Things which are a shadow of what is to come
The purpose of this chapter is to get an overview of the religious services connected with the Sinaitic Covenant, to discover how and why the Sabbath was observed in the Old Testament and to observe relationships between the Sabbath and other old covenant ceremo- nies. It will not serve our purpose to articulate the details of the old covenant sacrificial services or rituals. However, their significance as a means of displaying God’s grace should not be diminished. It is, nonetheless, beyond the scope of this study to do so. This chapter will, of necessity, cover a vast amount of material. Passages closely related to our topic have been included. In places you may want to scan some of the miscellaneous detail. If you do, please note that which is in italics as this will prove important to our study. Some of the evidence in this chapter will not have immediate application but will prove to be of enormous value for later understanding.
Covenant convocations
In this section we will look at an array of religious services prescribed within the Sinaitic Covenant linked to a specific time for their performance.
Leviticus 23 lists most of the appointed times or holy convoca- tions for the covenant people.
The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘The LORD’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these’ ” (Lev. 23:1,2).
The Seventh-day Sabbath
For six days work may be done; but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings (Lev. 23:3). So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant (Ex. 31:16).
The Passover
In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month…is the LORD’s Passover (Lev. 23:5). Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance (Ex. 12:14).
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is a Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days…on the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work…on the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work (Lev. 23:6−8). You also shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread…you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance (Ex. 12:17).
First Fruits
You shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest…on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it…it is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations (Lev. 23:10−14).
Pentecost
You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD…you shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations (Lev. 23:15−21).
Blowing of Trumpets
In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work (Lev. 23:23−25).
Day of Atonement
On exactly the tenth day of the seventh month is the day of atonement…It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you (Lev. 23:27−32). And this shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls, and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you…It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you…it is a permanent statute (Lev. 16:29, 31).
Feast of Booths
On the fifteenth of the seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind…On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation…You shall do no laborious work…So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the LORD (Lev. 23:33− 44).
New Moons
Then at the beginning of each of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD (Num. 28:11). To offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, this being required forever in Israel (2 Chron. 2:4).
Sabbatical Years
Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, “When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD…Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crops, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of trimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. And all of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food: yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat” (Lev. 25:2−7).
Jubilee
You are to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you and each of you shall return to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee: you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field…But if you say, “What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?” then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years (Lev. 25:8 −12,20,21).
66 Sabbath in Christ
In the preceding references we see a developing sabbatical cycle: the weekly Sabbath, the seven annual, or seasonal sabbaths, every seven years a sabbatical year, every seven sabbatical years a Jubilee.
In each of these “sabbaths” we find that work is prohibited. They are all called “holy” or are said to be a “sabbath to the Lord.” These are said to be perpetual and were to be practiced “throughout your generations”. Animals as well as the land itself are included in the “rest”. There is an underlying sense of freedom in the sabbath concept. Everyone is free from the responsibility of work; the Israelites, the slaves, the foreigners, the animals and even the land itself. There seems to be a rising crescendo in the sabbatical cycle which reaches its peak in the Jubilee. On that fiftieth year there was a whole year of Sabbaths, a special sabbatical year! The Jubilee was ushered in on the Day of Atonement by the blowing of a ram’s horn. The Jubilee was a time of release to the members of the covenant community, a time to return to the family property, a time to cancel all debts, a time to wipe the record clean and begin anew. It was designed to be a joyous time of celebration and fellowship!
As joyful as the Jubilee sounds, there is no record it was ever observed in the Old Testament community. It seems to have been something that was written about but never experienced. Perhaps the people were too selfish to proclaim freedom to all the inhabitants of the land. Perhaps they were too fearful of monetary loss should they not sow or reap. Whatever the reason, the celebration of the Jubilee seems to have remained for the “days to come” when God would give them three years worth of blessings!
