Lord’s Day, Vol. 11 No. 19
Sabbath of Rest
The LORD sought from His people, Israel, a commitment to faithfulness. The law that Moses received from the LORD was rehearsed and written. It was communicated to the people of Israel.
Exodus 34:27 (KJV) And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
Exodus 34:32 (KJV) And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai.
It was a solemn moment, the open idolatry was put away. There is a re-consecration sought by the LORD with His people.
Romans 12:1-2 (KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
It was the will of God that Israel will become a nation of God’s creation and choice to be a witness to the nations of the world. Israel is to be consecrated for the sacred purpose by which the nation was created.
Exodus 19:5-6 (KJV) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Israel was reminded that they are to keep themselves pure, separated from the defilement of sin, and consecrated people unto the LORD (Exodus 34:11-17).
There shall be no unequal with the people of the land of Canaan in which God promised they will possess for they will turn their hearts away from the LORD to serve idols.
Israel was commanded three yearly feasts so that they will be reminded throughout the year to remain faithful (Exodus 34:18-20; 22-26).
And interspersed in between this text was the reminder, Israel was commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy.
Exodus 34:21 (KJV) Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
This is a weekly observance. More intense than the three feasts interspersed throughout the year is commanded for their spiritual advancement.
Exodus 35:1-3 (KJV) And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
This repeated so many times, it must be most important for His people. Here is the fourth commandment repeated before the work of the building of the Tabernacle will begin.
Two thoughts:
(1) Mandated Rest
(2) Commandment for Service
(1) Mandated Rest
… but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
The 7th day is a day of rest that is set apart, considered sacred, a holy day. It is to be a most solemn day set aside to the LORD.
Exodus 35:3 (KJV) Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
To kindle no fire is taught in Exodus 16:23 (KJV) And he said unto 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.
Clarke explained well, “The Jews understand this precept as forbidding the kindling of fire only for the purpose of doing work or dressing victuals; but to give them light and heat, they judge it lawful to light a fire on the Sabbath day…”
“He begins with the law of the Sabbath, because that was much insisted on in the instructions he had received (Exodus 35:2-3): Six days shall work be done, Work for the tabernacle, the work of the day that was now to be done in its day; and they had little else to do here in the wilderness, where they had neither husbandry or merchandise, neither food to get nor clothes to make: but on the seventh day you must not strike a stroke, no, not at the tabernacle – work; that must be to you a holy day, devoted to God, and not spent in common business. It is a sabbath of rest. It is a sabbath of sabbaths (so some read it), more honourable and excellent than any of the other feasts, and should survive them all.”
A sabbath of sabbatism, so others read it, being typical of that sabbatism or rest, both spiritual and eternal, which remains for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9).
Hebrews 4:9 (KJV) There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
It is a sabbath of rest, that is, in which rest from all worldly labour must be carefully and strictly observed. It is a sabbath and a little sabbath, so some of the Jews would have read it; not only observing the whole day as a sabbath, but an hour before the beginning of it, and an hour after the ending of it, which they throw in over and above out of their own time, and call a little sabbath, to show how glad they are of the approach of the sabbath and how loth to part with it.
It is a sabbath of rest, but it is rest to the Lord, to those it must be devoted.
A penalty is here annexed to the breach of it: Whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Also, a particular prohibition of kindling fires on the sabbath day for any servile work, as smith’s work… ” [Matthew Henry]
The Sabbath is a sign of God’s covenant with His people, a covenant with Israel made in the Exodus after they were delivered from bondage in Egypt and on route to inherit the rest of Canaan. It is modelled after God’s creation of the universe in 6 literal days and how He rested on the 7th day. Rushdonny said well, “The pattern of the sabbath is God’s creation; the goal of the sabbath is man’s redemption rest.”
Exodus 31:13-17 (KJV) Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. 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. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
In the New Testament, it is the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week is set aside for worship, the day when our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rose victorious from the day in the resurrection, triumphant over sin and death giving to His people, eternal rest.
