Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 31:12–18

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 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.’ ” And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:12–18, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Colossians 2:16–17

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Colossians 2:16–17, ESV)

Introduction

Brother and sisters, I want to be clear concerning my objectives in this brief sermon series on the Sabbath. 

My first objective is to convince you that our confession of faith is correct in what it says  concerning the Sabbath day. I believe that our confession (the Second London Baptist Confession) provides a faithful and true summary of the teaching of Holy Scripture concerning the Sabbath day, and my objective is to convince you of this.

And what does our confession teach about the Sabbath day? 

First of all, it asserts that the law of nature – or the moral law written on man’s heart at creation (see Romans 2:15) – shows that a proportion of time is to be devoted to the worship of God. Listen to chapter 22 paragraph 7 of our confession where is says, “it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time, by God’s appointment, be set apart for the worship of God…” This Adam and Eve knew naturally. This they knew, having been made in the image of God. They knew that they were to give worship to their Maker and that a proportion of time should be devoted to it.

Secondly, the confession rightly teaches that God has appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him. Paragraph 7 continues “…so by [God’s] Word, in 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…” 

Notice that Sabbath command is said to be “positive”. In other words, man, by nature (that is, by virtue of his having been made in the image of God) knew (and knows) that God is to be worshipped. Man also knows by nature that proportion of time is to be devoted to the worship of God (simply look at how every world religion worships according to some calendar). But God did not leave man to wonder, or to invent for himself, what proportion of time is to be devoted to worship. He positively declared what time was to be devoted to worship, namely one day out of every seven. This command was added to the natural law written upon man’s heart from creation, and so it is called a positive law.

When did God do this? When did he “[appoint] one day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept holy unto him”? Answer: He did it at creation when he made the heavens and earth in six days, rested on the seventh, blessed the seventh day and made it holy. All of this he did, not for himself, but as a pattern for man made in his image to follow. The seventh day was blessed by God so that man would find blessing in it. The day was set apart as holy so that man might approach it as holy – a day unique from the other days, set apart for the worship of God. And so the pattern of six and one was established by God at creation. 

How long will this pattern of six and one remain? Our confession is right to say that it is “perpetual”. This pattern of six and one will remain until the end of time. 

And who is bound follow this pattern? Again or confession is right to say that this commandment is “binding [on] all men, in all ages”. How can this be so? Well, it is so because God instituted the Sabbath, not in the days of Abraham (as if it were for his offspring only), nor in the days of Moses (as if it were for Israel only), nor by Christ (as if it were for the Christian only), but at creation. All who descend from Adam, therefore, are obligated to worship their Maker in this way. All people ought to worship God, who is Creator of all things in heaven and earth! And they are to worship him, not according to the inventions of men, but according to the word of God. 

All men ought to keep the Sabbath day, but we should not be surprised when the non-believer does not. What should surprise us is when the one who claims to belong to God through faith in Christ violates the Sabbath day by neglecting to gather for worship with the saints, and by approaching the day as if were common, being consumed with ordinary work and ordinary pursuits on that day. 

Indeed, the unchanging moral principle at the core of the Sabbath commandment is that God is to be worshiped by all, and that one day in seven is to be devoted to rest (that is ceasing from ordinary work) and to worship.

We must then ask, which day of the seven is the Sabbath day?  

Again, our confession correctly summarizes the teaching of holy scripture when it says, “from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ [the Sabbath day] was the last day of the week…” So from Adam to the resurrection of Christ the seventh day – Saturday – was set apart as the Sabbath day.  

And our confession is also correct when it says, “… and from the resurrection of Christ [the Sabbath day] was changed into the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s day: and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.”

I have grown to love our confession of faith, brothers and sisters. I believe, as do you most of you, that what it says is true. It provides us with a good and faithful summary of the teaching of holy scripture on major points of doctrine. 

Indeed, the Old Covenant seventh day Sabbath has been abolished, having been fulfilled by Christ. This is indeed true! The Old Covenant Sabbath that was given fist to Adam and the again to Israel is no more! Saturday is no longer the Sabbath day because Christ finished his work, entered into his rest when he raised from the dead and ushered in a new creation. The Old Covenant Sabbath, therefore, is gone! But a Sabbath rest does remain for the people of God. The pattern of six and one continues, though it has undergone change. Who change the Sabbath? Christ did by his finished work, his resurrection from the dead, and his work of a new creation. 

