Sabbath and the New Covenant

[reddogs]

I came across a study by Roy Gane, one of the authors of books I have who is very in depth. Here are some excerpts on this issue..

Is the seventh day Sabbath a universal institution, or was it only for the literal Israelites?
My short answer to this question is: The seventh day Sabbath is universal because it was instituted at Creation for the benefit of all human beings, before the nation of Israel existed. This answer is based upon exegesis of Genesis 2:2-3, which reads:
2:2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.2:3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
God rested, i.e. ceased,(1) his work at the end of the Creation week because his work was done, not because he was tired (cp. Isa 40:28; Ps. 121:3-4).(2) On the seventh day he stopped to celebrate what could be regarded as the "birthday" of the world.
There is evidence that God intended not only to celebrate, but also to provide an example for human beings.

Exodus 31:17 refers to God being "refreshed" as a result of his rest on the seventh day of Creation. The verb translated "refreshed" here, i.e. npsh is used only three times in the Hebrew Bible (all Niphal stem): Exod 31:17; 2 Sam 16:14; and Exod 23:12. In 2 Samuel 16:14, the verb npsh describes David and his people recovering from fatigue induced by their flight from Absalom (2 Sam 16:14). Exodus 23:12 reiterates the Sabbath command given in the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:8-11):
23:12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.

In this context, rest (verb nwh) on the seventh day Sabbath clearly relieves the fatigue of human beings and animals (cp. Deut 5:14) and refreshes (verb npsh) them. Now the question arises: If the verb npsh describes relief from fatigue in Exodus 23:12 and 2 Samuel 16:14, why does Exodus 31:17 use the same word with reference to God being "refreshed"? The answer lies in the purpose of Exodus 31:12-17, which is to have God's people follow his example by resting on the seventh day of the week (Cassuto: 1967: 245,404; Sailhamer 1992: 309). Even though God did not need rest from fatigue, the Bible here speaks of him anthropomorphically(3) as receiving some kind of refreshing benefit (Sarna 1991: 202) in order to show people how to rest on the seventh day, as a result of which they would gain relief from fatigue (Exod 23:12).

Lest it should seem strange that God would do something as an example for human beings, consider two similar cases:

1. In the Israelite ritual system, the blood of a sacrificial animal was drained out and applied to the outside or horns of the altar in the courtyard (see e.g. Lev 1:5; 4:25) or to the area of the outer sanctum and the horns of the incense altar (Lev 4:6,7) with the remainder disposed of by pouring it out at the base of the outer altar (Lev 4:7). The blood did not go up to God in smoke along with the meat as a "pleasing aroma" (see e.g. Lev 1:9). Why not? Because the meat constituted a "food gift" to God (cp. Num 28:2)(4) and God had commanded the Israelites not to eat meat without draining out the blood because the blood represents the life (Lev 17:10-12; cp. Gen 9:4). By not eating blood with their meat, the Israelites acknowledged that they did not have ultimate control over life. But God did have such control. So why didn't he show it by accepting blood with his meat? Apparently because he wanted to be an example to his people, thereby practicing what he preached.

2. Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize him, but John recognized that Jesus did not need baptism (Matt 3:13-14). Baptism symbolizes purification from sin (Rom 6:1-5), but Jesus was sinless (Heb 4:15). Nevertheless, Jesus insisted that John baptize him, saying to him:
"Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15).
So Jesus went through the motions of baptism because it is part of a righteous human life, even though the righteousness which he already possessed transcended the fallen state and did not require baptism.

Thus far, we have found that God's rest served as an example for human Sabbath observance. But did this example begin to operate thousands of years after Creation, or did God intend for human beings to follow his example from the beginning? Jesus succinctly answered the question by declaring that "the Sabbath was made for humankind . . ." (Mk 2:27). He viewed the original purpose of the Sabbath as providing benefit to human beings. This means that when God rested on the seventh day of Creation, he did not simply intend to benefit himself.
It is true that there is nothing in the text of Genesis 2 which explicitly tells us that the Sabbath was made for human beings as Jesus later declared. Nor does Genesis state that the Sabbath is to be an on-going, cyclical event, occurring on each seventh day. However, Genesis did not need to explicitly state these things because the context makes them clear....

