State of Sabbath Keeping Today

We live in the 21st century. I'm sure we're all aware of that. Have we in the 21st century begun to water down the observance of the Sabbath? It's been many a year since the Sabbath was created, as we will see. I think there are a number of indicators when you begin to look at what we see going on around us that would indicate that perhaps we don't take the Sabbath as seriously as we should, or perhaps as we have in the past.

It seems like for many the Sabbath is simply another day. It's no longer a special day. It's no longer a day that we come to worship God. It's a day to sleep, stay just rest, and if we feel like it, we might come to church. If we don't feel like it, we just simply don't come to church. We're not going to make any major effort. Many times our discussions, what we talk about, the things that we converse about, do not mirror godliness, but they reflect more on just what I would call worldliness. Now, I know it's very easy whenever you discuss the Sabbath, what do you do, not do on the Sabbath, to create a Talmud.

I'm not going to create a Talmud for you today, but I am going to give you some guidelines and principles. There are behaviors that are just simply unacceptable in the Sabbath, and there are behaviors that we should strive to emulate. This is going to be at least a two-part series on the Sabbath day, because there's no way that we can cover all of this in one setting. I think sometimes our young people are not being taught to keep the Sabbath properly.

Friday night is a part of the Sabbath, as we know, sunset to sunset. We, many times, are not teaching them. How often do we teach and train our children? That when they come to church to follow in their Bibles, perhaps take a few notes to learn how to identify with what's going on as far as the Sabbath is concerned. I think sometimes we have forgotten how to dress on the Sabbath, and too often our dress can be very casual instead of trying to dress our best.

The day of preparation seems to have been forgotten by the vast majority of people, I think, in the church. I wonder how many of us really think about Friday. If we can't get it all done on Friday, we do it on Thursday. You can't get it on Thursday, you back up to Wednesday. Whatever it takes to get ready for the Sabbath day. What does it mean to prepare for the Sabbath?

Is the Sabbath just another day? If so, why would you need a preparation day for the Sabbath? These are some of the things that we will take a look at over the next few weeks. Also, the question is, is it okay to eat out in a restaurant on the Sabbath? This seems to have become more and more of a controversy among some. It actually has become a big problem among some people on the Sabbath day. What if you have a business? Do you operate at 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

What do you do with your business? How do you handle that? What about just simply staying home on the Sabbath and not attending church? Again, it seems almost any excuse today can be given to justify one for not attending services. On any given Sabbath, we have one-third of our members not in attendance. I've sat down and I counted how many we have, how many generally show up on any given Sabbath. If everybody were to show up here, we'd have close to 80 people, 75-80 people. But we don't really have anywhere near that on the average Sabbath.

Do we consider the Sabbath to be a burden or do we consider it a blessing? Which is it? I know that there were a lot who at one time kept the Sabbath, who no longer keep it. The reason why, when they were told that the Sabbath was a burden, they were willing to give it up very quickly. As I explained a couple of weeks ago, it was not written in their hearts. It was not etched. It was just simply an argument in their mind that they had accepted and it had not become a part of them and what they ought to do. In the Scriptures, there were two primary reasons why God denied blessings to Israel.

One was idolatry, the other was Sabbath breaking. Under the New Covenant, we do not find that God is just sending curses on us, but we do find that many times he withholds blessings. That maybe God might want to bless us, but he might withhold those because of our attitude, our approach. We have to be very careful that we go through a trial, a test, hard times, that we, in the past, I've known a lot of people who thought anytime you would go through something like that, they were like Job's friends.

It's because you must be doing something wrong. And it's not always because of disobedience. We all have to endure trials as we read in Romans 5. And those trials help to produce endurance, help us to develop character. What about God wanting to bless us, but we not doing what he tells us, that we violate his Sabbath covenant that he's made. You know, when the Jews became convinced that the Sabbath was the primary reason why they went into captivity, they proceeded to make all kinds of rules and regulations governing the Sabbath.

And that's where we get the term, you know, a big book of thou shall not or thou shall, you know, when it comes to the Sabbath. They actually developed 39 categories of activities.

Not just 39 rules, but 39 categories of activities that comprised work.

These range from swatting a fly, that would be work, to helping an injured man.