Indeed our confession is right in what it says. At the resurrection of Christ the “Sabbath was changed into the first day of the week…”  It is now “called the Lord’s day: and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.” 

But notice this: our confession is just that – a confession. It is a very brief declaration of what we believe the scriptures teach. But it does not provide an explanation of these doctrines. It is not called, therefore, an explanation of the faith, or even a defense of the faith, but a confession of faith. It states succinctly the primary doctrines contained within holy scripture. And it is indeed very useful! But these doctrines which are so beautifully stated in our confession do also need to be explained and defended from the word of God if they are to be believed.  

And so my first objective in this brief sermon series on the Sabbath is to explain to you from the scriptures why it is that we believe what we confess to believe concerning the proper worship of God and the Sabbath day. 

My second objective in this series is to then motivate you to keep the Lord’s Day Sabbath holy and unto the Lord. It is important that this be the second objective, and not the first. How important it is for you to, first of all, believe from the heart that the Sabbath is to be kept, and then afterward to go on keeping it! 

Notice that this is the order in which things are stated in our confession. Paragraph seven of chapter 22 states what we believe concerning the Sabbath day (this I have already read to you), and then paragraph eight states how we should keep it. There we read, 

The Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering their common affairs aforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all day, from their own works, words and thoughts, about their worldly employment and recreations, but are also taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.

This statement is also right. But teaching on the practical side of things will need to wait a bit longer, for I am still occupied with the first objective, which is to explain to you from the scriptures why it is that we believe what we believe concerning the Sabbath day. 

A few very important truths have been established already in this sermon series. They are foundational truths and most be remembered. 

One, remember that the Sabbath was instituted at creation. 

Two, remember that the Sabbath was made for man so that he might be blessed in the keeping of it as rested from his labor to draw near to God in holy worship. 

Three, remember that the Sabbath symbolized God’s rest and also pointed forward to the rest that man was to enter into by accomplishing his work to the glory of God. The positioning of the Sabbath day on the seventh days was, therefore, very significant. Adams faithful work would lead to eternal rest, should he do it.  

Four, remember that the Sabbath day continued after man’s fall into sin. In Genesis 4 we see evidence that Adam’s children knew that they were to worship God and they did so “in the course of  time”. Also, in Exodus 16 we learn that the Sabbath ordinance was known to the people of God prior to the giving of the Ten Commandments through Moses. The Sabbath was therefore kept in the world from the days of Adam to the days of Moses. There is no way to know how many kept it, but it is clear that the Sabbath day was preserved from Adam to Moses. 

 Five, let us remember that the Sabbath is in some ways unchanging, and yet it is also flexible. That one day in seven is to be approached as holy unto the Lord will never change – not until Christ returns and we do enter into the rest that the Sabbath typified from the beginning. But the Sabbath ordinance is also capable of undergoing change. For example, the Sabbath for Adam in the garden held forth the promise of eternal life should Adam accomplish his work to the glory of God. After the fall the Sabbath day took on new meaning. It reminded Adam and his posterity that they had come short of that rest. But it also brought with it the good news that eternal rest was still a possible. It would be earned, as we know, not be sinful man, but by Jesus the Christ, who is the Savior promised from long ago.   

And so the Sabbath has been considered now from the time of creation up until the days of Moses. But what about under Moses? What should we say about the Sabbath day from the time of Moses to resurrection of Christ?

Can you see what I am doing in this series? I am following the Sabbath ordinance through the pages of Holy Scripture and I am attempting to explain how it developed along with the progression of the history of redemption. That some things about the Sabbath remained the same is undeniable. And that some things about the Sabbath changed is also undeniable. But I want for you to see that the changes were not random, nor were they man made, but they were ordained by God to correspond to the work that he was doing to accomplish the salvation of his people. In other words, the Sabbath day has always been linked up with the particular convents into which God did enter with man. With every covenant there is a Sabbath day, but the Sabbath day does also adjust to match the peculiarities of the particular covenant.

I have five brief observations to make concerning the Sabbath as it was from the days of Moses onward. We are here considering, what some have called, the judicial Sabbath, called such because it was the Sabbath in the days where the people of Israel were governed by the law of Moses. Sometimes it is referred to as the Jewish Sabbath, for it is the Sabbath as it was given parculiurly to the Isr. It is the Sabbath as contained within the law of Moses. The Sabbath was instituted at creation, it continued in the world from Adam to Moses, but in the days of Moses the Sabbath did undergo change. 