 

[reddogs]

Consider the following contextual factors:
1. According to Genesis 2:3, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Gen 2:3). Thus, God must have endowed this day with a special relationship to himself, who alone is intrinsically holy (1 Sam. 2:2). But how can a day be holy? A day is a unit of time, which is not a material substance, so it cannot be made holy by application of a holy substance, such as anointing oil (Lev 8:10-12). It must be consecrated in relation to beings who are affected by it. The only way for intelligent beings to make/treat time as holy is by altering their behavior. Thus, God altered his behavior on the seventh day of Creation, the archetype of the weekly Sabbath (cp. Hasel 1982: 23), and proclaimed the day holy. Skinner points out regarding the Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-3:
. . . it is not an institution which exists or ceases with its observance by man; the divine rest is a fact as much as the divine working, and so the sanctity of the day is a fact whether man secures the benefit or not (1930: 35).

But what sense would it make to say that God blessed the day if he intended this unit of holy time to benefit only himself? Elsewhere in the Creation story, God's blessings were outgoing, for the benefit of his creatures (Gen 1:22,28). So could we imagine that on the seventh day God rested and admired his handiwork while man toiled in the garden (cp. Gen 2:15)? The blessing must be for created beings living in the world where the seventh day operated (see Skinner 1930: 35). In order to receive the blessing, these beings would consecrate the day as God did, by altering their behavior (see Doukhan 1991: 156). The blessing results from activity which acknowledges the consecration. As Skinner put it:
. . . the Sabbath is a constant source of well-being to the man who recognizes its true nature and purpose (1930: 38).

2. God made human beings in his image (Gen 1:26-27) and commissioned them to continue the work of creation by being fruitful and multiplying (vs. 28). He also gave them the work of having dominion/responsibility over the earth (verses. 26-28; 2:15). If human beings are made in God's image and are to emulate God by working on their level as God worked on his (cp. Lev 19:2), it would stand to reason that they should also emulate God by resting from their work as God rested from his (cp. Sailhamer 1992: 96-97).

3. On each of the first six days of creation, God did something which had on-going results for our world. Thus, we expect that what he did on the seventh day would also have earthly on-going results.

4. God set up cyclical time even before man was created (Gen 1:3-5, 14-18). According to Genesis 1:14, God made heavenly luminaries, chiefly the sun and moon (vs. 16), to mark earthly time as "signs," "seasons," i.e. appointed times, days and years. So when Genesis 2:3 says that God blessed and hallowed the seventh day, this blessing and consecration could be on-going in a cyclical sense, applying to each subsequent seventh day. In fact, the seventh day Sabbath provides a plausible explanation for the origin of the week, which is not defined by the movement of heavenly bodies (cp. Cassuto 1967: 244).(5)

The Creation story does not contain a command for human beings to observe the Sabbath. But neither does it contain commands to abstain from idolatry, adultery, murder, or any of the other Ten Commandments (cp. Exod 20). In Genesis 1-2, God was concerned with setting up the ideal order of relationships rather than commanding protection of existing relationships. For human beings, he instituted the Sabbath, marriage, and work (Robertson 1980: 68-81). These three institutions embody principles which were later expressed in the Ten Commandments (cp. Exod 20:3-17).

According to Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve showed disrespect for God's lordship by eating the fruit of a forbidden tree (Gen 3:6), their marriage and work suffered as a result of the Curse of sin (Gen 3:16-19). But there is an important omission in Genesis 3: the Sabbath is not affected by any curse resulting from the Fall. Unlike the other two Creation institutions, the Sabbath remains a little piece of Paradise. As such, its value is enhanced by the deterioration around it. Now that work is exhausting, ceasing from labor on the Sabbath provides needed rest. More importantly, now that human beings are cut off from direct access to God, they need a reminder of his lordship even more than they did before the Fall.

While the Fall made marriage and labor difficult and reduced their joy, it did not take away human responsibility with regard to any of the Creation institutions or the principles which they embody. When Cain murdered Abel, showing disrespect for the life which had been given by God through the marriage of Adam and Eve, God held him accountable (Gen 4:9-15). Genesis does not say that the sixth commandment was formulated as such before Cain killed Abel, but Cain was a murderer anyway because he violated the order which God had set up. Just as we cannot say that the obligation to abstain from murder could not exist before the sixth of the Ten Commandments was given to Israel, so we cannot say that the Sabbath could not exist as a human responsibility before the fourth commandment was given.

It is true that the Pentateuchal narratives do not mention the seventh day as a day of ceasing from work between the time God rested on the seventh day of Creation (Gen 2:2-3) and the time he commanded the Israelites to observe Sabbath in the wilderness on the way to Mt. Sinai (Exod 16:23-30). But neither do the early Pentateuchal narratives record the specific obligation to refrain from taking God's name in vain. This is stated in the third of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:7) and illustrated in a later narrative (Lev 24:11-16,23). The early silence does not constitute evidence that God did not expect people to do these things which were implied by the Creation order....

 

[reddogs]

Then he goes into the New Testament..
The Sabbath and God's "rest" are not mutually exclusive, but rather, they are complementary. Insofar as keeping the seventh day Sabbath expresses and helps maintain belief in God (see below), it contributes to the experience of entering God's rest. Therefore, when God offered his "rest" to the Israelites, he offered the Sabbath along with it. The Sabbath was supposed to be part of God's "rest" and there is no indication in the Bible that this has changed.
At first glance, Colossians 2:16-17 could appear to contradict the conclusion which I reached from exegesis of Hebrews 4. Colossians 2:16-17 reads:
2:16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.
2:17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

In verse 17, "shadow" means "temporary type." So does this mean that the "sabbaths" mentioned in verse 16 functioned as temporary types?

The issue here is ritual observance of special holy days. "Festivals, new moons, or sabbaths" inverts the order found in Numbers 28-29, where the calendar of ritual offerings on holy days includes offerings on Sabbaths (Num 28:9-10), new moons (Num 28:11-15) and festivals (Num 28:16-29:40). These offerings were part of the Israelite worship system. But it was the rituals performed on the days, not the days themselves, which functioned as the types. Notice that in Colossians 2:17, the pronoun "These" identifies the shadowy things as the list in verse 16: "food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths" in verse 16. Along with food and drink, which in this context must be religious in nature because they have typological significance, it is ritual observance(10) of the festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths which constitutes the "shadow"/type; it is not the days themselves. There is no evidence that new moon days, for example, had typological significance of their own; it was the special sacrifices offered on new moon days (Num 28:11-15) which served as a "shadow."

In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul affirms the same basic message which was decided at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15): People do not need to practice the Jewish rituals in order to be Christians. The rituals were historical types pointing forward to the better, truly efficacious ministry of Jesus Christ, which has already begun and to which our focus should be directed....As a sign of the on-going dependence of human beings upon their Creator and his work, the seventh day Sabbath continues to have significance for the "new covenant." The fact that the Sabbath functioned during the "old covenant" period does not mean that the Sabbath became obsolete with that covenant. Rather, there is a sense in which the significance of the Sabbath is restored under the "new covenant."

When God reaffirmed the Sabbath for Israel, the Sabbath was more than a commandment; according to Exodus 31:13,17 (cp. Ezek 20:12), the Sabbath functioned as a sign of the covenant relationship by which he sanctified the Israelites. This function applied to Israel a principle which had been inherent in the Sabbath since Creation. On the seventh day of Creation, God sanctified the Sabbath (Gen 2:2-3), a unit of time. Why? In order to affect those who observe this special time. How would they be affected? They would emulate their holy Creator and acknowledge their on-going connection with him. Because they would belong to God, who is intrinsically holy, they would gain holiness from him. In other words, the Sabbath would be a sign that God makes people holy, just as God explicitly said in Exodus 31:13 with particular reference to the Israelites. From the beginning, his desire has been for all people to enjoy a holy relationship with him.

The divine-human relationship signified by the Sabbath is one in which human beings are dependent upon God and his work. Thus, those who rest on the Sabbath acknowledge ". . . that I, the LORD, sanctify you . . ." (Exod 31:13) and "that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth" (vs. 17). The Sabbath is not simply the immovable "birthday of the world"; it recognizes the dependence of the world, and more particularly the human beings who have dominion over the world, on God who created the world....

 

[Leaf473]

I came across a study by Roy Gane, one of the authors of books I have who is very in depth. Here are some excerpts on this issue..

