Saturday 16 June 2012

God gave the Sabbath day commandment to his chosen people

EXODUS 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labour, and do all your work:
10 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your foreigner who is within your gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
EXODUS 31:12-17
12 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,13 Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep: it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
14 You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you: every one who defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whoever doesany work in it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whoever does any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
DEUTERONOMY 5:12-15
12 Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labour, and do all your work:
14 But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your ass, nor any of your cattle, nor your foreigner who is within your gates; that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you.
15 And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out from there through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
PSALMS 89:34 (God)
34 My covenant I will not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.
ECCLESIASTES 3:14 (Solomon)
14 I know that, whatever God does, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God does it, thatmen should fear before him.
MALACHI 3:6
For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed.
Note: After his work of creation God rested on the seventh day, and blessed it, and sanctified it (Genesis 2:3). Nothing has changed concerning this because, "whatever God does, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it:" (Ecclesiastes 3:14). God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17), so as far as he is concerned, the seventh day is still blessed and sanctified by him. He gave no such blessing concerning Sunday, the first day of the week, but because the seventh day had been blessed since creation, when the law was given to his chosen people through Moses, it included a provision for rest on the seventh day:
(Exodus 20:8-10) "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. ... the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God;",
(Exodus 31:12-17) "the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep: ... You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy to you: ... the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever:"
(Deuteronomy 5:12-15) "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord your God has commanded you. ... the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God: ... the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."
Has God changed anything concerning these remarks? No, because he has said, "My covenant I will not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." (Psalm 89:34), and God spoke the ten commandments himself to the whole congregation of Israel (Exodus 20:1-19; Deuteronomy 5:4-22). The ten commandments were the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:12-13; 5:2). Therefore he cannot alter them, because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). This has been established with Israel, "throughout your generations;" (Exodus 31:13), "throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant." (Exodus 31:16), and "for ever." (Exodus 31:17). Therefore, at least as far as Israel is concerned it has not changed. The literal keeping of the Sabbath for the Jews will be superseded by the spiritual fulfilment of it, when they come to the true understanding, but this will not mean that they will cease to keep the Sabbath, and begin to keep Sunday.

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