History of God's Sabbath

Well done. Thank you. Thank you for that special music, Zach. It's inspiring to see not only the talent and the singing, but also, you know, the composing and putting the words together from Scripture and the song. Thank you very much. Further, in most Christians today, not only in the United States, or most Christian churches, not only in the United States, but around the world, the members have been taught either that the day of rest, the Sabbath, has been changed from the seventh day, Saturday, to the first day, Sunday.

Or, in some Christian churches, around the world, they've been taught that it doesn't really matter at all, which day you observe, and that the Sabbath isn't even necessary to keep it all. Sadly, mankind in general, and most professing Christians in particular, have for the most part, turned their back on God's clear instructions in the fourth commandment. They consider the Sabbath obsolete, or fulfilled by Jesus Christ, or replaced by Sunday, or somehow been negated completely by arguments that have been given against it over the centuries. But what about us? What about you? What about me?

Because one of the most distinctive and deeply held doctrines among the people of God is the observance of the seventh day Sabbath and of keeping it holy. Now, it's supposed to be easy for us to talk about people outside of this room today regarding the Sabbath, but what about us? Where do we stand when it comes to the seventh day Sabbath of God and the fourth commandment, one of the ten?

What is our understanding regarding the Sabbath? Now, I suppose a few of us would fall in the following categories. Some of you here could prove the seventh day Sabbath right now. You could open up your Bibles. You've got it marked. You could go through the Scriptures. If someone were to ask you about it, you'd know where to turn where God talks about it. You'd be able to turn to Scriptures that talk about where it was observed in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, among God's people throughout time.

And what it pictures in God's plan. And what it pictures for the future of mankind. And how it pictures the coming Kingdom of God itself. You'd be able to do that right now. You'd come to prove it. As it talks about in one of the Scriptures in 1 Thessalonians 5 and verse 21, I'll just refer to it. You can turn there if you'd like. But you've come to prove it, and you're holding fast to that which is good. Some of us may be in a different category. We've been around for a while.

We should be able to prove the Sabbath from the Scriptures right now. But you know, we're not exactly sure we could. We're not sure where to go. We're not sure where to turn. We're not sure whether it's chain referenced or scriptural or you've got it somewhere in the back of your Bible. Various listing of Scriptures. You don't have that.

You wouldn't know where to go, where to turn. Some of you may be in this category. You're an adult now, but you've been coming to the church for years ever since you were a young person, perhaps with your parents. You're convicted of the Sabbath. But you're not exactly sure why. It's just something that you've always done. I'm going to adjust this fan here just for a moment. My wife's trying to give my attention, but I can't hear her. It's blowing on you now. You don't want that? I had to do that just for a little humor.

She was turning my pages before I wanted to turn my pages. Some of you have been coming to church since you were young and maybe you're old now. And you're convicted of the Sabbath, but you're not exactly sure why. You've actually never proved it from the Scriptures yourself. It's just something that you've always done. Others know of and believe in the Sabbath, but they don't seem to be convicted of it by the way that they live. Some work on the Sabbath. Some skip services for one reason or another.

And you know, it's not my job here today to be a judge of anyone's attendance. That's not my job. It's not my responsibility. Jesus Christ's responsibility is to do that. But perhaps they don't understand the concept of holy time. The concept of a holy convocation where God says, I want you to come out. He convokes us to come out to appear before Him in a holy convocation. And perhaps we don't understand what God expects of one of His disciples in regards to the Sabbath day and the Sabbath command as He reveals it in the Scriptures.

Some of you are convicted of the Sabbath, but feel that it's a burden. It's not the delight to you that God talks about in the Scriptures. And you are unsure as to why. Some of you are young adults and will soon be parents with the responsibility of teaching all of God's laws and commandments, including the Sabbath, to your children.

But you're not sure if you're ready. Do you know it well enough to teach it? The Scriptures talk about in Deuteronomy 6 and verse 6 that these words which I command you today shall be in your heart and you shall diligently teach them to your children. You shall talk to them about it when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up.

Some of you are unsure how to observe the Sabbath. You're not sure what is appropriate and what is not appropriate for this holy day. So maybe it's time for us to take a look at the Sabbath, to review the Scriptures and to see what God Himself has to say on this particular topic. So what I'm going to begin today is a series on the history of the Sabbath of God.