Is the seventh day Sabbath a universal institution, or was it only for the literal Israelites?
My short answer to this question is: The seventh day Sabbath is universal because it was instituted at Creation for the benefit of all human beings, before the nation of Israel existed. This answer is based upon exegesis of Genesis 2:2-3, which reads:
2:2 And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done.2:3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
God rested, i.e. ceased,(1) his work at the end of the Creation week because his work was done, not because he was tired (cp. Isa 40:28; Ps. 121:3-4).(2) On the seventh day he stopped to celebrate what could be regarded as the "birthday" of the world.
There is evidence that God intended not only to celebrate, but also to provide an example for human beings.

Exodus 31:17 refers to God being "refreshed" as a result of his rest on the seventh day of Creation. The verb translated "refreshed" here, i.e. npsh is used only three times in the Hebrew Bible (all Niphal stem): Exod 31:17; 2 Sam 16:14; and Exod 23:12. In 2 Samuel 16:14, the verb npsh describes David and his people recovering from fatigue induced by their flight from Absalom (2 Sam 16:14). Exodus 23:12 reiterates the Sabbath command given in the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:8-11):
23:12 Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your homeborn slave and the resident alien may be refreshed.

In this context, rest (verb nwh) on the seventh day Sabbath clearly relieves the fatigue of human beings and animals (cp. Deut 5:14) and refreshes (verb npsh) them. Now the question arises: If the verb npsh describes relief from fatigue in Exodus 23:12 and 2 Samuel 16:14, why does Exodus 31:17 use the same word with reference to God being "refreshed"? The answer lies in the purpose of Exodus 31:12-17, which is to have God's people follow his example by resting on the seventh day of the week (Cassuto: 1967: 245,404; Sailhamer 1992: 309). Even though God did not need rest from fatigue, the Bible here speaks of him anthropomorphically(3) as receiving some kind of refreshing benefit (Sarna 1991: 202) in order to show people how to rest on the seventh day, as a result of which they would gain relief from fatigue (Exod 23:12).

Lest it should seem strange that God would do something as an example for human beings, consider two similar cases:

1. In the Israelite ritual system, the blood of a sacrificial animal was drained out and applied to the outside or horns of the altar in the courtyard (see e.g. Lev 1:5; 4:25) or to the area of the outer sanctum and the horns of the incense altar (Lev 4:6,7) with the remainder disposed of by pouring it out at the base of the outer altar (Lev 4:7). The blood did not go up to God in smoke along with the meat as a "pleasing aroma" (see e.g. Lev 1:9). Why not? Because the meat constituted a "food gift" to God (cp. Num 28:2)(4) and God had commanded the Israelites not to eat meat without draining out the blood because the blood represents the life (Lev 17:10-12; cp. Gen 9:4). By not eating blood with their meat, the Israelites acknowledged that they did not have ultimate control over life. But God did have such control. So why didn't he show it by accepting blood with his meat? Apparently because he wanted to be an example to his people, thereby practicing what he preached.

2. Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize him, but John recognized that Jesus did not need baptism (Matt 3:13-14). Baptism symbolizes purification from sin (Rom 6:1-5), but Jesus was sinless (Heb 4:15). Nevertheless, Jesus insisted that John baptize him, saying to him:
"Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15).
So Jesus went through the motions of baptism because it is part of a righteous human life, even though the righteousness which he already possessed transcended the fallen state and did not require baptism.

Thus far, we have found that God's rest served as an example for human Sabbath observance. But did this example begin to operate thousands of years after Creation, or did God intend for human beings to follow his example from the beginning? Jesus succinctly answered the question by declaring that "the Sabbath was made for humankind . . ." (Mk 2:27). He viewed the original purpose of the Sabbath as providing benefit to human beings. This means that when God rested on the seventh day of Creation, he did not simply intend to benefit himself.
It is true that there is nothing in the text of Genesis 2 which explicitly tells us that the Sabbath was made for human beings as Jesus later declared. Nor does Genesis state that the Sabbath is to be an on-going, cyclical event, occurring on each seventh day. However, Genesis did not need to explicitly state these things because the context makes them clear....

Do you believe the seventh day Sabbath was written on the hearts of people from the very beginning?