Sabbath Observance
When it comes to Sabbath observance the Old Testament is very specific. It should be noted that the following Sabbath laws usually apply to all the Sabbaths, not just the weekly Sabbath. I have included all the Old Testament rules for Sabbath observance. It should be noted that some of these are not from the books of the law and serve as a biblical interpretation of the original Sabbath commands.
Things not to do on the Sabbath:
Do not go out of your place
Then the LORD said to Moses…Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day (Ex. 16:29).
Do not bake or boil
This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning (Ex. 16:23).
Do not do any work
But the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you (Ex. 20:10).
The prohibition of working is set forth in very clear terms.
You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest, even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest (Ex. 34:21).
Do not build a fire
These things are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do…You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day (Ex. 35:1,3).
Do not carry a load
But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I shall kindle a fire in the gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched (Jer. 17:27; cf. Neh. 1:15).
Do not buy or sell
As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day (Neh. 10:31; cf. Amos 8:5 ff.).
Do not do your own pleasure
If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word… (Isa. 58:13,14).
Things to do on the Sabbath:
Keep it holy
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Ex. 20:8).
Rest
For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest (Ex. 31:15).
Observe or celebrate
So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant (Ex. 31:16).
Delight in the Lord
Then you will take delight in the Lord (Isa. 58:14).
Convocate
For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings (Lev 23:3).
The instructions regarding a holy convocation, or sacred assembly, are the same for seventh-day Sabbath and all the seasonal feasts.1
Work six days
Sometimes we forget that the Sabbath commandment not only gives us instruction on what to do and what not to do on the Sabbath, but we should remember that it also says,
Six days you shall labor and do all your work (Ex. 20:9).
Time of Sabbath observance:
“From evening until evening you shall keep your sabbaths” (Lev. 23:32).
It should be noted that this instruction is given in connection with the Day of Atonement but was interpreted by the Jews to apply to all sabbaths.
Penalties for violation of Sabbath law:
Put to death
Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Every one who profanes it shall surely be put to death… Whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death (Ex. 31:14,15).
For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death (Ex. 35:2).
Cut off from Israel
Whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people (Ex. 31:14).
Reflections of Eden
As we look at what the covenant people were either told to do, or told not to do, on the Sabbath, and then reflect back upon the first seventh-day rest at the end of creation week, there seems to be a definite connection. It appears that the Sabbath laws given to the Israelites were designed to cause them to behave very much as Adam and Eve behaved in Eden. While this fact is not clearly brought out in the scriptural record, it is strongly implied in the wording of the fourth commandment.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORDblessed the sabbath day and made it holy (Ex. 20:11).
Nearly all the prohibitions given in connection with these Sabbaths would have been completely meaningless to Adam and Eve on that first seventh day before sin entered. On the other hand, what Israel was commanded to do on the Sabbath would have been done naturally by Adam and Eve; therefore, no command would have been needed. Consider the following reasoning:
Prohibitions:
Do not go out of your dwelling place
Adam and Eve did not leave the garden until after sin entered.
Do not bake or boil
We have no record of Adam and Eve using fire in their Eden home. Some assume they ate their food fresh from the garden.
Do not do any work
Adam and Eve did not “work” until after they sinned and were driven from the garden (Gen. 3:17−19). The Genesis account does mention that they were to “cultivate and keep” the garden. But whatever is intended here certainly was not work as we know it. Their garden was not filled with pesky weeds nor did they have to water it continually!
Do not carry a load
There was no need for Adam and Eve to carry a load or burden. What would they have carried? They did not have to store their crops for winter. They surely did not have irrigation pipes or shovels etc., for a “mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground” (Gen. 2:6).
Do not build a fire
Before sin entered, clothes were not even needed, therefore we can assume that the weather was not cold and a fire was not needed.
Do not buy or sell
Whom would they have purchased from and to whom would they have sold? They were told to eat “freely…”
Do not do your own pleasure
With the brevity of the written record in Genesis it is difficult to prove how this would or would not have applied to our first parents. Before sin entered into the lives of Adam and Eve we might assume it would have only been natural for God to be first in their thinking.
