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GOD’S
HOLY DAY
BY
M. L. ANDREASEN THE FIRST sunset Adam ever saw was a Sabbath sunset. Thousands of years have passed since then, and tens of thousands of sunsets have testified to the fact that our God is a lover of glory and beauty. Men have again and again witnessed the miracle of night turning into day, and day into night, and have marveled at the exquisite beauty of the scene. They have, in the sunset, seen the wonder, the terror, the majesty, of Sinai; they have seen a replica of Golgotha as heavy clouds gathered about one space of clear, settled glory; they have seen the heavens bathed in the seraphic, wondrous beauty of Paradise as the color harmonies slowly changed from glory into glory, recording in the heavens a picture of unsurpassed loveliness and harmony, and in the soul a token of that peace which passes understanding. Yet with all this it is doubtful that there has ever been a sunset comparable to that first sunset, when God and man together witnessed the ushering in of the first Sabbath on earth. God could have done many things differently, had His purpose in creation been merely utilitarian. When men want light or darkness they turn a switch on or off, and the desired effect is immediately accomplished. God could have done the same. But He chose another way, the slower way, the way of beauty and wonder. Slowly He caused the light to fade, and the heavenly Artist shows what can be done with the dust of the earth, the mists of heaven, and the light from His appointed luminaries, as He mixes these ingredients in His laboratory and displays the result to man in the sunset. The God who causes a million flowers to bloom unseen, who places the pearl in the ocean and the amethyst among the rocks, must be a lover of beauty. Whatever God does he accomplishes in the most exquisite and beautiful way. No wonder that man is asked to worship him not only in holiness but “in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms 29:2). Men have sinned and defaced the image of God. The earth itself is gradually being transformed, by the wickedness of men, from its original beauty into a shambles of horror and ugliness. But still “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun” (Psalms 19:1-4). Desolation may reign in the earth, death may stalk the highways, but God still speaks in and through nature, the heavens still declare the glory of God, and the sunsets still call men to worship the God of beauty, of peace, of love.
“The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27).
It was made differently, however, from the way in which other
things were made. Of the
rest of creation it is stated, “He spake, and it was done; he
commanded, and it stood fast.” By
divine fiat the world and the things that are therein were called into
existence. But no so with
the Sabbath. God did not
say, “Let there be a Sabbath,” and there was a Sabbath.
The Sabbath was not made in a minute, or by divine fiat only.
Three distinct acts of God are recorded as being requisite to the
making of the Sabbath. THE
FIRST STEP “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. 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” (Genesis 2:2,3). First, God rested. this rest was a matter of example, for, as already noted, God was not weary. Yet resting was a necessary part in the making of the Sabbath. As God’s rest was an example for man to follow; it was necessary that He rest as long as He expected man to rest; that is, not merely part of the day, but the whole day. Hence the statement is made that God rested not merely on or in the seventh day, but that He “rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11). If God rested the seventh day, how are we to understand the statement that “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made” (Genesis 2:2, 3)? Should not the record read that God ended His work on the sixth day rather than on the seventh? We think not. The statement that the heavens and the earth were finished in six days is true; and so is the statement that God ended His work on the seventh day. The heavens and the earth were indeed finished, but God’s work was not ended. He had yet to make the Sabbath, and this he could only do on the Sabbath. And so God made the Sabbath on the Sabbath, and He made it by resting. That ended His work. The Sabbath was the finishing touch. Only when He had made the Sabbath was His work done. It is eminently fitting that God should end His work on the seventh day, thus making the Sabbath a definite part of creative, a part which cannot be detached or separated from the rest. Had God ended His work on the sixth day, some might think that the Sabbath was not part of God’s original plan, and that hence it might safely be ignored. Whoever believes in a finished creation must of necessity believe in the Sabbath; and conversely, whoever does not believe in the Sabbath does not believe in a finished creation of God. To this the writer of Hebrews has reference when he speaks of the seventh day, and notes that “the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3). God completed His work of creation on the seventh day by making the Sabbath on that day. The record reads, “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (Genesis 2:3).
God did not bless the Sabbath in general, nor did He bless
a Sabbath, or even the
Sabbath, but the Sabbath day, and this Sabbath day is the seventh
day. Doubtless these
statements are so very precise and definite for a reason.
