Sabbath: A Gift From Eden
Read for This week’s Study: Gen. 2:1-3; Heb. 4:3, 4; Deut. 5:12-15; Ezek. 20:12; Mark 2:27,28; 2 Pet. 3:3-7.
Memory Text: “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Matthew 12:8).
At the end of the sixth day, the Creation had been completed
(Gen. 2:1, 2). The world had been formed into a habitable place, and it had been filled with living creatures. Adam and Eve had been created in God’s own image and had been given a beautiful, well-provisioned Garden in which to live. They had formed the first marriage and established the first home. God was satisfied with what He had made. Something else, however, was added to this paradise: the seventh-day Sabbath (see Gen. 2:1-3).
Genesis 2 disproves the common notion that the seventh-day is the “Jewish Sabbath.” Why? Because God “blessed the seventh-day and sanctified it” back in Eden, before the Fall and certainly before any Jews existed.
Plus, too, the Sabbath is a memorial to the creation of all humanity (not just the Jews), and thus, all humanity should enjoy the blessings of the Sabbath day.
This week we will explore the biblical teaching on this, another gift from Eden.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 16.
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And even thou all things shall pass,the sabbath will will remain forever!!
Thanks for making the lesson available on mobile. Otherwise. i could go weeks without reading the lesson. GOD bless you abaundantly.
reading through the given chapter of genesis 2:1-3, I have a question which was argued in one of the classes at the beggining of this quater of Origins. "did God create the seventh day? If not was the day already there and He just called it seventh day then blessed it?
Thindwa let's just say after the sixth day there was evening and there was morning and it was another day which was the seventh day and on that day He rested and hallowed it. Hope you get it. Stay blessed.
The 7th was not created after the 6 day. The time cycle was created way before what was created was the sabbath the concept of resting one day he did not only rested on the 7 day but blessed it. Why did he bless the 7 day was not everything good up to that ppint
Pablo, could you please explain your reasons for stating that the 7th day was not created after the 6th day?
When I read the Bible, it seems to say that God created the time cycle for this planet when He created the life upon it.
At inge anderson. God created days when he created the first day the second and so on were just coming until the seventh day came and He just blessed and hallowed it
This is the last point at which I can enter this set of comments on the day cycle, which was established when God placed our orb into a spin. This created the day/night measurement. The numbering of the days was just to reference the activity performed or the setting aside of a day for no activity (resting). When God set aside a 7th day to be observed, the 7-day cycle was established and set into law, and the earth keeps spinning.
If our earth would spin faster, our days might be 20 hours, or 15 hours, etc, but it's the spinning that marks the "rise and set" of the sun. The light formed on the 1st day gave the marker for each revolution of earth, which God calls a "yowm" (day) comprised of dark and light segments. The end of the light segment begins the next numbered segment or day. For us, it's 24 hours as we mark it.
Again the day numbers were for record only and to establish the weekly cycle as God saw fit to do. This weekly cycle is proof of His involvement in the event this should be lost sight of. Days, Months, years...all have measured events to establish them, but not the week, which is only by God's arrangement and decree. It's like a signature or perhaps a "Seal". He has left us with sufficient evidence to support the claims in His Word.
In Genesis 1 is states after each of God's "creative" works, it concludes with, "So the evening and the morning were the first day, and so on, until the end of God's "creative" works on the sixth day.
Then in Genesis 2:1-3 it says, "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
Pablo, why would the seventh day not logcally follow on from the 6th day, as it clearly is inclusive of the 1-7-day cycle of God's Creation 7-day week?
I think everyone is missing the flow of the discussion concerning the creation of the seventh day. Both Inge and Ulalei are arguing about the seventh day with respect to the sixth day but that was not what the question was originally about. Orpah Thindwa asked, "did God create the seventh day? If not was the day already there and He just called it seventh day then blessed it?"
To that question Pablo Jurado responded, "The 7th was not created after the 6 day. The time cycle was created way before what was created." Unfortunately the actual sentence is confusing but to me it is clear that he was answering to when the weekly cycle was created and to a certain degree the seventh day.
The planets were set by God as time markers with the only one referencing the weekly cycle being the rotation of the earth but then that was implicit on the first day of creation wasn't it?