And so anything you could think of, somebody would come up, Rabbi, can I step on a bug? So they'd have this big meeting and they decide whether you can step on a bug. Is that work or something you shouldn't do? No wonder Christ condemned the Pharisees.

I think sadly, though, over the years, sometimes we've all acted like Pharisees in our approach.

No wonder Christ labeled them hypocrites. Too often, if we're not careful, we can be too lax in our observance of the Sabbath, or we can become too strict. Generally, I've noticed when people become too strict, that their strictness becomes the standard of righteousness whereby they judge everybody.

And if everybody's not living up to, quote-unquote, what they have decided is right or wrong, not what the Bible says, but what they have decided, then they begin to judge others. Whenever you deal with something that has a physical component, and the Sabbath does, we seem to have people who develop yardsticks and their own ideas. They come up with their own standards. What about things like radio? Do you ever turn the radio on on the Sabbath?

Do you ever turn or watch the television? Well, I did this morning. I mean, I found out that there's a hurricane out there, and that it's coming up the coast. They think it's now going to hit the U.S. And it's possible when the rain begins to come over Appalachian, that there could be three to four feet of snow. And they even included some of the outer bands, eastern Tennessee, you know, up towards Knoxville in that area. So, you know, nobody knows can predict exactly where those things are going. But is it a sin to turn the TV on? Or to read the paper?

Or to cook an egg? Stick something in the microwave? Wash a dish? You know, these type of things. Everybody has his own ideas on whether something is right or wrong. The point is simple when it comes to this. Whenever there's a commandment from God, that's what we should do.

When there's not, then, you know, we need to look at the principles and try to make a judgment based upon the principles of God of what we should do. We want to take a look at the Sabbath today and see what the Bible means when it talks about holy time and the Sabbath. Why is that important?

Well, I think as we progress through the sermon, you will see that holy time forms a basis of how we observe the Sabbath.

One cannot just decide for himself how to keep the Sabbath and observe it. We need to study all of the scriptures and put them together to see what Christ said while it was commanded in the Old Testament, how that principle of the Sabbath has been applied, and then see how it affects all of us. We need to realize that over the years, and especially the last 20-25 years, how we approach the Sabbath very much has been influenced by the Church and by those around us.

Let's go back to the book of Genesis. Now Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1.

Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. And we read simply this. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So the first thing that the Bible reveals to us is that there is a God.

We find he's in charge. He's all powerful. He's all mighty. He created everything. He is revealed as the creator of everything that we can know. Genesis 1 reveals God in his role as physical creator. He created the physical universe. Now in chapter 2, beginning in verse 1, we find that Genesis 2 reveals God as the spiritual creator. Let's notice.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended the work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all of his work, which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day, and he sanctified it because in it he had rested from all of his work, which God had created and had made.

So God creates something spiritual, the Sabbath day. You can't go out here and look at a tree and say, well, you know, a tree is physical. It's going to tell me which day is the Sabbath.

Now God gives us a principle. He gives us his spiritual law. And number four in that spiritual law is, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. So is there such a thing as holy time?

Yes, there is. And let me clearly explain what I mean. Is there a 24-hour period that is set aside to rest and to worship God on? That is a separate day from all the others.

Does Genesis 2 show the creation of the Sabbath day? I read all kinds of commentaries. We'll try to argue with you that this isn't talking about the Sabbath day. It's just, well, he rested.

I want you to notice, though, the word ended here in verse 2 says, on the seventh day God ended his work. It means to complete, to bring to an end, to finish. So God finished the physical creation, the physical work, and he ceased to work on the seventh day, or what we would call the Sabbath. The word work is the same word that is used in Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, where the Scriptures state that we are not to work. And it means occupation, work, or business.

So whatever God's work was, he ceased. Now God was involved in the physical creation at that time. So what is God's work? He is creator. Hold your place here, but notice in Genesis, excuse me, notice Hebrews, the fourth chapter in verse 3. Hebrews chapter 4, and we'll read in verse 3. It says, For we who have believed do enter that rest, as he said, So I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest, although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. So the physical creation that God created and made for man, the earth, and so on, that was finished. And God today is involved in a spiritual creation.