God wanted no misunderstanding or dispute in regard to what He
said or meant. He has done
all that could be done to make the matter clear.
He could not have been more specific. THE
SECOND STEP We can understand how God can bless human beings. We can even understand how He can bless animals and give them their work to do in carrying out God’s purpose; but how can God bless a day, a division of time, neither animate nor inanimate, not alive or dead, a thing without substance, a conception rather than a reality; time, which defies definition, though all mankind is aware of its existence and reality? How can time be blessed so as to be a blessing to man? Though time and space are beyond human comprehension, each is helpful in understanding the other. Our conception of space helps us to understand time better, and how it is possible for God to bless time. We go to church to worship God, and enter the edifice dedicated to Him. The church building is merely four walls enclosing a part of space. The space within the walls does not appear different from the space outside. And yet there is a difference. Something has happened to it. It is holy space, space dedicated to the service of God. He is present in the building in a sense in which He is not present outside. God has divided space from space — one is holy; the other is not.
As God can set aside a part of space where He chooses to reveal
Himself in a special manner, so God can set aside time.
Out of the vast ocean of time, as out of space, He chooses a
portion, blesses it, and turns it over as blessed time for man to use as
He directs. It appears to
be the same kind of time as other time, but it is not.
It is blessed time, and is not to be used for common purposes
though these in themselves may be worthy.
As we would not use a dedicated cathedral for common business
purposes, so we are not to use God’s holy time for common pursuits,
however legitimate they might be in themselves.
When God’s true worshipers meet together on the Sabbath, they
are thrice blessed: they worship a holy God at a holy time in a holy
place. THE
THIRD STEP “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” The sanctification of the seventh day is the third step in the making of the Sabbath. Genesis 2:3 states that God “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” We notice that the reason given for God’s blessing and sanctifying the seventh day is “because that in it He had rested.” Man is not here mentioned. Man had not worked; he had been brought into existence on the sixth day, and had no opportunity to work. But God had worked. He had worked six days, and had rested the seventh. Having finished both His labor and His rest, He blessed and sanctified the Sabbath. There can be no purpose in God’s blessing a day for His own use. His blessing and sanctification must of necessity be for someone else’s sake. God is holy; He is always holy; He is no more holy at one time than at another. His holiness does not admit of degrees. But this is not so with men and places. They are holy in proportion to their nearness to God. To sanctify, according to Webster, means “to make sacred or holy; to set apart to a sacred office or to religious use; . . .to hallow.” As it is impossible to impart moral qualities to insensate things, sanctification, as applied to the seventh day, must mean the same as sanctification in the case of the tabernacle and its furniture: set apart, dedicated to a holy use. As a religious edifice is dedicated and set apart for religious purposes, so the Sabbath was dedicated, sanctified, and set apart. The sanctification, of course, had reference to the future, and not to the past. The dedication of a church edifice takes place at a definite time, but its effect is pointed toward the future. The ordination of a minister to the sacred work of God is a definite act looking to his future usefulness in God’s cause, and so the sanctification of the Sabbath was a forward-looking act, having the good of mankind in view. I emphasize this matter, which indeed is self-evident, for the reason that there are those who insist that the blessing and sanctification of the seventh day had reference to the original Sabbath, and to that Sabbath only, and not to succeeding ones. Such a statement seems altogether unwarranted, and even absurd. As well claim that the dedication of a church, the sanctification of holy utensils, the setting apart of a man to the holy work of the ministry, are acts that refer to that particular moment only, and immediately thereafter become of none effect. THE
SABBATH MADE FOR MAN “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). It was not made for God or for the angels, good or bad; it was not made for any particular class or race of men, not made for Jew or Gentile; it was made for man, mankind, the whole human race. Adam and Eve constituted the whole of mankind in the beginning; hence the Sabbath was made for them, for their children, and for their children’s children. Only in this way could the Sabbath be said to be made for man. If only the original creation Sabbath was blessed and sanctified, there would be little point to the statement that the Sabbath was made for man; not could it in any way be a blessing to man. It would merely be a historical fact, a constantly receding point in time, ever growing smaller. One time Christ and the disciples were walking through the fields on the Sabbath day. The disciples were hungry and plucked some of the corn, an act which was considered lawful on other days, but which the Pharisees did not permit on the Sabbath. Always on the alert to find some cause for complaint against Christ, the Pharisees immediately went to Him, saying, “Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?” (Mark 2:24). Christ was not slow in defending what they had done. He told the Pharisees that the Sabbath was intended to be