Observing the Sabbath (Exodus 31:12-18)
Let me begin with a question: Should believers in Jesus Christ observe the Sabbath? Now, before you answer that, let me remind you that the Sabbath is Saturday. The Sabbath is Saturday; it's the 7th day of the week. So, let me ask, should believers’ worship on Saturday instead of Sunday? How would you answer that?
Some might say, "Well, it's part of the Ten Commandments, so therefore we should do what it says." Well, that's the issue I want to address tonight. It's most specifically, "Should we keep the Sabbath, meeting on Saturday instead of Sunday?" But it's bigger than that. It's bigger because it's part of the commandments, and it's bigger than that because it's part of the Mosaic law. And it's bigger than that because it involves all of Scripture. So, with that in mind, let's go to an Old Testament passage for starters, where it is clearly laid out what the Sabbath is all about. And I have in mind Exodus chapter 31. So, turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 31.
In this passage, we are talking about the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic law, including the Sabbath. But I want to remind you that the Lord has taken Moses up to Mount Sinai, and He's given him the law. And we have been looking at that for some time, starting back in chapter 25. And we're still on the top of Mount Sinai, and the Lord is still giving Moses’ instructions. This passage is a sort of a conclusion, not only of this chapter but of this whole extended section where Moses has been on the top of Mount Sinai, and God has been giving him all kinds of instructions. So, those are the two parts of the passage. First is the Sabbath, and then let's call those concluding verses just that conclusion. Let's look at the opening verses 12.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.'"
(Exodus 31: 12-13)
The word "sanctifies" means to set apart. So, the Sabbath was a sign, let me repeat that, the Sabbath was a sign. It's a symbol. It's a sign of the fact that God has a relationship with his people, and that he has set them apart to Him. That's the whole point. That this is unique to Israel. As a matter of fact, it distinguished Israel from all other nations at the time. No other nation on the planet observed something like the Sabbath. So, the Lord says, "This is going to be the sign that you're different, that you're separated from everyone else and that you belong to Me." It became very important in Israel's history. One author has said, "The importance of the sign is seen in the insistence of the latter prophets that Sabbath-keeping was an indication of the spiritual condition of the people." Prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel really talked about the fact that if you're not keeping the Sabbath, and that's an indication of your lack of spirituality. So the Sabbath is a sign. In the Old Testament, this was serious business. Verse 14 gives the penalty if you break it.
You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
(Exodus 31: 14-15)
Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people." Now, that's pretty clear. You profane it, you die. You work on Saturday; you get cut off. The only question in this passage is, what does he mean by "cut off"? Some say it can either mean banishment, but other are clear that is also means if you do this you will also then be put to death, death, either way it is pretty serious. I don't know that there's a lot to discuss here. It's pretty simple. Saturday is the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Saturday. He says that very clearly. It's the 7th day, not the first day. And if you do any work of any kind, then you cut off, if you profane it, you're executed. You die. In the overall context of Exodus, we've just been talking about the building of the Tabernacle. He didn't want to build the Tabernacle even his own, house on a Saturday. No work, nothing on Sabbath. How long is this supposed to last? Verse 16 tells us.
"Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant."
(Exodus 31: 16)
This was not a temporary sign during the life of Moses or Joshua or Samuel. Throughout all the generations of Israel, they were told to keep this sign. It says in verse 17,
"It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, He rested and was refreshed."
So, in order to support the idea that you should rest on the seventh day, the Lord goes all the way back to Genesis 1, in the creation, and said, "That's what I did. I worked six days, and I rested on the seventh, and that's what I want you to do." So, there are the instructions for the Sabbath. Now, let's look at those concluding verses. And they're sort of the conclusion, and for that matter, the conclusion of this whole section.
"And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God."
Now, that's a very important verse, and we need to look at it carefully. The first part is pretty self-evident. He has concluded speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai. He gave him two tablets of stone that he calls tablets of the testimony. These two tablets upon which is written the Ten Commandments. Why are they called tablets of testimony? And the answer is because they testify to God's standard. But here's what I want you to note. It says that on those two tablets was written the Ten Commandments by the finger of God. It's very important. You see it. Exodus 31:18, the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God. And that, I assume, means what? That God has a finger.
By the way, I need to comment about that. Remember, the person says, "His hand is not shortened that He cannot save." Does He have a hand? I mean, His hand is not shortened that it cannot save. And now, this is a finger. He writes the Ten Commandments. So, has God a hand with fingers. These are called by theologians a very fancy word called an anthropomorphism." "Anthropos in Greek simply means man, and anthropomorphism is attributing to God a human characteristic to make him understandable. It doesn’t mean that God had a finger or hand. It means that God just wrote the 10 commandments straight out from His Spirit. This underscores the fact that the law was of divine origin. This isn’t something Moses made up in the desert and figured out. He went up to the mountain, and God dictated it and wrote it. This is direst from God.
Israel's religious revelation is their unique contribution to civilization, much as the Greeks developed philosophy and the Romans displayed a genius for organization and empire-building. Yet, such a worldly comparison misses the point of Scripture. The Bible speaks not of the genius of Israel, but of the finger of God. So, this came directly from the Lord.
