Ellen White on the Sabbath

[MoreCoffee]

You'd quietly call the police and have them removed---Well, of course you would! Which is my point. They wanted to stone Jesus for saying He was the Son of God and the apostles for saying the same thing.

I don't think that the apostles said they were the Son of God

If you have a look at Matthew 12:1-14 it seems like one of the reasons that people wanted to kill Jesus was that he wasn't respecting their rules about 7th day keeping. Some wanted to kill the apostles because they proclaimed Jesus as Messiah and maybe, just maybe, because they didn't keep the rules for 7th day observance either. Seems it was a sore point back then. Maybe it is a sore point today too, with some folk. Do SDAs get a little worked up about Christians not keeping the 7th day according to the rules that SDAs have?

And I am sorry if people are doing all that stuff to catholic churches--we were taught to respect all churches, synagogues and the like.

It doesn't happen every Sunday or even in every parish church, mostly the nutters make a scene in the Cathedral when we're celebrating Christmas or Easter or the Rite of Election before Easter or the blessing of the oils in holy week. I think they pick the big celebrations because they see the Cathedral all lit up and lots of people around and cars and stuff. Those celebrations usually have a couple of thousand people or more.

I was with Catholics as a child and they were very nice to me--well, ok, the old man was the first to molest me, but that would have happened if he had been an SDA--he was just evil. I was with nuns, also, I think some sort of orphanage when mom couldn't take care of me. They were nice to me, too. And no, no one molested me there!

I am glad you're away from bad experiences now and I am happy that you've found a home among the SDA people.

We keep saying keeping the sabbath will not save you--but nobody believes us!--It's grace, it's our love for God.

I believe you. I am absolutely certain that 7th day keeping will not save anybody and I've said as much at least a half dozen times.

The commandments merely tell us how we are to love God and man--I mean, if God wants something from us, He has to tell us, 'cause we can't read His mind!

I like the 10 commandments, no problem there, I see their role different from you and I don't do Saturdays as sabbaths. Such is life.

 

[Elder 111]

This too Stryder06,

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Acts 13:44-45

Does this not show that Paul met on the Sabbath with the gentles even without the Jews.
Which would mean he was keeping the Sabbath and not just meeting the Jews in there Synogoue.

 

[MoreCoffee]

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. (Acts 13:44-45)

Does this not show that Paul met on the Sabbath with the gentles even without the Jews.

No, It shows that the Jews got upset when they heard what Paul said and that the gentiles liked it.

Which would mean he was keeping the Sabbath and not just meeting the Jews in there Synagogue.

Why would it mean that Paul was keeping the 7th day?

 

[Stryder06]

Well when you read the full context of Pauls letters He does not preach the sabbath. So why would someone preach something that even the Apostles don't teach? How logical is that?

Why would he have to preach it when it was already known? It's not like sabbath keeping was a secret or unknown ritual at that time. Acts clearly shows that gentiles were in the synagogue on the sabbath.

 

[MoreCoffee]

"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. "All things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 2 Cor. 4:15; 1 Cor. 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive." Deut. 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise." Ps. 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isa. 56:6, 7. (THE DESIRE OF AGES by Ellen White, The Sabbath page 288)​

There's a lot of bible quoting in the above paragraph and only a few words from Ellen White's own pen yet she manages to string together verses ands thoughts that are misleading. It is a surprise that she was able to do so. Let's take a look at the misleading statement from her own pen and then, in a later post, see how the passages are used.

Ellen White says, "The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing." What is this "law of ten commandments"? There is the law that God gave, it constitutes the contents of the Torah, the five books of Moses but where is this "Law of Ten Commandments" to be found? Not in Genesis, or Exodus, or Leviticus, or Deuteronomy, and most certainly not in Numbers; in these you will find the law and among the laws you will find the ten commandments but you will never find a "Law of Ten Commandments".

