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We generally divide the law into ceremonial and moral. It should also be noted that there are some other kinds of laws which really don’t fit neatly in that category either.
A. National laws for the nation of Israel. These would be those laws that related to the governance of Israel as a theocracy. They are applications of moral law in a particular setting. Examples include the establishment of cities of refuge, etc.
B. Covenant stipulations. Some laws were not enduring moral principles, but they did not directly point toward the Christ event either. These were stipulations for the covenant itself, defining the relationship of God to His people. For instance, the covenant curses and blessings are not moral laws as such. They are rewards or punishments within the covenant agreement when the other stipulations were broken.
It is to this latter group, the covenant stipulations, that the Sabbath may fit most closely.
In order to explain I want to go a bit into the nature of the covenant with Israel.
Some non-Adventist point to the ten commandments and say they are the covenant.
However, a covenant is in fact an agreement between two parties, not just a document.
But the ten commandments did serve as an encapsulation of the covenant:
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
Exo 34:28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Exo 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Deu 4:13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Deu 10:4 And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me.
The covenant agreement was actually enacted and then re-affirmed at different points in this case. The most dramatic initial agreement though happened at Sinai when God spoke the ten commandments.
The description of the covenant agreement is found in Exodus 19 and 20. The covenant was re-affirmed later.
Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
Exo 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.
Exo 19:8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
Exo 19:9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD,
Exo 19:10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
Exo 19:11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Exo 19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
Exo 19:13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
Exo 19:14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
Exo 19:15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
Exo 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Exo 19:17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
Exo 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
Exo 19:19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
Exo 19:20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exo 19:21 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish.
Exo 19:22 Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."
Exo 19:23 And Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.'"
Exo 19:24 And the LORD said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them."
Exo 19:25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Exo 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Exo 20:6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Exo 20:13 "You shall not murder.
Exo 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 "You shall not steal.
Exo 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Exo 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
Exo 20:18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
Exo 20:19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
The covenant agreement included a number of items. At the center of the covenant were the ten commandments which became the covenant contract document.
From comparison with near-eastern covenants we see that God was doing something that would be familiar at that time. The type of covenant in question is known as a suzerainty covenant. It was made between two nations, one stronger and the other weaker and subject to the stronger. The Suzerain was the powerful king and benefactor (sometimes conquerer) the other king was his vassal.
The stronger king would impose the treaty upon the vassal king in order to make plain his requirements and how they were to serve him. He would make promises to them in return for their loyalty. Now of course in this case the great King is God and the vassal nation are His people. So He puts this in familiar terms, and we see a number of parallels to covenants of that time.
Here is a file that illustrates the key components of a suzerainty treaty in brief form. Please note this is not my work. I just found it to be the simplest I could find online.
http://www.bethel.edu/~dhoward/classes/Ot101-111/SuzeraintyTreaty-Handout.pdf
Now if we look at the various components it outlines how the Sinai covenant is similar.
1. Preamble: Identifies author of the covenant.
Exo 20:2 "I am the LORD your God,
2. Historical Prologue: Mentions past relationship between the two parties; past benefactions by suzerain form the basis for vassal’s gratitude and future obedience.
Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Ex. 20:2 Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3. Stipulations: The obligations laid upon the vassal by the sovereign.
The ten commandments. Later expanded to include the law of Moses, etc.
4. a. Deposition: A copy of the covenant is deposited in the vassal’s sanctuary.
In the normal arrangement each party would place a copy of the covenant in the sanctuary of their god’s temple. In this case one party IS God and the others worship at His temple. Therefore the covenant document is placed on two stones (many scholars now think the whole text was written on each), and placed in the temple of God, inside the ark.
b. Public Reading: The covenant terms are periodically read to the people.
This occurred during the invasion into Canaan, and later during the time of the restoration from exile, etc.
5. Witnesses: A list of gods invoked to witness the covenant.
God, being the only true God, calls upon the creation:
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
6. Curses invoked on the vassal if he breaks the covenant, and blessings invoked on the vassal if he keeps the covenant.
Leviticus 26 etc. spells these out in detail. A brief version of the benefits of being God’s people occurs in Ex. 19:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
A google search on “suzerainty covenant” will bring up a number of other resources for further study on the subject.
The Sabbath law was given as a covenant sign, in the heart of the covenant document.
The sign of the covenant was something that the Suzerain required of the vassal as a special sign of their relationship. Some parallels can be made to the circumcision sign of the Abrahamic covenant, which was also carried into the mosaic covenant.
Israel’s keeping of the Sabbath was an indication of their loyalty to God and His requirements. If the vassal did not comply with the sign then that disloyalty brought swift judgment.
Notice the following statements from the Scriptures that underline the role of the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant with Israel.
Exo 31:12 And the LORD said to Moses,
Exo 31:13 "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.