Such a concept of a weekly sabbath day of rest is unknown in other cultures and there is no biblical record of such a practice prior to the Sabbath rest.
Rushdoony said well, “The sabbath is not an infringement of man’s liberty but rather the liberation of man. The sabbath asserts the principle of freedom under God, of liberty under law, God’s law. It summons man to obedience to the ordinance of rest in order to free man from himself and from this work… the Sabbath in the Old Testament was not primarily a day of worship but a day of rest.
The pattern of weekly worship did not exist in the Old Testament law… the manna in the wilderness set forth God’s rest, and the order to observe the sabbath with confidence in the sufficiency of manna reinforced this fact of God’s provision.”
Exodus 16:22-27 (KJV) And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto 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. And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day 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. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
The severity of infringement with the imposition of the death penalty as a ceremonial law of the Old covenant is done away with the New Covenant with Christ. Though the sense of its severe significance in the sight of God for its keeping should not be taken lightly. Observe the correlation of Sabbath and life.
Rushdoony observed, “The death penalties attached to the violation of the sabbath in the Old Testament era convey two very obvious assumptions. First, the sabbath law involves a principle so important and basic that violation therefore is a capital offence. Second, the law conveys also the fact that violation of the sabbath laws involves a kind of death in and of itself, i.e., that violation brings on death. The prophets clearly made this assumption. Obedience, by implication, means life.”
He further observed well, “severe laws enforced the sabbath rest. It was not worship which the law demanded, but rest… remember that the principle purpose of the sabbath is not worship but rest. Only as worship qualified as rest and refreshing to the man, as true worship does, is it a necessary aspect of the sabbath rest. But the essence of the sabbath is rest. Secondly, we view the sabbath in terms of man exclusively rather than man centrally, and as a result, we miss its meaning. By approaching the sabbath from the standing point of the earth, we can better understand its meaning. The commandment makes clear that the sabbath day of rest is for man and beast alike.
But details of the law spell out the fact that a sabbatical year is required for the land itself.” (Exodus 23:10-11; Leviticus 25:1-7; 20-22).
These laws, it should be noted, were not too well observed in much of Israel’s history. Between the Exodus and the Babylonian captivity, it was neglected 70 times, and hence 70 years of captivity imposed to give the land rest (2 Chronicles 36:21).
Rushdoony reached well, “The general law was that no work should be done on the Sabbath (Exod. 34:21; Deut. 15:12-15; Exod. 20:8-11; Lev. 23:3; Jer. 17:22). “The gates should be shut” (Neh. 13:19). “Abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day” (Exod. 16:29). Asses shouldn’t be laden (Neh. 13:15), nor fires kindled (Exod. 35:3), nor sheaves brought in (Neh. 13:15), no sticks gathered (Num. 15:32-35), nor victuals or wares bought (Neh. 10:31) or sold (Neh. 13:15), nor wine treaded in the presses (Neh. 13:15). Life, however, could be saved on the sabbath (Mk. 3:4; Lk. 6:9), since redemption is the essence of the Sabbath. This can mean healing the wick (Matt. 12:10-13; Mk. 3:1-5; Lk. 14:3-4; 6:8-10; 13:14-16; Jn. 7:23), or rescuing an animal that has fallen into a pit (Matt. 12:11; Mk 2:23-28; Lk. 6:1-5), and the same is true of thirst., so that a thirsty animal can be taken to water in fulfilment of the sabbath (Lk. 13:15) … There are three sabbaths spoken of in Scripture: the creation sabbath; the Hebrew Sabbath, which commemorated the deliverance from Egypt; and the Christian sabbath, which is “kept in commemoration of Christ’s finished resurrection and is the only sabbath that remains.””