By itself, in isolation, Ellen White's statement would be harmless, sometimes people may use the expression "the ten commandments" and "the law" in one breath, as if the two were linked but when one is teaching in writing being careful not to mislead is possible; written statements can be checked and corrected before publishing them, so errors can be corrected and sloppy terminology can be tightened up. And it is significant that in SDA theology the characterisation of the law as being the same thing as the ten commandments is not an innocent mistake or a little bit of sloppy terminology; it is an important plank in their system of belief. One needs to single out the ten commandments as "the moral law" and then make way for a "ceremonial law" and various other subdivisions of the law that SDAs use when explaining the new testament. So Ellen White's words, so harmless on the surface, set the stage for a whole system of biblical interpretation that depends on calling meaning the ten commandments when the new testament writes "the law".​

It would not be unfair to call the ten commandments a summary of the law, something akin to an executive summary for a long legal document. That would be a good description of the place of the ten commandments. They represent the broad principles that the rest of the law fleshes out for the specifics of living in covenant with God. But to make these divisions (between moral, ceremonial and other laws) that are implied by, "The law of Ten Commandments...", is disturbing because of the way it is fleshed out by Ellen White and the SDA church.

So, what would be an relatively unremarkable statement from other hands is, from Ellen White, the tip of an iceberg of prodigious proportions for SDA theology and ethics.

 

[Stryder06]

The above is an irrelevance. Paul may (or may not) have kept sabbath among Jews. That is hardly important. He kept temple vows in Jerusalem but we don't recommend the same be done by Christians today. The idea that because person x in the bible did action y and therefore we all ought to do action y ourselves is not very sound. Sometimes it works but most of the time it doesn't work. So, please, no more about what you think Paul may have been doing on the sabbaths when he was in synagogue. We already know he was preaching the gospel on sabbaths when he was visiting synagogue and that was the point we'd made before and that you denied. Now we can move on since you have conceded that he did it just as we claimed he did.

You are mistaken on a couple of points. First, it is important to establish whether or not Paul was keeping the sabbath, since many Protestants do in fact claim that Paul was a great advocate for the abolishment of the sabbath. If Paul was keeping it, then that poses a problem for many people. Second, I never denied that Paul was evangelizing and teaching the gospel on the sabbath. I said that one could not prove that he was entering into the synagogue for that purpose alone, disregarding the sabbath commandment, and simply trying to instruct the jews.

The above is a red herring. We don't care if he was 'keeping' sabbath or not. The obvious thing that he was doing is preaching the gospel and the gospel teaches that WE do not need to keep sabbath or keep kosher or keep the festivals or keep any law as a way to gain acceptance with God or as a means of gaining entry to heaven. Keeping the law is a burden that we're not interested in bearing if you want to carry it go ahead, it will gain you nothing towards eternal life. I hope it helps form a good character in those who choose to do it, but I have doubts on that given the amount of prevarication I've seen in SDA claims on GT.

You may not care, but many others do, so it is not a red herring. Second, the gospel in now way teaches a disregard for the law of God. Third, keeping the law is not a burden. The burden came from the misapplication of the law by God's chosen people. They went to run extreme, and now, today, there are a people who are going to the other extreme by trying to throw it out altogether.

Uh huh ... and the greatest argument that Moses was a Martian is that the scriptures never say he wasn't! What a weak and silly argument you make.

That's just silly. We know women come from Mars.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I would never argue that Paul did not go to the Jews to evangelize them. Scripture however does not state that Paul took advantage of any situation to reach them, especially going to them on the sabbath. No matter how you slice it, it's an assumption. Paul was beat by the Jews because they had not, nor did they want to accept Christ. Again, even if he would have been trying to teach them that they didn't have to keep the sabbath, doing so on the sabbath would not be wise.

...Second, I never denied that Paul was evangelizing and teaching the gospel on the sabbath. I said that one could not prove that he was entering into the synagogue for that purpose alone, disregarding the sabbath commandment, and simply trying to instruct the jews.
...