a blessing to mankind, not a burden or a yoke. It was lawful to do well on the Sabbath; it was lawful to minister to the needs of mankind; and, citing David, He tells them that it was lawful to do what the disciples had done. Then He announces the true principle of Sabbathkeeping: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). To this He adds the significant words, “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (verse 28). Christ had a particular reason for declaring Himself Lord of the Sabbath. He considered the Sabbath a vital factor in religion, directed its proper observance, and proclaimed Himself Lord of it. To Him it was more than a historical fact. He considered it a living reality, an institution to be defended from Pharisaical intrusion, an institution of which He was Lord. The Hebrew word for sanctify is generally so translated throughout the Old Testament. There are a few exceptions, however. Two of these we notice as we close this study. When the cities of refuge were selected as places to which a manslayer might flee to escape the wrath of the avenger of blood, “they appointed Kedesh in Galilee” (Joshua 20:7). The word here translated “appointed” is the same word that is elsewhere used for sanctify, as the marginal reading confirms. The other translation of the word is found in 2 Kings 10:20, where “proclaim” is found. “Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.”
From these Biblical uses of the word we are warranted in
affirming that when God sanctified the seventh day He set it apart for a
holy use, He appointed it as the Sabbath.
He proclaimed it a holy day.
As Lord of the Sabbath, Christ announced that He made it for man,
to be a blessing and a help to him, to serve as a reminder of creation
and His love to man. It is
His special gift to mankind, who need it even more than did the holy
pair in the Garden. WHEN GOD had delivered His people from Egyptian bondage and brought them into the wilderness, He made known to them the conditions upon which they might expect His continued blessing and protection. Said God: “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26). This promise was given to them on the condition that they “give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes.” The bread which the people had brought with them from Egypt did not last many days, and they soon became hungry and began to murmur. “Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” (Exodus 16:3). The Lord quickly answered them, “I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” (verse 4). Moses now called the people together and instructed them. “This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. (verse 23). They were each day to gather manna for one day, but on the sixth day they were to gather a double portion, for Moses had announced to them that no manna would fall on the Sabbath. Friday they were to do all their cooking, and on the Sabbath they were to eat that which they had prepared. On the Sabbath, Moses said to them, “Eat that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord: today ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.”
Despite all that God had said, “there went out some of the
people on the seventh day for to gather” (verse 27).
They had had definite instruction.
There could be no misunderstanding.
They knew just what they should do and what was expected of them;
yet some “went out . . . on the seventh day for to gather.” “And
the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep My commandments and
My laws? See, for that the
Lord 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. So the people rested on the seventh day” (verses 28-30). THE
SABBATH NOT A NEW INSTITUTION The Sabbath is not here presented as a new institution that is now being introduced for the first time. Rather, it was well known. Nor was the law new to them. God speaks familiarly to them of the law, and promises them freedom from sickness if they will “give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes” (Exodus 15:26). This phraseology is practically the same as that used of Abraham many years previously, “Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis 26:5). From this we know that God’s commandments, statutes, and laws were known to Abraham, that he kept them, and that he taught his children to keep them (Genesis 18:19). Isaac and Jacob were his son and his grandson, being respectively seventy-five and fifteen years old at the death of Abraham. It was Jacob who later went to Egypt. We are therefore assured that the children of Israel in Egypt knew of God’s law and His statutes, and that when God spoke to them of keeping His commandments, they knew exactly what He meant. Those who hold that the law of God and the Sabbath were not known before Moses and Sinai are not well informed. Abraham knew of God’s commandments, statutes, and laws, and he taught his children after him. God Himself observed the seventh-day Sabbath in the Garden of Eden; therefore, Adam and Eve were acquainted with the Sabbath. And now God decided to prove whether Israel would keep His law, or no. Israel was in the wilderness, where there was no opportunity to till the land or have large flocks of cattle as they had had in Egypt. Unless food was provided for them in some supernatural way, they would starve. God therefore proposed to feed them with bread from heaven, and to give them an object lesson in Sabbathkeeping. God caused the manna to fall six days of each week. God could have let manna rain down from heaven every other day, had He so desired, or every third day, or one day a week only, or seven days a week. But God chose to let the manna fall six days, and to let none fall on the seventh day. To make up for this loss, He let twice as much fall on the sixth day as fell on the other days, so that there would be sufficient for all needs on the seventh