The Sabbath
The Sabbath was hallowed at the creation. As ordained for man, it had
its origin when "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy." Job 38:7. Peace brooded over the world; for earth was in
harmony with heaven. "God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it
was very good;" and He rested in the joy of His completed work. Gen. 1:31.
{DA 281.1}
Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, "God blessed the seventh day,
and sanctified it,"--set it apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a
day
of rest. It was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of
God's
power and His love. The Scripture says, "He hath made His wonderful works
to
be remembered." "The things that are made," declare "the invisible things
of
Him since the creation of the world," "even His everlasting power and
divinity." Gen. 2:3; Ps. 111:4; Rom. 1:20, R. V. {DA 281.2}
All things were created by the Son of God. "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God. . . . All things were made by Him; and
without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:1-3. And since
the
Sabbath is a memorial of the work of creation, it is a token of the love
and
power of Christ. {DA 281.3}
The Sabbath calls our thoughts to nature, and brings us into
communion
with the Creator. In the song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and
the
music of the sea, we still may hear His voice who talked
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with Adam in Eden in the cool of the day. And as we behold His power in
nature we find comfort, for the word that created all things is that which
speaks life to the soul. He "who commanded the light to ****ne out of
darkness, hath ****ned in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor. 4:6. {DA 281.4}
It was this thought that awoke the song,--
"Thou, Lord, hast made me glad through Thy work;
I will triumph in the works of Thy hands.
O Lord, how great are Thy works!
And Thy thoughts are very deep."
Ps. 92:4, 5. {DA 282.1}
And the Holy Spirit through the prophet Isaiah declares: "To whom
then
will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto Him? . . . Have
ye
not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the
beginning?
have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that
sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as
grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth
them out as a tent to dwell in. . . . To whom then will ye liken Me, or
shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold
who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He
calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is
strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest,
O
Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from
my
God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God,
the
Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is
weary?
.. . . He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no
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might He increaseth strength." "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not
dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;
yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." "Look
unto
Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is
none else." This is the message written in nature, which the Sabbath is
appointed to keep in memory. When the Lord bade Israel hallow His
Sabbaths,
He said, "They shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I
am Jehovah your God." Isa. 40:18-29; 41:10; 45:22; Ezek. 20:20, R. V. {DA
282.2}
The Sabbath was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not
then first made known as a day of rest. The people of Israel had a
knowledge
of it before they came to Sinai. On the way thither the Sabbath was kept.
When some profaned it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse ye
to keep My commandments and My laws?" Ex. 16:28. {DA 283.1}
The Sabbath was not for Israel merely, but for the world. It had been
made known to man in Eden, and, like the other precepts of the Decalogue,
it
is of imperishable obligation. Of that law of which the fourth commandment
forms a part, Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in nowise pass from the law." So long as the heavens and the
earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power.
And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be
honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath to another" the
inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up "to wor****p before Me,
saith the Lord." Matt. 5:18; Isa. 66:23. {DA 283.2}
No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended so fully
to
distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath. God designed
that its observance should designate them as His wor****pers. It was to be
a
token of their separation from idolatry, and their connection with the
true
God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy, men must themselves be holy.
Through faith they must become partakers of the righteousness of Christ.
When the command was given to Israel, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep
it
holy," the Lord said also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Ex.
20:8;
22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the wor****pers of
God. {DA 283.3}
As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness
of
Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to them.
Satan
was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from Christ, and he
worked
to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign of the
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power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of Satan by
surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements. In the days of
Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected
the
character of selfish and arbitrary men rather than the character of the
loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually represented God as giving
laws
which it was impossible for men to obey. They led the people to look upon
God as a tyrant, and to think that the observance of the Sabbath, as He
required it, made men hard-hearted and cruel. It was the work of Christ to
clear away these misconceptions. Although the rabbis followed Him with
merciless hostility, He did not even appear to conform to their
requirements, but went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to
the law of God. {DA 283.4}
Upon one Sabbath day, as the Saviour and His disciples returned from
the place of wor****p, they passed through a field of ripening grain. Jesus
had continued His work to a late hour, and while passing through the
fields,
the disciples began to gather the heads of grain, and to eat the kernels
after rubbing them in their hands. On any other day this act would have
excited no comment, for one passing through a field of grain, an orchard,
or
a vineyard, was at liberty to gather what he desired to eat. See Deut.
23:24, 25. But to do this on the Sabbath was held to be an act of
desecration. Not only was the gathering of the grain a kind of reaping,
but
the rubbing of it in the hands was a kind of thre****ng. Thus, in the
opinion
of the rabbis, there was a double offense. {DA 284.1}
The spies at once complained to Jesus, saying, "Behold, Thy disciples
do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day." {DA 284.2}
When accused of Sabbathbreaking at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself
by
affirming His Son****p to God, and declaring that He worked in harmony with
the Father. Now that the disciples are attacked, He cites
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His accusers to examples from the Old Testament, acts performed on the
Sabbath by those who were in the service of God. {DA 284.3}
The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the
Scriptures, and in the Saviour's answer there was an implied rebuke for
their ignorance of the Sacred Writings. "Have ye not read so much as
this,"
He said, "what David did, when himself was an hungered, and they which
were
with him; how he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the
shewbread, . . . which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone?"