Look at the first quote above and then compare it to your remark in the second quote; spot the difference. You wrote Scripture however does not state that Paul took advantage of any situation to reach them, especially going to them on the sabbath. and that looks exactly like you denied that Paul was evangelising in the synagogue on sabbath.

 

[bbbbbbb]

We understand the new testament very well. We never said keeping the sabbath will save you--only love for God through His grace are we saved. But according to Coffee up there--the gospel is not keeping the sabbath, or the other feast days or any other law.
How long do you think you'd last if you went to a synagogue and preached that? Yes he preached the gospel---that Jesus, whom they crucified, is alive, at the right hand of God and was the lamb and through Him we are saved--that is the gospel---which was enough to enrage the Jewish leaders anyway.

Why is it that you seem to think Paul would have been preaching about the Sabbath in the synagogue (pro or con)?

It is like saying that if I went to a mosque and preached the gospel, people there would stone me to death because I was telling them to worship on Sunday and not on Friday. I fail to see any connection between the gospel of the Bible and the Sabbath. As I said previously, I do know that your denomination is quite insistent that the Sabbath is at the heart of the gospel, but, in fact, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the gospel. At least, it has nothing more to do with the gospel than circumcision does. Does your denomination preach salvation through circumcision?

 

[bbbbbbb]

Why would he have to preach it when it was already known? It's not like sabbath keeping was a secret or unknown ritual at that time. Acts clearly shows that gentiles were in the synagogue on the sabbath.

A similar argument can be made concerning circumcision. Why would Paul have to preach it when it was already known and practiced? Acts clearly shows that Gentiles such as Timothy were circumcised. In fact, Paul himself circumcized Timothy.

Does that mean, then that Christian men must be circumcised? Of course not. How do we know. Acts 15 gives us the rest of the story.

If circumcision, which is at the heart of Judaism and the Law, is unnecessary for Christians, why would one expect that sitting around resting on Saturdays was more important?

 

[mmksparbud]

Why is it that you seem to think Paul would have been preaching about the Sabbath in the synagogue (pro or con)?

It is like saying that if I went to a mosque and preached the gospel, people there would stone me to death because I was telling them to worship on Sunday and not on Friday. I fail to see any connection between the gospel of the Bible and the Sabbath. As I said previously, I do know that your denomination is quite insistent that the Sabbath is at the heart of the gospel, but, in fact, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the gospel. At least, it has nothing more to do with the gospel than circumcision does. Does your denomination preach salvation through circumcision?

No--thank /God! I always found that to be a rather weird thing to do, got to ask God why He chose to do that next time I see Him.

I am not saying Paul would be preaching about the sabbath, that would not make much sense as they were already keeping it. What you all are saying is that he was teaching that the sabbath, nor any law needed to be kept anymore. I've been saying that the gospel is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, He is the sacrificial Lamb, He has paid the price for our sins all we need to do is accept it. We love God, the 10 commandments tell us how we are to show that love to God and man. And that Christ will return as King of Kings for all those who believe and love Him.
We do not believe that salvation comes through keeping any of the 10 commandments, but you can certainly loose it if you go around breaking them without repenting. What I said was that if the apostle stood up at the synagogue and stated that no law, even the sabbath needed to be kept anymore, they would have been promptly, and rather roughly, escorted out--if not stoned. Just saying that Jesus is the Messiah would have been upsetting enough to them!

 

[Elder 111]

No, It shows that the Jews got upset when they heard what Paul said and that the gentiles liked it.

Why would it mean that Paul was keeping the 7th day?

You point was that Paul was evangelizing the Jews on the Sabbath. Here it is that there are no Jews and Paul is still meeting on The Sabbath.
Why meet the gentles on the Sabbath if it was for the Jews only and abolished for the Gentles? How could Paul be telling them no Sabbath keeping and then make it a point of meeting them on the Sabbath?
His custom was to keep the Sabbath, Jew or Gentle.
How was it that the apostles never instructed the Gentles not to keep the Sabbath in Acts 15? Why also in Acts 16:13 Paul was meeting with gentles outside the city by the river on the Sabbath and not with the Jews in the synogoue?

