Exodus 31:12–18 (ESV) —
12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ”
18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
NOTE: I don't want to start any arguments. The idea of the Sabbath is a great idea, that is, taking a rest one day a week. In the New Covenant, Sunday is not the Sabbath, and Sunday does not replace the Sabbath. Jesus' comments were very clear that the Sabbath was for man, not for itself. Verse 17 makes the injunction even more clear when it says that the Sabbath was a sign between God and the people of Israel.
As Christians, we do celebrate the resurrection of Jesus every week on the first day of the week. We come together not because of a law, there is no law, but because we want to encourage one another.
Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV) — 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Too many Christians want to turn the New Covenant into the Old Covenant version 2.0 -- that is clearly not what God intended.
Colossians 2:13–14 (ESV) — 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Our sins are cancelled. The legal demands of the law have been set aside. They are nailed to the cross. They do not govern our lives. We are under a different law, the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 (ESV) — Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
We can't be under the OT law if we believe that Jesus is our new high priest. Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah. By OT law, he cannot be our high priest because that would be a violation of the law.
Hebrews 7:11–16 (ESV) — 11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. 13 For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. 14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
15 This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life.
A further reading of Hebrews 8-10 makes the need for our new covenant even clearer.
So what does all this mean in regard to the Sabbath? The idea of a Sabbath day of rest is a good thing. It was established on Saturday, the last day of the week to give people a rest. But it became its own thing, i.e., a rule because religious people made it into something different. Our Sunday is not the Sabbath, but it can also be a good day for rest if a person chooses. Our Sunday is a day when we gather for corporate worship and the encouraging of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
PONDER:
- What am I doing to encourage others in their walk with God? What questions do I ask? What do I share?
- Does talking about sports, the weather, and work encourage others in their walk with God?
- Do I ever share what God has been teaching me in his word with other people? (That is true Christian fellowship)
PRAYER: Father, if I am wrong in my understanding of these things, please show me. Give me a tender heart that hears what others have to say and takes it to prayer and your word for review. The Bereans examined teaching faithfully against your word. I want to follow their example.