Today we're going to look at the establishment of the Sabbath at creation. We'll be going through many Scriptures of the Old Testament and hopefully next time we'll get into the New Testament and beyond. So let's review God's Sabbath. Let's see what He has to say. Let's not look to our own opinion, our own thoughts, but what our Maker has to say on this particular topic.

So let's go back to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31. Let's go back to the creation account. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31. And let's read God's own words and what He has to say, what He inspired in Scripture. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31. It says, then God saw everything that He made. So whatever God we are that we're talking about, of course we know it's the one and only true God, we know Him as Creator. He's the one that made everything. And He says now, He saw everything that He just made, and indeed it was very good.

And that's what God does. As a Maker, as a Creator, He's a Builder, He's a Sustainer, where everything begins to get better and better and better as time goes on. And this was the beginning. The beginning of something He'd been thinking about for a very long time. You know, the book of Revelation talks about that Jesus Christ was the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the earth. Well, now the foundation of the earth has been laid.

And so God's had these thoughts in mind for a very long time to have a family. And so God at this stage, He looked at everything that He made and it was very good. And so the evening and the morning were the six days. So we know where we are. We're on the sixth day of creation, the day that man was made. Thus the heavens and the earth, we're now going to chapter 2, verse 1, Thus the heavens and the earth, and all of the host of them were finished. Wow! You know, there are other Scriptures that talk about the angels saw this and they just shouted with joy. They just saw this jewel of the earth and what man had been created on the sixth day and the angels were just overwhelmed. This was beautiful. And then it says in verse 2, On the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all of His work which He had done. And notice verse 3, Then, at that time, not later on, then God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified Him. Because in it He rested from all of His work which He had created and made. It says God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it. You know, we want the blessing of God. It's good. God doesn't do anything unless it's for a purpose that's right and good. And God blessed this day. It doesn't say He blessed the other six. It said He blessed this day and it says He sanctified it. Most of us probably know what sanctification means, but maybe not all of us do. Sanctification means that God set it apart from the other days for a holy reason, a holy purpose for a special reason. Now, contrary to the explanation of some who say the word Sabbath is not used in this context, Sabbath is used. Because if we were to look at verses 2 and 3, the word rested here in verses 2 and 3 is the Hebrew word Shabbath. S-H-A-B-A-T-H. S-H-A-B-A-T-H. In essence, God Sabbath on the seventh day. In fact, Ryrie Bible notes says this and I quote, He rested. He ceased or desisted from His work. No weariness is implied here. The Hebrew word is Sabbath. The name of the day that was later given to Israel as a time of cessation from normal activities. So this Hebrew word, that's how this word, the seventh day came to be known as the Sabbath. Because of the Hebrew word that God used, inspiring Scripture here. It was from this very active example that the seventh day was later given the title Sabbath. Some say the verse does not specifically command man to observe it. However, the Scripture here in verse 3 clearly states, then at that time God blessed the seventh day and He sanctified it. Sanctified, we talked about what that means. God, by His example, set it apart for special usage. It was the final step here in His creation. The final step in this beautiful creation that He made. God made the first six days by working and He made the seventh day by resting. You know, God doesn't need rest. I'll just refer to Isaiah 40, verse 28. You can look there if you'd like. God does not faint, neither is weary.

God does not need rest. He performed this act as an example for somebody to follow. For whom did God bless this day and set it apart for? Since God and the angelic realm are outside of time and space, God could only have done this for the benefit of man. God is the creation, this flesh and blood man that He made in His own image. The Creator established the Sabbath for all people. At that time, there wasn't any Jew, there wasn't any Gentile, there was only Adam and Eve. And Adam and Eve had been created the day before, on day six. God ordained the Sabbath rest for their benefit, and for the benefit of all humankind that would come from them. Now, remarkably, some still argue that this doesn't prove that the Sabbath existed from Creation Week, maintaining that it was instituted much later, given only to the physical people of Israel for a limited time, given on Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments. But Jesus Christ Himself dispels that notion. Let's turn to Mark 2, verse 27. Mark 2, verse 27. Jesus Christ, of course, of all the many things that He came, whether it be King, High Priest, Savior, Deliverer, all the titles that He had, one of them was prophet. And He came with a message from His Father to clarify things, to help us to understand the true intent and meaning that God had all along. And He has something here to say in regards to the Sabbath. He's in a context here with the Pharisees. And He says this in Mark 2, verse 27. The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. You know, Jesus Christ had to basically straighten out some problems here, because the religious leaders of the day were adding things to the Sabbath command that God never intended. And it was getting to be a burden. And Jesus Christ straightened them out, and part of what He said here is that the Sabbath was made. So we understand that God made the Sabbath. And who did He make it for? It was made for man. Not the angelic realm. It was made for man, and not the other way around. It was made for the benefit of man. You know, He had to clarify some things. He clarified the great underlying principle of the Sabbath day that so many had missed through the centuries. The Sabbath, far from enforcing some tiresome burdens, burdens-type things, or sanctioning a list of forbidden activities, is something that God made for man. For the benefit of man. It was sanctified, set apart, made at the time that man was made. Man was made on the sixth day, and then on the seventh day God made the Sabbath. To Jesus Christ, and to God the Father, the Sabbath was positive. It was beneficial. It was not the oppressive burden that some religious leaders had made. I want you to notice Jesus' choice of words here. He says the Sabbath wasn't something just for the nation of Israel. He could have clearly made that known at this time. He said it was made for man, for all humanity. And observing it was not a meaningless practice forced on people to bring only hardship and difficulty.

The seventh day was made for man. It was made for man's benefit, because that's what God does. It's good. He blessed that day. It was made for man's benefit. Let's notice a few of the translations here. Several translations bear this out. Let's look at the Good News Bible. It says the Sabbath was made for the good of human beings.

The New English Bible. The Sabbath was made for the sake of man. The New... or the Williams New Testament says the Sabbath was made to serve man. And the New Living Translation said the Sabbath was made to benefit people.

Jesus was the word that God spoke about in John chapter 1. Let's go to the Gospel of John chapter 1 verse 1. First chapter, first verse of John chapter 1 and verse 1. Because we need to understand that Jesus Christ was part of the creation. He was part of helping to help make or made the Sabbath. John chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning was the Word. And we know in verse 14 it says the Word became flesh. So we understand the context of who we're talking about. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. So He was right there with the Father in the beginning. It says verse 3, all things were made through Him. God the Father engaged His Son to be a part of the creation. And all things were made through Him, including the Sabbath. Jesus Christ was there. So He ought to know why the Sabbath was made. It was made for man. So we see Jesus Christ, the Word here, was involved with the Sabbath right from the beginning. I suppose if we go back to Mark 2, verse 28, some of you probably have left there. But the very next verse, we read in verse 27 how the Sabbath was made for man and not the other way around. Man was not made to serve the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made to serve man and to benefit man. It's probably no surprise in verse 28, since Jesus Christ was there at the time that the seventh day was sanctified and set apart, the Sabbath, this rest that they had, as He says, therefore the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath. He ought to know exactly what was intended right from the beginning. That's in Mark 2, in verse 28.

Now, some religious critics of the Sabbath say there is no evidence of any of the patriarchs observing the Sabbath. Of course, the patriarchs were men and women. Sabbath was made for man, but they say there's no evidence that they ever observed it.

Let's consider a few Scriptures. Let's consider a short passage in Leviticus 23, verse 1. Leviticus 23, verse 1. Now, this is an area of Scripture we often talk about in the Holy Days. It's an important area of Scripture for many reasons. Let's focus on a couple of things here. Leviticus 23, verse 1. God speaking through Moses.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, and He said, Moses, this is what I want you to tell my people. Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my feasts. And it goes on in verse 3, and the first festival that is listed is the weekly seven-day Sabbath. Now, a little is lost in that translation of that particular text. Not a lot, but a little. Here's a closer rendering of verses 1 and 2.

The word feast here is a Hebrew word, moed. It's a four-letter word, m-o-e-d, moed. Which means appointed times or religious festivals, or is it sometimes translated feasts. Now, the question is, when did these become the appointed times or religious festivals of God?

Was it at the time that they were given to Israel on Mount Sinai, or was it before that? You know, it's a small point, but God did not say, these shall be my appointed times or my religious festivals. He said, they are my appointed times and religious festivals. He didn't say, they shall be my appointed times or religious festivals from this day forward. He said, they are my appointed times or religious festivals. Let's go back to Genesis 1 and verse 14, because this word moed is used all the way back in the very first chapter of Scripture. Genesis 1 and verse 15, we'll start in verse 14. We'll look at another example of how this particular word is used. I'm reading from the New King James Version here.

Most likely the moon.

Now, let's go back to verse 14, because that's where the word, the Hebrew word moed is used. And in verse 14 in the New King James, it's translated, seasons. If we look at verse 14, the word seasons is the Hebrew word moed, which can also mean religious festivals or appointed times. So, here's a couple of translations on how verse 14 is rendered. This first one is the good word translation. It says this.

Here's the good news Bible, which some of you may have.

Here's the good news Bible, which some of you may have.

First chapter of Genesis, 14th verse of inspired Scripture. And of course, he went on to mark out the seventh day in a few verses later, that that day was sanctified, blessed, and set apart.

You know, this really does suggest that there were appointed times, religious festivals right from the beginning. And there's no real reason to doubt or to suppose that there were not. God created the sun, the moon, and the stars to help man establish cycles. Cycles for agriculture, religious festivals, and to delineate the passage of time. Time is a concept that God made for man.

Before God had created the universe, there was only timeless eternity. God created the dimension of time for mankind to use.

Notice it's God who has an interest in mankind being able to mark days and religious festivals in years, as we talked about in verse 14. Whose religious festivals do you think that God had in mind? What religious festivals could God be referring to? Well, of course, it's the ones he later revealed in Leviticus chapter 23. Clearly, these are things that came from God, and the Sabbath is the very first one of the holy days of religious festivals that are mentioned in Leviticus 23. Now, there is no doubt that after a time, Abraham, who was called by God to enter a special relationship with him and many special agreements and covenants, that his descendants eventually were taken into Egypt and multiplied and became slaves of the Egyptians. And there is no doubt that over time that the observance of the Sabbath was eventually lost to the descendants of Abraham at the time of the Exodus. Israel, at that time, the children of Israel had been enslaved as slaves. They had been in Egypt for hundreds of years. Now, I didn't know this, and maybe you did, but did you know that the Egyptians did not have a seven-day week? They didn't have a seven-day week. They had a ten-day week. Now, they had, interestingly, as far as the number of days in the year, they had the same number of days that we had, 365. They had 12 months, just like we do. They had 30 days in each month. Of course, that adds your mathematician, that multiplies up to only 360. But then they would add five days at the end of their year to come up with 365 days. But how they're different in their months was that they had months that were composed of three weeks of ten days per week. So that's how they came up with their 30 days. There were ten days in the week of the Egyptians. You can research if you'd like to confirm that. So the Egyptians didn't have a seven-day week, and they certainly were going to allow their slaves to rest once every seven days.

By the time of the Exodus, God had to restore the Sabbath and its understanding to His people. And He does so long before they reach Mount Sinai and before He establishes an actual covenant with His nation. God reintroduces the Sabbath to His people in a very interesting way. He uses the example of a gift that He gave to them to help them to survive. It was the gift of manna. Let's go to Exodus 16, verse 22. It's really a fascinating story. Exodus 16, verse 22. It's amazing how God, in His wisdom, can relay the information to help His people to understand. And to make it clear. Exodus 16, verse 12. God says, I've heard the complaints of the children of Israel, and we know some of the stories about how they didn't put their complete trust in Him and they murmured at times. He said, I've heard the complaints of the children of Israel, and I want you to speak to them, and this is what I want you to tell them. At twilight, you shall eat meat. They've been complaining about not having enough to eat and not having meat and all the things they've missed. At twilight, He said, you shall eat meat, and in the morning, you're going to be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God. God said, this is going to be a sign to you of who I am. That I'm your God, and you're my people. He said, because of this, you'll know that I am the Lord your God. So it was that quails came up in the evening and covered the camp. And in the morning, the dew lay all around the camp. And when the layer of the dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness, on the ground, the desert, on the ground of the wilderness, it says there was a small, round substance. It was as fine as frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, what is it? They had never, ever seen anything like this before. And they looked at each other and they said, what is it? And you know, that's the meaning of manna in Hebrew. You translate that into English. Manna means what is it? If you're going to ask somebody, what's that? You'd say, manna. What is it? What do you have? What is that? You'd say in Hebrew, manna. But it says, for they did not know what it was. And Moses said, this is the bread that God told you about.

This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. And this is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Let every one of you gather it according to each one's need. One omer for each person. So God gave some guidance on how much each person would need an omer. It was probably an element of measurement back then. One omer for each person according to the number of persons. Let everyone take for those who are in his tent. Verse 17, then the children of Israel did so and they gathered. Some more, some less. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over. And he who gathered little had no lack. Every man gathered according to each one's need. And then Moses said, let no one leave any of it until the morning. So God inspired Moses to say, look, gather what you need to eat, but then don't carry anything into the next day, into the morning. And try to eat that is basically what he's saying. But verse 20, they were stubborn, weren't they? Notwithstanding, they didn't heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until the morning, and it bred worms and it stank. So whatever container that they had it in, you know, the next morning they opened it up and there were things that were moving. And a foul odor that was hitting them squarely in the face. And that's what happened when they left of it, some of it, until the next day. Verse 25, then Moses said, eat that today. Oops, I jumped ahead here. I don't want to get ahead of myself. Verse 24, yes, it stank and it bred worms. Moses said, eat that today, for today is the Sabbath of the Lord. Oh, I've got ahead of myself here. I lost my place. Back up to verse 20. They didn't listen to Moses. And Moses was angry with them because it bred worms and stank. Verse 21, so they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need, and when the sun became hot it melted. And so it was on the sixth day that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. So for the other days they gathered an omer for each one, but on the sixth day God said, I want you to gather twice as much. And I do want you to carry it over. And we'll see for a very good reason. Then he said to them, this is what the Lord has said. God is speaking, tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil, and lay up for yourselves all that remains, and keep it until the next day. So now God says, on the sixth day, or the other days, I don't want you to do that, but on the sixth day I do want you to gather twice as much, and I do want you to carry it over to the next day. And so they did. Verse 24, they laid it up till the morning, as Moses commanded, and it didn't stink, and it didn't breed worms. All the other days it did, but this day it did not. Then Moses said, verse 25, eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today, you won't find it in the field. God said, you've already carried over some from the previous day, and you're not going to find it today. You won't be able to gather today, there won't be anything to gather. Verse 27, now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. So they found it on all the other days, but God says, you're not going to find them the seventh day.

And then, of course, God's a little bit upset here. The Lord says to Moses in verse 28, how long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See, verse 29, for the Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in His place, and let no man go out of His place on the seventh day. And so the people rested on the seventh day. Now, this is several weeks before God spoke the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. God, in verse 28, He's upset with His people for refusing to keep His commandments and His laws. And He says in verse 29, the Lord has given you the Sabbath. He didn't say is giving or will give. He had already given the Sabbath to them to be observed every seventh day. What does the word Sabbath mean? If you Hebrew words with the root Sabbath are translated in English as Sabbath, it means to rest, to repose, to desist, to experience an intermission. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says, The Sabbath was the day in which man was to leave off of his secular labors and keep a day holy to Jehovah. So this event occurs weeks before the nation of Israel reached Mount Sinai. The Sabbath is reaffirmed before a covenant is even discussed, because there was a covenant that was discussed and entered into at that time on Mount Sinai. But the Sabbath is reaffirmed before that is even discussed or ratified with the people of Israel. This should not surprise anyone since Moses wrote in Genesis 1 that it was established at creation. It was made, and it was made for man, long before there were any Jews or Hebrews or Israelites. Was respecting the Sabbath soon to become part of the Ten Commandments? I think most of us know the answer to that. Let's go to Exodus 20, verse 1. Of course it was. Of all the things that God wanted to condense that were important for the mankind that he was going to make, of all the things that he had to condense down to ten, this was one of the ten. It shows the importance of it in the mind and in the eyes of God. Exodus 20, verse 8. God speaking. It's pretty clear. It's pretty easy to understand. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work. You, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore, this transitional word here, therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day. Now he doesn't call it the seventh day. He says the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and he hallowed it. Wow! You know, it's meant for a break. It's meant to be refreshed for us as part of the creation to be refreshed. And not only us, but even the animals and the stranger and your son and your daughter and your servants. Those that you have control over. The Hebrew word for work in verses 9 and 10 is melikah and it means occupation, business, workmanship, servile or industrious labor.

This command is very humanitarian. It's very loving. By what authority? By what original event is the Sabbath established? It's right here in verse 11. He traces it right back to creation week. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. He inexorably ties the Sabbath right back to creation week. We'll see that he does that again and again as we go through Scripture together.

If we're to keep the Sabbath holy, when is that Sabbath day to be kept? Oh, God makes it pretty clear it's the seventh day. But what about what time frame during the seventh day?

Because our convention of beginning the day at midnight and ending the day at midnight is really a humanly invented arbitrary practice. It was humanly devised. But God, who created the heavenly bodies, the sun and the moon and the stars, marks time differently than you and I do. He marks the passage of time differently. He counts time differently. He counts it from evening to evening. We keep the Sabbath day, the seventh day, holy from Friday evening to Saturday evening. But what Scriptures do we rely on? What Scriptures can we turn to? What Scriptures can be part of our arsenal in understanding God's will for us? Well, let's take a look at a few. Let's go back to Genesis 1, verse 5. See how God marks time. Genesis 1 and verse 5. We'll see that this is indicated right back to the very beginning of how God marks time. Genesis 1 and verse 5. After dividing the day from night, God tells us that the evening and the morning were the first day. That the first day began with evening and then went into the daylight part of the day. It says evening and morning were mentioned as being the first day. Evening mentioned first, followed by morning. God describes if we were to go through verse 8 or 13 or 19 or verse 23, all these days of creation. He describes it in similar terms. When does the evening begin? God defines this in His Scripture. Let's notice Joshua 8 and verse 29. We're going to look at about three or four Scriptures that talk about when the evening begins. Joshua, right after the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 8 and verse 29. Joshua 8 and verse 29. We'll pick it up in verse 28 to pick up some of the context. Joshua burned Ai, a city that they were part of the Promised Land that they were going to inherit, the children of Israel. Joshua burned this city called Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. The king of Ai, he hanged on a tree until evening. He was put on sometime during the day and hung, if you will, on a tree until evening. So apparently, the evening is when it's going to take him down. And notice, and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse off of the tree. So we begin to see that evening and sunset are very much related. Let's notice Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 19. Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 19.

The day begins at evening, at sunset, when the sun has gone down. It's when a day begins, the previous day ends and a new day begins. Nehemiah chapter 13 and verse 19. Nehemiah, of course, has come back to Jerusalem to try to help rebuild the city and the city's walls and to try to help restore God's people to that part of the world after many of them had been taken captives in the Babylon. And now, God was allowing the people to return and the city to be rebuilt. Verse 19, but they had some problems. So it was at the gates of Jerusalem as it began to be dark before the Sabbath. So we begin to understand that when the Sabbath is drawing on, it's a time of darkness. The sun is going down. As it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut and I charged that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. So we begin to see that the day begins in the evening when it's dark. So the seventh day begins in the evening when it begins to get dark. Let's notice Mark 1 and 32, New Testament reference. Mark 1 and 32. At evening when the sun had set. So we see how evening and the setting of the sun are very, very much tied together. And the sun sets, of course, from the very top of that circular body that light that God made disappears on the horizon. And so we see here right here at evening when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. So we see that evening and sunset are tied very much together. Let's notice one last scripture. Leviticus 23, verse 32.

Back to Leviticus, chapter 23 and verse 32. You know, some people believe it is unusual to keep the Sabbath from sunset to sunset or from evening to evening. And yet this is how God defines it, how God describes it, how God says it should be done. Leviticus 23, verse 32, the context is one of God's holy days. It's the day of atonement. In verse 32 it says that the day of atonement shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest. And you shall afflict your souls, which means to fast, on the ninth day of the month at evening. So it begins at evening. From evening to evening you shall celebrate your Sabbath. So these are scriptural references that show us when the Sabbath has to be kept. It's from evening to evening. The weekly Sabbath is kept from Friday evening to sunset to Sabbath evening at sunset. And once sunset comes Sabbath evening, then the day ends. And the new day begins. God, the creator of the Sabbath determines when a day begins and when it ends. You and I don't do that. It's not something that God has given you or I the authority to change.

His Sabbath begins Friday evening at sunset and ends Saturday evening at sunset. Now let's go back to Leviticus. We're here in Leviticus 23. Let's go back to verse 1. I want to bring out another aspect to the Sabbath here. A couple of them. We touched on one. We'll touch on that again. And then we'll touch on a different one that we haven't touched on yet. Leviticus 23 verse 1 it says, The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The feasts of the Lord. Now they're not Christian feasts. They're not Jewish feasts. They're God's feasts. And they're really for all mankind because, as we know, these seven annual Holy Days in the weekly Sabbath point out the future and the destiny of all men. Of all men and women. All mankind. God's feasts. And that's why they're universal. And that's why they're never ending. That's why they haven't been fulfilled, necessarily. It says, The feasts of the Lord. They're His. Which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations. We touched on the fact that, yes, there is an assembly on the seventh day for the people of God. They're commanded to appear before Him. It's part of the meaning of this day. We have a holy convocation, an assembly. But notice there's more. Verse 3, Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest. So we understand we don't work on that day. It's a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. So again, this weekly Sabbath is the first one that is listed. And it's a day to meet. But I also want you to notice the very last part of verse 3. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings. The Sabbath was not just a religious assembly for a holy convocation. Oh yes, it was that. But it was an observance for every individual home in all their dwellings throughout the nation. Wow! So there's certain expectations that God has outside of the holy convocation, outside of the assembly. It's something that is done in our homes.

Let's notice in Exodus 31, verse 12, the fact that God made the Sabbath as a special sign. A special sign between He and His people. Exodus 31.

You know, there's specialness all around this particular holy day, the seventh day Sabbath. It's special to God. It's holy to Him. And since we are His holy people, He wants us to understand that it's holy to us too. And for our benefit. Exodus 31, verse 12.

It says, And the Lord spoke to Moses. So again, these are God's words. These aren't Moses' words.

Speak also to the children of Israel and say, Surely, my Sabbaths you shall keep. For it is a sign.

God says it's a sign. It's a sign between me and you. This is something that's special. That's going to show, I'm a holy God, I'm a righteous God, I have made this day holy. And it is going to be a sign that my holy people will also keep this day holy. And then you will be able to identify each other. People will be able to see who the Creator God is, that He set this day aside as a sign. And that His people would observe this particular day. It is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that what? That you may know that I am the Lord that has set you apart. I've set the Sabbath apart and I have set you apart as well.

It's a sign of who I have set apart. You may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath. Therefore, it is holy to you. Wow!

Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death. Pretty serious stuff, isn't it? God says, I want you to obey this commandment. We know that any sin that we have, it's a penalty worthy of death. But God says, this is a special day. I want you to think like I do. There's reasons why I set this apart. It's for you. It's for your good. I don't do anything unless it's for good.

Whoever profanes it shall surely be put to death. For whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among God's people. Work shall be done for six days. But the seventh day is different. The seventh day is the Sabbath of rest. Holy to the Lord, and as we read it already, holy to you. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. Verse 16, therefore, that transitional word, understanding this, that children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath. To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant, it is a sign between me and my people, the children of Israel, forever.

And notice, he looks back. What does he look back to? He looks back at creation again. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and refreshed, inexorably tied. He goes back to that time and time and time again. So the Sabbath was a special sign between God and Israel.

Since the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, it must be a part of that covenant that he made with Israel. God's moral law is a part of any covenant that he makes.

What's it mean to be holy? Leviticus 20, verse 26. Leviticus 20, verse 26, because God says it's holy to the Lord, holy to you. He said holy to the Lord in verse 15. Holy to you. What's that mean? Leviticus 20, verse 26.

And you shall be holy to me. You are my special people. In other words, is what he's saying? You shall be holy to me. For I am the Lord and holy, and I have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. A special relationship that God has with us.

This is the way that he lives. This is the way he wants us to live as well. You know, it's only God who can make anything holy. Only his direct presence in things can make them holy. Whether we're talking about the burning bush, whether we're talking about the tabernacle, whether we're talking about the showbread, whether we're talking about the feet where Moses was, that's, you know, you know, remove your shoes because where you're standing is holy ground, because God's presence was there. And when God's presence was removed, things are no longer holy. And no man or woman is holy of themselves. Only God can make something holy. When God's presence is in us through the Holy Spirit, is when we become his holy people. When God lives in us, as he says, he makes his home with us, is when we become holy. Of ourselves, we have no right or authority to make anything holy. We don't. No group, no organization of men has authority to make any time holy. Whether it be the sixth day of the week when the Muslims keep their holy time, or whether it be the first day of the week when many Christians keep their time holy.

No one has authority other than God to make any time holy. And he said, I have set apart the seventh day. It's clear. There's no other references other than that. If we're going to believe God, and if we're going to trust Him, then we have to go with what he says.

Let's notice Jeremiah 17 and verse 19. Jeremiah 17 and verse 19. Human beings struggle sometimes with some of the clear instruction that God gives, because we think we know a better way. God allows us to choose so we can learn from our choices. And He allowed Israel to make some choices as well. They don't have trouble keeping the Sabbath. They had trouble delighting in it. God's law wasn't written in their hearts, and they wanted to be like others around them, instead of like God's shining jewel. Let's see what the prophet Jeremiah wrote when Jerusalem was being savagely attacked by the Babylonians around 600 B.C. about to be carried into a captivity. Jeremiah, one of God's prophets, wrote this.