Admonitions:
Keep the Sabbath holy
Holiness is a term used for something that is set apart for God or is connected to Him in some way. This would automatically have been carried out in Eden as perfect Adam and Eve were in perfect fellowship with their Creator.
Rest
If we understand the “rest” of the seventh-day-creation record to be fellowship with God, this admonition would have been unneeded as it was the activity most cherished in the garden. God had provided everything man needed for health and happiness.
Observe, do, or celebrate
There would have been no need to tell our first parents to do these things, because the very doing of these things was that of which their life consisted.
Convocate
Adam and Eve were in perfect fellowship on Eden’s seventh day.
Delight yourself in the Lord
It must have been Adam and Eve’s highest delight to fellowship with their Maker in that perfect Eden home.
In connection with the greatest of the Sabbaths of the covenant people, the Jubilee, Israel was told “it shall be holy to you, you shall eat its crops out of the field” (Lev. 25:12). The Creator’s words to Adam and Eve were “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely” except from the tree in the middle of the garden (Gen. 2:16,17). The behavior of Adam and Eve on that first seventh day must have been very much like the directions given to Israel for the observance of Jubilee.
The Sabbaths of the old covenant appear to be “mini rest stops.” They were like a “pretend game” where Israel behaved like Adam and Eve on that first seventh day, the big difference being that Adam and Eve were in open fellowship with the Creator, a fellowship which was not hindered by sin. The Israelites, on the other hand, did not even desire to be in God’s presence.
And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:18,19).
Shadows of hope
Within the Sabbath concept there were shadows of hope, hints of better things to come. The Sabbaths pointed the Israelites back to the perfect fellowship of the seventh-day-creation “rest,” (Ex. 20:11) before sin with its resulting curse of labor and work occurred. The Sabbaths were a reminder that they were now free from Egyptian slavery where there was no physical rest. (Deut. 5:15), the Sabbaths also directed their tired souls forward to the time when the fellowship of that seventh day would be restored and they would find true, spiritual rest for their souls and true redemption from sin. The Sabbaths gave them reason to look forward with hope to that time when freedom would be proclaimed to the captives, when that year of release2 from all debt would arrive. They eagerly waited for the time they could return to the land of the fathers, when they could again eat freely the natural produce of the land, when they could cease from their heavy burdens and enter into the “rest” of the Jubilee. Each of the Sabbaths pointed them forward with hope to the next sabbatical event. The seventh-day Sabbath was a weekly reminder of the coming seasonal sabbaths. The seasonal sabbaths were a reminder of the coming sabbatical year. The sabbatical year was a reminder of the coming Jubilee. This kept hope alive.
Sabbath Relationships
While the following may appear to be somewhat repetitious, this information is very important to a thorough understanding of the Sabbath and will be needed for later interpretations.
In the following references be aware of the close association between the seventh-day Sabbath and the other religious duties connected with the Sinaitic Covenant, such as the morning and evening burnt offerings. Note especially the close connection between the seventh-day Sabbaths, the new moons, and the seven yearly sabbaths or “fixed festivals.” Recognize that when these convocations of the old covenant are listed as a group they usually appear in either ascending or descending order.
Sabbaths (days)
new moons (months)
fixed festivals (seasons)
or
fixed festivals (seasons)
new moons (months)
Sabbaths (days)
This is brought out here as it will be of importance for later interpretations.
…offer all burnt offerings to the LORD, on the sabbaths, the new moons and the fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD (1 Chron. 23:31).
Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him, and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons, and on the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, this being required forever in Israel (2 Chron. 2:4).
Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD which he had built before the porch; and did so according to the daily rule, offering them up according to the commandment of Moses, for the sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual feasts—the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles (2 Chron. 8:12,13).