day. This would be an effective way to teach Israel two important things: to work six days and to rest on the seventh. But God did more than this. He so arranged matters that the manna would keep sweet only one day, and after that it would spoil. This made it doubly necessary for the people to gather every day; that is, to work six days. God could just as well have arranged it so that the manna would keep two days, or seven, or any other number of days. When He made it keep only one day He did it for a purpose, as already noted. But what about the Sabbath, when no manna fell? That in itself would make the Sabbath stand out above the other days. Could He do anything else to impress upon the minds of the people the sacredness of the Sabbath? Yes, if God should miraculously preserve the manna from spoiling on the Sabbath, that would be an added lesson in Sabbathkeeping. And so God decided that during the week He would keep the manna sweet only twenty-four hours, but that in honor of the Sabbath He would keep Friday’s manna sweet on the Sabbath also. The first was a lesson in working six days; the second, a lesson in keeping holy the Sabbath.
The falling of the manna was thus a national lesson in
Sabbathkeeping as related to the seventh day.
Had this lesson been given once, it would then have been of
tremendous significance in regard to God’s estimate of the Sabbath.
Had it been repeated twice, there could have been no doubt
regarding God’s intent. Had
it been repeated week after week for a year, all would know that God
wanted to impress the lesson of the Sabbath upon Israel so deeply and
thoroughly that they would never forget it.
What shall we say, then, when this lesson was repeated not once
or twice or ten times, but more than two thousand times; that is
fifty-two times a year for forty years! If Israel had not learned the lesson by that time, there
could be no reason for continuing the lesson. THE
SABBATH AT SINAI In the third month after Israel departed out of Egypt, they came into the Wilderness of Sinai. Never had a people seen the power of God manifested in such a striking way as had Israel during those two months. Now they were to witness the climax. They were to hear God Himself speak from heaven.
At the time God had appointed to meet with Israel all the people
were gathered around the mount, which was fenced off, so that neither
man nor animal might unwittingly trespass on holy ground.
“And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD
descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke
of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of
the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and
God answered him by a voice. Exodus 19:18, 19.
God then came down upon Mount Sinai and spoke to them the Ten
Commandments, as recorded in Exodus. THE
LAW OF GOD “God spake all these words saying, “And God spake all these words, saying, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” 1. “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” 2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” 3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” 4. “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.” 5. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” 6. “Thou shalt not kill.” 7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” 8. “Thou shalt not steal.” 9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”
10. “Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's
wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass,
nor any thing that is thy neighbour's” .Exodus 20:1-17. THE
SABBATH COMMANDMENT In the law proclaimed on Sinai the Sabbath commandment looms large. Before this, God had given Israel a visual demonstration of His high regard for the Sabbath. In fact, the very week the commandment was announced from Mount Sinai, the manna fell copiously on the sixth day, and on the Sabbath none fell, a reminder of God’s desire in regard to the day of rest. Of all the commandments, this was the one that was emphasized, for the Sabbath was the day in which Israel would have time to instruct their children in the ways of God. The keeping of this commandment would affect the keeping of all others. It was the one and only commandment that provided time for the contemplation of God and His works. Is the ten-commandment law meant to apply to the whole world, or is it applicable to Israel only, and of no concern to Christians? This is an important question. There is little dispute about the nine other commandments; the question really concerns the fourth only. Are Christians to keep the fourth commandment? Is this a moral commandment? This question will be discussed more fully as we consider the New Testament aspects of the Sabbath, but it may be well at this time to make some general observations on the law, often called the moral law. The Ten Commandments have all the earmarks of a universal law. In fact, I doubt that the question of universality of the law would ever be raised were it not for the fourth commandment. All agree that the commandments that deal with stealing, swearing, killing, coveting, and worshipping God are moral commandments, applicable to all classes and nations of men. Their universal application is admitted, and I feel under no obligation to convince a man who thinks otherwise. I consider that point settled. This brings us back to the question of the Sabbath commandment. Does this commandment belong to the moral law; and is it binding on all men? The preponderance of evidence is in favor of the Sabbath commandment’s being of the same nature as the other commandments. The Sabbath commandment is a moral commandment on a level with the others; in fact, it underlies them all. The first three commandments deal with God and His worship. We are to have no other gods before Him. We are not to make any image or any likeness of anything in heaven and