Sabbath questions

[Sophia7]

Creation
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." (Genesis 2:2, 3)

Exodus 16
"See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day." (Exodus 16:29, 30)

Decalogue (Exodus)
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)

Decalogue (Deuteronomy)
"Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)

Where is the biblical evidence that anyone was commanded to keep the Sabbath before Exodus 16?

These texts demonstrate clearly that the sabbath was a principle. The principle was that one day out of seven was to be set apart for the public worship of God. This seventh day is moral and unchanging, the day it falls upon can be changed but only by God. Hence the Westminster Confession sums up the biblical teaching thus:

"As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him (Exodus 20:8, 10, 11; Isaiah 56:2, 4, 6, 7): which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week (Genesis 2:2, 3; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2), which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10), and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 10, with Matthew 5:17, 18)."​

The Reformed idea of one day in seven isn't a biblical principle; the Sabbath commandment required the observance of a specific day, the seventh day, as a sign between God and Israel, not as an eternally binding moral obligation for everyone:

Exodus 31:12 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 13 "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
14 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
15' For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
16 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'
17" It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."
18 When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God. (NASB)
​

I'm not a Lutheran, but I believe that this statement from the Augsburg Confession regarding the Sabbath is more biblical than the claims of the Westminster Confession (which really upholds Sunday/the Lord's Day as the new Christian Sabbath anyway, not just a principle of one in seven):

For it is necessary that the doctrine of Christian liberty should be maintained in the church [Christendom]: that the bondage of the law is not necessary unto justification, as it is written to the Galatians: 'Be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage' (Gal. v. 1). It necessary that the chiefest point of all the Gospel should be holden fast, that we do freely obtain grace, by faith in Christ, not because of certain observances, or of services devised by men.

What is, then to be thought of the Lord's day, and of like rites of temples? Hereunto they [ours] answer, that it is lawful for Bishops or Pastors to make ordinances, whereby things may be done in order in the Church; not that by them we may merit grace, or satisfy for sins, or that men's consciences should be bound to esteem them as necessary services, and think that they sin when they violate them, without the offense of others. So Paul ordained, 'that women should cover their heads in the congregation' (1 Cor. xi. 6); 'that the interpreters of Scriptures should be heard in order in the Church' (1 Cor. xiv. 27), etc.

Such ordinances it behooveth the churches to keep for charity and quietness' sake, so that one offend not another, that all things may be done in order, and without tumult in the churches (1 Cor. xiv. 40 and Phil. ii. 14), but so that consciences be not burdened, so as to account them as things necessary to salvation, and think they sin when they violate them, without offense of others; as no one would say that a woman sins if she went into public with her head uncovered, provided it were without the offense of men.

Such is the observation of the Lord's day, of Easter, of Pentecost, and like holidays and rites. For they that think that the observation of the Lord's day was appointed by the authority of the Church, instead of the Sabbath, as necessary, are greatly deceived. The Scripture, which teacheth that all the Mosaical ceremonies can be omitted after the Gospel is revealed, has abrogated the Sabbath. And yet, because it was requisite to appoint a certain day, that the people might know when they ought to come together, it appears that the [Christian] Church did for that purpose appoint the Lord's day: which for this cause also seemed to have been pleasing, that men might have an example of Christian liberty, and might know that the observation, neither of the Sabbath, nor of another day, was of necessity.

There are certain marvelous disputations touching the changing of the law, and the ceremonies of the new law, and the change of the Sabbath: which all arose from the false persuasion, that there should be a service in the Church, like to the Levitical; and that Christ committed to the Apostles and Bishops the devising new ceremonies, which should be necessary to salvation. These errors crept into the Church, when the righteousness of faith was not plainly enough taught. Some dispute that the observation of the Lord's day is not indeed of the law of God, but as it were of the law of God; and touching holidays, they prescribe how far it is lawful to work in them. What else are such disputations but snares for men's consciences? For though they seek to moderate traditions, yet the equity of them can never be perceived so long as the opinion of necessity remaineth; which must needs remain, where the righteousness of faith and Christian liberty are not know.
​

 

[Iosias]

Where is the biblical evidence that anyone was commanded to keep the Sabbath before Exodus 16?

The weekly sabbath was instituted at creation. Note that Moses was not instituting the sabbath in Exodus 16 but was reminding Israel of it, i.e. it already existed. There is evidence that the sabbath was kept prior to Exodus 16. For example, in Genesis 4:3 we find "in process of time" Abel and Cain gathered to worship God. This could also be translated as "at the end of days" and so refers to the end of seven days, at the end of the week, which is the sabbath day upon which these sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord. The sabbath that Adam and Eve kept would have been taught to their sons etc.