(2) Commandment for Work
2 Six days shall work be done …
It is significant that God commanded for 6 days of work – “Man, like God is to work and to rest; thus human life is to be a copy of divine life. The work of God’s people is to be instrumental in the restoration of the divine order to the earth. Divine labour terminates in happy rest; not till the Creator rests satisfied in the contemplation of His works is His creation itself complete. So, too, human labour is not to run on in resultless circles, but to terminate in a happy harmony of existence. The sabbath gives purpose to man’s life, in that it makes labour meaningful and purposive: it links it to a joyful consummation. The full purport, however, of the idea of the Sabbath is not attained until that dominion of sin and death, which have entered into the development of mankind, is taken into account. It was after the curse of God was imposed upon the earth
and man condemned to labour in the sweat of his brow in the service of his perishable existence, that the desire for the rest of God took the form of a longing for redemption (Gen. 5:29).
Genesis 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
Israel, too learned, by suffering under Egyptian oppression without any refreshing intermission, to sigh for rest. When their God bestowed upon them their regularly recurring period of rest, by leading them out of bondage, this ordinance became at the same time a thankful solemnity in remembrance of the deliverance they have experienced (Deut. 5:15).
Deuteronomy 5:15 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.
This passage does not, as it has often been understood, merely urge a motive for the special duty of not hindering servants from resting on the seventh day: nor, on the other hand, does it contain as has also been asserted, the proper objective reason for the sanctification of the sabbath, which is, on the contrary, expressed, as already said, in the first version of the Decalogue, Exodus 20:11; but it applies to the keeping of the Sabbath, in particular, that consideration which is the deepest subjective incitement to the fulfilment of the whole law. How closely the remembrance of the deliverance from Egypt bondage was bound up with this very institution of the Sabbath, is evident from what, according to the testimony of Roman authors, was known to the heathen concerning the reason for the celebration of the Sabbath. [Oehler, Theology of the Old Testament, 332]
It must be remembered that an important aspect of the 4th law-word is this, “Six days thou shalt labour,” i.e., six days are set aside for work. This is a positive command, therefore, to work. The creation of mandate declared to man – Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful , and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
The mandate was declared before the fall. The duties of fertility, work and dominion were established before the fall; they continued after the fall, but with serious impediment.
Without regenerating grace, man cannot keep God’s law and discharge his duties. The redeemed man’s work is not an attempt to create a paradise on earth, but to fulfil God’s requirements within the kingdom. The redeemed man is a citizen of the Kingdom of God, and he abides by the laws thereof: this is his work, his duty, and his path of dominion. The fact of the sabbath presupposes the fact of work. The relationship between the sabbath and work is one that brings into relationship to God and in dedication to Him. Nothing can be, nor can be deemed to be, outside of God. Not only covenant man but all his work must be circumcised in a sense, or baptized into the kingdom. The custom of the first-fruits was an aspect of this. But another law bears even more plainly on this matter:
Leviticus 19:23-25 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees of food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.
For the first three years the fruit must be pinched off and allowed to rot on the ground. In the fourth year, it could be eaten if redeemed from the Lord by paying its value plus a fifth part’ it belongs to God. In the fifth year, the fruit could be harvested, and for five years thereafter, or, until the nedt sabbath year.
On the sabbath, a man rejoices that the earth is the Lord’s and all the fullness thereof (Psalm 24:1). In that confidence man’s rest and in that joy, he surveys the work of his hands, knowing that his “labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58) because the sovereign God makes all things wok together for good unto them that love Him, who are the called to recognize, that to break the law at any point is to place ourselves in the position of gods at that point. The fact that Adam and Eve obeyed at all points but disobeyed with respect to one tree did not give them a favourable balance with God. At that point they revealed a new operating principle: to be as gods, knowing or determining good and evil for themselves (Gen. 3:5). Both the work abd rest must be unto the Lord, and their presupposition must be the sovereignty of the triune God. [Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law, 148-149]
CONCLUSION
May the Lord bless our labour and our rest. Amen.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee