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The first time God
commanded anyone to keep the seventh day
Sabbath was after the exodus, just before He
entered into the Mosaic Covenant with Israel
on Mount Sinai (Exod. 16:1-30; 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15).
The
Old Covenant was made up of three parts: the
Ten Commandments, the ordinances, and the
elaborate system of worship, which included
the priesthood, the tabernacle, the
offerings, and the festivals (Exod. 20-40;
Lev. 1-7; 23).
The patriarchs
were never told to keep the Sabbath.
The Hebrew word for Sabbath (shabbath),
that is used in the Ten Commandments is
never found in the book of Genesis. No one
before Moses was ever told to keep a Sabbath
rest. If they did, why are there no examples
of anyone keeping it from Adam to Moses? The
Patriarchs were never instructed about the
Sabbath, but were instructed about: being
fruitful and increasing in number: Gen. 1:26-22;
ruling over the earth: Gen. 1:28;
their diet: Gen. 1:29-30; 2:16-17; Gen. 9:1-4;
marriage: Gen. 2:24; Gen. 34:9;
offerings: Gen. 4:3-4; 14:20; altars:
Gen. 8:20; priests: Gen. 14:18; and circumcision:
Gen. 17:10. Why is there no mention of God
giving instructions on how to keep the
Sabbath day holy to anyone if they actually
kept it?
According to
Nehemiah, the Sabbath was not made known
until God gave it to Israel.
Nehemiah 9:13-14 says, “You came down on
Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven
and gave them right rules and true laws,
good statutes and commandments, and you made
known to them your holy Sabbath and
commanded them commandments and statutes and
a law by Moses your servant.”
Moses said the Ten Commandments were
not made known to “any of the fathers” of
Israel who lived before the time of the
exodus.
Deuteronomy 5:2-6
says, “The LORD our God made a covenant with
us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the
LORD make this covenant, but with us, who
are all of us here alive today. The LORD
spoke with you face to face at the mountain,
out of the midst of the fire, while I stood
between the LORD and you at that time, to
declare to you the word of the LORD. For you
were afraid because of the fire, and you did
not go up into the mountain. He said: “‘I am
the LORD your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery.” (cf. Gal. 3:17; Rom. 5:12-14)
The Ten Commandments did not exist as a
legal code before God gave them to Israel at
Mount Sinai. They served as the framework
for the rest of the 613 laws of the Mosaic
Covenant. All the laws of the Torah were
given to Israel to set them apart from the
other nations (Exod. 19:5).
The Ten Commandments are specifically called
the covenant that God gave to Israel.
Exodus 34:27-28 says, “And
the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words,
for in accordance with these words I have
made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
So he was there with the LORD forty days and
forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank
water. And he wrote on the tablets the words
of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.”
And Deuteronomy 4:13 says, “And he
declared to you his covenant, which he
commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten
Commandments, and he wrote them on two
tablets of stone.”
One of the most
distinguishing features of the Ten
Commandments is that they are the only laws
ever specifically referred to as “the
covenant” (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 29:1; 2 Chron.
34:31). That is why they were among the
items placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.
They were the foundational laws upon which
the rest of the 613 laws contained in the
covenant were based.
Jesus
gave us a New Covenant to live by:
Jesus
lived and taught under the terms of the Old
Covenant to show Israel their need for
redemption and provide a sacrifice for their
sins. Then, the night before his death he
announced the coming New Covenant to his
disciples.
Luke 22:19-20 says, “And he took
bread, and when he had given thanks, he
broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This
is my body, which is given for you. Do this
in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup
after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that
is poured out for you is the new covenant in
my blood.’”
Jesus saw his death as
the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise
of a new covenant. Christ’s covenant is
“new” because it is a covenant of
forgiveness and grace based on his shed
blood, not on the Old Covenant Law
(Luke 16:16-17; Jer. 31:31-34).
The
Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 decided that
Christians do not have to keep any of the
laws of the Mosaic Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant and the covenant
sign of circumcision were discussed and
deemed unnecessary (Acts 15:1-29).
The Apostle Peter said that forcing the
Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Covenant would
be like placing a yoke of bondage around
their necks (Acts 15:10; cf. Gal. 5:1). If
God wanted his people to keep the seventh
day Sabbath under the New Covenant it would
have been brought up in the discussion
because it would have been an unfamiliar
practice for many of the new Gentile
converts. Sabbath-keeping was not discussed
at the Jerusalem Council because it was not made a
requirement for Christians who live under
the terms of the New Covenant.
The Ten Commandments are part of the
“abolished” first covenant:
Hebrews 8:13-9:4 says, “In speaking of a
new covenant, he makes the first one
obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and
growing old is ready to vanish away.
9:1 Now even the first covenant had
regulations for worship and an earthly place
of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the
first section, in which were the lampstand
and the table and the bread of the Presence.
It is called the Holy Place. Behind the
second curtain was a second section called
the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar
of incense and the ark of the covenant
covered on all sides with gold, in which was
a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s
staff that budded, and the tablets of the
covenant.”
According to
2 Corinthians, the Law of the Ten Commandments
is the Old Covenant that was made obsolete
by the New Covenant.
• The
Ten Commandments are called the “letter” that
“kills” (2 Cor. 3:6).
• The Ten
Commandments are called a “ministry of
death” (2 Cor. 3:7).
• The Ten
Commandments are called a “ministry of
condemnation” (2 Cor. 3:9).
• The
Ten Commandments are said to have “no glory
at all” (2 Cor. 3:10-11).
As already
pointed out, the Ten Commandments are the
only laws ever referred to as the actual
“covenant” (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). So
when the New Testament says the Old Covenant
is obsolete, it is saying every one of the
613 laws contained in the covenant is
obsolete, including the Ten Commandments.
The
New Covenant is an entirely different
covenant than the covenant Israel lived
under. None of the Old Covenant ceremonies,
feasts and holy days were required for the
New Covenant Church.
Colossians 2:16-17
says, “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.” (NIV)
Galatians 4:10-11 says, “You observe
days and months and seasons and years! I am
afraid I may have labored over you in vain.”
Ephesians 2:14-15 says, “For he himself
is our peace, who has made the two one and
has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall
of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the
law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace,”
(NIV)
Romans 14:5, 10, 11, 12 says, “One
person esteems one day as better than
another, while another esteems all days
alike. Each one should be fully convinced in
his own mind. . . Why do you pass judgment on
your brother? Or you, why do you despise
your brother? For we will all stand before
the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall
bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to
God.” So then each of us will give an
account of himself to God.”
Jesus brought the Old Covenant to an end. Christians
live under the New Covenant with Jesus
Christ as our spiritual rest.
Matthew 11:28-30 says, “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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.”
The rest God wants us to
enter is the rest of faith. Every day is a
Sabbath rest for those who put their trust
in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation
(Heb. 4:9-11).
There is not
one mention of Christians keeping the
weekly, seventh day Sabbath after the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Sabbath was not transferred to
Sunday like some people teach. Every day is
a Sabbath rest for believers who put their
trust in Christ alone for their salvation (Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:9-11).
There is no command anywhere in the New
Covenant to keep either the seventh day
Sabbath or Sunday, the first day of the week
as a mandatory day of rest.
The New
Testament is clear, the Ten Commandments and
all of the other 613 laws of the Mosaic
Covenant were fulfilled and brought to an
end by the New Covenant Jesus Christ made
with His church (2 Cor. 3:3-18; Acts 15:1-29).
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