We also find evidence of a seven day week from Genesis 7:10; 8:10, 12; 29:27. On these latter verses Dr. B. H. Carroll writes:

"I ask you to notice this strange historical fact, that for all other divisions of time we have a reason in the motions of the heavenly bodies. The revolution of the earth around the sun marks the division of time into years. The moon's revolution around the earth gives us the month. The day comes from the revolution of the earth upon its axis. But from what suggestion of nature do you get the division of time into weeks? It is a positive and arbitrary division. It is based on authority. The chronicles of the ages record its recognition. But how did it originate? Here in the oldest book, in the first account of man, you will find its origin and purpose. Noah twice recognized it in the ark, when he waited seven days each time to send out his dove. Jacob in the days of his courtship, found it prevalent when he looked for satisfaction in the laughing eyes of Rachel, and the stern father said, 'Fulfill her week.' Why a week? How did he get it? It was God's division of time."

​

The Reformed idea of one day in seven isn't a biblical principle; the Sabbath commandment required the observance of a specific day, the seventh day, as a sign between God and Israel, not as an eternally binding moral obligation for everyone...

The command of God is to hallow the seventh day, this you cannot disprove. This seventh day is then called the sabbath. This keeping of the seventh day originated in the garden and is a part of the natural law that God made with Adam. This is to do with the worship of God and so is moral.

In the national covenant God made with Israel as a nation he first declares the moral law, i.e. the decalogue. The first four commandments refer to man's duty towards God, the next six refer to his duty towards his fellow men. This decalogue delineates what the redeemed people are to do.

"The institution of the sabbath was a great instance of God's favour to Israel and a sign that he had distinguished them from all other people; and their religious observance of the sabbath was a great instance of their duty and obedience to him. God, by sanctifying this day among them, let them know that he sanctified them, and set them apart for himself and his service; otherwise he would not have revealed to them his holy sabbaths, to be the support of religion among them. The Jews, by observing one day in seven, after six days' labour, testified and declared that they worshipped the God who made the world in six days, and rested the seventh; and so distinguished themselves from other nations, who, having first lost the sabbath, which was instituted to be a memorial of the creation, by degrees lost the knowledge of the Creator, and gave that honour to the creature which was due to him alone." (Matthew Henry)

In keeping the sabbath we show that we are in covenant with God, why? Because we worship him upon his holy day!

To summarise: The sabbath is moral, creational, which means it is also perpetual. None of your argument proves otherwise. You may benefit from reading Pink's The Christian Sabbath, Edward's The Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath and J C Ryle's Sabbath: A Day to Keep.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Because the first time a sabbath was mentioned in the Bible (Exodus 16), it took a couple of attempts at it until the children of Israel got the concept down. Also, Nehemiah 9:13-14 ascibes the knowledge of the sabbath ordinance to Moses:

Just as I thought, argument from silence.

If the law hasn't been abolished, then why doesn't the seventh-day Adventist church sacrifice two lambs every week on the sabbath day? Why does the seventh-day Adventist church choose to give lip service to the convocation of the weekly sabbath, and then take the liberty to offend the annual sabbaths of the unleavened bread, tabernacles, and so forth?

I think it would be better to ask that question to an SDA.

The book of the law and the two tables of stone embody 'one law', as it is defined in Numbers 15:16, Exodus 12:49, and elsewhere. It isn't divisible, the point made in Galatians 5:3, James 2:10, and like this in Galatians 3:10:

Agreed.

The old covenant was the ten commandments, Exodus 34:27-28 and Deuteronomy 4:13.

The old covenant, as I stated in a previous thread, is God's promise to bless Israel if she obeyed the Law, and to curse her if she did not. The old covenant is not the Law itself.

2 Corinthians 3:9-13
9: For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10: For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11: For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
12: Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
13: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:

The vail on the face of Moses links this chapter directly to Exodus 34, when Moses spent 40 days with God while receiving the second pair of stone tables with the ten commandments. Here it is clearly called 'abolished' in the AV.

What is being abolished here? The Law itself, or the condemnation unto death that the Law places on the sinner?

Creation isn't a "doctrine"; it is a historical fact.

Doctrine of creation: the proposition that the universe was created by God.

Sabbath isn't to be found anywhere in the account, including Genesis 2:1-3.

You conclude that just because the word "sabbath" isn't used? Even though the Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20 expressly alludes to it?

These texts demonstrate clearly that the sabbath was a principle. The principle was that one day out of seven was to be set apart for the public worship of God. This seventh day is moral and unchanging, the day it falls upon can be changed but only by God. Hence the Westminster Confession sums up the biblical teaching thus:
"As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him (Exodus 20:8, 10, 11; Isaiah 56:2, 4, 6, 7): which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week (Genesis 2:2, 3; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2), which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10), and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 10, with Matthew 5:17, 18)."