It was a sign of Israel’s being set apart.
This was to be observed ABOVE ALL—it was the sign of loyalty.
Exo 31:14 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.
Exo 31:15 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.
The most severe penalty was attached to breaking the Sabbath.
Exo 31:16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
Exo 31:18 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.
Here we see that the Sabbath was a covenant sign between God and His chosen people Israel. It was a reminder of His authority over them as Creator.
(Eze 20:12) Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
(Eze 20:13) But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.
Breaking the Sabbath was associated with “rejecting “ His rules. They rejected the covenant sign and indeed all the stipulations of the covenant.
(Eze 20:16) because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
(Eze 20:20) and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.
(Deu 5:14) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On 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 livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
(Deu 5:15) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
In this second recounting of the Sabbath command a different rationale is given. But this is not a contradiction. It is yet another reason that God is the Suzerain, the benefactor of Israel. God is creator, redeemer, and their Sovereign. He demands absolute loyalty, and the Sabbath was the sign of that loyalty.
(Isa 56:4) For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,
(Isa 56:6) "And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--
Both of these give hope for those who were generally seen as excluded from the blessings of the covenant. God honors even the eunuch, who was blemished and could not approach the temple, and foreigners, who were not of the covenant people.
But notice that in both cases these are people who became partakers in the covenant and carried out the covenant sign, such as Rahab did, etc.
Now here are the key questions:
A. The Sabbath was clearly CRITICAL to the covenant. It was a sign of loyalty to God. But if it was a sign of God’s relationship with the Israelites then does that fit with a creation ordinance?
B. Since the old covenant passed away and we live under the new, what is the sign of the new covenant? Is the sign of the old covenant preserved?
C. Gentiles who wished to become part of Israel in ancient times would join themselves to Israel and its covenant, being circumcised, when possible, and also keeping the sign of the Sabbath. But were the gentiles who joined the Christian faith required to become Jews or join the covenant in this fashion? We know circumcision was not required. We also know that in Acts 15 the council only bound certain portions of the law of Moses on the Gentiles. Perhaps the most striking passage, which is related by Peter during the council of Acts 15 is the pouring out of the Spirit on the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house. This was seen as God approving them AS Gentiles, and they did not need to become circumcised to partake of relationship to God.
Adventists have been right in saying the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty. But there are questions that need to be answered.
A. National laws for the nation of Israel. These would be those laws that related to the governance of Israel as a theocracy. They are applications of moral law in a particular setting. Examples include the establishment of cities of refuge, etc.
B. Covenant stipulations. Some laws were not enduring moral principles, but they did not directly point toward the Christ event either. These were stipulations for the covenant itself, defining the relationship of God to His people. For instance, the covenant curses and blessings are not moral laws as such. They are rewards or punishments within the covenant agreement when the other stipulations were broken.
It is to this latter group, the covenant stipulations, that the Sabbath may fit most closely.
In order to explain I want to go a bit into the nature of the covenant with Israel.
Some non-Adventist point to the ten commandments and say they are the covenant.
However, a covenant is in fact an agreement between two parties, not just a document.
But the ten commandments did serve as an encapsulation of the covenant:
Exo 34:27 And the LORD said to Moses, "Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."
Exo 34:28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Exo 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.
Deu 4:13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Deu 10:4 And he wrote on the tablets, in the same writing as before, the Ten Commandments that the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me.
The covenant agreement was actually enacted and then re-affirmed at different points in this case. The most dramatic initial agreement though happened at Sinai when God spoke the ten commandments.
The description of the covenant agreement is found in Exodus 19 and 20. The covenant was re-affirmed later.
Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
Exo 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.
Exo 19:8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
Exo 19:9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD,
Exo 19:10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
Exo 19:11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Exo 19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
Exo 19:13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
Exo 19:14 So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.
Exo 19:15 And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman."
Exo 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
Exo 19:17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
Exo 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
Exo 19:19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
Exo 19:20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exo 19:21 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish.
Exo 19:22 Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them."
Exo 19:23 And Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.'"
Exo 19:24 And the LORD said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them."
Exo 19:25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.
Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Exo 20:5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
Exo 20:6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Exo 20:13 "You shall not murder.
Exo 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 "You shall not steal.
Exo 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Exo 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
Exo 20:18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
Exo 20:19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
The covenant agreement included a number of items. At the center of the covenant were the ten commandments which became the covenant contract document.
From comparison with near-eastern covenants we see that God was doing something that would be familiar at that time. The type of covenant in question is known as a suzerainty covenant. It was made between two nations, one stronger and the other weaker and subject to the stronger. The Suzerain was the powerful king and benefactor (sometimes conquerer) the other king was his vassal.
The stronger king would impose the treaty upon the vassal king in order to make plain his requirements and how they were to serve him. He would make promises to them in return for their loyalty. Now of course in this case the great King is God and the vassal nation are His people. So He puts this in familiar terms, and we see a number of parallels to covenants of that time.