earth, and worship it. We are to be reverent and respectful, and not take the name of the Lord in vain. Then comes the Sabbath commandment, which defines the time when we are to worship God and attend to the things of the spirit. Had this commandment been left out, there would have been no stated time commanded in which to worship. In that case men would of necessity have had to supply the omission. If God is to be worshipped by His people, if there is to be any united adoration of the most high God, if there is to be any order and system in religion, time must definitely be planned for and given to it. This makes the Sabbath a necessity. Its omission from the Decalogue would be fatal to religion. Let us repeat, If God had not appointed a day, men would have had to do so. A day of worship belongs to religion. We have noted above and wish to emphasize it, that the Sabbath underlies all the commandments, providing as it does the time needed for the contemplation of man’s duty to his Maker and his fellow men. When we consider the plan of God with regard to the Sabbath, that it is this day upon which He depends for the instruction of His children in the ways of God; that this is the time which He Himself has set apart for this most important work; and that unless this time is jealously guarded, God would be deprived of the worship due Him — when we take all this into consideration, it is clear that not only does the Sabbath have a place in the moral law, not only is it a moral commandment in itself, but in a certain sense it is that which binds all the commandments together, that which binds earth and heaven together, provides unity among the people of God, and places the spiritual stamp upon all. Let no one despise or reject the Sabbath of God. Let no one neglect it.
THE
SABBATH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SOME OBJECT to the Sabbath as being a Jewish institution. They maintain that the Sabbath was given to the Jews, and that it is not for the Christians. Granted that it was given to the Jews on Mount Sinai. But so was the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” The one is as much Jewish as the other. In fact, all the commandments were given to the Jews. The Jews were told not to kill, commit adultery, swear falsely, or covet. All these commandments are Jewish, if the Sabbath is Jewish. Christ also was given to the Jews; He was born of a Jewish mother and was reared in a Jewish home. The prophets were all Jews, the apostles were all Jews, the gospel was first preached to the Jews, every one of the books of the New Testament was written by a Jew. Even when we get to heaven we shall see the names of the twelve disciples of Christ, Jews, on the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem; on the gates of the city will be the names of twelve other Jews, the twelve sons of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all Jews, will be prominent in the kingdom, and Christ will sit upon the throne of His father David, a Jew. Under these circumstances it is better for Christians not to speak sneeringly of the Sabbath of the Lord as being Jewish, as though that were a term of reproach. “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; (Romans 2:28, 29). “The Sabbath was made for man.” These words are ever appropriate when the universality of the Sabbath is under consideration. They should forever settle the question of the Sabbath’s being only a Jewish institution. Christ made the Sabbath. He says that He made it for man. He knows. Jews are men, and so the Sabbath was made for them. Christians are men; so the Sabbath was made for them. Whoever claims the title and right to the term man may know that God made the Sabbath for him. The Sabbath is no more Jewish than are the other commandments. EZEKIEL’S
STORY OF THE EXODUS Ezekiel lived at the time of the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. Some of the people of Israel had already been carried into captivity, and others would soon follow. This was because of their sins — the same sins of which they had been guilty in Egypt and in the wilderness. Certain elders came to Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. This was a common custom in Israel. When there were matters in which they needed special guidance and instruction from God, the elders would appear before the prophet, asking him whether he had any light from the Lord on the subject. In this particular case there was no hesitation in the answer. “As I live, saith the Lord, I will not be inquired of by you.” Ezekiel 20:3. The Lord now proceeds to tell them why He will not be inquired of by them. This leads Him to go into detail about the fathers, and why He did not help them. The inference was that He could not bless Israel now for the same reason that He could not prosper Israel then. God begins the story by telling of the time when Israel was in cruel bondage in Egypt and prayed for deliverance. As a condition for helping them, God, through Moses, called to them, “Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt:” Ezekiel 20:7. But Israel would not hear. They wanted to be delivered, but not at such a cost. They rebelled against God and did not cast away their idols. God therefore decided not only that He would not help them, but that He would punish them in the land of Egypt and leave them there. But God, in His mercy and for His name’s sake, took pity on them and brought them out of the land of Egypt, that His name “should not be polluted before the heathen” (verse 9). Through the interposition of God, Israel experienced wonderful deliverance at the Red Sea and came into the Wilderness of Sinai. It might be supposed that they would now be ready to cast away their idols and serve the Lord with all their heart. But they were still rebellious. God bore long with them and patiently instructed them. “I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt,” He says, “and brought them into the wilderness. And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them. Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them” (verses 10-12). The Sabbath in its essential nature is a sign of sanctification. A man may be disrespectful of his parents without being guilty of adultery. He may covet his neighbor’s goods and yet not make any graven image. He may have great temptation along one line and very little along another line. But not so with Sabbathbreaking. Violation of the Sabbath commandment is not so much sin, as such, as it is a symptom that reveals an attitude that touches all the commandments. Sabbathbreaking in its essential nature is a rejection of God, a species of rebellion. It is not like killing or stealing or committing adultery. It reveals an inner state of disobedience; and disobedience is basic in all sin. Contrariwise, obedience to the Sabbath command shows a willingness of spirit that reaches far beyond the specific commandment into the very heart of religion, which in its essence is obedience. The man, therefore, who keeps the Sabbath holy does more than keep one of the commandments of God. He arrays himself on the side of obedience and law, regardless of any ulterior motive, and thus measures up to God’s standard of what a man should be. Israel neither understood nor appreciated the gift which God gave them in the Sabbath. As they had rebelled against God in Egypt, so they rebelled against Him in the wilderness. They did not walk in His statutes, and they did not keep His law and His Sabbath. “They despised My judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted” (verse 13). REBELLION
OF ISRAEL Twice already Israel had rebelled against God: first in Egypt and then in the wilderness. God remonstrated with them, but they would not hear; nor would they cast away their idols. He therefore proposed to destroy Israel and pour out His “fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them,” But again God did not carry out His plan, lest His name “be polluted before the heathen, in whose sight I brought them out” (verse 14). So God spared them once more. However, Israel came so far short of God’s ideal and purpose, that He determined not to bring them “into the land which I had given them, . . . because they despised My judgments, and walked not in My statutes, but polluted My Sabbaths” (verses 15, 16). As a result of this decision, Israel was left to wander in the wilderness for forty years until the generation died which had come out of Egypt. Having thus dealt with the fathers whom He had brought out of Egypt, He now addressed the younger generation: “Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols: I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God. Ezekiel 20:18-20. But the children had learned nothing from the experience of their fathers. “They walked not in my statutes, neither kept my judgments to do them, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; they polluted my Sabbaths: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness.” Ezekiel 20:21.
God’s patience is now at an end, and He proclaims that He will
scatter Israel “among the heathen, and disperse them through the
countries; because they had not executed my judgments, but had despised
my statutes, and had polluted my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after
their fathers' idols.” (verses
23, 24). A
LESSON FOR ISRAEL IN CAPTIVITY As noted above, when the elders came to inquire of Ezekiel, many had already been carried captive to Babylon, and the rest would soon follow. They were eager to know God’s mind, and for this reason they had sent a deputation to the prophet to hear what God had to say. This gave the Lord an opportunity to rehearse to them the story of the deliverance of their fathers from Egyptian bondage, and their experiences in entering the Promised Land. Israel was now in a parallel situation. As their fathers were in slavery in Egypt, so Israel was now about to go into captivity in Babylon. As God formerly had delivered Israel out of Egypt, so Israel now asked to be delivered out of Babylon. The sins that afflicted Israel in Egypt were the same sins that afflicted Israel now, and the conditions of salvation and delivery were also the same. What God asked of Israel of old, He asked of the present Israel. The charges which God placed against Israel may be listed as follows: 1. They had failed to cast away the abomination of their eyes, and had defiled themselves with the idols of Egypt. This doubtless had reference to the filthy and obscene rites of the impure phallic worship which was at that time prominent in Egypt. 2. They had not walked in God’s statutes, but had despised His judgments. This is what is referred to as rebellion, a general state of disinclination to do the will of God as well as of active opposition. 3. They had greatly polluted God’s Sabbaths. This is emphasized four times, in Ezekiel 20:13, 16, 21, 24. In addition, the Sabbath is mentioned two times as a sign of sanctification and of the knowledge of God (verses 12, 20). After God has thus formed the elders of the transgressions of Israel of old, He now tells them that they are no better than their fathers, and that He will nor be inquired of by them, but will bring them into “the wilderness of the people,” and “purge out from among” them “the rebels,” and not permit them to enter the land of Israel (verses 35, 38). On the other hand, those who turn to the Lord, He will accept, “and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen” (verse 41). The failure of present Israel He lays directly on the leaders, the prophets and priests. “Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. [28] And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord GOD, when the LORD hath not spoken.” Ezekiel 22:26-28.
