NOTABLE POINTS ABOUT SABBATH
NOTABLE POINTS ABOUT SABBATH
Virgil Warren, PhD
Mosaic Legislation on Sabbath
Exodus 16:4-5 (manna gathering), 22-30 (manna use); 20:8-11 + Deuteronomy 5:12-15 (The Ten Commandments); Exodus 31:12-17; 35:1-3; Leviticus 19:3, 30; 23:3, 38; 26:2; Numbers 15:32-36 (death penalty)
1. Exodus 16:5ff records the first regulation about Sabbath observance.
2. Disregarding Sabbath requirements was Israel’s first disobedience (Exodus 16:19-20).
3. Sabbath was on the analogy of the account of God’s “rest” from creation: weekly (vs. monthly or annually), at the end of the week, observed as a rest (vs. celebration, etc.) as completely as reasonable.
4. Sabbath was a memorial of the exodus (not the creation): Deuteronomy 6:15; Exodus 31:17.; hence, Sabbath was a memorial of the exodus observed on the analogy of God’s creation rest.
5. Sabbath served as a national holiday to be observed as a patriotic duty. It was not observed as a religious duty before, outside, or after national Israel. After Pentecost of Acts 2, it was abrogated as a Christian expectancy along with the Mosaic covenant in general, “Don’t let anybody criticize you for . . . not celebrating . . . Sabbaths” (Colossians 2:16; cp. Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:10-11).
6. Sabbath observance applied to all citizens, slaves, and foreigners in residence or visiting—even to livestock (Exodus 20:10; Deuteronomy 5:13).
7. Profaning Sabbath was a capital crime (Exodus 31:15).
8. The extensive no-work clauses were not exhaustive but representative for creating an understanding of the level, kind, and purpose of the general regulation.
9. Sabbath was for benefitting people, not burdening them: “Sabbath was created for people, not people for Sabbath” (Mark 2:27 < Exodus 23:13; Deuteronomy 5:14). Jesus’ comment criticized the tradition of the elders, which had made Sabbath a burdensome observance. The Jewish Talmud proscribed and prescribed nearly seventy “picky” activities beyond the Old Testament’s directives (Shabbath 12:3-5).
10. Jesus’ refusal to follow the tradition of the elders on Sabbath observance became a major point of contention during his ministry. It shows up on six occasions: healing the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-47 + 7:23), plucking off grain heads (“harvesting,” Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5), healing a man with a shriveled-up hand (Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11), healing a man born blind (John 9:1-16-41), healing a woman bent double (Luke 13:10-17), healing a man with dropsy (Luke 14:1-24).
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