When Was The Sabbath Established?

 When Was The Sabbath Established?


Although the Church isn’t always clear on teaching which day really is the Sabbath, it typically does a good job of establishing at which point in history God gave the commandment to observe the Sabbath. We all know the story: Israel gets led out of slavery in Egypt by Moses and wanders around the desert for a really long time due to their lack of faith, Israel then starts worshiping other gods and generally makes some poor life choices, and as a result, God gives Moses the ten commandments at Mount Sinai, in which the Sabbath commandment is included. Sounds pretty straight forward, right?

A closer examination of Scripture may actually lead to a surprising answer. Let’s take a look at the history of the Sabbath in Scripture, including when it was instituted, who was expected to observe it, and what it means for the Church today.

In the Beginning
Yes, we’re going back that far. In order to establish the origin of the Sabbath, we need to go back to the beginning of Genesis:

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made (Genesis 2:3)

Here we can see that ever since Creation, the seventh day has been blessed by God. While the seventh day is never referred to as the Sabbath until the ten commandments are given in the book of Exodus, it is clear that the seventh day has always been a special day – even since the beginning of human history. However, Exodus hints that the seventh day might always have been known as the Sabbath:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

In Genesis 2:3 we see that God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, while in Exodus 20:11 we see that the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. There is obvious similarity in these statements. Another often overlooked, yet important word in the passage from Exodus is “remember.” The Israelites aren’t just told to keep the Sabbath, they’re told to “remember” the Sabbath. You can only remember something you once knew of. While they were in slavery in Egypt they would have been unable to observe the Sabbath, so was God simply reminding them of something they had long forgotten?

Did Abraham Observe the Sabbath?
If we return to Genesis again, we see that Abraham may have observed the Sabbath as well:

Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. (Genesis 26:5)

We’re not told that observing the Sabbath was included in those commandments that Abraham obeyed, but is it possible? While it can be dangerous to read something into the text that isn’t there, the possibility certainly remains that Abraham kept the Sabbath.

When was the Sabbath Established?
A further examination of Exodus also reveals that the same Israelites who were wandering around the desert with Moses, actually observed the Sabbath before the ten commandments were instituted. Four chapters before the ten commandments are given to Moses, God asks Israel in Exodus 16:28: “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?” This indicates that God already had commandments and laws for Israel that they weren’t obeying. In that same passage, we see Israel’s response:

Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD … So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:23,30)

What Does This Mean for the Church?
The general position of the Church is that the Sabbath commandment was given directly to Israel, for Israel only.No! Exodus 31:16-17 would seem to support that point of view:

Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

This passage establishes that God made a covenant with Israel, and that it was to last forever. Yet, as we can see from the other scriptures referenced above, the Sabbath was clearly instituted at Creation, potentially observed by Abraham, and definitely observed by Israel before the ten commandments were given.

So, as the Church, what are we supposed to do with that information? Should we observe the Sabbath, should we keep the “Lord’s Day,” or does it matter either way? I’ll attempt to answer that question during the next installment of this series.

No! I change my mind,and what do you think on this?

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