He is helping to prepare a bride. He is in the process of creating the new Jerusalem, and He is creating us. He's developing His very character within us.

One author that I read, this is taken from Hebrews by Donald Guthrie on page 116, had this to say, his comment about God, Indeed, this whole passage suggests that after the act of creation, God began to rest, which presumes that He still continues.

So he said, well, this shows that God just rested, and He's still resting.

Now, what did Jesus Christ say? Well, Christ, in John 5 verse 17, says, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. So the Father, God continues to work, but He's now involved. His work has shifted. It would be like you having a job, maybe as a carpenter.

Then one day you get a job as a teacher. God at one time was a creator, and He finished that. He created the universe. Now He's in the process, the last 6,000 years, of bringing about a spiritual creation. Back up to Genesis 2 again. In Genesis 2, you notice again that on the seventh day, God ended His work, which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day.

The word rest means rest. I mean, we all are familiar with rest. It means to desist from labor.

This is the root word from which Sabbath is taken. It doesn't just strictly mean Sabbath, although it could be translated, but it's the root word from which Sabbath is taken, because Sabbath means rest. The Sabbath day is the rest day. It means to cease or to rest.

That's where we get the meaning that it is a day of rest for us. God set man in an example of resting. God did not get tired. He did not need to rest in the sense of what human beings do.

When you really work hard, you're under a lot of pressure and stress. Guess what?

When the Sabbath day comes, you can collapse, get a little extra sleep, and rest, be able to study a little more, pray a little more. It is a day that is a rejuvenation. Mark 2 reveals that the Sabbath was made for man, does it not? It was not made for God. It was made for our benefit, for our good, or as a blessing to us. So it says, He rested on the seventh day. I want you to notice it doesn't say He rested on the eighth day. It doesn't say He rested on the sixth day. It doesn't say He rested on the fifth day. He rested on the seventh day. Then verse 3, God blessed the seventh day.

God put a special blessing on this day. The Sabbath is intended to be a blessing for mankind.

You and I, every Sabbath, when we keep it, we are blessed by God for so doing.

Now, with that in mind, we'll come back to chapter 2 here, but let me just go back and read Mark in Mark 2, 27 and 28. I want you to notice something in particular about this Scripture. He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man. Now, who was it made for? It was made for man.

The word in the Greek means mankind. It means both man and woman, anthropos. It doesn't just mean man-male. It means mankind. So He said to them, The Sabbath was made for mankind and not mankind for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.

So what this implies is that the Sabbath was not just made for Israel. It was made for mankind.

It was made for all mankind. It was not made for God or the angels or only one nationality, only one race of people. It was made for all mankind, male and female, the human race. It was made for. And Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath.

Who was the being who was dealing with Adam and Eve? Back here in Genesis 2 and 3, well, it's the one who became Jesus Christ. Now, if you go on back to verse 3 again of Genesis 2, God blessed the Sabbath day and He sanctified it. Now, this is an extremely important word.

The word sanctified here. It means to consecrate, to hallow, to be holy, to separate.

That's what holy implies, that we are separated to God.

It can also mean to be set apart as sacred, consecrated, dedicated, to be observed as holy.

So this seventh day here was set aside as holy or dedicated, consecrated to God.

Does this just simply mean that only that one time it was special to God, or that down through all ages it was special? Well, obviously down through all ages, as we will see.

Verse 3 clearly says that God separated or set apart the seventh day and made it holy. I want you to notice something very important here. The first commandment revealed to us in the Scripture is what? Do we find in Genesis 1, thou shall not covet? Those aren't enumerated there.

But the first thing you find that God does is to create for man.

Even here before they're created, or they've been created, but right after they've been created, God creates the Sabbath day for mankind. So the first commandment is revealed to us in the Bible is the Sabbath. That doesn't mean the others weren't there. It just simply means that this is the one that is revealed to us from the very beginning. God created the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars. He did not walk away from them and leave them to chaos, disorder, and confusion. Hebrews 1.3 says God sustains the universe. So God sustains it. He upholds it. The Sabbath was created. God did not walk away from it, but he sustains those spiritual principles today as well as the rest of his law. Now I can show you, and we don't have time to go through all of this. Actually, I put it in my notes and I cut it out, but I'll refer to it. You can go back and you can look. When the angelic hosts rebelled against God, the Bible says they sin. What is sin? It's the transgression of God's law.