Under Moses The Sabbath Day Remained Substantially The Same

Notice first of all that under Moses the Sabbath day remained substantially the same as when it was given to Adam in the garden.

Here I am highlighting the fact that the Sabbath remained on the seventh day under Moses just as it was from the time it was instituted by God at creation, and for good reason. 

Shortly after God created man he entered into a covenant of works with him. “Do this and you shall live” was the principle under which Adam lived. And the Sabbath day corresponded to and signified this covenantal order. “Do this work and enter into rest”. The seventh day Sabbath given to Adam agreed with the covenant of works which God into with Adam shortly after he created him. 

Notice also that the covenant into which God entered with Israel after he rescued them from bodge in Egypt was a covenant of works. “Do this and you shall” live was the principle under which Israel lived. The Mosaic covenant was a kind of republication of the Covenant of Works that was made with Adam in the garden. I am not saying that it was exactly the same, for Israel could not earn their salvation through obedience to the law, but only blessing and life in the land which God would give them. Also, it is clear that the grace of God was present and active within the Mosaic Covenant. It had to be! For if the grace of God was not present and active Israel would not have lasted a day! But the grace of God was present and active through the promise that a Messiah would one day come. The people of Israel were saved by believing the promises of God. True as this is, the Mosaic Covenant was substantially a covent of works. “Do this and you shall live” was the principle that governed them. And their seventh day Sabbath corresponded to that principle – work leads to rest, obedience leads to life, do this and you shall live. 

Eventually we will come to deal with the question, why did the Sabbath day change from day seven to day one? And in part the answer will be, the day changed because the covenant changed. We are not under a covenant of works as Adam was and as Israel was, but we live under the Covenant of Grace. The paedobaptists who say that the Covenant of Grace was instituted shortly after the fall are wrong. The promise of the gospel was given shortly after the fall. The grace of God was present and active in the world from the time of the fall to the resurrection of Christ (how could it not be?). But the Covenant of Grace was inaugurated by the Christ. The New Covenant ratified in his blood is the Covenant of Grace. The seventh day Sabbath fits hand in glove with the Covenant of Works under which Adam and Israel lived; the first day Sabbath fits hand in glove with the Covenant of Grace under which we now live. The principle is we live by is not, do this and you shall live, but you live because Christ has done it. 

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the seventh day Sabitarians, though they claim to have Jesus as Lord and to be partakers of the Covenant of Grace with their mouths, do in fact deny him and the power of his resurrection by continuing in their observance of the seventh day Sabbath which has the works principle at its core. While claiming to be New Covenant Christians living under the Covenant of Grace, they wear the badge of the Old Covenant and the Covenant of Works when they gather for worship on the seventh day.  

Friends, please recognize that under Moses the Sabbath day remained substantially the same as when it was given to Adam in the garden, and this because the Mosaic Covenant was a kind of republication of the Covenant of Works made with Adam in the Garden, of which the seventh day Sabbath was a sign. 

Under Moses The Sabbath Day Contained A Gospel Promise And A Word Of Condemnation

Secondly, notice that under Moses the Sabbath day contained both a gospel promise and a word of condemnation just as it did for Adam and his descendants after the fall.  

I will not spend much time on this point given that I elaborated on it in the previous sermon. The point here is that with each Sabbath observance under the Mosaic economy there was a reminder, one, of the fact that the people of God still had come short of the rest typified by the Sabbath day, and two, that the rest of God was still open to them and in their future. In this was the Sabbath day functioned both as a law which condemned and a proclamation of the gospel. 

It was as if God were saying to Israelite on the Sabbath day, remember that you have fallen short of the rest and glory of God, and also, remember that I have been gracious to you and will provide rest for you despite your sin! This we know would come by way of a Redeemer, the second Adam, Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Under Moses The Sabbath Day Was A Day For Convocation

Thirdly, notice that under Moses the Sabbath day was a day for holy convocation. A convocation is a public gathering, or an assembly of the people for religious worship. The people of God were to assemble together to worship God on the Sabbath day.

Listen to Leviticus 23:1-3. “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.’” The first of the feast days, or days for holy convocation that the Lord mentioned was the weekly Sabbath. Verse 2: “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places” (Leviticus 23:1–3, ESV).

I am not saying that this was not unique to the days of Moses. It was true before, I’m sure, and it is certainly true now. The people of God were (and are) to gather together in holy convocation on the Sabbath day to give worship to God.  

This is why the writer to the Hebrews says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24–25, ESV). The Sabbath day is day for holy convocation. On it the people of God are to gather for worship. 

I have noticed that many Christians today give little thought at all to the Sabbath day. And among those who do consider it I have found that many have turned it into a highly individualistic thing. Many have misconstrued the words of Christ when he said, “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath”, to mean that the Sabbath is day is their day. It is a day for them to rest, and nothing more. This was the tradition that many of us came out of. The teaching concerning the Sabbath was, Christians do not need to keep the Sabbath on a particular day but they should still make a practice of taking a break from work. In other words, the whole point of the Sabbath given at creation and written in stone on Sinai was to provide man with some rest from his toils. What a shallow understanding of the Sabbath! It should be plain to all that the Sabbath is about more than you taking a break from work. No! It is filled with symbolism, as we have seen. It is to be observed on a particular day according to the command of God, for the day is significant. And it is to be observed, not by you alone, but by us together. It is a holy convocation. Please don’t ever say what I heard others say in the tradition that we came out of – “I don’t take my Sabbath on Sunday, but on Thursday. Thursday is my day of rest.” Is Thursday a day off you? Great! I hope you are able to rest on that day. But it is not the Sabbath. Not for you, and not anyone. Only Sunday, which is called the Lord’s Day is the Sabbath day now that Christ has risen from the dead. 

Indeed the Sabbath day is a gift for man. God did bless the Sabbath day so that we might find blessing in it. But there is blessing found in the Sabbath day only when we approach it aright. The Sabbath day is not our day but it is the Lord’s Day. It is a day, not for idle rest, but of holy activity. It is not to be observed by the individual, but as a community. Though it is a day to rest from our ordinary labors and pursuits, there is a kind of work to be done on the Sabbath day. Remember that God rested from his work in creation, but he took up the task of reflecting upon his works to take pleasure in it. God’s people are to convene on the Sabbath day. Worship is to be offered up to God. Our thoughts are to be directed towards his so that we might take pleasure in him and in his works of creation and redemption. It is on this day that we are to give special attention to his word, to hear it, to reflect upon it and to apply it to our lives. It is a day for the people of God to enjoy God and to enjoy one another. This it was in the days of Moses, and this it is today.  

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places” (Leviticus 23:3, ESV). Do not neglect to “meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25, ESV).

Under Moses Sabbath Observance Was More Rigorous

Fourthly, notice that under Moses Sabbath observance was, in some ways, made more rigorous. 

Now, we must be careful here. Many imagine, I fear, that Sabbath observance was substantially different for Old Covenant Israel than it is for New Covenant Israel, that is, all who believe upon Christ today. I would imagine that this idea arrises from peoples incorrect reading of the gospels where Christ is often found confronting the Jews concerning their incorrect observance of the Sabbath day. The error in interpretation arrises when people assume that Jesus was attacking the teaching of the Old Testament when he was confronting the Jewish leaders. No, Christ  never opposed the Old Testament, but only the religious leaders of his day who wrongly interpreted it. The Pharisees, for example, heaped layers upon layers of man made laws and traditions upon the Sabbath ordinance. Christ was confronting their traditions and their extra scriptural laws, but never the actual scriptural  teaching concerning the Sabbath day. Jesus had a lot to say about the Sabbath in his teaching. And he said what he said to rescue the Sabbath. He never opposed it, but sought to restore to its proper place. This he did, not so that he might throw it in the trash when he rose from the dead, but so that he might give it to his people all shinned up and restored with the gunk of man made religion having been striped away. 

When I say that “under Moses Sabbath observance was made more rigorous”, I do not mean that the Sabbath was essentially different, but that the law of Moses, which added to, expanded and strictly enforced God’s moral law, made Sabbath observance more rigorous. 

The law that God is to be worshipped, and that a proportion of time is to be devoted to worship, namely one in seven, is moral and unchanging. But under Moses judicial or civil laws were also given along with a whole host of ceremonial laws. This is what Paul is referring to when he says, “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary” (Galatians 3:19, ESV). Why the law (here he is referring to the law of Moses)? His answer: “It was added because of transgressions…” The law of Moses was added (to the moral law which existed from creation) to make our sin most obvious and our need for a savior most clear. 

The moral principle at the core of the Sabbath command was not itself made more rigorous in the days of Moses, but the civil laws which were given to Israel along with the ceremonial laws did add to the rigor of the Sabbath day. 

Take, for example, the text that we read from Exodus 31:12: 

And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 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.’” (Exodus 31:12–17, ESV)

What has changed here with the giving of the law of Moses? Not the Sabbath ordinance itself, but the enforcement of it. For the Israelite to Sabbath breaking was punishable by death. This was not so from Adam to Moses, nor it so for us today, but it was so for Israel under Moses. So here is what I mean when I say that under Moses Sabbath observance was more rigorous. 

Something similar can be said about the ceremonial law that was given to Israel. Israel was to keep, not only the weekly Sabbath, but also a whole host of Sabbath days that were added to it. Read, for example, Leviticus 23 in its entirety sometime. There, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts” (Leviticus 23:1–2, ESV). And what is the first thing that he mentions? God first mentions the weekly Sabbath. It is called a feast and a holy convocation. But then after this the Lord also commands that Israel the Passover, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. The feast days were days of convocation that were added to the weekly Sabbath which was instituted at creation. 

Will you please pay special attention to this. To whom was the weekly Sabbath given? Not to Israel alone, but to Adam, and thus to all of humanity. But to whom was the law of Moses given, which included the moral law written on Adams hear along with man other civil and ceremonial laws? The law of Moses was given to Israel. This simple observation is so very important. 

For the purpose of our study here I want for you to recognize that while you are bound to keep the weekly Sabbath, you are not bound to keep the law of Moses, for you are not under the law, but under grace. 

Sabbath keeping was made more rigorous under Moses, not because the Sabbath principle itself was changed, but because to the moral was added the law of Moses with all of its demands. 

Some have referred to the Sabbath under Moses as the judicial or legal Sabbath, and I think this right and helpful. 

Under Moses There Was An Expectation That The Sabbath Would Remain And Yet Be Altered With The Coming Of The Messiah And The Establishment Of The New Covenant

Fifthly and lastly, see that the prophets who ministered under the Mosaic Covenant taught that with the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the New Covenant the Sabbath would both remain and the Sabbath would be altered. 

This might sound contradictory at first, but it is not. It is the clear teaching of the Old Testament and it corresponds perfectly to what we see happen in the New Testament – the Sabbath remains, but it is significantly altered. 

First, understand that Old Testament prophets taught that the Sabbath would remain under the New Covenant. Consider, for example, Jeremiah 31:31. There we read,

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31–33, ESV)

What would happen when the New Covenant was instituted according to the prophet? Among other things, God would “put [his] law within [his people], and… write it on their hearts.” Which law? Here he is referring to the ten commandments written on stone at Sinai by the finger of God. There at the ratification of the Old Covenant God wrote on stone. Under the New Covenant God would write that law on the hearts of his people.  And what is the fourth of the ten laws? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8, ESV). 

There is no reason at all to think that the Sabbath commandment passed away with the establishment of the New Covenant. 

Second, understand that the prophets did speak of day when the Sabbath would be altered and even abolished. Consider Hosea 2, for example. There the Lord is speaking of the judgements that would come upon Israel in the future. God would divorce Israel for her spiritual adultery, for her continual breaking of the convent. And in that context he says, “And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts” (Hosea 2:11, ESV).

What does the Lord say he will do away with? Now the pattern of one day of rest out seven which was established at creation, but the rather the Mosaic, judicial, Jewish Sabbath along with the feast days that were given, not to Adam but to Israel as recorded in Leviticus 23. 

Friends This is why the New Testament speaks of the Sabbath both as if it has been abolished and yet remains. 

The judicial, Jewish, Mosaic, seventh day Sabbath has been done away with having been fulfilled by Christ. And this is why Paul says, “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:16–17, ESV). By the way, “Sabbath” is in the plural in the Greek. The ESV says, “a Sabbath” – “let no one pass judgment on you in questions of… a Sabbath.” It is not incorrect, but neither is it clear. I think the King James Version is better here when it says, “Let no man therefore judge you… in respect of… the sabbath days” (Colossians 2:16, KJV 1900). Paul is referring, not to the weekly Sabbath given at creation (that certainly has not be abolished), but he is referring to the judicial, Mosaic, Jewish Sabbath along with its feats days, which are also called Sabbaths. All of that has passed away having been fulfilled by Christ.

But the New Testament also teaches that a Sabbath resting remains for the people of God under the New Covenant – “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…” (Hebrews 4:9, ESV).

Conclusion 

Brothers and sisters, I hope you can appreciate what we are doing in this series on the Sabbath. We are laboring to understand the Sabbath day by starting at the beginning and moving forward from there. Today we have given special attention to the Sabbath day as it was under Moses. True, we do not live under Moses! We live under Christ. We are under the New Covenant and are, therefore, under grace. But it is impossible to understand the Sabbath as it applies to us without first understand why it was given to Adam and how it applied to Moses, and so we have begun there. 

My prayer is that we would understand the Sabbath and come to love the Lord’s Day. My prayer is that we would keep holy from the heart and find blessing in at God has intended. Indeed, the Spirit has written the law of God on our hearts if we are in Christ. May we love his law more and more and keep it from the heart. Christ himself said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV). May our love for him increase, and may it be manifest in our obedience to his most holy word. 

Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:1-3

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (Genesis 2:1–3, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Mark 2:23-28

“One Sabbath [Jesus] was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, ‘Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?’ And he said to them, ‘Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?’ And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.’” (Mark 2:23–28, ESV)

Introduction

Last week I stated that we were entering into a prolonged consideration of the Sabbath. How long this focus on the Sabbath with last, I’m not entirely sure. 

Of course it is Genesis 2:1-3 which has prompted this focus, for it is here in this passage that the Sabbath principle is first introduced to us. God, having created the heavens and earth in six days, ceased from his work of creation on the seventh day and entered into rest, blessing the seventh day and making it holy. This he did, not for himself, but for man. Man made in the image of God was made to imitate his Maker by working six days and resting from his work to give special worship to God on the seventh day. The Sabbath is as old as creation, therefore. To speak with more precision, the Sabbath is one day younger than man. Man was made on day six, and the Sabbath on day seven. Indeed, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

But why the need for a prolonged study on the Sabbath? I’ll give three reasons:

One, there is a great deal of confusion that exists within the church today concerning the Sabbath. Clear teaching is needed. 

Two, the confusion that exists concerning the Sabbath has led many to neglect the Sabbath day entirely, and this has been going on in our culture for some time. The situation is such that even if one were convinced that the Sabbath day is to be kept, few understand how to go about keeping it. Instruction is needed. First, a biblical argument for Sabbath keeping must be made, and then instructions for Sabbath keeping must be presented. This takes time.

Thirdly, it must be acknowledged that what the Bible has to say about the Sabbath is complex. And by “complex” I do not mean that the Sabbath is impossible to understand, or even exceedingly difficult to understand, but that the doctrine is multifaceted – it has layers to it.

The Sabbath is Simple

At its core the doctrine of the Sabbath is very simple. 

The simple and unchanging moral principle at the core of the Sabbath ordinance is that God the Creator is to be worshipped by his creatures, and that man is to worship in the way that God has prescribed. Man made in the image of God is to worship God in the whole of life by living in perpetual submission to him. Man is to do his work to the glory of God, and man is also to rest and worship to the glory of God. From the beginning, therefore, it was established by God that time be devoted to the worship of God. Man is to glorify God in his work for six days, and he is to rest and offer up pronounced worship for one. This pattern is unchanging – work for six, rest and worship for one.

The symbolism of the Sabbath day is also, in some respects, simple and unchanging. What reality does the Sabbath day point to? It reminds us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and entered into rest on the seventh day. And what does the Sabbath day typify or point forward to? It points forward to a higher form of life for man – life characterized by true and eternal rest. The Sabbath day is a picture, a type, a foretaste of an unending, glorified, and truly restful life. This is what the writer to the Hebrews so clearly teaches when he says, “For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:8–10, ESV). We will give more careful attention to this passage at a later time, but for now see that it clearly states that a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. In other words, there remains a Sabbath day or a Sabbath observance for the New Covenant people of God, for this is what the word σαββατισμός means – it refers to a  “special religiously significant period for rest and worship (Louw Nida, 67.185). A Sabbath observance remains for God’s people, why? Because we have not yet entered into the eternal rest that the Sabbath has typified or symbolized from the beginning of time.

And so at its core the Sabbath is simple. God instituted it at the beginning for man. It reminds man of God the creator. It provides man with a pattern to follow. It points forward to the promise of a higher quality of life – life characterized by unending rest. The Sabbath day is a blessed day and a holy day, and has been from the seventh day of creation.

The Sabbath is Complex

But the Sabbath is also complex. 

The Sabbath ordinance is nimble. There are some things about it that will never change, but there are other things about it that are able to adapt and change with the developments of the history of redemption. The Sabbath is both ridged and flexible –  unchanging, and yet able to change. It is complex. 

The pattern of six days of work and one day of rest will never go away – not until God’s people  enter fully into the rest typified by the Sabbath day. But if we pay close attention to what the scriptures say about the Sabbath as it progresses with the history of redemption one will notice subtle, and sometimes radical, changes. These changes are not random and arbitrary but correspond to the development and progression of God’s work of salvation. 

Changes at Resurrection of Christ 

The most radical change to come to the weekly Sabbath was its transition from the seventh day of the week to the first. We will consider the change of days more carefully at another time, but for now let me simply ask, when did this change take place? The answer is that the change took place at the resurrection of Christ from the dead? What remained the same? The pattern of six days of work and one day of rest remained. The Sabbath as a blessed and holy day, set apart for the worship of God remained. The pointing forward to eternal rest remained. But what changed? The day changed! And why? Because Christ ushered in a new creation by his life, death and resurrection. Now the Sabbath day reminds us, not only of the creation of the heavens and earth, but also of our redemption, which the scriptures call, a new creation. He is risen! He is risen indeed. 

Do you see, therefore, that the Sabbath is complex. It is both ridged and nimble. It is both unchanging and yet capable of change.

Changes in the Days of Moses

The Sabbath also underwent changes in the days of Moses after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and upon the giving of the law. Granted, the day did not change then, but remained on the seventh as it was from the time of creation. But the Sabbath did take on greater significance. Begging with Moses the Sabbath day was to remind the people of Israel, not only of God’s creation, but also of their deliverance from Egypt. 

In Exodus 20 we have our first exposure to the ten commandments. And the reason given for Sabbath observance in that place is God’s creation. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, “for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:11, ESV). But when we come to the ten commands as recorded in Deuteronomy 5 we see that the people are urged to “remember” something else when the observe the Sabbath. 

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:12–15, ESV)

Here Israel is commanded to remember, not God’s creation and rest, but God’s deliverance. They were “slaves in Egypt” and “God brought them out”, “therefore the Lord [their] God commanded [them] to keep the Sabbath day.” It was not that Israel was no longer to observe the Sabbath on the basis of God’s work in creation and his subsequent rest, but now that Israel had been redeemed the Sabbath day was to remind them also of their redemption!

So do you see that the Sabbath is flexible? The moral principles at the core of it never change – God is to be worshipped, and particular time is to be set aside for work and for rest and worship according to God’s command, specifically one day in seven. But the Sabbath is also able to adapt to take on greater meaning and significance as the history of redemption progresses. Israel was to remember not only creation when she observed the Sabbath day, but also her redemption from Egypt. In the days of Moses the Sabbath day took on greater significance than it had before. 

Changes at Man’s Fall From Innocency

And something similar happened to the Sabbath at the time of man’s fall from innocence and into sin. While the essence of the Sabbath remained unchanged, its significance was altered. Adam and Eve were to work six days and rest and worship for one inside the garden of Eden when they stood upright before God. And they were also to work for six days and rest and worship for one having been expelled from the garden of Eden. But clearly the Sabbath took on a slightly different meaning for man after the fall than it had prior to sin entering the world. 

 

What did the Sabbath signify for Adam and Eve while they were upright and in the garden? It communicated that they were to finish the work given to them by God and thus enter into eternal rest just as God finished his work of creation and entered into rest.

But what did the Sabbath signify after man’s fall into sin? In other words, what did the Sabbath day communicate to Adam and Eve after having been expelled from of Eden because of their sin? 

First of all, the Sabbath day must have reminded Adam and Eve of their sin. When they observed the Sabbath day over and over again it would have reminded them that eternal rest was offered to them and that they came short of it. 

This was not a part of the original function of the Sabbath. The Sabbath did not in any way condemn Adam and Eve in the garden, but only held before them the promise of eternal rest should they finish the work that God gave them to do. I suppose it would be right to say that the Sabbath did threaten Adam and Eve in the garden. It communicated the potential of failing to finish the work. But the Sabbath did not condemn them while in the garden, only held forth the potential of entering into rest. 

But after man’s fall into sin, the Sabbath day reminds us of our sin, for our lives are not characterized by rest, but by toil, trial and tribulation.  Paul says in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” The Sabbath day from the fall of man into sin on to the second coming of Christ brings with it a very similar message. “All have sinned and fall short of the rest of God”, the Sabbath day now says. Each and every Sabbath day from the fall onward is a reminder that we have not entered God’s rest (at least not in full), but have come short of it.

But in the moment we emphasize the way in which the Sabbath confronts us with having fallen short of eternal rest, we must also emphasize the way in which the Sabbath gives us hope, though we are fallen. 

Indeed, the weekly Sabbath reminds us that we have not entered into God’s rest (in this way it condemns us) but it’s permanent presence in this fallen world also communicates that rest is still possible. Think of it! Though we rebelled against God and fell into sin,  there is still one day in seven that is blessed by God and set apart as holy. On the Sabbath day we are invited to rest from our labors as a foretaste of the rest that will be enjoyed by all of God’s people for eternity. The only reason that a day of rest remains for the people of God after the fall is that God has been gracious to us. By his grace he has determined to provide rest for his people by a Redeemer. 

What do our sins deserve? The answer: no rest at all, but only eternal torment. And indeed this is what those not in Christ will endure – eternal torment. Do you remember how the book of Revelation describes the punishment that those not in Christ – those who worshipped the beast and his image – will endure? Listen carefully to Revelation 14:8ff:

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” (Revelation 14:9–11, ESV)

Contrast that with the way Revelation speaks concerning those in Christ. Revelation 14:12ff:

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Revelation 14:12–13, ESV)

What do our sins deserve? No rest, but only torment. What has God graciously provided? Rest for his people. The weekly Sabbath communicates that this rest is still available. The way to rest typified by the Sabbath day has not been closed off entirely, but is still open.  

 

To put it differently, if God had determined to leave all of mankind in their sin – if God had determined not to save sinners at all – then the Sabbath day would have ceased with Adam’s transgression. Men and women would have been given over to a new pattern of only work, with no rest. But a Sabbath rest remains, which means that it is still possible to enter into rest, by the grace of God, through faith in the Redeemer. 

The Seventh Day Sabbath Pointed Forward to Future Rest 

How appropriate it was for the Sabbath day to remain on the seventh day prior to the death, burial and resurrection of the Christ and his session at the Father’s right hand.  

The Sabbath day was on the seventh day (Saturday) prior to man’s fall into sin, and rightly so. Adam’s faithful work would have lead to eternal rest, and the so the pattern was work and then rest, rest and then rest. The rest was in the future and was to be entered into through the accomplishment of work. 

And the Sabbath day remained on the seventh day (Saturday) from man’s fall into sin up until the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and rightly so. Again, the rest of God could still be obtained, but only through work. The law of God had to be obeyed. Eternal life had to be earned. The obtainment of this west was yet in the future. And so the pattern remained six days of work which would lead to one day of rest. 

And how appropriate it was that the Sabbath day was changed from the seventh day to the first when Christ rose from the grave and ascended to the Father, taking his seat in the heavenly places. Why did the day change from the seventh day to the first? Because Christ entered into rest. He did what Adam failed to do. He kept God’s law, earned rest through his faithful and finished work, and entered into it, being seated in the heavenly realm. 

Conclusion 

The title of this sermon is “The Sabbath: From Adam to Moses”. My desire is that you recognize what wonderful testimony the Sabbath day is to the mercy and grace of God. How wonderful it must have been for Adam and Eve and their children to rest and worship on the seventh day. Yes, it would have reminded them of what they came short of, but how wonderful it must have been for them to observe the Sabbath day and to hear it say, there is still a way. You may still approach God in worship. You may still find rest in him. And the hope of eternal rest has not been be lost, but remains. 

Of course we know that the way to rest is through faith in the Christ. We must be united to him by faith if we are to enjoy the rest that he has earned. He himself did say, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29, ESV)

Application

Brothers and sisters, my desire for you is that you would keep the Sabbath day. 

Why should we?

To give glory to God (because it is right). 

For our good (there is blessing in the Sabbath day).

Consider what the Sabbath does for the soul. 

It centers our life upon God and upon Christ. 

It reminds us to diligently work to the glory of God. 

When we observe the day we find a blessing it. 

We find rest for our bodies. 

We find rest for our souls.

Our minds and hearts are directed heavenward where Christ is now seated.

Our affections are directed to the new heavens and earth, where we will enjoy consummate rest. 

Truly, the Sabbath day, which is called the Lord’s Day, is good for the soul.