"And He said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath." "Have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the
priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say
unto
you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." "The Son of man
is
Lord also of the Sabbath." Luke 6:3, 4; Mark 2:27, 28; Matt. 12:5, 6. {DA
285.1}
If it was right for David to satisfy his hunger by eating of the
bread
that had been set apart to a holy use, then it was right for the disciples
to supply their need by plucking the grain upon the sacred hours of the
Sabbath. Again, the priests in the temple performed greater labor on the
Sabbath than upon other days. The same labor in secular business would be
sinful; but the work of the priests was in the service of God. They were
performing those rites that pointed to the redeeming power of Christ, and
their labor was in harmony with the object of the Sabbath. But now Christ
Himself had come. The disciples, in doing the work of Christ, were engaged
in God's service, and that which was necessary for the accomplishment of
this work it was right to do on the Sabbath day. {DA 285.2}
Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of
God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is the
redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done on the
Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath
law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself the "Lord of the
Sabbath,"--One above all question and above all law. This infinite Judge
acquits the disciples of blame, appealing to the very statutes they are
accused of violating. {DA 285.3}
Jesus did not let the matter pass with administering a rebuke to His
enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the object
of
the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had known what this meaneth, I will have
mercy,
and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." Matt. 12:7.
Their many heartless rites could not supply the
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lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever
characterize
the true wor****per of God. {DA 285.4}
Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in
themselves of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object
was
to direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with
God.
It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere
round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was
designed
to bring men into communion with God; but when the mind was absorbed with
wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath was thwarted. Its mere outward
observance was a mockery. {DA 286.1}
Upon another Sabbath, as Jesus entered a synagogue. He saw there a
man
who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Him, eager to see what He
would do. The Saviour well knew that in healing on the Sabbath He would be
regarded as a transgressor, but He did not hesitate to break down the wall
of traditional requirements that barricaded the Sabbath. Jesus bade the
afflicted man stand forth, and then asked, "Is it lawful to do good on the
Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?" It was a maxim
among
the Jews that a failure to do good, when one had op****tunity, was to do
evil; to neglect to save life was to kill. Thus Jesus met the rabbis on
their own ground. "But they held their peace. And when He had looked round
about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,
He
saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and
his hand was restored whole as the other." Mark 3:4, 5. {DA 286.2}
When questioned, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?" Jesus
answered, "What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep,
and
if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and
lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is
lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:10-12. {DA 286.3}
The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude,
for
fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He had spoken
the
truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would leave a man to
suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of the loss to the owner
if
it were neglected. Thus greater care was shown for a dumb animal than for
man, who is made in the image of God. This illustrates the working of all
false religions. They originate in man's desire to exalt himself above
God,
but they result in degrading man
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below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty of God
defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and which is to
be
restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches its adherents to
be
careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. The gospel places a high
value upon humanity as the purchase of the blood of Christ, and it teaches
a
tender regard for the wants and woes of man. The Lord says, "I will make a
man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of
Ophir." Isa. 13:12. {DA 286.4}
When Jesus turned upon the Pharisees with the question whether it was
lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life or to
kill,
He confronted them with their own wicked purposes. They were hunting His
life with bitter hatred, while He was saving life and bringing happiness
to
multitudes. Was it better to slay upon the Sabbath, as they were planning
to
do, than to heal the afflicted, as He had done? Was it more righteous to
have murder in the heart upon God's holy day than love to all men, which
finds expression in deeds of mercy? {DA 287.1}
In the healing of the withered hand, Jesus condemned the custom of
the
Jews, and left the fourth commandment standing as God had given it. "It is
lawful to do well on the Sabbath days," He declared. By sweeping away the
senseless restrictions of the Jews, Christ honored the Sabbath, while
those
who complained of Him were dishonoring God's holy day. {DA 287.2}
Those who hold that Christ abolished the law teach that He broke the
Sabbath and justified His disciples in doing the same. Thus they are
really
taking the same ground as did the caviling Jews. In this they contradict
the
testimony of Christ Himself, who declared, "I have kept My Father's
commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. Neither the Saviour nor
His followers broke the law of the Sabbath. Christ was a living
representative of the law. No violation of its holy precepts was found in
His life. Looking upon a nation of witnesses who were seeking occasion to
condemn Him, He could say unchallenged, "Which of you convicteth Me of
sin?"
John 8:46, R. V. {DA 287.3}
The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets
had
spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative men. All
the
truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless gems had been
placed
in false settings. Their precious light had been made to minister to
error.
God desired them to be removed from their
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settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work only a
divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error, the truth had
been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man. Christ had come to
place
it where it would glorify God, and work the salvation of humanity. {DA
287.4}
"The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus
said. The institutions that God has established are for the benefit of
mankind. "All things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to
come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." 2 Cor.
4:15;
1 Cor. 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which the Sabbath forms a
part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The Lord commanded us," said
Moses, "to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good
always, that He might preserve us alive." Deut. 6:24. And through the
psalmist the message was given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness:
come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it
is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the
sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise." Ps. 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the Sabbath from
polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them will I bring to My holy
mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Isa. 56:6, 7. {DA
288.1}
"Wherefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words
are
full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for man, it
is
the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things were made by Him;
and
without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3. Since He made
all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it was set apart as a memorial of
the work of creation. It points to Him as both the Creator and the
Sanctifier. It declares that He who created all things in heaven and in
earth, and by whom all things hold together, is the head of the church,
and
that by His power we are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He
said, "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that
they
might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy. Ezek.
20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy. And
it
is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign of His sanctifying
power,
the Sabbath is given to all who through Christ become a part of the Israel
of God. {DA 288.2}
And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from
doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the
holy
of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself in the
Lord."
Isa. 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ's
creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it,
they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of
creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls
to
mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the
Saviour.
And every object in nature repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye
that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28. {DA
289.1}
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