Sin is going against God's law or way of life that he lives. When it comes to human beings, God has defined that way of life for us as human beings to show us how to live in the flesh. Christ came and lived that way of life. He showed us how we should live. Now let's go over to Exodus 16. Exodus 16. You remember this is where God gave them manna.

He emphasized to them the fact of the Sabbath day. He did so by giving them twice as much on the sixth day so they could prepare for the Sabbath. Then on the seventh day, there was no manna.

Verse 23, He said to them, This is what the Lord has said. Tomorrow is the Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, boil what you will boil, lay up for yourselves all that remains to be kept unto the morning. So He told them to get ready and prepared.

Now in verse 28, He says, The Lord said to Moses, How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days, that every man remaining in his place let no man go out. Now some have jumped on that saying, well, they couldn't even go outside their tent on the Sabbath day.

And yet, very clearly, the Bible shows that later on, you know, they would go up to the temple, they would offer up sacrifices. There were all kinds of things that they did on the Sabbath day. It means to go out together manna, to go out together sticks, to cook the manna, to go out to work. No man should go out of his place on the seventh day for the wrong reasons it's showing. So the people rested on the seventh day. So very clearly, they rested on that day.

So the Sabbath is referred to here as being holy. It is the seventh day. It is a day of rest. It's revealed as a commandment from God, isn't it? All of that's in those few verses that we just read. Now notice in chapter 20, beginning in verse 8, going back to where it's codified and given to Israel. Verse 8, remember the seventh day to keep it holy. So now we're told to remember.

The fact that it says remember implies that it was already in existence. You don't remember something that you don't know anything about. So he told them remember. To recall, call the mind, is what he's saying here. What are they to remember? That the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. We are to keep it as a day set apart. A day that is holy, separate, concentrated to God.

So from Genesis 1, Genesis 2, all the way down here to Exodus 20, the theme is utterly consistent.

Seventh day, holy day, it is a day that is a blessing, consecrated to God, sanctified, set apart, and so on. Now in verse 9, six days you shall labor and do all of your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

So the seventh day does not belong to you or to me. This is God's day. This is his day.

The Sabbath, the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work, or anyone we have direct responsibility for are to do work. So why are we to cease from work on the Sabbath?

Have you ever asked yourself that question? Well, notice verse 11 here.

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth were given the reason, and the sea, and all of that that is in them, and he rested the seventh day. That's why God rested. He set us an example. We rest following his example. Therefore the Lord bless the seventh day and hallowed it. So God goes back to creation to show which day is the Sabbath.

So what's the point of all that we've covered here so far? Well, whether we realize it or not, we've all been influenced by the past and the corruption of teaching that have been introduced.

Many changes that were introduced were very subtle.

I don't think we have fully grasped how persuasive many of those were.

The Sabbath day certainly falls into that category. What do I mean by that? Well, let me give you an example.

We know that the Sabbath began to be watered down, especially when we were told, you don't have to come to church every Sabbath. You can stay home. It's okay to stay home on the Sabbath.

Obviously, there are rare occasions when a person might, if they're physically exhausted, if you're just totally exhausted and you can't get up and go, you might stay home and rest at that time, or if you're sick. Otherwise, unless there's an emergency, you died, or something's happened, God expects us to be here. The Bible tells us back in Hebrews chapter 10, let's turn over there, in Hebrews 10.25. Well, verse 24, first of all, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much to the more as you see the day approaching, that we are to exhort one another. So, the Bible clearly tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. And yet, I've noticed that many have become lax in observing the Sabbath, attending service. It just gets easy to stay home, doesn't it? If you get into the habit of not having to get cleaned up, put clothes on, and drive, then it becomes very easy.

Now, some have taken it to an extreme that I know of. They have church in their own home.

So, they decide, well, it says where two or three are gathered together. Here's my husband. Here's my child. That's three. So, therefore, I declare us a church. And so, they stay home and, quote-unquote, they have church in their own home. The problem is this. They are not assembling with the body of Christ, but they're assembling by themselves. We have the internet today. It's great for those who are scattered or sick to be able to, you know, you're scattered out there. There's not a church within hundreds of miles to be able to link up. You're sick. You have to stay home. You can't, you know, get over the sickness. Then, you know, it's great to be able to listen to a service.

