The sabbath

1. The Sabbath
Genesis 2:2-3
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the
seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from
all his work which God created and made.
Moses wrote the book of Genesis 2,500yrs after the fact. Notice in this passage he is not
talking to Adam and Eve. As you read the book of Genesis you’ll notice no one ever
observes the Sabbath.
Watch Paul pass on the Old Testament commandments to the ‘Body of Christ’; as he does,
he purposely omits any mention of the Sabbath.
Romans 13:8-9
8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law.
9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment,
it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Christ death on the cross completed the Old Testament ‘ordinances’ as a necessity to please
God.
Colossians 2:12-16
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. (Salvation, true baptism of the spirit,
not water baptism which we use as a picture of what has already happened spiritually.)
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened
together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of t hem openly, triumphing
over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore (Because of vs14) judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an
holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

2. In the early days of the church there was a lingering affinity to follow the Jewish law of their
fathers.
Galatians 3:10-13, 24-28
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them. (James 2:10)
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall
live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be
justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Paul was continually correcting this false idea that men should follow the law as part of their
salvation.
Acts 15:24
24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with
words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom
we gave no such commandment:
Galatians 2:11-14
11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be
blamed.
12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they
were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the
circumcision.
13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was
carried away with their dissimulation.

3. 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said
unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not
as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
So what was the Sabbath for?
The Sabbath is a special sign between the Jewish nation of Israel and God.
Ezekiel 20:20
20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me (the LORD your God) and
you (the house of Israel v13, Israel…the seed of the house of Jacob v5) that ye may know
that I am the LORD your God.
1 Corinthians 1:22
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
Why do the Jews ‘require a sign’? Because this is how God founded the nation and revealed
himself to them.
Exodus 4:28-30
28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which
he had commanded him.
29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30 And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs
in the sight of the people.
The signs start with Moses:
Exodus 4:8
8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the
first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
The keeping of the Sabbath is revealed to Moses 2,500 yrs after God set the Sabbath as a
sign. God did not require Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to observe the Sabbath because he
had not revealed it to them (Rom. 5:13)
Nehemiah 9:13-14
13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and
gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts,
statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

4. How to observe the Sabbath:
 Palestinian time- 9hrs off from USA
 No traveling Act. 1:12, Ex. 16:29
 No cooking Num. 15:33
 On the proper day- Bible calendar for all Jews is a 30day/month (Lunar year)
Why was the Sabbath (sign of rest to the Jews) so important?
The book of Hebrews is as its name implies written to Jews. It is in this book God gives 4
examples of rest that the Sabbath is a sign of:
1. National Rest in the conquered land of Canaan
Hebrews 3:7-11
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart;
and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
Numbers 14:11
11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it
be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
2. The rest to a believer
Hebrews 4:1-4
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you
should seem to come short of it.
2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not
profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if
they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the
world.

5. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the
seventh day from all his works.
A Christians rest is our salvation, once entered into, you can now rest because Jesus
finished all work needed for your justification. There is no need to work to maintain
salvation ‘it is finished’ like he said on the cross.
Hebrews 4:10
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did
from his.
3. Creation rest:
Hebrews 4:4
4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the
seventh day from all his works.
This is the Sabbath that went unrevealed till God gave it to Moses as a sign.
4. Rest promised to Israel as a nation.
Hebrews 4:5-9
5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first
preached entered not in because of unbelief:
7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said,
To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
This is Jewish- David, people of God. Christians in this age don’t look to David as our
founding father we look to Jesus (the author and finisher of our faith). We are not the
people of God we are the sons of God. Israel failed to enter into the physical rest promised
in Canaan Num. 13-14, Ps. 106:34-35, Heb. 3:7-11, Joshua 15:63.
God gives Israel a second chance starting in 2Chronicles 36:22-23 and it will finally be
accomplished at the end of the tribulation Isa. 14:1-7.
2 Peter 3:8
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day.

6. The Bible tells the reader that the last period of 1,000yrs on this earth will be a Sabbath of
rest. Because the King of all the earth was going to be a Jew God set that day aside for
Jews.
Psalm 47:7
7 For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
Zechariah 14:16-17
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against
Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to
keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem
to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
Ezekiel 20:20
20 And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know
that I am the LORD your God.
The Sabbath is a sign to Israel that rest will come to them as a nation at the 2nd Advent of
his Son.
Why do Christians choose Sunday, the 1st
day of the week (or 8th
)
to worship on?
Exodus 12:16
16 And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall
be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which
every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
The Sabbath was not the only day set aside. The word ‘convocation’ means, a summon to
an assembly or meeting. If a person wishes to worship on the Sabbath in obedience to the
Old Testament they must also obey every other holy day set up under the Jewish law.
 The early Christians meet for preaching (not rest) on Sunday.
Acts 20:7
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul
preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until
midnight.
Modern Christianity has changed drastically. Paul preached till midnight, good thing they
brought bread!

7.  They had a collection on Sunday.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of
Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath
prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
Paul is telling them he is going to be their guest preacher for this particular Sunday and he
didn’t was any collection when he was there (he is giving them an exception to the rule).
He was trying to impress on the people that he was not there to be a professional paid
speaker. However, the custom and one he had instituted was when they meet on Sunday
they would have preaching, eating, and a collection for the saints.
 Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday
Matthew 28:1,6
28 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
6
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Mark 16:2
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at
the rising of the sun.
Sunday is a celebration for Christians of the rising of the Son.