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New International Reader's Version

Gentiles do not have the law. Sometimes they just naturally do what the law requires. They are a law for themselves. This is true even though they don’t have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts. The way their minds judge them proves this fact. Sometimes their...

www.biblegateway.com

 

[BobRyan]

Do you believe the seventh day Sabbath was written on the hearts of people from the very beginning?

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New International Reader's Version

Gentiles do not have the law. Sometimes they just naturally do what the law requires. They are a law for themselves. This is true even though they don’t have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts. The way their minds judge them proves this fact. Sometimes their...

www.biblegateway.com

one Gospel Gal 1:6-9
preached to Abraham Gal 3:8
preached to us just as it was to them also Heb 4:2

Sabbath given to all mankind in Gen 2:2-3 at creation - as in the case of all TEN of the Ten Commandments

Jer 31:31-34 "law of God written on the heart" included the TEN where "He spoke the TEN and added no more" Deut 5:22

These basic Bible details admitted by the majority of even Sunday-keeping denominations

I believe God informed "man" in Gen 2:2-3 -- "both of them" - about His own sovereign choice to make the 7th day holy - sanctified for holy use such that Jesus said "The Sabbath was MADE for mankind" Mark 2:27

No wonder almost every Christian denomination on Earth affirms the continued *"unit of TEN" for Christians today

[*]The Baptist Confession of Faith section 19
[*]The Westminster Confession of Faith section 19
[*]Voddie Baucham
[*]C.H. Spurgeon
[*]D.L. Moody
[*]Dies Domini by Pope John Paul II
[*]D. James Kennedy
[*]R.C. Sproul
[*]many others as well..

======================================= here is the part I will be asked to post again... and again.

And this is true EVEN THOUGH some will argue that "not bowing down before images and not serving them" - is an "issue" in some denominations that needs to be "re-thought carefully".

So then -- there exists saved saints in all denominations but not all have the same in-depth knowledge of scripture and accept it.

Judges 21:
23 The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24 And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

2 Tim 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths

1 Tim 4: 1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

by contrast in Acts 17: "11 Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things (spoken by the Apostle Paul) were so.

Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap.

John 3:9 Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony.

John 7:17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.

Clearly not all the Jews became convinced through study of scripture that Christ's doctrine was of God. Yet John 7 remains true and so also Gal 6:7

 

[Leaf473]

one Gospel Gal 1:6-9
preached to Abraham Gal 3:8
preached to us just as it was to them also Heb 4:2

Sabbath given to all mankind in Gen 2:2-3 at creation - as in the case of all TEN of the Ten Commandments

Jer 31:31-34 "law of God written on the heart" included the TEN where "He spoke the TEN and added no more" Deut 5:22

These basic Bible details admitted by the majority of even Sunday-keeping denominations

No wonder almost every Christian denomination on Earth affirms the continued *"unit of TEN" for Christians today

[*]The Baptist Confession of Faith section 19
[*]The Westminster Confession of Faith section 19
[*]Voddie Baucham
[*]C.H. Spurgeon
[*]D.L. Moody
[*]Dies Domini by Pope John Paul II
[*]D. James Kennedy
[*]R.C. Sproul
[*]many others as well..

=======================================

And this is true EVEN THOUGH some will argue that "not bowing down before images and not serving them" - is an "issue" in some denominations that needs to be "re-thought carefully".

So then -- there exists saved saints in all denominations but not all have the same in-depth knowledge of scripture and accept it.

Judges 21:
23 The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives according to their number from those who danced, whom they seized. And they went and returned to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them. 24 And the sons of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and each one departed from there to his inheritance.
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

2 Tim 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths

1 Tim 4: 1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,

by contrast in Acts 17: "11 Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things (spoken by the Apostle Paul) were so.

Hi BobRyan

Is that a Yes, you do believe the seventh day Sabbath was written on the hearts of people from the very beginning?

If so, do you believe that a sacred day gathering was also written on the hearts of people from the very beginning?

Bible Gateway passage: Leviticus 23:3 - New International Reader's Version

The Sabbath Day “ ‘There are six days when you can work. But the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest. You must rest on it. Come together on that sacred day. You must not do any work on it. No matter where you live, it is a Sabbath day to honor the LORD.

www.biblegateway.com

 

[B Griffin]

What does this mean?