To Orpah I would say that it seems clear to me that God established the definition of a day before creation then proceeded to number them one though seven as He created. Then on the seventh day He proclaimed that day to be sanctified, set apart as a special day. From that point on God doesn't number any more days. By doing that He instituted the seven day cycle which ends with the Sabbath. In other words, to me God didn't create the seventh day as such, he only proclaimed it to be special so in effect on the seventh day he established the Sabbath as an institution but not the physical day which was already one of the evening/morning cycles in existence.
To put it yet another way, we all live with generated electricity which for most households is what is called alternating current because the flow of electrons goes one way then reverses and goes in the opposite direction, then reverses again and continues to do so at the rate of either 60 or 50 times a second depending on what country you live in. The flow of electrons then forms a cycle much like the evening/morning cycle we know of as a day (24 hr period). With the cycle already established we can arbitrarily say that we are going to start an electronic counter at a particular time at the start of a cycle (any cycle) and have the counter automatically reset itself at the end of the seventh cycle and then start counting again. We can even give that seventh cycle a unique name and use it to do something useful in a digital circuit. In doing that we didn't establish the train of cyclic events from the power station, they were already there, we only used a particular set of cycles in the train and assigned a use for them and established the seven cycles as something abstractly imposed on top of the cycle train with a particular use given to one of the cycles in each seven cycle group.
That is how I view what took place during the creation week. The cycle of days and evening were already there before God started forming the earth to support life. He then used one of the days to start His creative activities and established the seven day cycle from that point ending with what He proclaimed to be a special day.
Hi Tyler,
An answer to the original question depends very much on another premise. And there are at least two choices:
1) God created the whole planet on Day 1. In that case, we would have to agree that God created the time cycle right along with life on this planet.
2) God created the planet ex nihilo some time earlier and began preparing the planet for life on Day 1. If we assume that the planet was already in place in relation to the sun, then we might assume that the "time cycle" of days had been set up earlier. Or maybe not. After all we are introduced to the planet in a state of darkness. We are not told why it was dark, but it would seem that there would be no cycle of days on a perpetually dark planet.
I asked Pablo why he wrote that the 7th day was not created after the 6th day, and I proposed that I see the Genesis account as indicating that God set up "time cycle for this planet" during creation week. I was hoping for a response. I thought I addressed his question, even though I did not specify whether I meant the daily cycle or the weekly cycle, or both.
However, the way I see it, we really cannot tell for certain when God created the daily cycle because the biblical account does not tell us. We can only speculate, and that can be futile. We do know that God set up the weekly cycle during creation week. The Hebrew text is not specific enough to say so for certain, but the most straight-forward reading of the text suggests to me that it was intended to indicate that God created the days, when the text refers to evening and morning being first day, second day, etc.
Matter of fact, everything we believe pretty much rests on assumptions. That is what faith is, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1 NKJV). While there is evidence for what the Bible says we still have to assume that it is so because it is not absolutely proven and take it as a matter of faith.
The way I interpret Gen 1:2 is that the earth was in existence before creation week. With that view in mind, unless we wish to believe that God constantly governs the universe outside of the laws He established, the earth would have to have been warmed somewhat uniformly for water to exist on it. To me that necessitates a heat source and a revolving planet with an atmosphere. Given that presupposition what I said seems to me to be quite logical.
It seams to me, if we go back to the very first phrase, "In the beginning", since God has no beginning, this is where "time" was created. This is when the heavens and the earth were created. This is when light was created, and separated from the darkness that was already there, because darkness needed no creation. And this "In the beginning" is where day and night were established, which became the very first 24 hour period. And isn't that just like God? He did all that in just 24 hours! Is it any wonder He can create a clean, warm, soft heart out of a cold, hard, stony one? And just like God sustains that 24 hour period throughout all this “time”, He sustains my newly created heart day by day! Oh how I love and praise Him every day!
'The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath'-Mark 2vs 27. This entails that the Sabbath is for all 'mankind' and not just the Jew, and it is man's obligation to keep The Lord's day Holy. Its interesting to note that most people don't limit Marriage to be for the Jews alone, but when we get to the Sabbath the limiting begins. This is despite the fact that both institutions were established in Eden. Both the Sabbath and Marriage are Holy, and were established for all mankind. It is my prayer that the lesson will further strengthen our zeal to keep the Sabbath Holy.
