How should we think about the Sabbath?

SABBATH OBSERVANCE: HOW DID WE GET IT AND HOW SHOULD WE KEEP IT?
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2014

Because of the length of this study (35 pages) most of it is available only in this pdf.   Blessed is the man...who keeps the Sabbath. (Isa 56:2)

Contents

	Introduction	3
I.	The Motivation of Sabbath Observance: Understanding the People and Purpose of the Sabbath—or—Why Should One Keep the Sabbath?	5
	A. At the dawn of creation (Gen 2:1-3)
	Query: What does Jesus mean, "the Sabbath was made for man"?
	B. After the exodus from Egypt (Exod 16:1-5, 21-30)
	Query: Does keeping 'one day in seven' meet God's expectation?
	C. On the mountain of Sinai (Exod 19:3-6; 20:1-11)
	Query: Are the Ten Commandments universal?
	D. In the wilderness of Sinai (Exod 31:12-17)
	Query: What is God's purpose for the Sabbath?
	E. At the border of Canaan (Deut 5:1-3, 12-15)
	Query: What does the Sabbath commemorate?
	F. During the exile in Babylon (Isa 56:3,6-8)
	Query: What was the status of the "foreigner"?
	G. In the first century (Acts 15:5, 19-21)
	Query: To what extent do gentiles participate in the covenant?
II.	The Method of Sabbath Observance: Understanding the Practice of the Sabbath—or—How Should One Keep the Sabbath?	16
	A. Collecting manna (Exod 16:23-30)
	B. Promoting rest (Exod 20:1-2, 8-11)
	C. Eschewing work (Exod 31:12-17; 34:21; 35:1-3)
	D. Gathering together (Lev 23:1-3; Num 28:1-2,9-10)
	E. Collecting wood (Num 15:32-36)
	F. Conducting business (Amos 8:4-5)
	G. Transporting property (Jer 17:21-27)
	H. Finding joy (Isa 58:13-14)
	I. Picking grain (Matt 12:1-8)
	J. Healing disease (Matt 12:9-14; Luke 13:10, 14-17)
	K. Healing disease and transporting property (John 5:1-10, 16-18; 7:21-23)
III.	The Measure of Sabbath Observance: Understanding the Principles of Setting Apart—or—How Should One Sanctify the Sabbath?	32
	A. Setting apart from what constitutes work
	1. Preparing food
	2. Conducting business
	B. Setting apart for what constitutes rest
	Worshiping together
	Bibliography	36
	Endnotes	39

Introduction

Our topic for several sessions will be Sabbath observance,¹ how we got the Sabbath and how we should keep it. As we begin, it is important to lay the proper foundation, to establish the rationale for our keeping it, because why we do it informs and determines the way we do it. Yet is the reason not obvious?

• We keep it, because God commanded it, and we obey His instructions.

• Yet, God commanded a lot of things, many of which we do not do, and properly so (e.g., animal sacrifices).

• We keep it, because Jesus observed it, and we follow his example.

• Yet, Jesus did a lot of things, many of which we do not emulate (e.g., casting out demons, preaching in synagogues).

I am not downplaying the significance of God's command or of Jesus' example in determining how we live.² I am merely suggesting that these reasons do not get to the heart of the matter, that our keeping the Sabbath derives from something more fundamental and that we must recognize (identify) the proper motivation before we can determine the proper method to employ in practice.

The Seventh Day Baptist statement of belief (1987) reads in part,³

• "We believe that the Sabbath...is...a gift of God to all people."

• "We believe that in obedience to God and in loving response to His grace in Christ, the Sabbath should be faithfully observed as a day of rest, worship, and celebration."

The first statement, although an improvement over the previous version,⁴ goes farther than the biblical evidence supports.⁵ The second statement leaves much unsaid, understandably so, because it is only meant as a summary. Nevertheless, the statement addresses two issues impinging on the Sabbath that will serve as our focus in the first part of this study: To whom did God give the Sabbath, and why did God give the Sabbath?—or—

• Who are the people of the Sabbath?

• Did God give the Sabbath to all or just to some?
• If it is just to some, then to whom? ...and...

• What is the purpose of the Sabbath?

• Did God give the Sabbath for rest or for celebration?
• If it is for celebration, then of what?

The second part of this study will consider the practice of the Sabbath in scripture, how people observed it in Old Testament Israel and in New Testament Israel, concentrating in that second part particularly on what we can learn from the events of Jesus' ministry. The third and final section will assemble and apply the various elements of our study that inform how we should observe the Sabbath today.

As we look at what the Bible says, there are four kinds (genres) of passages about the Sabbath—historic narrative, didactic instruction, Mosaic legislation, and prophetic expectation—and it is important that we recognize their differences. .....

For the Study and its Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.