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The first time the Sabbath
was kept as a day of rest was in Exodus 16 (which
took place 30 days after Israel’s exodus from Egypt). That means Israel
was halfway to Mount Sinai before God gave
them the Sabbath to observe (see Exod. 12:2,
18; 13:4; 16:1).
Exodus 16:1 says, “They set out from Elim,
and all the congregation of the people of
Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which
is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth
day of the second month after they had
departed from the land of Egypt.”
The
fifteenth day of the second month was
exactly one month after Israel’s exodus from
Egypt (see Exod. 12:2, 18, 40).
Sabbatarians argue that Christians should
keep the Sabbath holy because it was made
during the creation week and it is the only
commandment that says to “remember” it.
But God didn’t tell Israel to “remember”
the Sabbath day in Exodus 16 to remind them
to keep the day
holy from Genesis 2. Why? Because this is the first time
anyone had ever heard about the
seventh day Sabbath being a day of rest.
The first Sabbath command.
Exodus 16:22-23 says, “On the sixth day
[Israel] gathered twice as much bread, two omers
each. And when all the leaders of the
congregation came and told Moses, he said to
them, “This is what the LORD has commanded:
‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy
Sabbath to the LORD; bake what you will bake
and boil what you will boil, and all that is
left over lay aside to be kept till the
morning.’”
If the Sabbath was a moral
issue and God expected everyone to keep it,
then why did He wait a whole month before
telling Israel to observe the day?
Nehemiah says the Sabbath was made known
to Israel at the time God made His covenant
with them, not before! No one had ever
heard about the Sabbath before that.
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.”
The Sabbath was meant
for Israel alone because it served as a ceremonial sign
for the Mosaic Covenant.
Exodus 31:13, 17 says, “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... 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 Ezekiel 20:12, 20 says, “Moreover, I
gave them [Israel] my Sabbaths, as a sign between me
and them, that they might know that I am the
LORD who sanctifies them…and keep my
Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign
between me and you, that you may know that I
am the LORD your God.”
These
two passages make it perfectly clear that
God gave the Sabbath to Israel alone as a
ceremonial sign of the Mosaic Covenant.
The Sabbath could only serve as a sign
of the Mosaic Covenant if it was unique to
Israel. It had to distinguish Israel from
all the other nations. The Sabbath could not
function as a visible sign of God’s covenant
with Israel if everyone else was expected to
keep it. A sign sets something apart from
the rest. In fact, one of the main reasons
God gave Israel for keeping the Sabbath was
to remind them of how He delivered
them from Egyptian bondage (Exod. 16:23, 29; 31:13-18; Deut. 5:12-15).
How the Sabbath functioned in God’s covenant with Israel.
Exodus 19:3-24:11 “describes events
surrounding the making of the covenant
between the Lord and Israel, using practices
and terms familiar in the culture. When a
powerful king (the suzerain) would send a
treaty to a less powerful king (the vassal)
informing him and his people of the
suzerain’s intention to rule them, the
treaty contained: (1) formal
self-identification of the more powerful
ruler; (2) a review of the history between
the parties as grounds for issuing and
accepting the covenant; (3) the requirement
of loyalty to the suzerain; (4) stipulations
regulating future conduct of the vassal; (5)
positive and negative consequences for
obedience or disobedience; and (6)
instructions for copying, storing, and
publicly reading the covenant.”
[1]
As the sign of the Mosaic Covenant,
the Sabbath was placed in the middle of the
legal document as a witness for the parties
involved.
“It was customary
among the peoples of the ancient Near East
that when an overlord made a covenant or
contract with those he conquered, a copy of
the written agreement was kept in the
sanctuary of the ruling party and another in
the sanctuary of the ruled party. A typical
feature of such covenants was that the seal,
or sign, was placed at or near the center of
the treaty document. This is similar to
contracts of today. If one acquires a loan
from a bank or makes some kind of other
financial deal with another, it is common
that the parties involved receive a copy of
the agreement stipulating the benefits,
obligations, and penalties if the contract
is broken. These contracts, or agreements,
come into effect once the appropriate
signatures are in place. But in the case of
the covenant made between God and Israel,
both copies (the two tablets) were placed in
one sanctuary, since God was both the ruling
party and Israel’s God. And the signature of
this contract was observance of the Sabbath
command, which was placed near the center of
[the] tablets of the covenant.”
[2]
Another proof that Exodus 16 is
the first time the Sabbath was given as a
day of rest is how the Old Testament
introduces a new Holy day.
The
first time any Jewish Holy day is mentioned
in scripture, it always lacks the definite
article (i.e. “a” Sabbath), just like Exodus 16
reads.
• None of the Jewish Holy days
are introduced for the first time in
scripture with the definite article “the”,
but with the indefinite article “a” or “an.”
• The indefinite article is used both before
and after something has been instituted, but
the definite article (“the” Sabbath) is
never used the first time something is
introduced.
• This proves that the weekly
Sabbath did not exist before Exodus 16:23.
• Every Jewish Holy day follows this same
pattern in the Old Testament!
Examples:
First Time Instituted: ⇨ After
Instituted.
Tomorrow is “a” Sabbath: Exodus 16:23 ⇨ the
Lord has given you “the” Sabbath: Exodus 16:29.
“a” memorial: Exodus 12:14 ⇨
“the” Lord’s Passover: Exodus 12:21, 27.
“a” holy convocation: Leviticus 23:21 ⇨
“the” Day
of Pentecost: Acts 2:1.
“an”
alter: Genesis 8:20 ⇨ “the” Altar: Genesis 8:20.
“a” day of atonement: Leviticus 23:27 ⇨
“the” Day of atonement: Leviticus 23:28; 25:9.
[3]
Some people will argue that the Sabbath was
given before the rest of the Law was given
on Mount Sinai so it must be kept today.
Just because God made something a
requirement before He gave the other
requirements of the Mosaic Covenant doesn’t
mean they are still in effect today.
Circumcision, the Passover, and the Sabbath
were all given to Israel before God gave
them the rest of the laws in the covenant
but are not required of Christians in the New Covenant
(Acts 15:1-20; Col. 2:11; 2:16-17; 1 Cor. 5:7; Rom. 14:5-12; Eph. 2:11-16; Gal. 4:10-11).
The Hebrew
word for Sabbath (shabbāt), that is used in
the Ten Commandments is never found in the
book of Genesis. No one before Moses was
ever told to keep the Sabbath day holy. 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; 9:1-4; marriage: Gen. 2:24; 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?
And, how could the Sabbath be called a sign
of Israel’s deliverance from Egyptian
bondage if the Patriarchs already observed the
day (Exod. 16:6-7; 20:2; 31:13-18; Deut. 5:12-15)?
Conclusion: The first
time God gave the Sabbath to anyone to keep
as a day of rest was in Exodus 16, not before.
References:
1. The CSB Study
Bible: Exodus 19:3-24:11.
2. see: Meredith
G. Kline, The Structure of Biblical
Authority. Grand Rapids, Mich. Eerdmans;
1975, 1972; p. 18, 59.
3. see:
“a” sabbath: proves that the weekly Sabbath
did not exist before Ex 16:23.
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