And many will listen to a service from another area. However, if we don't attend church, guess what?

We miss out on fellowship with God's people, and we miss out on service to one another.

One of the responsibilities we have is to come and to help one another, to serve one another, to inspire one another, to encourage one another, to build one another up. As the Bible says, to edify each other. Too often, we have a selfish approach. We're thinking of ourselves and not of others. And that's the wrong approach. It's not one of giving and serving and helping, but it's just simply on the self. There seems to be a general malaise and indifference towards the Sabbath. I think today, and this is true down through the ages, that we do things today that we wouldn't have done 20 years ago. We were told at one time that we were keeping the Sabbath and quote-unquote a more balanced way, which meant if you wanted to go out and play golf, you could go play golf. And they came up with all of these things, and if you're not careful, it can begin to rub off on us. Many keep the Sabbath just like it's Sunday. And I know a lot of people who keep Sunday very strictly, because they think that's what they should do. But most people don't keep Sunday that way. The church is over. They go do what they want to do. You see, the Sabbath is holy time. A set period of time. Do our families really know and keep it holy? Do we make a point when the sun goes down? Hey, the sun's down. And we recognize that this is the beginning of the Sabbath day.

And it's a day that is different. It's a day that God intended for us to worship Him.

Now, I'm not talking about a legalistic approach, as some have gotten in in the past.

We're not worshiping a day, but God has given us a day so that we can worship Him in a community setting. See, that's the difference. We are the community of God.

We are the congregation of God. We are the Israel of God. And so we come together to worship God collectively. Remember back in Leviticus 23? We know that all of the holy days are mentioned here, but let's go back to verse 1. Leviticus 23 and verse 1. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 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 feast.

Six days shall work be done. But the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation, commanded assembly, a holy convocation, an assembly.

It means an assembly or a calling together. And it's a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it.

It is the Sabbath of the Lord and all of your dwellings, wherever we dwell. Some have worshipped in the past. Well, you can worship or argued in the past, so you can worship God on any day. And sure, we all should worship God every day. When you get down and pray or study, you're worshiping God. But we also worship God as a community, as a group, as a body on the Sabbath day. It is a special day. Exodus chapter 31 explains to us that it is a sign between God and His people. Exodus 31, beginning in verse 12. Exodus 31 verse 12. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, speak to the children of Israel, saying, surely, my Sabbath. Now, I think that includes more than just a weekly Sabbath, but also the annual Sabbath. My Sabbath you shall keep. For it's a sign between me and you throughout all your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who sets you apart. Now, brethren, we've been called and sanctified by God. We are the elect. That's what the elect means. We've been sanctified and set apart by God. You shall keep the Sabbath. Therefore, for it is holy to you, every one who profanes it shall surely be put to death. For whoever does not work or does any work on it, that person should be cut off from among his people. 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. Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath, throughout their generations as a perpetual commandment. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. Notice, it is a sign as to where God's people are. Now, I might just say it's one of the signs. There are people who keep the Sabbath day, but they don't keep the rest of the commandments. Just because they keep the Sabbath doesn't mean that God is necessarily working in their lives. But it was a sign, especially back at this time, naming any other nation on earth who knew anything about the Sabbath day and were keeping it. These were God's people. And so God said, it's a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. We are the children of Israel today, the Israel of God. So it's a sign for us, for in six days, again, God goes back to creation. The Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. So the Sabbath is holy time. It is set aside.

It helps us to know who the true God is. We know that the true God has given us the Sabbath.

It's one of the identifying signs of God's people. So, brethren, I think it's something that we all need to reevaluate and make sure that we observe the Sabbath as God wants us to see if we become lax and compromising with it. If you'll remember in Revelation chapter 3, the Bible talks about the Laodiceans. And what do we find out about the Laodiceans? They're lukewarm. And what does that mean? What means they're lukewarm? They're neither cold nor hot. They're neither on fire or just totally unconverted. But they're lukewarm in their approach to God. Is it possible that we could become lukewarm in our approach towards the Sabbath? When you say Laodiceans are lukewarm, what do you mean? How are they lukewarm? Why are they lukewarm? In what way do they express it?