 

[Lysimachus]

True, the Sabbath was the day to preach the gospel, so why would anyone be preaching about a day that was dedicated for preaching the gospel? lol.

Paul did not preach circumcision. He preached against the literal keeping of it, but for the spiritual circumcision of the heart. The context with having Timothy circumcised was due to being able to witness successfully--not as a requirement. This was not Paul's custom or Timothy's custom.

But Sabbath keeping was Paul's custom (Acts 17:2).

And Paul did preach the true meaning, and value of the Sabbath in Hebrews 4.

And Jesus did affirm its continued validity in New Testament times in Matthew 24:20.

And Luke did affirm that the keeping of it after the New Covenant was ratified on Friday was "according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Had it no longer been a commandment after the New Covenant went into effect on Friday at Christ's death, Luke would not have recognized the resting on the Sabbath as "according to the commandment" 38 some years later.

Then Isaiah 66 establishes the continued validity of the Sabbath in the New Earth.

It's time to stop pretending that the New Testament is so silent on the Sabbath:

"There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God." (Heb. 4:9, ASV)

The Sabbath, that symbol of our eternal rest in God, still remains.

The "debate" in Paul's day was not "whether" the Sabbath should be kept or not. That was a universal, established "given". Something nobody thought twice about. Circumcision, however, was the big "argument" of his day. Had Paul even remotely intimated that the Sabbath of the 4th commandment was abolished, you can just hear the outcry from the Jews declaring Paul a heathen, ripping their garments to shreds. But no, their concern was not that Paul was teaching anything remotely resembling the cessation of the Sabbath. Their concern was that he was preaching that we no longer need physical circumcision.

 

[MoreCoffee]

This too Stryder06,

And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.
Acts 13:44-45

Does this not show that Paul met on the Sabbath with the gentles even without the Jews.
Which would mean he was keeping the Sabbath and not just meeting the Jews in there Synogoue.

No, It shows that the Jews got upset when they heard what Paul said and that the gentiles liked it.

Why would it mean that Paul was keeping the 7th day?

You point was that Paul was evangelizing the Jews on the Sabbath. Here it is that there are no Jews and Paul is still meeting on The Sabbath.

Why meet the gentles on the Sabbath if it was for the Jews only and abolished for the Gentles? How could Paul be telling them no Sabbath keeping and then make it a point of meeting them on the Sabbath?

His custom was to keep the Sabbath, Jew or Gentle.

How was it that the apostles never instructed the Gentles not to keep the Sabbath in Acts 15? Why also in Acts 16:13 Paul was meeting with gentles outside the city by the river on the Sabbath and not with the Jews in the synagogue?

I've quoted the earlier posts so that the reader can see the context without needing to click through all the old posts.

Fact Check: Elder 111 says that "Here it is that there are no Jews and Paul is still meeting on The Sabbath" but the text quoted from scripture says that there were Jews present, "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming."

Fact Check: Elder 111 says, "Why meet the gentles on the Sabbath if it was for the Jews only and abolished for the Gentles? How could Paul be telling them no Sabbath keeping and then make it a point of meeting them on the Sabbath?" But there were Jews there and there's no indication that Paul was sabbath keeping - though it is possible that he was it is, nevertheless, not stated that we was sabbath keeping. Elder 111 is reading his doctrine into the text.

Fact Check: Elder 111 says, "Why also in Acts 16:13 Paul was meeting with gentles outside the city by the river on the Sabbath and not with the Jews in the synagogue?" But the passage says:

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. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. (Acts 16:13-14)​

These gentiles were praying on the sabbath and worshipped God, they were in fact "God-fearing gentiles", proselytes to Judaism, so they gathered on sabbath because they were trained by the Jews to do so. Consider this comment from Albert Barnes:

Acts 16:13

And on the sabbath - There is no doubt that in this city there were Jews; In the time of the apostles they were scattered extensively throughout the known world.