He also appointed the king’s portion of his goods for the burnt offerings, namely, of the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths and for the new moons and for the fixed festivals, as it is written in the law of the LORD (2 Chron. 31:3).
And it shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offering and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons, and on the sabbaths, as all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel (Ez. 45:17).
The following references show a close relationship between the Sabbath and the new moon celebrations. Observe that they have nearly identical offerings prescribed for them.
The gate of the inner court shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the sabbath day, and opened on the day of the new moon…The people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of that gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons…And the burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the LORD on the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish…the grain offering…a hin of oil…And on the day of the new moon he shall offer…six lambs and a ram, which shall be without blemish…grain offering…a hin of oil…(Ez. 46:1−7).
I will also put an end to all her gaiety, her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths, and all her festal assemblies (Hos. 2:11).
Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath (2 Ki. 4:23).
…for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times…(Neh. 10:33).
Bring your worthless offerings no longer, their incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts…(Isa. 1:13,14).
“And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord (Isa. 66:23).
In the foregoing references we see a very close connection between the seventh-day Sabbath and the yearly feasts or “ap- pointed times of the Lord.” Notice that when the word “Sabbath” is used in connection with the other “times of the Lord,” it usually refers to the seventh-day Sabbath.
Covenant Relationships
In the last section, “Sabbath Relationships,” we saw how the Sabbath is closely related to all the other covenant convocations. This section will show how the Sabbath is tied to the whole Sinaitic Covenant.
The Sabbath is related to the Ten Commandments in that it is one of the Ten Commandments; it finds itself at the very center of the Ten Commandments and it is the sign of the covenant (Ex. 20:8–11; 31:13–18). Thus, the Sabbath of Sinai is inseparably linked to the Sinaitic Covenant.
The Ten Commandments are related to the ark of the covenant. The ark was the special wooden box in which the covenant was placed (Ex. 25:16). Thus, the Sabbath is related to the ark of the covenant.
The ark of the covenant was placed in the most holy place of the “tabernacle of the testimony” (Ex. 38:21; Num. 1:50, 53). The ark, the Ten Commandments, and the Sabbath are all related to the tabernacle of the testimony. So we see that the Sabbath is related to the tabernacle of the testimony.
The tabernacle of the testimony was the center for the worship of the covenant people. They were directed to take their offerings there. The priests were directed to offer special offerings there on the Sabbath. The weekly Sabbath is related to all the other religious services and holy convocations of the covenant people as they worshiped around the tabernacle of the covenant according to covenant stipulations (2 Chron. 2:4).
The religious celebration of the covenant had a strong, underlying sabbatical cycle. There were Sabbaths every seven days (Lev. 23:1−3). There were seven seasonal sabbathseach of which was observed as a seventh-day Sabbath (Lev. 23). Every seven years there was a sabbatical year when the land was to have “a sabbath to the Lord” (Lev. 25:1−7). The high point of the sabbatical cycle was the Jubilee. It was a special sabbatical year, a whole year of sabbaths with additional blessings including the proclamation of freedom to the captives (Lev. 25:8–17). All of these observances had their foundation in the covenant of which the Sabbath was the sign. Thus, the Sabbath was closely connected to all covenant celebrations.
As the Sinaitic Covenant partners were God and Israel and the Sabbath was a sign between God and the sons of Israel forever (Ex. 31:17), the Sabbath is therefore inseparably linked to the “sons of Israel forever.”
To become a member of the covenant community the males of every household had to be circumcised (Gen. 17:9−14; Lev. 12:3) and all had to observe the Sabbath (Ex. 31:13−17; Isa. 56:1−8). A foreigner was forbidden to partake in the covenant celebrations unless he was circumcised (Ex. 12:48). If you take away circumcision, then you take away the covenant people. If you take away the covenant people, then you must take away the Sabbath of Sinai, for it is the sign between God and the covenant people. Therefore, the Sabbath and circumcision were closely linked as signs of the covenant.
