Christian Sabbath, Part 2

Hebrews 7:12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

 

 
 

Continuing our discussion of the Sunday-Sabbath, we go on now to consider the change of the day which is based upon the change of the priesthood and covenant. We read about the change of the covenantal laws in Hebrews 8:

 

Hebrews 8

 

8 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” 6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.

7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:

“The days are coming, declares the Lord,

    when I will make a new covenant

with the people of Israel

    and with the people of Judah.

9 It will not be like the covenant

    I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand

    to lead them out of Egypt,

because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,

    and I turned away from them,

declares the Lord.

10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel

    after that time, declares the Lord.

I will put my laws in their minds

    and write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.

11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,

    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

    from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will forgive their wickedness

    and will remember their sins no more. ”

13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

 

 

 

When Christ instituted the new and better covenant by His priestly work, the laws which were specific to the old covenant were changed to reflect the relationship between God and His people, in the new covenant.

This new and better covenant is a covenant entered into by faith, and of which the laws are written on our hearts, rather than on tablets of stone. This is not to say that our hearts will determine or tell us what those laws are. Rather, God’s law will become our delight, and by His renewing Spirit we will desire to please Him. In fact, the laws of the old covenant were to be written on the hearts of those under that covenant:

 

 

Deuteronomy 6 

4“ Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

5  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.

 

 

Not only are we allowed not follow the laws which pertained only to the old covenant, but we must not obey them. Of necessity, the law is changed, and of necessity, we ought not hold to the old covenant ordinances but rather those of the new.

There are only 3 possibilities in regards to what were specfic to the old covenant:

(1)The whole Law was for the old covenant alone

(2)Part of the Law was for the old covenant alone

(3)None of the Law was for the old covenant alone

Possibility (1) is refuted easily because it is still true in the new covenant, that we should worship God alone and serve Him only.

Possibility (3) is refuted because the command to remember salvation from Egypt does not relate to us, because we were not saved from Egypt, and God no longer commands us to collect manna and quail 6 days a week.

Possibility (2) is the only possibility left, which means there are some aspects of the Law which relate to Israel or the old covenant alone, and other aspects which relate to all of us who are descended from Adam.

In relation to the day of rest, as we have seen in reading Exodus 16 and Deuteronomy 6, the covenantal aspect of the Sabbath is salvific. For the Israelites, the Sabbath was a memorial of God’s rescuing them from slavery, and was the day on which they saw the manna not see corruption. By keeping their Sabbath day of rest every seventh day, as instituted in the giving of the manna and quail, they followed God as it was God who first rested from His work.

The principle of 1 day in 7 is not specific to Israel, but was part of the creation of the world itself, and as an aspect of creation, is part of the religious context for Adam and all his posterity. Because God objectively chose to bless and sanctify the day which was distinct from His 6 days of work, that day of rest has an objective religious significance – not that day only, but God blessed and sanctified a day of rest for every 7-day week:

 

 

Exodus 20

8“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.9  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. 11  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

 

 

The command to observe a sacred day unto God is no more peculiar to the Israelites, than the command to serve and worship God alone and obey Him. The new covenant Christian therefore must recognise the sanctity of a particular day of the week as set apart for God, precisely because God recognises and has set apart a day unto Himself. This new covenant Sabbath must reflect the greater salvation we have in Christ, and must reflect the fulfilment of the ‘type’ or ‘shadow’ of this salvation as shown under the old covenant Sabbath.

Because Christ saved us and finished His work on the cross, and entered into His rest on the morning of His resurrection, the Sabbath of the new covenant must be a memorial of His entering His rest, and of His saving work having rescued us from the burden of sin. The old covenant Sabbath was instituted by the giving of the quail and the manna, which were types or pointed to Christ the true bread from heaven, and His greater salvation. The fact that the ‘Sabbath-manna’ did not rot, pointed to the fact that Christ the true bread, will not see decay but will endure to eternal life. The manna of the Sabbath was special in this way, and pointed to the greater endurance or life-giving quality of the bread which is Christ:

 

 

Exodus 16

6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today.

 

 

John 6

27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

 

48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

 

We know that Jesus entered into His rest, or ‘endured to eternal life’, on the day of His resurrection. The salvific, covenantal aspect of the Sabbath day is signified by the resurrection of Christ from the grave, having saved us from the slavery of sin.

The Day of Joy and Rejoicing 

John 16

17 At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19 Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? 20 Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

 

In John 16, we have Jesus’ discourse on His ascension, and His death and resurrection.  The disciples are confused because at one point Jesus says that they will no longer see Him because he is going to the Father, and then Jesus says that in a little while they will not see Him, but then they will see Him again. For the disciples, this seems like a contradiction, but only because they did not know that Jesus was talking of His impending death and resurrection on one hand, and His ascension to the Father on the other hand.
In talking of His death and resurrection, Jesus tells them that they will grieve and mourn, and the world will rejoice. However, Jesus also tells them that their grief will be turned to joy when they see Him again. On that day when they see Him again, the day on which they will rejoice and be filled with joy, is the day spoken of in Psalm 118:

19  Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord;

The righteous will enter through it.