Well, they express it in their obedience in how they approach God. And the Sabbath is certainly one of those ways that we approach God. This attitude would permeate a person's whole approach to how they approach their Maker. So we have to be very careful in that.

We're not going to have time to cover much more, but I'd like to cover one other issue that's a major issue, and that is the issue of eating out on the Sabbath day.

It has been raised occasionally over the years. The Church has never taught that it was wrong to eat out on the Sabbath. It was a violation of the Sabbath commandment to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath day. Clearly, when we go to the Feast of Tabernacles on the annual Holy Days, weekly Sabbath, we eat out. Christians, we know that Christianity involves personal choices for conscience's sake. Sometimes a person who is a newer person or maybe doesn't have knowledge might, because they don't have knowledge, not do something. Let's notice in 1 Corinthians 8 and 13, just a couple of scriptures here. 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 13, it says, Therefore food makes my brother stumble. I will never eat meat lest I make my brother to stumble. Now, is it wrong to eat meat? Is it a sin to eat meat? The answer is no. There are clean, unclean meats. Obviously, some are clean. You can eat them. Some are unclean. You don't eat them. But what if somebody comes into the church and they're a vegetarian? Well, you don't just constantly talk to them about eating meat. Now, you might preach on it. I might preach. I might explain what the church's position is. But until they and their conscience are educated, and you have to be educated by the scripture, what does the Bible say, then all of us have held ideas that were contrary to the scriptures. But through proper study, through education, through letting God's Spirit work with us, we have the aha moment. Aha! I understand. And so we understand and we know what God says. And so we can do it. In the book of Romans chapter 14 verse 23, Paul makes a statement about conscience.

He who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith. Romans 14, 23.

For whatever is not from faith is sin. So there were those there who thought it was against God's law. They had trouble eating meat that had been offered to an idol.

And so therefore, they had a problem with that. And this was probably the problem back in 1 Corinthians chapter 8. The position of the church is eating or not eating in a restaurant on the Sabbath.

It's not a sin. Sometimes, you know, some people think it is, and it goes against their conscience. So we tell them, you know, if that's what you believe, then you go ahead, but don't try to force your idea or teach your idea or palm your idea off on others in the church, because that's not what the church teaches. Let me give you some background and explain clearly what the Bible teaches on this topic. I'll give you some biblical background. The Sabbath is referred to in 61 verses in the Old Testament and 55 in the New Testament. There is no mention of eating out in a restaurant in any of them. You can go back and read every one of them. None of them mention about eating out in a restaurant. There is no clear, thus saith the Lord, on it, on the topic. So we then have to go and deduce from scriptures the principles and apply those in modern situations, because you see, we live in an age that's totally different than when this was first given, but the principles apply. There are two sections of scripture that refer to buying and selling on the Sabbath.

In the book of Nehemiah chapter 13 verses 15 through 21 and Amos 8.5.

Now these are the two primary sections that are used by those who believe that eating out on the Sabbath is a violation of the Sabbath commandment.

Considering that out of the 116 verses, there are only two that even address the issue of commerce and the Sabbath, and you'll see that it's not something that's got a lot of addressing in the Bible or a lot written on it. Let's go over to Nehemiah chapter 13. Nehemiah chapter 13, and we'll begin to read in verse 15. I'll read these first, and we'll come back and talk about it and comment on it. Nehemiah chapter 13 verse 15. In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath and bringing in sheaves, loading donkeys with wine and grapes and figs, and all kinds of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. Men of Tyre dwell there also who brought fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah and to Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What evil thing is this that you do by which you profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers do thus? Did not our God bring all this disaster on us on this city? Did you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath?

So it was at the gate of Jerusalem, as it began to get dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gate so that no burden would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

Now the merchants and the sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside of Jerusalem once or twice. Then I warned them and said to them, Why do you spend the night around the wall?

If you do so again, I'll lay hands on you. Now he wasn't going to ordain them or anoint them.

He was going to smack them. He was going to dry them out. From which time on they came no more on the Sabbath. So he set up guards around that area. Now with that as a little background, let's understand a little bit about what was going on here. Let me give you a little background.