Could you elaborate on the biblical verses which you believe change the Sabbath to Sunday?

 

[VictorC]

The weekly sabbath was instituted at creation. Note that Moses was not instituting the sabbath in Exodus 16 but was reminding Israel of it, i.e. it already existed.

No, there isn't a sabbath ordinance that exists anywhere in Scripture prior to its initiation in Exodus 16. It actually came to be codified in the Mosaic covenant as a sign that was exclusive to Israel, and this is mentioned in Exodus 31:13:
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

There is evidence that the sabbath was kept prior to Exodus 16. For example, in Genesis 4:3 we find "in process of time" Abel and Cain gathered to worship God. This could also be translated as "at the end of days" and so refers to the end of seven days, at the end of the week, which is the sabbath day upon which these sons of Adam brought their offerings to the Lord. The sabbath that Adam and Eve kept would have been taught to their sons etc.

We also find evidence of a seven day week from Genesis 7:10; 8:10, 12; 29:27. On these latter verses Dr. B. H. Carroll writes:

"I ask you to notice this strange historical fact, that for all other divisions of time we have a reason in the motions of the heavenly bodies. The revolution of the earth around the sun marks the division of time into years. The moon's revolution around the earth gives us the month. The day comes from the revolution of the earth upon its axis. But from what suggestion of nature do you get the division of time into weeks? It is a positive and arbitrary division. It is based on authority. The chronicles of the ages record its recognition. But how did it originate? Here in the oldest book, in the first account of man, you will find its origin and purpose. Noah twice recognized it in the ark, when he waited seven days each time to send out his dove. Jacob in the days of his courtship, found it prevalent when he looked for satisfaction in the laughing eyes of Rachel, and the stern father said, 'Fulfill her week.' Why a week? How did he get it? It was God's division of time."​

These are speculations on the observance of a seven day week, which itself could well be a rememberance of the seventh day of rest from the foundation of the earth, mentioned in Hebrews 4:3. It was Adam who possibly knew the significance of that day that God rested, and from this a tradition of counting the period may have taken place.

However, this is all speculation. Adam had no works to rest from, and he is completely absent from the account in Genesis. He had no such thing as a sabbath to pass on to his posterity.

The command of God is to hallow the seventh day, this you cannot disprove. This seventh day is then called the sabbath. This keeping of the seventh day originated in the garden and is a part of the natural law that God made with Adam. This is to do with the worship of God and so is moral.

I believe I just did disprove this. The sabbath you place in the present-tense "is" was actually codified in the Mosaic covenant, which you also note below:

In the national covenant God made with Israel as a nation he first declares the moral law, i.e. the decalogue. The first four commandments refer to man's duty towards God, the next six refer to his duty towards his fellow men. This decalogue delineates what the redeemed people are to do.

First of all, the ten commandments are contained in the whole book of the law, as well as the two stone tables - and as Israel's 'one law' cannot be divided into components.

When you mention that this is the guidance for what the redeemed people are to do, what are these people redeemed from? Placing this in the presents tense does not describe those delivered from bondage in Egypt anymore.

Rather, the redeemed of God in the present time are those who are redeemed from the law. This can be seen in Romans 7:6-7, which reads:

6: But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

The first half of this chapter is consistent in using "the law" to refer to the covenant mediated by Moses. It is identified as the legal body that the redeemed were delivered from by citation of the contents "thou shalt not covet" - this is the decalogue itself.

In keeping the sabbath we show that we are in covenant with God, why? Because we worship him upon his holy day!

The commandment isn't to worship God on His holy day; the commandment actually reads to keep the sabbath holy in Exodus 20:8.
Like other ordinances codified in law, this one contained a penalty for non-compliance, specified in Exodus 31:14:
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Violation of the sabbath means death. It should not be any wonder that Paul calls the ten commandments inscribed on stone tables the "ministration of death" in 2 Corinthians 3:7. That is precisely what they were.

Light a fire? You're toast - Exodus 35:3
Fail to sacrifice two lambs every week? You're toast - Numbers 28:9-10

That is what keeping the sabbath holy entails.

To summarise: The sabbath is moral, creational, which means it is also perpetual. None of your argument proves otherwise. You may benefit from reading Pink's The Christian Sabbath, Edward's The Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath and J C Ryle's Sabbath: A Day to Keep.

I notice that you like to quote from uninspired sources such as Pink and Henry. I have read enough of Matthew Henry's commentary that I already know of his sympathy for 1844, and this shows his influence by William Miller in the 1800's. Commentaries are problematic and a poor substitute in lieu of the Biblical texts themselves.