The covenant blessings and promises were specifically related to the “covenant people” living in the “promised land” (Gen. 13:15; Deut. 4:40). The borders of this land were clearly spelled out in the book of the covenant (Ex. 23:31; Deut. 1:6,7; Deut. 3). The land which was to enjoy its sabbaths was the “promised land.”
Thus the promised land and the Sabbath were closely linked (Lev. 25:1−4; 26:34,35). Nothing could be more clearly stated. Every- thing in the covenant was related to everything else in the covenant, and the seventh-day Sabbath is in the very heart of these complex relationships.
A correct understanding of the seventh-day Sabbath requires that we see it in relationship to the totality of old covenant life and experience. It is closely connected to the covenant, the covenant people, the tabernacle of the covenant, the services of the covenant, the laws of the covenant, the promises of the covenant, the blessings of the covenant, the cursings of the covenant and the land of the covenant. The Sabbath “is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel for ever” (Ex. 31:17).
Sabbath Observers
Who were commanded to observe the Sabbath?
But the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male servant oryour female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you (Ex. 20:10).
But during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard (Lev. 25:4).
Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor; in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves (Ex. 23:12).
The children of Israel, their servants, their sojourners, their cattle and their land were all required to keep the Sabbath. It was the sign of the covenant between the Lord and the “sons of Israel”.
Purposes of the Sabbath
A reminder of the seventh-day-creation rest
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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 (Ex. 20:8,11).
A reminder of redemption from Egyptian slavery
Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy…And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day (Deut. 5:12, 15).
Here the purpose of the Sabbath is said to be a sign of Israel’s redemption from Egyptian slavery. In this version of the fourth commandment no mention is made of the seventh-day-creation rest. This purpose is closely related to the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant, for the redemption from Egypt was covenant redemption.
God remembered His covenant…So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians (Ex. 2:24; 3:8).
Physical rest
The root meaning of Sabbath is rest, and a primary purpose of the Sabbath was to provide physical rest. The first occurrence in Scripture of the word “Sabbath” occurs in connection with the giving of the manna. “So the people rested on the seventh day” (Ex. 16:23,30). In the fourth commandment we read:
You shall not do any work…for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day (Ex. 20:10, 11).
In the section which explicitly states that the seventh-day Sabbath is the sign of the covenant between the Lord “and the sons of Israel” it says, “on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest” (Ex. 31:15,17).
Exodus 23:12 specifies who and what were to be included in the Sabbath rest.
Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor; in order that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.
Here it is expressly stated that the purpose of the Sabbath is to provide rest for the work animals and slaves. The Sabbath rest also includes the land of Israel. “During the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest” (Lev. 25:4). The same concept applies to the Jubilee (Lev. 25:11).
A test of covenant loyalty
A careful examination of the first Sabbath incident reveals a third purpose of the Sabbath.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. And it will come about on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily” (Ex. 16:4,5).
Here, the Sabbath functions as a test of loyalty for the covenant people. This is in harmony with the concept later in the book of Exodus, which shows the Sabbath to be a sign of the covenant. So in the first occurrence of the Sabbath its purpose is stated as a “test” of Israel’s loyalty. Later in this same account we read:
And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments, and My instructions?” (Ex. 16:27,28).
Sign of the covenant
So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever (Ex. 31:16,17).
Sign of sanctification
In Exodus 31:13 we read:
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.”
Here the Sabbath is said to be a sign of sanctification. Some read back into this text a present-day theological definition of sanctification and interpret this text to say that the observance of the Sabbath is a sign that God makes a person holy. God does make us holy, but we should interpret this passage using the basic meaning of sanctify, which is “to set apart.” In other words, the Sabbath is a sign that Israel was set apart or elected by God. For all practical purposes, this is just another way of saying that the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant. Israel was chosen or set apart by God.
