabbath. It is important to note, however, that the Genesis account is telling what GOD did, not what man is to do. The creation account does not ordain Sabbath worship. A further study of subsequent scriptures will bear this out.

In Exodus 20, as a part of the ten commandments, the Jews were required to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. Though we usually associate the word ‘remember’ with past events, the word here applies to the future, not the past. That is, the official observance of the day as a holy day for man is beginning at this time and the Jews in the future were to remember this observance. A similar usage is found in Exodus 13:3.

Deuteronomy 5:14-15 is a passage detailing the law. Note particularly verse 15, where we read that a part of the observance of the Sabbath was to commemorate the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. We even find the word ‘therefore’ at the end of the verse. Refer also back to verse 3 and note that this covenant was not from the beginning.

The clearest scripture on the matter, however, is from Nehemiah 9:13-14. This scripture makes it very clear that the Sabbath was given at Sinai and not in Eden. In other words, it was not from the beginning. According to Deuteronomy 5:2-3 it was given only to the Jews.

We are no longer to observe the Sabbath as a holy day. We read in Colossians 2 that the old law was nailed to the cross and we are now a part of the body of Christ. The blotting out of ordinances in verse 14 leads to the ‘therefore’ statement in verse 16. Holy days (yearly), moons (monthly) and Sabbath days (weekly) are no longer observed under the new law of Christ. Under this new law, the new day for worship is Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20: 7, 1 Cor 16: 2).

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