I have yet to see where the sabbath orginated in the creation account, and I have yet to see that there is a "Christian sabbath" initiated anywhere in Scripture. The only place you can find a sabbath is in Moses, and nowhere will you find the commandment to move an abolished ordinance to another day.

As far as linking "perpetual" from the non-existent "creational", you need to consider these texts that put an end to that covenant with death mediated by Moses (Exodus 34:27-28 and Deuteronomy 4:13):

Galatians 4:21-31
21: Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
22: For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23: But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24: Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25: For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26: But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27: For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28: Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29: But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30: Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31: So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

We are to abide in Christ, not Moses. Redemption is from bondage, just as the Gospel is summarized in Galatians 4:4-5

4: But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5: To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Victor

 

[VictorC]

Just as I thought, argument from silence.

It isn't "silence", but a vacuum. That is why I mentioned to you that the burden of showing a sabbath prior to Moses was yours to bear.

I think it would be better to ask that question to an SDA.

I thought that you were SDA, so I apologize if you're not.
However, I have asked this question to SDA's many times, and all I ever get is a strange glazed look.
If you're not SDA, and you appeal to them as an authority of some sort, please feel free to pass my question as to why the SDA church disregards the annual sabbath days along to them.

Agreed.

According to Adventism, their dichotomy is explained by taking that 'one law' and breaking it into 'moral' and 'ceremonial' components.
I'm glad we agree this isn't a valid approach to Israel's covenant.

The old covenant, as I stated in a previous thread, is God's promise to bless Israel if she obeyed the Law, and to curse her if she did not. The old covenant is not the Law itself.

Scripture testifies otherwise:

Exodus 34:27-28
27: And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.
28: And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And He wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
Deuteronomy 4:13
And He declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

This is in accordance to a Suzerainty Covenant, where the Sovereign dictates the terms of the relationship to the vassel He delivered from Egypt.

What is being abolished here? The Law itself, or the condemnation unto death that the Law places on the sinner?

It should be self-evident that if you were to forgive an infraction, the law itself would condemn you if it continued to have jurisdiction. The law itself is abolished from having any jurisdiction over those redeemed from it. That is the message of propitiation found in Romans 3:25, the Blood atonement that satisfied the penalties of the law. Since the law has been satisfied and contains no provision for double jeopardy, it is dismissed.

We aren't under the old covenant mediated by Moses anymore, as 2 Corinthians 3:6-7 mention:

6: Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
7: But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

You conclude that just because the word "sabbath" isn't used? Even though the Fourth Commandment in Exodus 20 expressly alludes to it?

Exodus 20:11 uses the seventh day as the model for the creation of the sabbath, expressed as the "wherefore" that appears in the AV. The NLT renders this expression accurately when it shows that the "wherefore" is the reason for a sabbath ordinance that never existed before:

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

The seventh day and the sabbath are individual subjects that are each delineated by the reason one was used to institute the other.

Could you elaborate on the biblical verses which you believe change the Sabbath to Sunday?

The Westminster Confession is obviously unBiblical, and both of us can see that for ourselves.
There is absolutely no time the sabbath was "changed" from Saturday to Sunday; it is a component of codified law that exists only in Moses.

A law that was abolished, not changed.
There is no sabbath ordinance to be found past 2000 years ago.
Otherwise, Romans 3:19 has application to you if you believe Moses still has jurisdiction over you:
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Guilty before God isn't very good news, and it isn't the Gospel.

Victor

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

It should be self-evident that if you were to forgive an infraction, the law itself would condemn you if it continued to have jurisdiction. The law itself is abolished from having any jurisdiction over those redeemed from it. That is the message of propitiation found in Romans 3:25, the Blood atonement that satisfied the penalties of the law. Since the law has been satisfied and contains no provision for double jeopardy, it is dismissed.

Is that how our legal system works. If a criminal receives a gubernatorial pardon for the crime he commits, does that mean he is free to go out and commit the same crime? Do you not understand the difference between justifying the sinner and justifying the sin.

Exodus 20:11 uses the seventh day as the model for the creation of the sabbath, expressed as the "wherefore" that appears in the AV. The NLT renders this expression accurately when it shows that the "wherefore" is the reason for a sabbath ordinance that never existed before:

For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Do you remember that it was in Genesis that the Sabbath was set apart as holy? That, incidentally, is why I see no reason to doubt that the Sabbath existed before Moses.

Guilty before God isn't very good news, and it isn't the Gospel.

No, but it has to be understood and accepted for the Gospel to mean anything? Can you repent of your sins if you don't accept that you have sins to repent of?