And then the conclusion of this whole session with the Lord, going all the way back to chapter 25, verse 1, this section concludes the record of Moses receiving from God during the 40 days and nights he was on the mount, beginning in chapter 25, verse 1 and ending here at the end of chapter 31. So, that’s it, that’s what the law says about the sabbath Day. The Bible makes it very clear. It’s a sign.
There are a number of covenants in the Bible that have signs. So, what are the covenants? There are four, the four covenants are the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, and the New Covenant.
What’s the sign of the covenant with Noah? The rainbow.
What’s the sign of the covenant with Abraham? Circumcision.
What’s the sign of the Mosaic covenant? This one’s tough, until maybe today it’s the Sabbath. One more, we’ve got three out of four, and we haven’t got to the last one. It is the sign of the New Covenant. The Lord’s Supper. Communion, the Lord Supper is a sign of the New Covenant.
So, let me ask you a question: should we keep the Sabbath? Should Christian’s quit meeting on Sunday, there are some who say we should.
Romans chapter 6 14,
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.
As clearly as language can say it, you, as a believer in Jesus Christ, are not under the law. However, there are three types of law. The ceremonial law, the civil law, and the moral law. The ceremonial law is now physically done away with, it no longer exists even in the nation of Israel today.The there is the civil law, those laws that have to do with your relationship to other people. If you're going to build a house, if you're going to hold a put, a little fence around it so you don’t get anybody hurt, or you going to take responsibility for you neighbours’ property. . The Mosaic legislation. And then of course, is the Ten Commandments. One point of view says, 'Oh, this means we’re not under the ceremonial law. Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law. He’s the Lamb of God, so you don’t need to do all the ceremonial or civil stuff but some say we are still under the civil law, is that true. You're not under the civil law, but you're still under the moral law, they say.'
Here’s the problem with that view. There are those three parts of the law, but the Bible doesn’t divide them up like that. That’s the problem. The Bible views the law as a unit. There are three parts to it, but it is still a single unit. There is one law with different aspects, so the key question is not what the law is, it is whether we are under, it and what does being under the law mean. The New Testament tells us that being under law, means you're under condemnation because you haven’t kept the law. What I’m simply saying is that we’re not under condemnation because we’ve been saved by the blood of Christ. And therefore, we’re not under condemnation. "You’re not in law. Any law. All of the mosaic law. So, make this very clear: you are not under the civil law of Moses, you’re not under the ceremonial law of Moses, and you’re not under the moral law of Moses, including the 10 commandments, including the Sabbath. In other words, those laws no longer have the power to condemn you. I am sure some of you are saying, are you really saying you’re not another 10 commandments? Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.
Look at Ch 6 verse 15 of Romans.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not
And in the rest of chapter six, he goes on to explain that you are free from sin and you become a slave of righteousness. That’s the rest of chapter Romans Ch 6. Now look at Romans Chapter 7, verse 1.
Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the law), that the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?
Notice, the law has dominion over a man as long as he lives. Paul says, look, a law only applies to you as long as you live. Once you are dead, you’re not under the law. You want to get out of the law, really simple, you need to die. Right? At this point, Paul illustrates that. He then illustrates this for us in the verses that follow.
2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man.
If you’re married and your husband of wife dies, that law that said the two of you were married 'til death do us part”. So that law no longer applies. Now, if you go marry somebody else while they are still alive, then that’s a problem. You broke the law. But if one dies, the other can go marry somebody else cause he’s dead and the law doesn’t apply in relation to dead people. And that’s Paul's point stated in verse one: law has no dominion over you as long as he lives. But once your dead, law doesn’t apply. He uses the illustration in verses two and three of marriage. In verse 4, he says,
"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, that you should also bear fruit to God."
Now, to really appreciate that verse, you need to understand the first part of Roman six. Remember, he said if you’ve trusted Christ, you're united to Christ. He also said that the old you you died, your past life died, and now you’ve been identified and united with Christ in his death and in his resurrection." "So you died, and you’ve been raised with Christ, and this is what he’s saying, basically in verse 4, you also become dead to the law through the union with of Christ, that you may be joined to another born again, that is where Christians get that expression from. I’ve died, but I’ve been raised, so that old law doesn’t apply to me because I died. That's Galatians 2:27, 'crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, that not having Christ living in the life I now live, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.' So, that’s, the point, I am not under that law right anymore
Paul continues, Romans 7: 7,
'What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Oh no, certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, 'You shall not covet.'
Where does the Bible say, 'You shall not covet'? The Ten Commandments, right? So, when he talks about the law in Romans 7, he includes the Ten Commandments, and his reference to coveting proves it. This passage teaches, all the way back to chapter 6, verse 14, we are not under law, we are under grace. Because we died spiritually, we are united to Christ, we’re married to another, so that Old law doesn’t apply to us, the an help define sin and roper behaviour for us but they no longer have the power to condemn us, aand that includes the Ten Commandments." "2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6 sys, 'He who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.'He’s talking here about the new covenant and the old covenant, and the old covenant is the covenant of the letter. And by letter, he means simply the law written in stone. What was written iengraven in stone? The Ten Commandments. So, when he’s talking about the letter here, meaning the law, he’s talking about the Ten Commandments. We have a new covenant which he mentions in verse 6, then he says in verse 11,
'For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.' V13. 'Unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly at the end of what was passing away.'