From Ezekiel we thus get a clear account of the reasons why
Israel of old did not please God, why they died in the wilderness, and
why the children also failed. they
had forsaken the Lord for Egyptian idols, had refused to walk in God’s
statutes, had despised His judgments, and above all had polluted the
Sabbath, which from the very beginning had been God’s sign of
sanctification. JEREMIAH’S
MESSAGE Israel had failed miserably in coming up to God’s expectation at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. They had now come to the time of another test in their imminent Babylonian bondage. Nebuchanezzar’s army had already carried many into captivity, and their beautiful city was soon to be laid to waste. Again and again God had, through the prophets, sent word to them that if they would turn to the Lord with their whole heart and repent of their evil, the Lord would be gracious to them. He had called their attention to the Sabbath and to the great and wonderful promises given them on condition of obedience. Hear these words from Jeremiah, one of the messages that came to them before they were finally carried away into captivity. “Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:21-27. SUBSEQUENT
HISTORY From the subsequent history of the Jews it appears that the Babylonian captivity and the remonstrances of the prophets at last made some impression on the people. They appear finally to have understood that their failure to keep the Sabbath had been the cause of their calamities from earliest times. They read the history of God’s proving Israel in the wilderness, of how He rained manna from heaven for forty years and taught them concerning the sabbath. They read Ezekiel’s account as he repeated to them the history of Israel’s later failure. they read of Jeremiah’s appeal to them to keep the Sabbath and the blessing that would come to them if they should do so. They learned from this that national greatness would never be theirs unless they kept the Sabbath; but that if they did, kings and princes should come to them, and Jerusalem should stand forever. They knew that God would do just as He said, for had they not been carried into captivity? Had not their city and their Temple been burned, and had not God released them from their captivity at the end of the seventy years, as he promised? From now on they would be faithful; they would do all that God required of them, and especially would they be careful of the Sabbath. And careful they were. The Babylonian captivity marks a definite change in Israel. Nevermore did they turn to idols; nevermore did they make of the Sabbath a common working day. If it was as important as they were told, they would hedge it about with all kinds of restrictions. If their national existence and the blessing of God depended upon their faithfulness in observing the Sabbath, they would certainly keep it. The mistake they made now was as fatal as the mistake they had formerly made. They began to consider the Sabbath a means of salvation, both personal and national, instead of a sign of sanctification. God wanted a holy people, and the Sabbath was to be the sign of this. Now they stressed the sign which could only be of little value without the accompanying reality of holiness. Christ did His best to restore to Israel the Sabbath as God originally had given it to them, to be a blessing rather than a burden. He did not need to stress strictness in the minutiae of Sabbathkeeping, for Israel had already gone too far in that direction. With their new viewpoint the people, and especially the Pharisees, believed Christ to be slack in the observance of the Sabbath. They did not understand that He was attempting to show them its real purpose; that doing good, healing the sick, and committing acts of mercy on the Sabbath were pleasing in the sight of God, rather than mere mechanical observance of the day. Thus did Israel in the time of Christ fail as completely as had ancient Israel in understanding the true meaning of the Sabbath. They failed in a different way, it is true, but they failed as definitely.
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