Thindwa in response to your question, this is a quote from E.G. Testimonies for the Church vol.2 Pages 582 & 583
The object of the Sabbath was that all mankind might be benefited. Man was not made to fit the Sabbath; for the Sabbath was made after the creation of man, to meet his necessities. After God made the world in six days, He rested and sanctified and blessed the day upon which He rested from all His work which He had created and made.
The sabbath is a perpetual reminder of which after all things being created,God put aside.God being so good rested on the sabbath and gave it to man.We are to listen to God more than satan.We need to keep the sabbath and make it holy by doing so GOD will bless us.
I real thank God that he made the Sabbath day.
I am not sure that we have fully explored the meaning of the Sabbath and Sabbath-keeping. Somewhere we have changed Sabbath from being a day of rest into something that is in some ways a spectator event. Running the meetings that we usually have on Sabbath has often become a frenzy of activity, particularly in our larger churches. There are running sheets, practices, small groups, large groups, pot-luck (or whatever you call them in your locality) lunches and a host of other activities, to stop us from resting.
I have been an academic for most of my working life and typically spend the week in classes, meetings and intense discussions about all the trivia that we academics feel is important. And then when Sabbath comes I often find myself doing more of the same. Sometimes when Sunday comes and I can potter around in the garden trimming the shrubs and planting lettuce, I think that I am having a more restful day than Sabbath.
This last Sabbath I spent the time in wild on the shores of a coastal lake just north of where we live. We woke up on Sabbath and strolled to a surf beach and watched the sun break though the clouds and light up the landscape. We came back to the lake and watched a dingo hunting along the shore. We spent much of the afternoon enticing some blue-faced honeyeaters in the range of our cameras. All of this was shared with good friends and as we walked and waited, we talked and shared our deep feelings about our Christian experience. It was one of those Sabbath experiences that will be remembered for a long time.
I am concerned that some of our Sabbath experiences have turned into a factory recipe - sit in the pews, face the front, sing, pray, listen, go home again. We have inherited a Sabbath-keeping ritual from medieval churches, tempered by the apparent success of large semi-charismatic churches. Rather than emulate the experience of others, maybe it is time to rethink Sabbath-keeping in the light of its connection with creation and the Creator. This set of lessons may help us to do just that.
I concur with Maurice's thoughts outlined above. I find having had a hectic week travelling and doing quite stressful business activities that the most cherished day of my week is Sabbath Eve, Preparation Day, where I can "down tools" and rest my mind, body and soul. The Sabbath day I most enjoy Sabbath School where one can fellowship in a interactive manner with others searching and re-affirming truth and growing in God's Word. Most of all, I enjoy spending my Sabbath Day in reflection with God, with my wife and family who are not yet believers and doing things not typical of a routine or practice because that is the programme of the day. I find this peaceful and most times, I feel closer to God, doing non-traditional things observing His Sabbath Day. I get the process of "Church" Sabbath Worship but I do find the need to "refresh" my mind, body and soul on Sabbath Day, not sitting in a pew, before trooping into another week of "doing" virtually the same activities of the prior week to take care of family/my earthly needs.
Maurice
You have stated a good reminder for thought. I strongly believe that the best way do observe the Sabbath as God 'rested' from his work, is to commemorate the creation in adoration for the Creator. You are right, we often loose that focus even during church activities on the Sabbath and occupy ourselves with meetings and chores that are not directly related to adoration of the Creator. I believe that with our sinful nature, satan takes the advantage to utilize any means of distractions that will swerve our attention away from the adoration of the Creator even in church or while contemplating a gorgeous natural scene. You see, one can also get distracted while resting, with a focus on regenerating strength in anticipation of the following week of work. Again, the essence of 'resting' from the activities of previous week during the seventh day has to focus on adoration of the Creator at church or in nature.
Sabbath afternoon walks/hikes are a cherished tradition in our family. I remember when our boys were young, there were times when they were not in the best of spirits, but a little time outdoors transformed them into cheerful and inquisitive hikers.
One favorite Sabbath afternoon remembrance from Nova Scotia is the Sabbath we skipped a youth meeting at church and went cross-country skiing with our three boys, aged about 6 - 10, instead. The world was pristine in freshly-fallen snow under a brilliant sun. No sound except the swish of our own skis and no tracks except the occasional deer or bird track in the snow. Brushing against snow-laden branches occasionally precipitated a fresh snow fall. We marvelled at God's making all things beautiful as we worshipped in His great cathedral of the outdoors.
Sabbath keeping is not for skiing.