Thus the Lord said to me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out. In other words, there are a lot of people come and go. Jeremiah, this is where I want you to go, and I want you to proclaim a few things that I have to say. By which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. And I want you to say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord, I want you to take care of the heed to yourselves, and I want you to bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem, nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day as I commanded your fathers.

Verse 23, But they didn't obey, nor did they incline their ear, but they made their next stiff that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall be, God says, He's still trying to get their attention. It shall be that if you'll listen to Me carefully, there's still time.

If you'll heed Me carefully, He said, to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, then shall enter, notice the positiveness, then shall enter the gates of this city, kings and princes sitting on the throne of David.

They're going to be riding in chariots and on horses, and they and their princes shall be accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city shall remain. They were about ready to go into captivity. But God says, if you turn, then this city shall remain forever. And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the low land, from the mountains, and from the south. And they're going to bring to Me burnt offerings and sacrifices, and there'll be grain offerings and incense, and they will bring sacrifices of praise to Me in the house of the Lord.

God says, you just watch what will happen, the blessings that will come, to obey a command that was for your benefit. Verse 27, But if you will not heed Me, if you're not going to listen to Me, if you're not going to follow an instruction or receive it, by not hallowing the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, instead of all these other blessings and all these chariots and all these kings and these inhabitants and these kings that will sit in the city, will stand forever, He said, you know what?

I'm going to kindle a fire in these gates. Instead of all these people coming and going freely and all these blessings coming through these gates, I'm going to kindle a fire here, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and that fire is not going to be quenched. Wow! Let's notice Isaiah 58.13. God's desire. What He wants us to learn is the way that He intended the Sabbath to be kept and to be observed.

To be hallowed, to be holy, not to work, to be refreshed. Let's notice Isaiah 58.13. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, it's kind of a metaphor of saying we've been stomping on it, or at least God's people had at that time, they weren't treated as holy, they weren't respectful to God's instruction. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight, and we're going to talk about that next time, a little bit about what that means. That'll be for next time. And you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord.

It's His holy day, made for us. He wants us to be holy to us as well. But it's His holy day, the holy day of the Lord, honorable. And notice shall honor Him. So we begin to understand a little bit more the aspect of the Sabbath.

That whatever we do, part of the meaning of that day is to honor God, in what we do. Honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words. It's not about us. It's about turning our attention to God, honoring God. How do you honor God on the Sabbath day? It's a good question to ask. Not speaking your own words. Then, you shall delight yourself in your God. You shall delight yourself in your God, who's given you everything. As David said, that the Lord has made us. We haven't made ourselves, but the Lord has made us. He's given us life, and He's offering us everlasting life.

And then, He gives us Ten Commandments. Remember the question, the young man said to Jesus Christ, Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life? What did Jesus say? Keep the commandments. And He said, which ones? And then, Jesus Christ began to enumerate, not all ten, but several of the ten. And you shall delight yourself in the Lord. And then, I will cause you.

I'm going to make sure this happens. I'm going to cause this to happen. You're going to ride on the high hills of the earth. And I'm going to feed you. I'm going to take care of you, God's Word. I'm going to bless you. With the heritage of Jacob, your Father, the mouth of the Lord has spoken. God doesn't lie. This is what He says will happen. Notice that God calls the Sabbath, My Holy Day, and a delight.

Well, there's a whole lot more to talk about when it comes to the Sabbath. We're going to have to end for now. But what happened to the Sabbath from this time until the ministry of Jesus Christ? We're going to address some of these questions here next time. Did Christ fulfill the Sabbath and make it obsolete so that the early people of God in the New Testament church were no longer had to obey this command?

We're going to examine some of these questions from God's Word next time. But, brethren, the Sabbath is a weekly memorial of God's creation, what He's doing, of His plan. It reminds us that the world was intended to be in perfect rest and harmony with its Creator. Every Friday evening, when the Sabbath arrives, it arrives to free us from the burdens, from the troubles of the previous week of the troubles of this world, the present evil age that we're in. It arrives to teach us. It arrives to calm us, to soothe us from the many pressures that we face in this age.

God knew that we would need this time. That's why He made it for us. When we are free to focus our minds and our thoughts on God's way and purpose, then God's Sabbath truly becomes the blessing and the delight that He intended to be right from the beginning. So, we'll pick this up next time. Good to be with you all. Hope most of you can stay for the potluck afterwards and for the Bible study. We look forward to seeing you shortly.