He is clearly teaching. There is no question about it. He’s talking about the Old Covenant, Mosaic law, and the New Covenant, and he says both of them are glorious, but this is more glorious than the Old Covenant, which was written engraved in stone and books. It’s passing away. So again, the Ten Commandments are passing away. We are not under the law. I know that makes some people nervous, However, turn to Galatians chapter 3, Galatians chapter 3. This is one of my favourites. This is one of the passages that I first stumbled upon in my study of the New Testament that convinced me we’re not into law, at all of any kind.
'Therefore the law was our tutor.'
For Christians it was the tutor, it stood as the means by which we learned, we understood we need ed Christ. It was our tutor it brought to understand our need of Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Next verse, 'After faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. So, however you slice and dice verse 24, it is clear in any translation that the law is a tutor. And after faith comes, we’re no longer under the law. Is that clear? We are no longer under the moral law, the civil or the ceremonial law. Look at Ephesians 4, and look at verse 10,
You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have laboured for you in vain.
Sabbath observation, there it is. We are not under the law for this feast or any feast or festival.
Colossians, chapter 2. Colossians, chapter 2, and verse 14,
'Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.'
What did God handwrite? Remember that finger business? That is a direct reference to the law. It is a direct reference to the Ten Commandments. Well, this says He wiped it out. Imagine law written on a or tablets of stone, and something comes along and erases it. He removed it, carried it off, and then He nailed it to the cross. Can it get any more vivid than that? The document contrary to us was torn up. The notice against us has been cast aside. The believer has been freed from the Mosaic Law, and that includes the handwritten part which was the ten commandments.
"Turn to Hebrews, chapter 8 V 13.
'In that He says, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.'
There’s a real interesting argument in the Book of Hebrews. The writer to the Hebrews says, 'Just go read the Old Testament, and you find the Abrahamic Covenant. Then you find the Davidic Covenant. And then you find the Mosaic Covenant. And then you find the New Covenant.' Look, he says, if that Mosaic Covenant was intended to be permanent, why would you need a New Covenant? The very fact that there’s a mention of a New Covenant in the Old Testament indicates the First Covenant was one day going to be obsolete. 'Let me tell you, it is ready to vanish away.' The book of Hebrews, by the way, was written in 63-64 AD and sure enough, in AD 70, less than 7 years rafter the book book was written, the Romans demolished the temple in Jerusalem, and the observance of the Mosaic Law in ceremonial form literally came to an end.
I’m not done, but the law is done, right? Believers are not under the Mosaic Law, including the moral law, the Ten Commandments, which includes the Sabbath. They’re under grace. We’re not under the Mosaic Law, any part of it. That makes some Christians very nervous. The worry we might become lawless, right? Are we lawless? No, no, we’re not lawless. We’re just not under the Moses’ Law, so what law are we now under.
The answer is the law of Christ. I’m not under the Law of Moses. I’m under the Law of Christ. so, what does that mean? What’s the Law of Christ? 'I’m going to give it to you in one word. If you do this one word, you got it. If you understand that word, and if you do all that it means, you got it. All you have to worry about is one word. Love. Jesus said, “A new law I give to you that you love one another”.' All I have to worry about is just to learn how to love the way Jesus taught us to love. Love the Lord and love one another. That’s it. St Augustine said, 'Love God and do as you please.' If you love God, do as you please, it wouldn’t violate anything God wanted you to do, right? But let me show you where that is spelled out in specific detail in the Bible. Turn to Romans 13. Romans 13, and look at verse 8.
'Oh, no one anything except to love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law.'
Did you see that? If you love, you’re going to fulfil the law. Next verse,
'For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet.'
Now, let’s stop there. What commandments are those? Ten Commandments. And look what he says,
'And if there is any other commandment, all are summed up in this saying, namely, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
You got it? You see how simple that is? If you love your neighbour, you’re going to do no harm to your neighbour. Therefore, love fulfils the law. Jesus said I want you to love people like I loved you I loved you sacrificially
I am not under the law of Moses I am under the law of Christ which is the law of love and if you do that you will fulfil the moral law of God.
One of the great Bible teachers of the 20th century was a man named Donald Barnhouse and he rode extensively on the book of Romans Barnhouse said and I quote.
“Romans seven is one of the most misunderstood chapters in the Bible because most people read it with the attitude it can’t mean what it says . The theme is that the believer is no longer under the law of God because he’s been joined to Christ in his resurrection. Like an unexperienced swimmer the average Christian stands in terror of deep water as he completely abandons himself to the grace of God he is afraid to cast himself completely on the direction of the Holy Spirit but once he gets over the panic of such self-abandonment he finds that the grace of God sustains carries and calms him in time he feels secure in Gids care. This is the purpose of Romans to help willing believers to cast himself onto the depths of grace. Romans 6:14 says we’re not under law we’re under grace and by the grace of God when we love we fulfil the law.
End of quote.