Genesis 2:1-2: "Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them. And 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."
[Further Study]
Genesis 1
Genesis 2:3: "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."
Looking up the word sanctify in the dictionary we learn that it means to set apart as holy, consecrate.
Exodus 20:10: "But the seventh day is the sabbath
of the Lord thy God: . . . ."
It is commonly stated that the seventh day is the Jewish Sabbath. As stated in the above mentioned texts, the seventh day Sabbath was instituted at creation, about 2,300 years before there ever was a Jew.
Exodus 20:1: "And God spake all these words,
saying,"
Deuteronomy 4:12-13: "And the Lord spake unto
you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the Lord, but saw no
similitude; only ye heard a voice. And he declared unto you his covenant, which he
commanded you to perform, even ten commandments: and he wrote them upon two tables of
stone."
Exodus 20:8: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep
it holy."
Exodus 16:26, 30: "Six days ye shall gather it;
but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. . . . So the
people rested on the seventh day."
[Further Study]
Exodus 16:16-30
16 This is the thing which the LORD hath
commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man,
according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his
tents.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and
gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did mete it with an omer,
he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they
gathered every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it
till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto
Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and
Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning,
every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22 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.
23 And he said unto them, This is that
which the LORD hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake
that which ye will bake today, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth
over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as
Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25 And Moses said, Eat that today; for
today is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the
seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out
some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long
refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 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.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
The instruction regarding the gathering of the manna was given to the Israelites about six months or so before the ten commandments were given on Sinai.
Luke 4:16: "And he came to Nazareth, where he had
been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and stood up for to read."
[Further Study]
Mark 1:21 "And they went into Capernaum; and
straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught."
Mark 6:2 "And when the sabbath day was come, he
began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From
whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him,
that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?"
Luke 13:10 "And he was teaching in one of the
synagogues on the sabbath."
John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall
abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
Colossians 1:15-16 "Who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all
things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were
created by him, and for him:"
In the first part of this lesson we learned that the Sabbath
was instituted at creation. Since Jesus created the Sabbath, how is it referred to in
the New Testament?
Mark 2:27-28: "And he (Jesus) said unto them, The
sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is
Lord also of the Sabbath."
[Further Study]
Matthew 12:8 "For the Son of man is Lord even of
the sabbath day."
Luke 6:5 "And he said unto them, That the Son of
man is Lord also of the sabbath."
If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, then the seventh day Sabbath is the Lord's day.
[Further Study]
Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"
Isaiah 58:13 "If thou turn away thy foot from the
sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the
holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor
finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:"
Exodus 20:10 "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:"
Isaiah 56:6-7: "Also the sons of the stranger,
that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be
his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of
my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my
house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine
altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."
Acts 13:14-16: "But when they departed from Perga,
they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and
sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue
sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the
people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and
ye that fear God, give audience."
Acts 17:1-2: "Now when they had passed through
Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with
them out of the scriptures."
[Further Study]
Acts 13:14-16, 42-44 "But when they departed from
Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day,
and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the
synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of
exhortation for the people, say on. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand
said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. . . . And when the Jews were
gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to
them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and
religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them
to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city
together to hear the word of God."
Acts 16:12-13 "And from thence to Philippi, which
is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city
abiding certain days. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side,
where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which
resorted thither."
Acts 18:1-4,11 "After these things Paul departed
from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus,
lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded
all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same
craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
. . . And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among
them."
Matthew 5:17-18: "Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily
I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Malachi 3:6: "For I am the Lord, I change not; . . ."
James 2:10-12: "For whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not
commit adultery (Exodus 20:14), said also, Do not kill (Exodus 20:13). Now if thou
commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty."
[Further Study]
Exodus 31:14-17
14 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.
15 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.
16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall
keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual
covenant.
17 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.
Numbers 15:32-36
32 And while the children of Israel
were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering
sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because
it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The
man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones
without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought
him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded
Moses.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being
king."
Revelation 14:12 "Here is the patience of the
saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that keep his
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through
the gates into the city."
Isaiah 58:12-14: "And they that shall be of thee
shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of
paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure
on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and
shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking
thine words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride
upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
Notice in verse 12 the people of God are called "The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Strong's Concordance gives the meaning of breach as a break or gap. In Ezekiel 20 God talks about what happens to those who walk in His statutes and who don't pollute (dishonor) but hallow His Sabbath. Consequences are also listed for those who walk not in His statutes and who pollute the Sabbath. If there are those who pollute the Sabbath, they have created a breach or a break in God's law. God's people are to repair and restore that break, pointing people to God's holy law and the rightful place of the Sabbath in His holy law.
Exodus 20:11: "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 31:17: "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."
Another word for memorial is monument and the dictionary says monument means
"something set up to keep alive the memory of a person [John 1:1-3] or event [Genesis 2:1-3] . . . a work of
enduring significance."
John 1:1-3 See question 8 to read the verses.
Genesis 2:1-3 "Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished, and all the host of them. And 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."