 

[BreadAlone]

I like to go with what God says on this one:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

 

[Sophia7]

Do you remember that it was in Genesis that the Sabbath was set apart as holy? That, incidentally, is why I see no reason to doubt that the Sabbath existed before Moses.

The Genesis account doesn't actually specify when the seventh day was set apart as holy, but it was clearly after God rested. Genesis 2 says that God ended His work of creation and that He sanctified the seventh day because He had rested in it:

Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all, his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all, his work which God created and made.
​

I think it's likely that the creation account was written after the issuing of the Law at Sinai (and after the Sabbath had been given to Israel as a sign) and that it references God's words spoken from the mountain regarding His resting and hallowing of the seventh day, rather than the other way around.

 

[Iosias]

Could you elaborate on the biblical verses which you believe change the Sabbath to Sunday?

The best explanation by far is The Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath which was written by Jonathan Edwards.

The verses relating to the sabbath tell us a story. The sabbath in redemptive history is linked to redemption. So, "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." When Moses delivers the sabbath to Israel at Horeb he states, "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day."

The sabbath does not have just one meaning, but one meaning of it is to cause us to remember the redemption that God has provided for his people.
Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:9, 10, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." The church is the people of God, we have been redeemed by God through the death of Christ from the bongage of sin. This redemption was pictured in the Old Testament by Israel's redemption from Egypt. The sabbath day was a day to recall that great deliverance.

Our great deliverance was by Christ who was "Lord of the Sabbath". This deliverance was wrough for us at the Cross. Paul writes that Jesus "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Rom 4:25). Indeed earlier he has declared that Jesus was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:" (Rom 1:4). So our deliverance was provided upon the first day of the week. The seventh day moves to the first day of the week. This then was born out by Apostolic practice:

Acts 20:7 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."

1 Cor 16:2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."

Hence, "The fourth commandment requires of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to God such set times as he has appointed in his Word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which is the Christian sabbath, and in the New Testament called the Lord’s day." (Westminster Larger Catechism)

 

[Iosias]

I like to go with what God says on this one:

As do I but the big problem is that it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. As Adam Clarke explains:

Let no man - judge you in meat, or in drink - The apostle speaks here in reference to some particulars of the hand-writing of ordinances, which had been taken away, viz., the distinction of meats and drinks, what was clean and what unclean, according to the law; and the necessity of observing certain holydays or festivals, such as the new moons and particular sabbaths, or those which should be observed with more than ordinary solemnity; all these had been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross, and were no longer of moral obligation. There is no intimation here that the Sabbath was done away, or that its moral use was superseded, by the introduction of Christianity. I have shown elsewhere that, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, is a command of perpetual obligation, and can never be superseded but by the final termination of time. As it is a type of that rest which remains for the people of God, of an eternity of bliss, it must continue in full force till that eternity arrives; for no type ever ceases till the antitype be come. Besides, it is not clear that the apostle refers at all to the Sabbath in this place, whether Jewish or Christian; his σαββατων, of sabbaths or weeks, most probably refers to their feasts of weeks, of which much has been said in the notes on the Pentateuch.

 

[VictorC]

Is that how our legal system works. If a criminal receives a gubernatorial pardon for the crime he commits, does that mean he is free to go out and commit the same crime? Do you not understand the difference between justifying the sinner and justifying the sin.

The answer to your question should become apparent when you appeal for forgiveness when you broke the sabbath ordinance last week, and then you come along and break the sabbath commandment this coming week, and the week after that, and continue to break the sabbath everyweek - just as you have always broken the sabbath. Just as Israel had always broken the sabbath, and just as Israel was unable to abide by the whole book of the law for as long as it had jurisdiction over its 1500 year long history. That invokes the curse mentioned in Galatians 3:10:
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

The law had a purpose that wasn't immediately apparent - it was designed to show the recipients their depravity before a holy God, and their need for redemption from that means of instruction. That is the point raised when Paul concluded the purpose of the law in Galatians 3:21-25:

21: Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
22: But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23: But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25: But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Very simply, the Mosaic covenant was designed to drive its recipients to their knees and lead them to their Redeemer.
Has it done it job, or are you still in need of this redemption?

Do you remember that it was in Genesis that the Sabbath was set apart as holy? That, incidentally, is why I see no reason to doubt that the Sabbath existed before Moses.

You had best look at the account in Genesis for yourself.

Genesis 2:1-3
1: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Some notable observations:

• This 'sabbath' was a one-time event. God had finished His work of creation, and did not return to it. He did not rest again on the 14th day, nor the 21st, 28th, etc.
• God alone rested this day; Adam had no works to rest from, and he is completely absent from this account.
• It was the seventh day that was sanctified -set apart- and this one event stood apart in the history of creation as the model of God's rest that we would be invited to enter into by faith in His completed works.