Ezra had arrived in Jerusalem from Babylon in 457 BC, the seventh year of the king.

The temple had been built earlier, but things were still in disarray by the time that Ezra arrived.

He oversaw a correction of the people in the area of marriage to strange women. The Jews had begun to marry the people in the surrounding area. Ezra put an end to that during his time there in Jerusalem, but it didn't last. Nehemiah was the king's cup-bearer, I should say, or special assistant to him. When he heard of the difficulties in Jerusalem, he asked if he could go.

He got leave of absence, and he went up to handle some of the problems. He was named governor of Judea. This was in the 20th year of the king, or the 13th year after Ezra had gone up to Jerusalem.

So notice the time sequence here. We're talking about a period of 20 years.

He finds things again are in disarray. The temple was not being maintained. The wall had not been rebuilt. In Jerusalem was a broken-down city. Nehemiah brings about another reform similar to what Ezra did. They also rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem, and they finished building the wall in 52 days. Notice Nehemiah 6 and verse 15. Nehemiah chapter 6 and verse 15. So the wall was finished on the 25th day of Eloh in 52 days.

And so they closed up the wall so you just couldn't walk into Jerusalem. Anyway, you wanted to.

After the wall was rebuilt, another reform was instituted by Ezra and Nehemiah chapter 8.

In chapter 8 verse 1, Ezra stands up. The wall is brought to him in verses 2 and 3. It's on the day of trumpets, and he expounds to the people what God requires of them, and the people here. They're sorry, and they begin to repent.

Now, a covenant, then, is proposed by Nehemiah to the people. Notice here in chapter 9 verse 38. It says, because of all of this, chapter 9-38, we made a sure covenant and wrote it, and our leaders and Levites and the priests sealed it. Now, those who placed their seal on the document were Nehemiah the governor. And then it goes on to list a number who signs this covenant with God. Now, there were seven distinct expectations for the Jews in that covenant, and they began in verse 29, run through verse 38 here. Number one was obedience to God's law. They were required to obey the law. Number two was no marriage with inhabitants of the land.

Number three, any wares brought into Jerusalem would not be purchased by the Jews on the Sabbath day. Now, what do we mean when we say wares? Is that talking about opening a restaurant?

The word wares in Hebrew means merchandise, wares, products that are bought and sold or bartered in the marketplace. They could be anything. They could be blankets. They could be mules. They could be food stuff. They could be almost anything. Number four, the land was the rest during the seventh year. There was to be number five, a temple tax. Number six, the Levites were to receive the tithes and the offerings. And then seven, the Levites were to contribute a tithe of the tithe to the temple. Now, some of these things that were instituted at this time can be found in the law of God, but not all of them. In the case of the Sabbath, this is the first mention of prohibition concerning commerce on the Sabbath. Except the Sabbath commandment itself says you're not to work personally, but it doesn't address should you go out and buy necessarily. So this is one of the first times, then, that you find that this is being dealt with.

Now, the prohibition here was against setting up a market on the Sabbath or a holy day.

There's no mention about eating or not eating on the Sabbath. It just says you're not to set up a market. The Jews had made the Sabbath more of a secular day, where it was acceptable to go to market and to do your shopping. Generally, the market day was an all-day activity in most ancient societies. It was a day that you would go, you'd buy what you needed, and the Jews were doing that.

The Gentiles around them took advantage of it. It was the day they had off, so therefore it was very convenient for them to go out and to do their commerce. So Nehemiah came along and he added additional understanding of the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was not to be used for a day. That you would go out and buy all of your wares, your merchandise, on the Sabbath.

The proof of that, when you come back here to chapter 13, again that we read earlier, was that the traders lodged outside of the city walls. They were out there. They were ready to come in once the gates were open, and they were going to trade. So they were traders, and they had brought things from the east, and they had their own whatever it might be, pots and pans and bowls or whatever you could think of. The lesson that we are to learn from the book of Nehemiah is that the Sabbath should not become our shopping day. It is not the day that you go do your shopping. Sometimes Norma will go off and say, I'm going to go shopping. Where are you going? Well, she goes by Publix, and she may go by Earthfair. She may hit Costco.