21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,

And You have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief corner stone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day which the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

 

The fact that the day on which they would rejoice and be filled with joy, was the day which they would see Him again, means that it is that day which is said to be the day which the Lord has made, and that they would be glad in it. The Psalmist regarded the coming day which the Lord will make to be special and marvellous in the eyes of believers. If the day of Christ’s resurrection is the day which believers consider to be marvellous and to be rejoiced in, the day on which we will give thanks, it seems obvious that we as Christians would continue to consider the resurrection day as marvellous, to be rejoiced in, and on which we give thanks. Because God instituted the 7 day week and set apart 1 day of rest unto Himself, we have some good reason to consider the resurrection day, or the day after the Jewish Sabbath, to be the day on which we as Christians set apart fro assembling and giving thanks to God. The covenantal ‘clincher’ though, is that the ‘Sabbath-manna’ of the old covenant did not rot but was to be eaten on the Sabbath, and was a pointer to Jesus who is the true bread of heaven which endures to eternal life. The observable fact that the manna did not see corruption, was the observable sign which set apart that day as the Jewish Sabbath. Because of the priesthood being changed, there is a change of the law to reflect the new priesthood of Christ. He is the true bread which endured to eternal life in His glorious resurrection, and it on this day we remember our salvation in Him, and give thanks for what He has done. It is the memorial of His entering into His rest, and of the life-eternal we have in Him.

 

 

Troy Smalley

Why Sunday?

Why Sunday?

Why do we go to church on Sunday? If we wish to worship God as He wants us to worship Him, then why do we prefer to go to church on Sunday?

Sadly, many of us who go to church on Sunday week after week, have no idea that this question was tackled head-on and given a definitive answer by perhaps the most brilliant English-speaking theologian to have ever put pen to paper – John Owen. Rather than going through his work, ‘John Owen, 'Day of Sacred Rest', we will focus on one particular passage in the Old Testament – Exodus 16.

To give some background context, the reason why this passage is relevant is because it is the story of when Moses instituted the Sabbath for the Israelites. We read that for six days, the Israelites were to work, and to eat quail in the evening to remember their redemption from slavery, and to eat manna in the morning, seeing the glory of God, and knowing that He is the Lord.

They were commanded to eat all the manna they collected, as that which they didn’t eat would see corruption and would grow worms. On the sixth day, the Israelites would collect twice the normal amount of manna, and store what they did not eat for the morning on the seventh day. This manna which they collected and stored away on the sixth day would not see corruption but the Israelites were to eat this bread on the morning of the seventh day, because it is the Sabbath day:

Exodus 16

Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The sons of Israel said to them, “ Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. 5  On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your grumblings against the Lord; and what are we, that you grumble against us?”
8 Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the Lord.”Moses said, “This will happen when the
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘ Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’” 10 It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “ I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14  When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. 15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “ It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” 17 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. 18 When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. 19 Moses said to them, “ Let no man leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21 They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.
22  23 Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”then he said to them, “This is what the 24 So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. 25 Lord; today you will not find it in the field.Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the 26  Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.” Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “ How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? 29 See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain 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.
31 The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 Moses said to Aaron, “ Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept. 35  The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Although the Sabbath day had been instituted by God since creation, there is a special redemptive meaning to the Sabbath for the Israelites. The eating of the quail was specially for remembering God’s redemptive salvation, and the eating of the manna was for the seeing of the glory of God. We read in Deuteronomy 5:

12 ‘ Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

In verse 15, we see explicit confirmation of the redemptive context of the Israelite Sabbath day. What this has to do with our worshipping on Sunday, is that the manna was a type, or a sign which pointed to Christ. Remember that Jesus is the bread of life which He compares with the manna. We read in John 6:

26 Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” 28 Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “ What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? 31  Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘ He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.”
35 Jesus said to them, “ I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. 37  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

The Old Covenant Sabbath was for the remembering of their redemption from slavery, and to see God’s Glory, knowing that He is the Lord. On that day, the manna did not perish as it did during the week, but was to be eaten because it was the Sabbath, because it was the special day on which they would remember their salvation and know that He is the Lord.
When did the true bread not see corruption, and on which morning did He reveal His Glory, and that He is the Lord? On which glorious morning did He finish His work of redemption?
So far we have not answered our question, and we will continue addressing the issue in future posts. What is being focused on at this point in time, is the redemptive significance of the Sabbath, and that obedience to the Sabbath law required a remembrance of God’s salvation. Salvation from Egypt is a covenantal aspect of the 10 commandments, which is a type or sign which points to the greater salvation from sin and death in Christ. We read in the New Testament, Paul taking the covenantal promises of the 10 commandments which were specifically for the Israelites, and showing their greater meaning in relation to the new and better covenant in Jesus Christ.
I hope to show in later posts, that the same Sabbath command is still in place for us who are in Christ, and that we can only properly obey God by ‘Sabbatizing’ on the day of His glorious resurrection.