Hebrews 4:1-6
1: Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
2: For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3: For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4: For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5: And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6: Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief...

These words were addressed to those who had been living under a sabbath ordinance for 1500 years, and this text asserts they never entered into His - God's rest. The seventh day wasn't the weekly sabbath, but the one time that God rested, and never ended this finished rest that stood as the promise we may enter into.

No, but it has to be understood and accepted for the Gospel to mean anything? Can you repent of your sins if you don't accept that you have sins to repent of?

Let me conclude with Paul's opinion of the recipients of the law, who relied on it for their definition of righteousness:

Romans 10:1-4
1: Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
2: For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3: For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4: For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

In a nutshell, reliance on the law is tantamount to a declaration that your works are somehow acceptable before a holy God, and you don't need to enter into the enduring rest that He Himself has provided for us.

Victor

 

[VictorC]

As do I but the big problem is that it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. As Adam Clarke explains:

Let no man - judge you in meat, or in drink - The apostle speaks here in reference to some particulars of the hand-writing of ordinances, which had been taken away, viz., the distinction of meats and drinks, what was clean and what unclean, according to the law; and the necessity of observing certain holydays or festivals, such as the new moons and particular sabbaths, or those which should be observed with more than ordinary solemnity; all these had been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross, and were no longer of moral obligation. There is no intimation here that the Sabbath was done away, or that its moral use was superseded, by the introduction of Christianity. I have shown elsewhere that, Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, is a command of perpetual obligation, and can never be superseded but by the final termination of time. As it is a type of that rest which remains for the people of God, of an eternity of bliss, it must continue in full force till that eternity arrives; for no type ever ceases till the antitype be come. Besides, it is not clear that the apostle refers at all to the Sabbath in this place, whether Jewish or Christian; his σαββατων, of sabbaths or weeks, most probably refers to their feasts of weeks, of which much has been said in the notes on the Pentateuch.

Why do you rely on commentary, instead of delving into the Scriptures themselves?

Colossians 2:16-17 YLT
16 Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ.

The sequence of the annual, monthly, and weekly cycle is just to stark to miss in this verse. Along with all of the dietary ordinances, the ordinances for all of the various sabbaths spread over the year have been labled as shadows completed in Christ.
The logical reason that dietary and sabbatical practices aren't grounds for judgment is simple: the ordinances governing them have been dismissed.

Victor

 

[Iosias]

Why do you rely on commentary, instead of delving into the Scriptures themselves?

Why reinvent the wheel?

Colossians 2:16-17 YLT
16 Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths,
17 which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ.

In the OT there is the weekly sabbath. This existen from Adam to Moses. Under Moses there were added ceremonial sabbaths which prefigured Christ. These then were fulfilled by Christ and it is these to which Paul refers. The weekly sabbath was not being discussed by Paul here. Re-read Colossians 2:16, 17 and then look at the context of the phrase that Paul uses:

1 Chronicles 23:31 "And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:"

2 Chronicles 2:4 "Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel."

2 Chronicles 8:13 "Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles."

2 Chronicles 31:3 "He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD."

Ezra 3:5 "And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD."

Nehemiah 10:33 "For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God."

Isaiah 1:13 "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting."

The issue that Paul was addressing was not the keeping of the weekly sabbath or Lord's day but rather Jewish Christians who argued that Gentiles had to keep the Jewish ceremonies. Paul is pointing out that these ceremonies were fulfilled in Christ, they were part of the ceremonialism of the Mosaic system.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Iosias, the problem you and other latter-day sabbatarians have is that you fall far short of keeping a biblical sabbath holy. Like the Pharisees of old, you substitute your own traditions for the clear teaching of God. By this, I mean the following:

1. You substitute Sunday, the first day, the day of resurrection for Saturday, the seventh day, the sabbath instituted by God. Nowhere in the New Testament is such a substitution made or instituted.
2. You substitute religious activity for a sabbath rest. You put your minister to work on Sunday, placing him in a position as a type of priest. His priesthood bears no resemblance to the Levitical priesthood of the Old Testament. It certainly denigrates the priesthood of believers (I Peter 1) given in the New Testament. It certainly bears no resemblance to the perpetual priesthood held by the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews).
3. You substitute the time frame of a sundown to sundown sabbath for a time frame of your own ease.
4. You substitute a set of sabbath commandments for those clearly spelled out by God. For example, you kindle fires in your homes and churches on your sabbath. You travel more than a sabbath day's journey to attend church services. You drive automobiles and/or use public transportation. I dare say you probably use the internet and telephone, as well.

Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. If you seek to please God by keeping His sabbath holy, you need to seriously repent and take upon yourself the law which He gave to His covenant people, Israel.