Hi Vera,
Thank you for your comment.
How do you know that "Sabbath is not for skiing"? Did you find that in the Bible? If not, how do you know? Is it perhaps from tradition?
It seems to me that the Pharisees had many traditions about Sabbath keeping, and they would have severely disapproved of our Sabbath afternoon hikes as well. Some of them were hard work! But what a glorious feeling it was to sit on top of a mountain and survey God's creation. We felt just a little closer to Him up there!
Just to be sure you understand -- I was referring to "cross-country skiing," and, in our case, that meant heading out from our door, literally across the country, crossing an 11-acre field and from there heading through some woods, past some other fields, etc., across pristine, freshly fallen snow with only the occasional animal tracks. We felt a little closer to God out there that day than we would have anywhere else. I was confident than, and I am confident now, that we were keeping the Sabbath in spirit and in truth.
In later years, we even went on groomed cross-country tracks for Sabbath skiing. We only met the nicest people there and did not find our Sabbath enjoyment disturbed. I love cross-country skiing because it is like winter hiking, only better: For each step I would hike with my boots on, I can glide three or four on my skis! It's a great reward to effort ratio. 😉
You see, Sabbath is about a relationship with God, and because it's a relationship, nobody can make hard and fast rules about it. What nurtures your relationship with God may not nurture mine. Perhaps you see cross-country skiing as unpleasant work. If so, don't do it on Sabbath. (Why would you do it at all??) Perhaps you see hiking as unpleasant work that must be done. Then don't do it on Sabbath. (Perhaps you are an outdoor worker who hikes for work all week?)
People who spend a lot of time indoors during the week are especially refreshed by getting outdoors on Sabbath. And it's even possible to meet people and share a bit of God's love. We have had the opportunity on occasions. 🙂
On the other hand, those who work hard outdoors all week might prefer to stay inside or on the porch and spend quiet time with a book or with friends. Like I said, relationships are nurtured different ways for different people.
It's good to remember that the Pharisees kept a lot more rules about the Sabbath than we'll ever keep, but it doesn't seem to have done anything to nurture their relationship with God, as can be attested to the fact that they crucified Him!
So let's not follow the example of the Pharisees and be sticklers for tradition -- even Adventist traditions. Instead, I suggest to think and pray about the best way to nurture your relationship with the Lord and with His people on His holy Sabbath day. You may find yourself doing some very non-traditional things, and Sabbath may become the most exciting day of the week for you. 🙂
It would be nice if others could share some non-traditional Sabbath activities that have nurtured their relationship with God.
I agree Vera! If I went skiing on Sabbath afternoon, I would first of all have to travel about 500km, stay in an expensive ski-lodge, take skiing lessons, buy expensive ski's and appropriate clothing. And seeing I would not do it by myself, everything would be double the price to outfit Carmel as well. Definitly not a Sabbath activity for me.
However, my Canadian friends ski as often as I walk and I think that walking is a wonderful way of enjoying Sabbath. When snow falls on top of you for 9 months of the year then I think that skiing would be a refreshing way of enjoying Sabbath and is probably easier than walking. Perhaps I should move to Canada. Nah! too cold. I will stick to Australia, and walking.
I can understand why you might have that view Vera. However, it's often easy to focus on an activity as good or bad, and forget the purpose one might do it. The Sabbath is for communion with our Creator and He has not set a limit on how this communion might take place. Someone who lives near a peaceful lake or river might find taking a canoe to explore creation a wonderful Sabbath "Rest", while another would have to make a lot of work to do that, spending much of the day in a car traveling to and from a suitable place, if they can find one.
Our personal situations make our choices unique, and God accepts our best efforts to be close to Him, however we might find a way. We live near many beaches, and some are good for the Sabbath while others are not. The atmosphere and activity makes a difference, but our question should be: do we come closer to God or are we distracted from Him?
Some have refrained from visiting a lovely hiking trail because of a small parking fee, forgetting that our church activities include giving more than a small parking fee on Sabbath to help pay for lights, heat, air-conditioning, paper products, etc. The parking fee preserves the facility where many can find peace and quiet, and makes access possible. In this world there are for some, few places to enjoy nature in it's simple beauty without facing a parking fee. It's the activity, not the fees that make the Sabbath special. If it was the other way around, we could justify shopping on Sabbath if we found a way to pay on Friday, but shopping is not coming close to our Creator.
God will teach each of us "in the way we should go". (Ps 32:8)
When I hear of wonderful Sabbath afternoons spend with family I can see the benefits of married life. Occasionally I have been able to get out with some friends but now with the cost of gas (petrol) and being a retired single person the thrill just isn't there anymore.
I have also known people that as soon as spring appears they go up into the mountains to their cabin and hibernate for more than six months. During that time they are never seen in church. To me that is pushing the pendulum radically in the opposite direction from the mechanical church life that Maurice describes. I think there needs to be a balance between church and other activities we do on Sabbath where we can get the best of both worlds so to speak.
One way some of the churches in Montana try to balance things up is to occasionally plan for the entire church to go out into the bush for the weekend. During that time they have a morning worship service and group Sabbath school then after the noon meal everyone that can goes on a nature walk. Under those circumstances even doing something childish like studying an ant colony can be stimulating and instructive because it testifies to the creator. Even between those events, in the summer, often times the church will have a potluck picnic during Sabbath afternoon at one of the local city parks.
There is a thousand ways the monotony of church ritual can be broken up and made into a great blessing. For instance, even though the word celebration has a bad connotation among Adventist the Jews do just that. While the time at church is serious business the afternoon is spent celebrating the Sabbath as a memorial of the completion of creation. They make it the best day of the week, a time for joyful social events with the best food and festivities. They aren't afraid to loosen up a bit and enjoy the life God has given them and that they do as a church. That doesn't mean that they do it as the world does but like a Jewish wedding it is certainly more than sitting around being afraid of doing anything more than discussing the Bible or even with some people speaking only of Jesus.
Amen, preach it, Maurice! I've always loved doing church, but the busyness/stress of sabbath morning responsibilities over the years has often led me to reflect on Jesus, going into the synagogue... standing up to read the scripture... a short comment/response, then sitting down again. Maybe dwelling on The Word, letting the beauty and meaning of Scripture speak for itself, and praying for God to show us what He is saying, would be enough. And certainly, we need to get out in nature much more than we do. We're seeing the next generation of i-kids growing up incapable of seeing past their i-pads.
Maurice, you have brought up a vital subject, and while many turn the Sabbath into a long "busy" day of one thing after another, each individual has the choice and obligation to observe it as God commands us. None need to get caught up in the exhausting rush of activity, which often has nothing to do with a close communion with our Lord and Savior. Yes, when you excuse yourself you are seen as odd or exclusive perhaps, but I imagine Daniel and his 3 companions were seen as odd and exclusive by the other Jewish captives who ate the kings food, and bowed down to his golden image. (Yes, I'm sure they were just pretending to.)
I also am sympathetic to the suggestion of our services being so close to rituals that are often followed without much thought. We must ask God to teach us His way and to make a straight path for our feet. (Ps 27:11) I think He would like nothing better right now that to lead all who will be led. I don't know how it will happen or what will be the result, except that they will finally be sealed with His approval as they place their complete trust in Him and acknowledge Him in all their ways.
We need to understand the purpose of the sabbath. as according to MARK 2:27, the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. someone can ask, how? answer, for man to rest after his week toil, God to surstain man, etc. the other points i can say is, the seventh-day was created, if God completed his work of the seventh-day, the days would have proceeded and thus the eith day would be the sabbath, if he would complet the work on the 1st day, then the second day would be the sabbath, because he need a day to observe his creation. but, we should know the meaning of number 7, why is used so many times in the bible? 7 means completiness, consider the bowls, the trumpets, the seals of revelation, they all end on the seventh time. and lets get back to the beginning, in the book of genesis, what happened on the seventh day? that means, even after the sixth bowls, sixth trumpets, sixth seal, the same blessing that was given in genesis will also be given.....
I too agree with the thougths expressed above by the two brethren. Sabbath day should not a burdensome day. Its a day we need to bring all our have loads to our craetorso that He can indeed give us true rest.
Its time we need to have a more closer intimate communion with Him. But what do we find instead on this holy day, board meetings, business meetings, Amo meetings, Dorcas, Ay... name them. and most of these meetings if not all of them, tempers rise, and the essence of the dat is completely lost.
Leadership should find suitable day to have all these meeting other than the Sabbath day.
Imagine, the preacher has really taken you to the thrown of God, and only to start exchanging bad words after such a good sermon.
Sabbath should be a day free of such instances, wholly dedicated to commun with our Creator, If this becomes the norm, then indeed we will find the Sabbath to be a delight.
i realy appreciate the extent you went in elaborating this lesson and bringing it home.thanks and God bless you.
If someone is able to understand what sorrounds him/her, they will understand the creation of the Sabbath and its meaning at the beginning as the Bible says in Geneses 2:1-3.
Well stated guys but there is one problem. We normally find time to deal with Church matters on the very Sabbath and on any other day we will be busy with other work just as God said that 6 days we shall labour. Its true that at the end of the Sabbath day one is very tired but it does not look like we have a choice. I suppose those who are officers of the church should continuie to do God's administration work on Sabbath. I also believe that the rest of the congregation should be given afternoon rest on a Sabbath. You find that most church afternoon lessons have become more of a routine and no one rest anymore. As for Sabbath being made for man we still need further revelation.
I believe that the Sabbath is for man to be observed as God himself observed it and sanctified it. Bretherens let us do as God has ordered us so that the blessings shall be upon us (Isaiah 58vs12-14).
Please when praying remember me,I will write WASSCE exam next month.
Praises be to God for allowing me to find your website. This is a great wealth of information in all angles of spiritual understanding as we look daily in the dimension of our faith. Thanks and God bless the management of this website and may many more precious souls be ushered at the feet of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Godsped!
In a current commentary on this lesson an author notes that the Sabbath was not mentioned in the Bible until the Ten Commandments were given. The implication given was that there was no Sabbath keeping before Sinai.
But this ignores what God did on that very first seventh day: God "blessed" the seventh day -- which is not said for any other day. And He "sanctified" the seventh day. To "sanctify" means to set aside for a holy purpose. The very definition thus excludes an ordinary use of the day. It excludes ordinary labor, ordinary thoughts and cares. God set day set aside for a holy purpose, and He demonstrated some of the purpose by "resting" in the "rest" day -- since "Sabbath" means "Rest." The Creator didn't need "rest" as such, but He knew that His creatures would. Furthermore, by setting the example of "resting" on that day, He indicated His availability in a special way on the day He set aside for the purpose.
Whatever we do on the Sabbath day should not be merely a tradition but a conscious choice of being with the Creator on His day of rest from usual labor.
The other nine commandments are not explicitly recorded before Sinai either, and we do not conclude that they were not known and not kept. And the Sabbath commandment specifically begins with the word, "Remember," which pre-supposes previous acquaintance.
Inge, I couldn't agree with you more. In fact there is a lot of evidence for keeping the commandments in Genesis besides the word sin being used seven times in that book. For instance, we don't even have to go any further than Cain to know that the sixth commandment was in force (Gen 4:7, 8) and Joseph wasn't about to engage in adultery either (Gen 39:9).
When Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, the issue of the Sabbath being kept by God's people from the beginning was settled. The only record of the Sabbath being "made" is Genesis 2. In Genesis 26:5 it is pointed out that Abraham kept God's statutes, commandments and laws. Since God does not change, we would have to conclude the 10 commandments were in effect from the start of mankind and after sin, were taught and passed down from one generation to the next, just as God commanded Israel to do as well.
I've been told that the original Sabbath was "God's rest day" and not for man, but Jesus' teaching corrects this error. As Tyler also points out, there was the awareness of sin well before Sinai. The flood is also a clear reaction to the sinfulness of that generation, which would have been guiltless with the absence of God's law. By God's standard, they were wicked, and convicted of it. Would God be fair to convict without any knowledge of sin by the guilty? As Paul would express; "God forbid!".
Perhaps the idea of "resting" is a problem for some, as it indicates God was tired. The word translated as "rested" means simply to cease. God was finished and stopped. It was to give man a weekly "stopping" from the usual "work" to spend in a special way that had nothing to do with sleeping or even repose. And in this I see an infinite wisdom that designed each day to begin with night, and it's rest. Can you imagine Sabbath being from sunrise to sunrise? So many would be tempted to work until just before dawn and spend the day sleeping.
God's wisdom is infinite.
Dear Orpah, From the time God separated light from darkness or the time He pronounced light DAY and darkness NIGHT that was when days cycle begin. He didn't repeat the action of day-light separation from darkness for Monday, Tuesday,.....sabbath.