There seems to be one underlying element in all of the purposes of the Sabbath which are all related to the Sinaitic Covenant in some way.
Chapter Summary
- The “Lord’s appointed times” were:
- Seventh-day Sabbath
- Passover
- Feast of Unleavened Bread
- Feast of First Fruits
- Pentecost
- BlowingofTrumpets
- Day of Atonementh.
- Feast of Booths
- New moon celebrations
- The seven yearly appointed times of the Lord were all kept like the seventh-day Sabbath with similar offerings and no laborious work was to be done.
- All of the Sabbaths of Israel were said to be perpetual,everlasting, or “throughout your generations.”
- Additional religious services closely connected with theSabbath were:
- Morning and evening burnt offerings
- New moon festivals
- When the “Lord’s appointed times” are listed they usually are listed in either ascending or descending order (days, months, seasons or seasons, months, days).
- When the word “Sabbath” is listed with the yearly “sabbaths” or “appointed times of the Lord,” it usually refers to the weekly Sabbath.
- The sabbatical cycle consisted of:
- Weekly, seventh-day Sabbaths
- Seven seasonal sabbaths
- Sabbatical years (every seventh year)
- Jubilee (after the seventh sabbatical year)
- The prohibitions for observing the Sabbaths were:
- Not going out of one’s place
- Not baking or boiling
- Not doing any work
- Not building a fire
- Not buying or selling
- Not carrying a load or burden
- Not doing own pleasure
- The commands for Sabbaths were:
- Keep it holy
- Rest completely
- Observe, do, or celebrate
- Convocate
- Delight in the Lord
- The Sabbath commandment included a command for the people to work for six days.
- Penalties for the violation of Sabbath law were:
- Put to death
- Cut off from the covenant people
- Sabbaths were to be observed from evening until evening.
- The seventh-day Sabbath is in the very center of, and is linked to, all old covenant relationships.
- It is closely linked with the Sinaitic Covenant.
- It is closely linked to the Ark of the Covenant.
- It is closely linked to the tabernacle of the covenant.
- It is closely linked to all covenant convocations.
- It is closely linked to the sons of Israel.
- Itiscloselylinkedtocircumcision.
- It is closely linked to the Promised Land.
- It is closely linked with the blessings and curses of thecovenant.
- Sabbath observers were to be:
- You (implies both the Israelite husband and wife),
- Your son
- Your daughter
- Your male servant
- Your female servant
- The son of your female slave
- The sojourner (stranger) who stays with you
- Your cattle
- Your ox
- Your donkey
- Your land
- Purposes for the Sabbath included:
- A reminder of the seventh-day-creation rest
- A sign of redemption from Egypt (covenant)
- The physical rest of the Israelites, their slaves, and their sojourners
- The physical rest of the Israelites’ animals
- A test to see if Israel would obey the Lord’s commandments and laws
- A sign of the covenant between the Lord and the “sons of Israel”
- A sign of being sanctified or set apart
- There is a relationship between the Sabbath laws and the seventh-day-creation rest.
- The Sabbath concept seems to be a reminder of Eden before sin entered.
- Most, if not all, of the Sabbath prohibitions would have been meaningless to Adam and Eve before sin entered.
- Most, if not all, of the Sabbath commands would have been done naturally by Adam and Eve and thus would have been unneeded before sin.
- Israel’s observance of the various Sabbath laws of the Sinaitic Covenant seems to be acting out in a sinful world of what Adam and Eve did in a sinless world.
- While the Sabbath laws of the Sinaitic Covenant pointed back to the seventh-day rest in Eden and Israel’s redemption from Egyptian slavery, there was also an element of hope for the future, especially in looking forward to the rest of the Jubilee.
Endnotes
- See Lev. 23:7, 21, 24, 27, 35; 28:18, 28:25; Num. 29:1, 7, 12.
- The word used here later became a word used for forgiveness in the New Testament via the Septuagint.
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