 

[Iosias]

Iosias, the problem you and other latter-day sabbatarians have is that you fall far short of keeping a biblical sabbath holy.

So you say but may be you could actually interact with my position rather than having a rant

 

[VictorC]

Why reinvent the wheel?

That is my appeal as well, that we accept the original wheel rather than use commentaries that are questionable, having been infected by traditions introduced by Catholicism, Millerism, and other various heresies.

In the OT there is the weekly sabbath. This existen from Adam to Moses.

This is one of those traditions - find this in the Scriptures (and read my reply this morning to SoldierOfTheKing concerning Genesis 2:1-3). If there is a weekly sabbath prior to Moses, it is incumbent on you to find it.

Under Moses there were added ceremonial sabbaths which prefigured Christ. These then were fulfilled by Christ and it is these to which Paul refers. The weekly sabbath was not being discussed by Paul here. Re-read Colossians 2:16, 17 and then look at the context of the phrase that Paul uses:

1 Chronicles 23:31 "And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the LORD in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the LORD:"

2 Chronicles 2:4 "Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel."

2 Chronicles 8:13 "Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles."

2 Chronicles 31:3 "He appointed also the king's portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD."

Ezra 3:5 "And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD."

Nehemiah 10:33 "For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God."

Isaiah 1:13 "Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting."

The issue that Paul was addressing was not the keeping of the weekly sabbath or Lord's day but rather Jewish Christians who argued that Gentiles had to keep the Jewish ceremonies. Paul is pointing out that these ceremonies were fulfilled in Christ, they were part of the ceremonialism of the Mosaic system.

The Scriptures you posted add to the point that I have been making - that the weekly period was indeed ordained under the Mosaic law. You have ealier appealed to the decalogue of the ten commandments, the very covenant that was mediated in the hands of Moses - and didn't exist prior to Sinai. The sabbath was likewise mediated to Moses perhaps a month prior to Sinai when manna appeared in the wilderness. Prior to that, you can't find a weekly sabbath, a convocation of the beginning of a new month, or any of the annual feasts.
You also can't find anyone else that these ordinances were given to; it was the Mosaic covenant that estranged the Gentiles and alienated them from the promises to Abraham, explained in Ephesians 2:11-15. They would not partake in salvation until Moses lost jurisdiction as the wall of separation.

As to the nature of the 'one law' that cannot be divided, let us not forget that the weekly period sabbath is codified right along with the annuals in Leviticus 23:3, marking that convocation as a ceremonial entity that is done away with along with the annuals. And that convocation is the commandment of assembly that you have believed the sabbath is, rather than a decree to keep it holy via sacrifices, etc.

Victor

 

[VictorC]

So you say but may be you could actually interact with my position rather than having a rant

Actually, bbbbbb or whatever his name is made some very valid points that I would be curious to see your response to. I don't agree with bbbb's contention that the sabbath exists in the present-tense, but he is absolutely correct in pointing out that it was Israel who received the sabbath ordinance, and no one else.

Victor

 

[Adventtruth]

Creation
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." (Genesis 2:2, 3)

But where are gentiles told to keep it, or that Its transfered to Sunday in that passage?

Exodus 16

"See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day." (Exodus 16:29, 30)

Who was this addressed to? Surely not gentiles.

Decalogue (Exodus)

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)

Again...whom is He speaking?

Decalogue (Deuteronomy)

"Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." (Deuteronomy 5:12-15)

Again to whom is He speaking to? And you miss the obvious of what this passage was aiming at.

These texts demonstrate clearly that the sabbath was a principle.

A principle for whom? Not gentiles but the Jews

The principle was that one day out of seven was to be set apart for the public worship of God. This seventh day is moral and unchanging, the day it falls upon can be changed but only by God. Hence the Westminster Confession sums up the biblical teaching thus:

"As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men, in all ages, He hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him (Exodus 20:8, 10, 11; Isaiah 56:2, 4, 6, 7): which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week (Genesis 2:2, 3; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2), which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10), and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, 10, with Matthew 5:17, 18)."
​

You can find no teaching in the bible that teaches the Sabbath was transfered to Sunday...only through the distortions of the Westminister Confession to which Covenant theology owes its interpretation and understanding of the transference to Sunday. You failed to understand that the Sabbath was given because of Gods creation, deliverence from bondage, and sanctification. The aim of the Sabbath was Christ, Jesus who created us a new, delivered us from bondage, and sanctified us, thus Christ is the truth of the sabbath, not some day. Your understanding makes salvation a matter of a thing rather than a person.


AT

 

[Cribstyl]

I can feed on what Sophia and Victor put on the table. You two always answer the tough questions about the sabbath, and by presenting text as the bottom line.