By a river side - What river this was is not known. It is known, however, that the Jews were accustomed to provide water, or to build their synagogues and oratories near water, for the convenience of the numerous washings before and during their religious services.

Where prayer - Where there was a place of prayer, or where prayer was commonly offered. The Greek will bear either, but the sense is the same. Places for prayer were erected by the Jews in the vicinity of cities and towns, and particularly where there were not Jewish families enough, or where they were forbidden by the magistrate to erect a synagogue. These proseuchoe, or places of prayer, were simple enclosures made of stones, in a grove or under a tree, where there would be a retired and convenient place for worship.

Was wont - Was accustomed to be offered, or where it was established by custom.

And spake unto the women ... - This was probably before the regular service of the place commenced.​

Acts 16:14

A seller of purple - Purple was a most valuable color, obtained usually from shellfish. It was chiefly worn by princes and by the rich, and the traffic in it might be very profitable. Compare the Isa_1:18 note; Luk_16:19 note.

The city of Thyatira - This was a city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, now called Akhisar. The art of dyeing was early cultivated in the neighborhood of Thyatira, as we learn from Homer (Iliad, iv. 141), and as is confirmed by inscriptions found in that city - a circumstance which may be referred to as confirming the veracity of the statements of Luke even in his casual allusions. Several of these inscriptions have been published. See the Life and Epistles of Paul, i. 295.

Which worshipped God - A religious woman, a proselyte. See the note at Acts 13:16.

Whose heart the Lord opened - See the note at Luke 24:45.​

 

[Elder 111]

I've quoted the earlier posts so that the reader can see the context without needing to click through all the old posts.

Fact Check: Elder 111 says that "Here it is that there are no Jews and Paul is still meeting on The Sabbath" but the text quoted from scripture says that there were Jews present, "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming."

Fact Check: Elder 111 says, "Why meet the gentles on the Sabbath if it was for the Jews only and abolished for the Gentles? How could Paul be telling them no Sabbath keeping and then make it a point of meeting them on the Sabbath?" But there were Jews there and there's no indication that Paul was sabbath keeping - though it is possible that he was it is, nevertheless, not stated that we was sabbath keeping. Elder 111 is reading his doctrine into the text.

Fact Check: Elder 111 says, "Why also in Acts 16:13 Paul was meeting with gentles outside the city by the river on the Sabbath and not with the Jews in the synagogue?" But the passage says:

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. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. (Acts 16:13-14)​

These gentiles were praying on the sabbath and worshipped God, they were in fact "God-fearing gentiles", proselytes to Judaism, so they gathered on sabbath because they were trained by the Jews to do so. Consider this comment from Albert Barnes:

Acts 16:13

And on the sabbath - There is no doubt that in this city there were Jews; In the time of the apostles they were scattered extensively throughout the known world.

By a river side - What river this was is not known. It is known, however, that the Jews were accustomed to provide water, or to build their synagogues and oratories near water, for the convenience of the numerous washings before and during their religious services.

Where prayer - Where there was a place of prayer, or where prayer was commonly offered. The Greek will bear either, but the sense is the same. Places for prayer were erected by the Jews in the vicinity of cities and towns, and particularly where there were not Jewish families enough, or where they were forbidden by the magistrate to erect a synagogue. These proseuchoe, or places of prayer, were simple enclosures made of stones, in a grove or under a tree, where there would be a retired and convenient place for worship.

Was wont - Was accustomed to be offered, or where it was established by custom.

And spake unto the women ... - This was probably before the regular service of the place commenced.​

Acts 16:14

A seller of purple - Purple was a most valuable color, obtained usually from shellfish. It was chiefly worn by princes and by the rich, and the traffic in it might be very profitable. Compare the Isa_1:18 note; Luk_16:19 note.

The city of Thyatira - This was a city of Lydia, in Asia Minor, now called Akhisar. The art of dyeing was early cultivated in the neighborhood of Thyatira, as we learn from Homer (Iliad, iv. 141), and as is confirmed by inscriptions found in that city - a circumstance which may be referred to as confirming the veracity of the statements of Luke even in his casual allusions. Several of these inscriptions have been published. See the Life and Epistles of Paul, i. 295.

