The Christian Sabbath Part 2: The Jewish Sabbath

THE JEWISH SABBATH, A MEMORIAL

The Sabbath principle, namely a sacred day of rest following six days of toil, is revealed by God through scriptural statements made early in human history (Gen. 2:3), and confirmed in the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue. This principle was emphasized in the previous chapter. In this chapter we shall note how this Sabbath principle was adapted to Israel in the nature of a memorial. The Sabbath principle is fundamental and universal, but the adaptation of this principle to Israel as a memorial in the Jewish Sabbath is not possible of universal application.

The Sabbath principle as emphasized in God's statements following creation and in the Fourth Commandment is, a sacred day of rest following six days of toil. Man is as much obligated to engage in the days of toil as he is to observe the day of rest. "They are told," says Matthew Henry, "what is the day they must observe -- a seventh, after six days' labor; whether this was the seventh by computation from the first seventh, or from the day of their coming out of Egypt, or both, is not certain" in the statement of this Commandment.

However the given time in which Israel's Sabbath commenced and its related purpose to Israel is suggested in God's Word. The beginning of Israel's religious year is stated (Exodus 12:1, 2; 13:3, 4). The Sabbaths of that month (Abib) are mentioned, namely the fifteenth and twenty-second days. And the first observation of that day, the seventh day, seems to be indicated (Exodus 16:10-31). The giving of the manna is evidently the beginning of a cycle of weeks to Israel, and it corresponds to the other requirements given by God for their Sabbath keeping. The detailed instruction given by Moses in connection with the gathering of the manna, the apparent ignorance of the people and the confusion indicated by the number of Israelites who went out to gather manna on the seventh day, is evidence that these Hebrew slaves had not known or kept a Sabbath during their days in Egypt. So here the Sabbath principle of a sacred day of rest after six days of labor definitely becomes part of Israel's life and the given time in which the seventh day cycle commenced is stated.

But the Sabbath was to Israel more than a day of rest following six days of labor; it was a memorial day. It is not primarily a memorial of the finished work of creation as is generally supposed, for in no place is the Sabbath mentioned as a memorial of that creation rest day, although the principle of the Sabbath as revealed by that creation rest day is mentioned in connection with the Sabbath Commandment.

What, then, is the significance of the Jewish Sabbath as a memorial? It is threefold. First, it was a memorial of their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt; "And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord brought thee out. . . . Therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day" (Deut. 5:12-15). Second, it signified Israel's sacred relation to God and His rulership over them: "Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you . . . whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 31:13-15). Third, it was a sign of a perpetual covenant with Israel: "Israel shall keep the sabbath, throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever" (Exodus 31:16,17).

All of the detailed and ceremonial laws given to Israel, such as the requirement to make no fire on the Sabbath, and the feasts connected with certain Sabbaths, were related definitely to Israel's seventh day memorial Sabbath. These laws were not in any way related to the Sabbath principle, a sacred day of rest after six days of toil, although the principle of a day of rest -- a day in which no servile work was to be done -- ran through the entire requirement of Israel's Sabbath observation. The principle of the Sabbath, a sacred day of rest after six days of toil, is universal; but the Sabbath as a memorial to Israel, the seventh day of Israel's week, the cycle of which began with their deliverance from Egypt, specifically with the giving of the manna, was not universal. It was definitely related to Israel alone and not to other peoples or nations, for God positively stated the Israel memorial Sabbath "is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever." In fact it is impossible to keep the detailed laws of Israel's memorial Sabbath except in restricted areas of the earth. For example, folks in polar regions or in winter of the temperate zones must make fire on the Sabbath, and the making of a fire is strictly forbidden on Israel's memorial Sabbath.

A new cycle for reckoning the seventh day time may be instituted with an altogether different memorial without violating the Sabbath principle stated at creation and confirmed in the Decalogue, (which was a sacred day of rest following six days of toil). The institution of this new cycle with a different memorial does no more violence to the Sabbath principle, than did the institution of Israel's cycle of time reckoned upon their deliverance from Egypt.

The Bible teaching on the Sabbath is twofold; first, a Sabbath principle stated by God at the close of creation, when He rested and blessed the seventh day, and this principle is reiterated and confirmed by God in the Fourth Commandment of the Decalogue. This principle is a sacred day of rest following six days of toil. The second teaching is Israel's memorial Sabbath which is definitely related to the nation of Israel alone. It fell on the seventh day of Israel's week and had specific laws and ceremonies connected with it which could not fit into any universal observation of that special memorial Sabbath day. The principle of the Sabbath is universal and it is the moral obligation of all men, but Israel's memorial Sabbath was binding upon only that nation.