16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.​

17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”​

18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (Jn 5:16–18)​

 

[daq]

What does this mean?

16 For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.​

17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”​

18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (Jn 5:16–18)​

ο πατηρ μου εως αρτι εργαζεται καγω εργαζομαι
My Father works until right now: I also work until right now. (an ellipsis)
My Father works until right now, and I work until right now.

εως αρτι = until just now, until right now, until this moment, etc., etc.

Thus their timing for the daily Shabbat hour was incorrect because they had placed a hedge about the daily Shabbat hour, (probably the half hour before the Shabbat), so as to guard from people transgressing the commandment, as they also did with many other commandments.

 

[Bob S]

The Creation story does not contain a command for human beings to observe the Sabbath. But neither does it contain commands to abstain from idolatry, adultery, murder, or any of the other Ten Commandments (cp. Exod 20). In Genesis 1-2, God was concerned with setting up the ideal order of relationships rather than commanding protection of existing relationships. For human beings, he instituted the Sabbath, marriage, and work (Robertson 1980: 68-81). These three institutions embody principles which were later expressed in the Ten Commandments (cp. Exod 20:3-17).

So, you do not believe God placed in our minds the difference of right and wrong? The most primitive tribes that have never heard of the ten commandments know the difference of what is right and what is wrong. What none of them know is the Sabbath law given only to the Israelites after crossing into safety. If the Sabbath was so important why didn't God stop them for Sabbath observance during the flight out of Egypt?

According to Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve showed disrespect for God's lordship by eating the fruit of a forbidden tree (Gen 3:6), their marriage and work suffered as a result of the Curse of sin (Gen 3:16-19). But there is an important omission in Genesis 3: the Sabbath is not affected by any curse resulting from the Fall. Unlike the other two Creation institutions, the Sabbath remains a little piece of Paradise. As such, its value is enhanced by the deterioration around it. Now that work is exhausting, ceasing from labor on the Sabbath provides needed rest. More importantly, now that human beings are cut off from direct access to God, they need a reminder of his lordship even more than they did before the Fall.

I didn't realize that their marriage suffered. Is that what Gen3:6 is telling us or are you adding to scripture to try to make a point?

The whole paragraph cannot be proved. It is just your opinion, too bad.

While the Fall made marriage and labor difficult and reduced their joy,

Just another opinion. All of this Op seems like something Ellen would write.

it did not take away human responsibility with regard to any of the Creation institutions or the principles which they embody. When Cain murdered Abel, showing disrespect for the life which had been given by God through the marriage of Adam and Eve, God held him accountable (Gen 4:9-15). Genesis does not say that the sixth commandment was formulated as such before Cain killed Abel, but Cain was a murderer anyway because he violated the order which God had set up. Just as we cannot say that the obligation to abstain from murder could not exist before the sixth of the Ten Commandments was given to Israel, so we cannot say that the Sabbath could not exist as a human responsibility before the fourth commandment was given.

Another opinion with nothing to prove the thought.

It is true that the Pentateuchal narratives do not mention the seventh day as a day of ceasing from work between the time God rested on the seventh day of Creation (Gen 2:2-3) and the time he commanded the Israelites to observe Sabbath in the wilderness on the way to Mt. Sinai (Exod 16:23-30). But

Yes "but". You think God was resting while He had the Israelites fleeing seven days a week for several weeks? For one day for several weeks God ceased from protecting those poor slaves while God remained in His dwelling??????

 

[Bob S]

one Gospel Gal 1:6-9
preached to Abraham Gal 3:8
preached to us just as it was to them also Heb 4:2

Why would anyone need to be "preached" to about the Sabbath if it is one of the ten commandments you tell us is righten in our hearts????

 

[Gary K]

Why would anyone need to be "preached" to about the Sabbath if it is one of the ten commandments you tell us is righten in our hearts????

Are we sinful human beings? If so it must be written in our hearts just like the rest of the 10.

 

[Leaf473]

Is the Sabbath commandment part of this writing in our hearts?

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New International Reader's Version

Gentiles do not have the law. Sometimes they just naturally do what the law requires. They are a law for themselves. This is true even though they don’t have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts. The way their minds judge them proves this fact. Sometimes their...

www.biblegateway.com

 

[Gary K]

Is the Sabbath commandment part of this writing in our hearts?