Which worshipped God - A religious woman, a proselyte. See the note at Acts 13:16.

Whose heart the Lord opened - See the note at Luke 24:45.​

When all is summed up, they were worshiping on the Sabbath and Paul was with them. There was no rebuke for doing so.
Why did the Apostle not condemn Sabbath keeping when they had the perfect opportunity to do so in Acts 15?

 

[MoreCoffee]

When all is summed up, they were worshiping on the Sabbath and Paul was with them. There was no rebuke for doing so.
Why did the Apostle not condemn Sabbath keeping when they had the perfect opportunity to do so in Acts 15?

We don't condemn 7th day keeping, we just don't think it is a religious duty.

 

[Elder 111]

We don't condemn 7th day keeping, we just don't think it is a religious duty.

We dedicate things and churches to God and see it as sinful, unholy, sacrilege if they are in anyway defiled, stolen or the like. That indeed is noble and good and we are correct in having that view.
On the other hand God himself, not man, has hollowed, sanctified blessed, made holy the Sabbath and we disregard it. How can we dedicate something to God and think it more holy than that which God has sanctified Himself?

 

[MoreCoffee]

I'll take that as a bit of rhetoric, Elder 111.

 

[bugkiller]

What is the evidence Paul kept the sabbath? I can not find it. I do find that he went to the synagogue on the sabbath. Is that proof of keeping the sabbath? Where does the Scripture require worship of God on the weekly sabbath even for the Jews? Even Lev 23 says to keep the sabbath in one's house.

The meeting with the Gentiles (almost the whole city) on the sabbath stems from Paul's preaching to the Jews in the synagogue. It is not a meeting of Christians.

Isa 66:23 does not state anything occuring on the sabbath. Worship occurs from .... to and not excleusively on the sabbath. It is the way they spoke of time. The sabbath is not the subject of the sentence as the phrase from one new moon to another shows.

Mat 24:20 likewise does not endorse the sabbath as a requirement. It simply admits to the custom of the Jews and speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem.

Neither does LK 23:56. This is a historical record showing the customary sabbath being observed by Jews even while under duress and stress.

The word sabbatismos is snot a reference to the weekly sabbath. The word means the blessed rest from toils and troubles looked for in the age to come by the true worshippers of God and true Christians or more simply put the rest that God said the Isrealites would never enter by the discussion of the chapter. It is the rest Jesus offered in Mat 11:28-30.

bugkiller

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Originally Posted by MoreCoffee We don't condemn 7th day keeping, we just don't think it is a religious duty.

We dedicate things and churches to God and see it as sinful, unholy, sacrilege if they are in anyway defiled, stolen or the like. That indeed is noble and good and we are correct in having that view.
On the other hand God himself, not man, has hollowed, sanctified blessed, made holy the Sabbath and we disregard it. How can we dedicate something to God and think it more holy than that which God has sanctified Himself?

I'll take that as a bit of rhetoric, Elder 111.

What is "hollowed"

Godsmack Hollow/with lyrics - YouTube

 

[Dale]

Elder111: in post #269:
“Speculation is not how God's word should be viewed there is no need to do that. God did not work on the Sabbath, He blessed it, sanctified it and made it holy. If that is a labour law for you so be it, certainly not for God.”

I did not speculate. I posed the thought as a question in an attempt to be gentle.
You say that God did not work on the Sabbath. That’s impossible. If God ceased to sustain the universe, the entire universe would lapse into nothingness.

You claim that the crucial point in the sabbath commandment is the day of the week. Yet the commandment obviously acts to protect women, servants, laborers, foreigners, and even slaves by giving them a day off. Are all the words in the commandment that deal with women, servants, laborers, foreigners, and slaves just hot air?

Naming a particular day of the week is used to enforce the command that everyone gets a day off.

*

*