Sophia pointed out that Moses wrote the book of Genesis after being given the sabbath and the other commandments (2500yrs after creation.)
It is questionable to consider sabbath as a "creation ordinance."
Gen 2_1-3 says that God rested on the seventh day.
Moses does not say that man was given the seventh day as a sabbath until Ex16.
The sabbath connects to creation because it represented that God was the creator.
The sabbath was first given to the COI so God could prove if the people would obey or not. Ex16:4-28



Iosias' support for sabbath as a "creation ordinance" is unfounded, so he quotes reputable sholars to support his arguments.



Vic, the COI ate manna for 40yrs and kept sabbaths, so when God said remember the sabbath day, it was also continuum to what they had done for 40yrs.
Exd 16:35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.


One hardcore fact that Vic noted was that once you entered God's rest you it was a place that "TODAY" we can enter because Jesus is the firstfruit. God rest is never a 24hr day because God said noone had enter His rest in the passed generations.

The sabbath has always been a cease from work, one day of seven, unlike God's rest, an eternaly place with Him.

CRIB

 

[Iosias]

That is my appeal as well, that we accept the original wheel rather than use commentaries that are questionable, having been infected by traditions introduced by Catholicism, Millerism, and other various heresies.

This is really another debate; Christ has given to the Church teachers who have defended the faith once delivered to the saints against various errors. Through history doctrines have been developed that are founded upon Scripture. I believe that the confessions (for me, Westminster Standards) are a faithful summary and interpretation of the main tenents of the Word of God. The confessions are the roadmaps for the sometimes rugged biblical terrain. That is why I will use commentaries that teach the same doctrine as these, why? Because these interpret the Scriptures faithfully.

The Scriptures you posted add to the point that I have been making - that the weekly period was indeed ordained under the Mosaic law.

Actually they do the very opposite. But the argument is complex and detailed so I will sketch the argument here. I would sugest that you take sometime to actually read up on the issue. I know someone who argues that the Scriptures teach that Christians are not to celebrate the Lord's supper! His proof is 1 Corinthians 11:20, "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper." The verse in contexts actually teaches the very opposite but anyway....Let us place the verses that Paul wrote in Colossians into a context.

"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ."
​

A similar verse can be found in Paul's epistle to the Romans,

"One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks."
​

There is then a context to Paul's saying these and the context is that of Jewish Christians demanding that Gentile Christians keep Jewish festivals new moons and sabbaths. That is the context. The question therefore is to ask what Paul meant by "a festival or a new moon or sabbaths".

The answer is found in the Old Testament. The easiest verse to see my point from is 2 Chronicles 8:13

"Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles."
​

Granted the order of the terms is reversed but that is not relevant. What is important is to note the link between the phrase and the Mosaic worship. The link is of course Leviticus 23. Here we find Moses declaring to the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD. We find the Passover and Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles. However the reference is far wider;

holyday; or feast, such as the feast of the passover, the feast of tabernacles, and the feast of Pentecost; which were three grand festivals, at which all the Jewish males were obliged to appear before the Lord; but were never binding upon the Gentiles, and were what the Christians under the Gospel dispensation had nothing to do with, and even believing Jews were freed from them, as having had their accomplishment in Christ; and therefore were not to be imposed upon them, or they condemned for the neglect of them.

the new moon; which the Jews were obliged to observe, by attending religious worship, and offering sacrifices; see

Numbers 28:11 "And in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD; two young bullocks, and one ram, seven lambs of the first year without spot"

2 Kings 4:23 "So he said, 'Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.' And she said, 'It is well.'"

the sabbath days, or "sabbaths"; meaning the jubilee sabbath, which was one year in fifty; and the sabbath of the land, which was one year in seven; and the seventh day sabbath, and some copies read in the singular number, "or of the sabbath"; which were all peculiar to the Jews, were never binding on the Gentiles, and to which believers in Christ, be they who they will, are by no means obliged; nor ought they to observe them, the one any more than the other; and should they be imposed upon them, they ought to reject them; and should they be judged, censured, and condemned, for so doing, they ought not to mind it.

Paul's reference then was not to a weekly sabbath of any sorts. Indeed, this had originated at creation, was kept by the patriarchs, was kept by the Israelites. The sabbaths, new moons, and the solemn feasts were added to the religious calendar of Israel. These were part of the ceremonial worship under the Old Covenant. These sabbaths, new moons, and the solemn feasts prefigured the work of Christ and so were fulfilled in him. That was why the Gentile Christians did not have to keep Jewish ceremonies. These ceremonies were temporary, part of the ceremonial law of Israel, the weekly sabbath is however moral just like marriage. Marriage and the sabbath are both creation ordinances. Both are moral, both continue until Christ comes again.