I don't think Cain and Abel kept the Sabbath. I think they had down time to recover from work, enjoy their families, worship God, and replenish their bodies. There was no commandment for anyone to keep the Sabbath at that time.
When God kept it He couldn't have been tired, He is God. Therefore, I can think of no other reason for Him to keep it other than to set the example for His created. If you have a better answer than that, trust me I will prayerfully consider it. But until I hear a better answer, that is mine.
Perhaps not from the Tanakh, but in the Talmud and the Midrash (Beraishis Rabba 95:3) we see the patriarchs "study Torah", so it is inferred that the Torah predates the creation of the world and would have partially be imparted to Adam and passed down orally. Of course not binding on MJ's, but worthy of thinking upon. So, taking what Ken says above, it seems reasonable that G-d would have imparted this commandment to Adam orally at the start of his life.
I agree that things like this from the Talmud should be given weight and thought about. I did think about it, and rejected it. Why? Torah evidence to the contrary such as God specifically giving Noah permission to eat treif in his covenant.
It simply the ending of the song. The first chapter of Genesis was the story of creation passed down orally in the form of a song. Each day was a verse or stanza, and the words, "There was evening and there was morning, the X day," was like a chorus. So you have six verses of creation, you have a seventh verse to say, The End. It's beautiful.When God kept it He couldn't have been tired, He is God. Therefore, I can think of no other reason for Him to keep it other than to set the example for His created. If you have a better answer than that, trust me I will prayerfully consider it. But until I hear a better answer, that is mine.
I don't disagree with that but that doesn't change the fact that an all powerful, eternal being who can't get tired rested. If to not set the example, then why?
Yet for those of the three that bear witness of the song of ascents having the Holy Spirit to guide us in the Lord's prayer.
Because the story is a creative figurative teaching story, not history or science. Genesis 1 is meant to teach us that God created everything and that it is good. The six days and stuff are not literal. They are literary devices to create verses.
Then why do you keep it? Keeping the Sabbath the way that you claim to is not an easy thing... not even turning on the stove or the microwave.
Because the actual commandment came later, after the creation story. They were handed to Moshe on Mt. Sinai. The question at hand is not if the Sabbath should be kept, but rather did the Hebrews/Isrealites keep it, or any other feasts, before the actual passing of the Torah to Moshe.
But I was responding directly to OH's comment that "it's not a commandment for anyone to keep the Sabbath."
Perhaps I should let OpenHeart respond....but I read it more as in that particular passage does not command anyone to keep the Sabbath, as that was the passage being discussed, not Sabbath keeping in general as the discussion is about if feasts and celebrations were kept before they were specifically commanded on Mt. Siani.
Rachel. I said it wasn't commanded back in Cain and Abel's day. However it WAS commanded much later at Mt. Sinai. So, for example, Cain was not required to keep the Sabbath but Joshua was.
I saw your quote of me, and I was like YIKES that wasn't quite what I meant! So I went back and edited my post to say "It's not a commandment for anyone to keep the Sabbath back in Cain and Abel's day."