Here is a file that illustrates the key components of a suzerainty treaty in brief form. Please note this is not my work. I just found it to be the simplest I could find online.
http://www.bethel.edu/~dhoward/classes/Ot101-111/SuzeraintyTreaty-Handout.pdf
Now if we look at the various components it outlines how the Sinai covenant is similar.
1. Preamble: Identifies author of the covenant.
Exo 20:2 "I am the LORD your God,
2. Historical Prologue: Mentions past relationship between the two parties; past benefactions by suzerain form the basis for vassal’s gratitude and future obedience.
Exo 19:3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
Exo 19:4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
Ex. 20:2 Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3. Stipulations: The obligations laid upon the vassal by the sovereign.
The ten commandments. Later expanded to include the law of Moses, etc.
4. a. Deposition: A copy of the covenant is deposited in the vassal’s sanctuary.
In the normal arrangement each party would place a copy of the covenant in the sanctuary of their god’s temple. In this case one party IS God and the others worship at His temple. Therefore the covenant document is placed on two stones (many scholars now think the whole text was written on each), and placed in the temple of God, inside the ark.
b. Public Reading: The covenant terms are periodically read to the people.
This occurred during the invasion into Canaan, and later during the time of the restoration from exile, etc.
5. Witnesses: A list of gods invoked to witness the covenant.
God, being the only true God, calls upon the creation:
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
6. Curses invoked on the vassal if he breaks the covenant, and blessings invoked on the vassal if he keeps the covenant.
Leviticus 26 etc. spells these out in detail. A brief version of the benefits of being God’s people occurs in Ex. 19:
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
Exo 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
A google search on “suzerainty covenant” will bring up a number of other resources for further study on the subject.
The Sabbath law was given as a covenant sign, in the heart of the covenant document.
The sign of the covenant was something that the Suzerain required of the vassal as a special sign of their relationship. Some parallels can be made to the circumcision sign of the Abrahamic covenant, which was also carried into the mosaic covenant.
Israel’s keeping of the Sabbath was an indication of their loyalty to God and His requirements. If the vassal did not comply with the sign then that disloyalty brought swift judgment.
Notice the following statements from the Scriptures that underline the role of the Sabbath as the sign of the covenant with Israel.
Exo 31:12 And the LORD said to Moses,
Exo 31:13 "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.
It was a sign of Israel’s being set apart.
This was to be observed ABOVE ALL—it was the sign of loyalty.
Exo 31:14 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.
Exo 31:15 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.
The most severe penalty was attached to breaking the Sabbath.
Exo 31:16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
Exo 31:18 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.
Here we see that the Sabbath was a covenant sign between God and His chosen people Israel. It was a reminder of His authority over them as Creator.
(Eze 20:12) Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
(Eze 20:13) But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. "Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them.
Breaking the Sabbath was associated with “rejecting “ His rules. They rejected the covenant sign and indeed all the stipulations of the covenant.
(Eze 20:16) because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.
(Eze 20:20) and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.
(Deu 5:14) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On 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 livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
(Deu 5:15) You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
In this second recounting of the Sabbath command a different rationale is given. But this is not a contradiction. It is yet another reason that God is the Suzerain, the benefactor of Israel. God is creator, redeemer, and their Sovereign. He demands absolute loyalty, and the Sabbath was the sign of that loyalty.
(Isa 56:4) For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,
(Isa 56:6) "And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant--
Both of these give hope for those who were generally seen as excluded from the blessings of the covenant. God honors even the eunuch, who was blemished and could not approach the temple, and foreigners, who were not of the covenant people.
But notice that in both cases these are people who became partakers in the covenant and carried out the covenant sign, such as Rahab did, etc.
Now here are the key questions:
A. The Sabbath was clearly CRITICAL to the covenant. It was a sign of loyalty to God. But if it was a sign of God’s relationship with the Israelites then does that fit with a creation ordinance?
B. Since the old covenant passed away and we live under the new, what is the sign of the new covenant? Is the sign of the old covenant preserved?
C. Gentiles who wished to become part of Israel in ancient times would join themselves to Israel and its covenant, being circumcised, when possible, and also keeping the sign of the Sabbath. But were the gentiles who joined the Christian faith required to become Jews or join the covenant in this fashion? We know circumcision was not required. We also know that in Acts 15 the council only bound certain portions of the law of Moses on the Gentiles. Perhaps the most striking passage, which is related by Peter during the council of Acts 15 is the pouring out of the Spirit on the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house. This was seen as God approving them AS Gentiles, and they did not need to become circumcised to partake of relationship to God.
Adventists have been right in saying the Sabbath is a sign of loyalty. But there are questions that need to be answered.
a sign of God's creation? please explain?