She may go by TJ Maxx or Home Goods. Who knows? She goes all over, and she shops, and she buys, and she brings it home. When she comes home, she's worn out. She's tired because she's been gone for hours. I think that describes Proverbs 31, where it talks about the virtuous wife who goes out and buys and sells and looks after her family. Well, if you're doing all of that kind of thing on the Sabbath, you're breaking the Sabbath. Remember in verse 15, they were also doing what?

The people were treading their wine presses. Chapter 13, verse 15. They were working on the Sabbath day, and then they were gathering up all of their goods and going off the market and selling them. And so, you know, they were operating their businesses on the Sabbath day, and they were commanded not to do this. So, you know, they were not to operate their business.

Now, what you discover is that Nehemiah comes back here in Nehemiah chapter 13. He had gone back to Babylon. He found out they were having problems. He came back. The agreements that the people had said that they had agreed to, they had abandoned. And so, he institutes, again, a rededication to God. So, you find that he then commands them not to marry those who were not of Israel, and, you know, the Gentiles, the pagans who were around them.

And he tells them, you know, isn't this what happened with Solomon? You know how he married pagan women, and they let him astray. And so, he tells them not to do this. This is not talking about whether you go out here in society today and go to a restaurant. But it's talking about, one, if you keep your business open, or two, if you go out work on the Sabbath, or three, if you go out and do your shopping, all of your shopping on the Sabbath day. Because you notice the items that were mentioned, things like wine, sheaves, grapes, figs, vichwels, fish, all manners aware, you know, all of that's obviously talking about shopping.

There's a huge difference between opening up a market and shopping, or going to market on the Sabbath day, than to occasionally to eat out in a restaurant. And so what he did here, he shut down, you know, the market. Now, what we need to realize is that the principle here in Nehemiah chapter 13 is simply this, that we should, number one, have respect for the Sabbath, and we should seek to marry somebody of light faith. Not those who might lead you astray, but somebody who has the same basic background, belief, understanding, as far as the Bible is concerned. Now, remember this difference. What is the difference between Old Testament Church and New Testament Church?

The New Testament Church is composed of people today where?

Scattered among all nations. God has not selected one nation to just be his people, but he has called this individually among all nations. Whatever the nation we live in, we have to submit to the rules of that nation, whether it's democracy, or Republican, or communism, whatever it might be, unless they violate God's law. If what they tell you to do violates God's law, then you have to obey God, obviously. Now, at this time, Judah was God's nation or people. The whole nation was expected to obey God. Blessings that would come on the nation were national in nature. If you obey me, then God would bless the whole nation, not just individual. God could bless individuals in the nation, but basically it was more of a national blessing.

So God was dealing through Ezra and Nehemiah, the leadership of that day, to try to get the people, the nation as a whole, to follow him. So you have to be careful how you try to apply the law and the principles of the law. Now, the principle is simply the principle here of the Sabbath. Let's go over to Amos 8.5, and I'll read this real quick and we'll finish up here. Amos, Hosea, Joel Amos chapter 8.5. Notice what it says here.

Well, verse 4, hear this, you who swallow up the needy, who make the poor the land fall, saying, When will the new moon be passed, and we shall sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may trade wheat, making the Ephra small and the Shekel large, falsifying the scales by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, even sell the bad wheat.

Well, Amos is talking about referring to a situation about business that they couldn't wait for the Sabbath to be over so that they could go trade again. And not only were they trading, but they had deceitful practices. They were taking advantage of other people. That's what's being condemned in this particular verse. So, brethren, we find very clearly that the Sabbath is something that God commands. There are specific principles, and those are the principles that we want to look at. Over the years, there have been those who have taken sections of the Bible, and then they try to read their own meaning into them. Amos 8 and Nehemiah 13 are not talking about whether you should eat out in a restaurant, but it's talking about opening businesses, practicing business, working on the Sabbath day. Now, next Sabbath, or the next time I speak, we will continue to go through this topic. I'd like to ask you to do something. If you have any questions you'd like to see answered about the Sabbath, please pass them on to me. And I'll be very happy to incorporate those into a sermon. Or if you have questions about what I've covered so far, because we want to make sure as we go through this that it is clear and we understand it. So we will continue this in the next sermon.