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New International Reader's Version

Gentiles do not have the law. Sometimes they just naturally do what the law requires. They are a law for themselves. This is true even though they don’t have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts. The way their minds judge them proves this fact. Sometimes their...

www.biblegateway.com

Yes. The HS works upon the hearts of everyone, not just Christians. So when a person listens to and obeys the law of God before they hear about Jesus they are showing the evidence of the law being written in their hearts by the HS.

There are multiple stories of natives who having never heard of God were waiting for the missionaries when they showed up as a chief of theirs had a dream telling him that white men were coming to teach the entire tribe about Jesus. In at least one instance the entire tribe was already Christianized, including keeping the Sabbath.

 

[Leaf473]

Yes. The HS works upon the hearts of everyone, not just Christians. So when a person listens to and obeys the law of God before they hear about Jesus they are showing the evidence of the law being written in their hearts by the HS.

There are multiple stories of natives who having never heard of God were waiting for the missionaries when they showed up as a chief of theirs had a dream telling him that white men were coming to teach the entire tribe about Jesus. In at least one instance the entire tribe was already Christianized, including keeping the Sabbath.

That's interesting, but it's not quite what I'm talking about.

If the Sabbath commandment has been written on the hearts of humans since the beginning, I would expect that taboos around the Sabbath would be as common as taboos around murder or sexuality

 

[B Griffin]

ο πατηρ μου εως αρτι εργαζεται καγω εργαζομαι
My Father works until right now: I also work until right now. (an ellipsis)
My Father works until right now, and I work until right now.

εως αρτι = until just now, until right now, until this moment, etc., etc.

Thus their timing for the daily Shabbat hour was incorrect because they had placed a hedge about the daily Shabbat hour, (probably the half hour before the Shabbat), so as to guard from people transgressing the commandment, as they also did with many other commandments.

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. (Jn 5:8–9)​

John declares in verse 9, "And that day was the Sabbath". It would be problematic to say he was in error when he wrote that, wouldn't it? How then could we believe anything else he wrote? Some other explanation besides the one you offered is warranted here.

 

[Gary K]

That's interesting, but it's not quite what I'm talking about.

If the Sabbath commandment has been written on the hearts of humans since the beginning, I would expect that taboos around the Sabbath would be as common as taboos around murder or sexuality

How do you come to that conclusion? In a world of sin and paganism there will be taboos against breaking the Sabbath? The evidence says that the word Sabbath for the seventh day of the week is nearly universal. That it should be ignored is not surprising as even most Christians don't keep the Sabbath.

 

[Leaf473]

How do you come to that conclusion?

I would expect that taboos around the Sabbath would be as common as taboos around murder or sexuality because the same God would have written them all.

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New Living Translation

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

www.biblegateway.com

In a world of sin and paganism there will be taboos against breaking the Sabbath?

Well, taboos of some sort around a particular seventh day, the same day around the world. I would expect that taboos *around* the Sabbath would be as common as taboos *around* murder or sexuality.

The evidence says that the word Sabbath for the seventh day of the week is nearly universal. That it should be ignored is not surprising as even most Christians don't keep the Sabbath.

I've seen a list commonly circulated here that allegedly shows that all languages have a word for Sabbath.

But the list is heavily biased towards Indo-European and Semitic languages. Can you think of a reason for that?

 

[Gary K]

I would expect that taboos around the Sabbath would be as common as taboos around murder or sexuality because the same God would have written them all.

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 2:14-15 - New Living Translation

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.

www.biblegateway.com

Well, taboos of some sort around a particular seventh day, the same day around the world. I would expect that taboos *around* the Sabbath would be as common as taboos *around* murder or sexuality.


I've seen a list commonly circulated here that allegedly shows that all languages have a word for Sabbath.

But the list is heavily biased towards Indo-European and Semitic languages. Can you think of a reason for that?

Why?

 

[Bob S]

Are we sinful human beings? If so it must be written in our hearts just like the rest of the 10.

What a silly conclusion. Why would a perfect God write the ten on our hearts if He knew we cannot read them?

 

[Leaf473]

Why?

Hi Gary, which part of my post are you asking "Why" about?