My way of seeing and reading all the comments is: God created the motion of the day and then each day He filled with different things and on 6th day He saw everything was good. Man was there saw He created Sabbath for man to be with createo (God). That was the first lesson and was to be for eternity. The rest we all know. But know we must focus on our salvation and that is through Jesus the only hope. God bless you all.
Understanding the importance of the sabbath is vital , for it to mean something.
The best metaphor Ive got to illustrate the sabbath is Comparing Adventists with Cars.
We need to run on some type of fuel that will supply us with Energy or rather the ability to function efficiently and Correctly according to the specifications of our Original design .
So you could say the sabbath is an Adventists weekly Service Station . And although there are different kinds of liquids that propel machines paraffin crude oil petrol diesel you name them , but our souls are propelled by God ,
I'm saying that from week to week I run on a full tank of the Holy Spirit. And because the journey is long and depleting when I get to the "Service Station" , I rest ! Take a break from the Challenging Route, admire the achievements of the journey, take time to speak to all the other motorists, ask the Station manager about tips on how to keep the car in good shape, thank the manager for his help through this very long journey etc and lastly I ask God weekly "Father fill me up . It's on Jesus' tab !"
I cant stress how vital it is to observe this Sanctified day , a day that belongs to our savior as he his Lord of the Sabbath . Keep the faith and thank you SSNET.org for the lessons , and thank you for your contributions.
Satan has made us sail in a comfort zone as usual....the Sabbath as it was given by God should remain holy...God sanctified it remember, and made it holy..So do we!
I had been working 6+ days a week when I decided to go back to church and since I was attracted to the Seventh-day Adventists, I asked when they went to church. It was Saturday so I stopped working on Friday night and Saturday. That very first Sabbath we sang, "Praise to the Lord" which was one of my favorite hymns from when I attended the Catholic church. We also sang, "Just As I Am" which is a favorite hymn to this day. I loved church from that first day.
I started keeping the Sabbath according to Isaiah 58 and the EGW book Child Guidance. I made it a day for my son to enjoy. We hiked, walked, played Bible games and did age appropriate activities. As long as he was around or any children, we oriented our day for the children.
The day came when my husband and I were left in charge of a small church. We do not have or attend business meetings of any kind and don't do anything that can be done in the other six days. We enjoy attending church and have a very simple program and have everyone in the church play some part. Most of the people attend Sabbath school and church. We get out at noon and rarely run late so that if we do, everyone usually stays. Visitors have said our services are refreshing. We work hard for six days and enjoy a day with God.
Today is sabbath,a day God has make it holy and sanctified it.With one accord,joy and happiness let us visit our various churchs to worship the ALMIGHTY GOD.
The "rest" of the Sabbath, I see, is being mistaken for 'resting via doing what I enjoy'.
As Decalogue-observants, it is a duty, a dignified one, to seek to know and walk away from what constitutes the "work" that de-sacreds the Sabbath.
I love to play and watch football. Playing is quite stressful. Who can say watching is?
On this, since the later is not a "servile work", am I permitted to do that? Of course, I know we will all agree No.
The Lord, when He came, saw that the "judges" He set over the Church (Israel) had made a law that regulated the distance that could be covered on Sabbath day. He did not object to it. That was not done because of the distance in itself, rather, the effort put by the body to walk the distance.
We work every day, Sabbath inclusive. The line is this: common works are for common days, and sacred works are for sacred days.
I'm writting from Nigeria and does not know if the work of hiking demands a lot of effort, thus servile work. I know, however, that the day of REST is also the day we're to humbly abstain from servile work and refrain from doing our own pleasure.
I'm not forbidden from listening to Enya or playing Yanni; but not on Sabbath. Watching a Champions League final (not even the Live match) is not for Sabbath. Hiking is...
This is because, though they're stress-free and I LOVE THEM, they constitute "common works" and consequently desecrates the HOLINESS and REST of the Sabbath, while fulfilling my pleasure on it.
I don't play ABBA anymore on Sabbaths; it has not reduced my joy on the day. After all, how do my pleasures really draw me to God?
If one knows there is nothing to do that is enjoyable on Sabbath, let the one invent such activities in his vicinity.
Much said.
Sunday keepers will usually say These make our Jewish Sabbath a burden. I don't always argue with them, for I have seen that these actually make it a REST indeed.
May we be meek and lowly, so as to be techable.
God bless The Church Triumphant.
Greetings from Nigeria.