Reference: Sabbath
American
Rest. God having created the world in six days, "rested" on the seventh, Ge 2:2-3; that is, he ceased from producing new beings in this creation; and because he had rested on it, he "blessed" or sanctified it, and appointed it in a peculiar manner for his worship.
We here have an account of the ORIGINAL INSTITUTION of the day of rest. Like the institution of marriage, it was given to man for the whole race. Those who worshipped God seem to have kept the Sabbath from the first, and there are tokens of this in the brief sketch the Bible contains of the ages before the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. Noah sent forth the raven from the ark, and the dove thrice, at intervals of seven days, Ge 8. The account of the sending of manna in the desert proves that the Sabbath was already known and observed, Ex 16:22-30. The week was an established division of time in Mesopotamia and Arabia, Ge 29:27; and traces of it have been found in many nations of antiquity, so remote from each other and of such diverse origin as to forbid the idea of their having received it from Sinai and the Hebrews.
The REENACTMENT of the Sabbath on Mount Sinai, among the Commandments of the Moral Law, was also designed not for the Jews alone, but for all whom should receive the word of God, and ultimately for all mankind. Christ and his apostles never speak of the decalogue but as of permanent and universal obligation. "The Sabbath was made for man." The fourth commandment is as binding as the third and the fifth. Certain additions to it, with specifications and penalties, were a part of the Mosaic civil law, and are not now in force, Ex 31:14; Nu 15:32-36. On the Sabbath-day, the priests and Levites, ministers of the temple, entered on their week; and those who had attended the foregoing week, went out. They placed on the golden table new loaves of showbread, and took away the old ones, Le 24:8. Also on this day were offered particular sacrifices of two lambs for a burnt offering, with wine and meal. The Sabbath was celebrated like the other festivals, from evening, Nu 28:9-10.
The chief obligation of the Sabbath expressed in the law is to sanctify it, Ex 20:8; De 5:12: "Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it." It is sanctified by necessary works of charity, by prayers, praises, and thanksgiving, by the public and private worship of God, by the study of his word, by tranquility of mind, and by meditation on moral and religious truth in its bearing on the duties of life and the hope of immorality. The other requirement of the law is rest: "Thou shalt not do any work." The ordinary business of life is to be wholly laid aside, both for the sake of bodily and mental health, and chiefly to secure the quiet and uninterrupted employment of the sacred hours for religious purposes. The spirit of the law clearly forbids all uses of the day which are worldly, such as amusements, journeys, etc., whereby one fails to keep the day holy himself, or hinders others in doing so.
The CHRISTIAN SABBATH is the original day of rest established in the Garden of the Eden and reenacted on Sinai, without those requirements, which were peculiar to Judaism, but with all its original moral force and with the new sanctions of Christianity. It commemorates not only the creation of the world, but a still greater event-the completion of the work of atonement by the resurrection of Christ; and as he rose from the dead on the day after the Jewish Sabbath, that day of his resurrection has been observed by Christians ever since. The change appears to have been made at once and as is generally believed under the direction of the "Lord of the Sabbath." On the same day, the first day of the week, he appeared among his assembled disciples; and on the next recurrence of the day he was again with them, and revealed himself to Thomas. From 1Co 11:20; 14:23,40, it appears that the disciples in all places were accustomed to meet statedly to worship and to celebrate the Lord's supper; and from 1Co 16:1-2, we learn that these meetings were on the first day of the week. Thus in Ac 20:6-11, we find the Christians at Troas assembled on the first day, to partake of the supper and to receive religious instruction. John observed the day with peculiar solemnity, Re 1:10; and it had then received the name of "The Lord's day," which it has ever since retained. For a time, such of the disciples as were Jews observed the Jewish Sabbath also; but they did not require this nor the observance of any festival of the Mosaic dispensation, of Gentile converts, nor even of Jews, Col 2:16. The early Christian fathers refer to the first day of the week as the time set apart for worship, and to the transfer of the day on account of the resurrection of the Savior. Pliny the younger, proconsul of Pontus near the close of the first century, in a letter to the emperor Trajan, remarks that the Christians were "accustomed on a stated day to meet together before daylight, and to repeat a hymn to Christ as God, and to bind themselves by a solemn bond not to commit any wickedness," etc. So well known was their custom, that the ordinary test question put by persecutors to those suspected of Christianity was "Hast thou kept the Lord's day?" to which the reply was, "I am a Christian; I cannot omit it." Justin Martyr observes that "on the Lord's day all Christians in the city or country meet together, because that is the day of our Lord's resurrection, and then we read the writings of the apostles and prophets; this being done, the person presiding makes an oration to the assembly, to exhort them to imitate and to practice the things they have heard; then we all join in prayer, and after that we celebrate the sacrament. Then they who are able and willing give what they think proper, and what is collected is laid up in the hands of the chief officer, who distributes it to orphans and widows, and other necessitous Christians, as their wants require." See 1Co 16:2. A very honorable conduct and worship. Would that it were more prevalent among us, with the spirit and piety of primitive Christianity!
The commandment to observe the Sabbath is worthy of its place in the decalogue; and its observance is of fundamental importance to society, which without it would fast relapse into ignorance, vice, and ungodliness. Its very existence on earth, by the ordinance of God, proves that there remains an eternal Sabbath in heaven, of which the "blest repose" of the day of God is an earnest to those who rightly observe it, Heb 4:9.
The second Sabbath after the first, Lu 6:1, should rather read, "The first Sabbath after the second day of the pass-over." Of the seven days of the pass-over, the first was a Sabbath, and on the second was a festival in which the fruits of the harvest were offered to God, Le 23:5,9, etc. From this second day the Jews reckoned seven weeks or the first Sabbath which occurred after this second day, was called the first week or Sabbath after the second day.
The "preparation of the Sabbath" was the Friday before; for as it was forbidden to make a fire, to bake bread, or to dress victuals, on the Sabbath-day, they provided on the Friday every thing needful for their sustenance on the Sabbath, Mr 15:42; Mt 27:62; Joh 19:14,31,42.
For "a Sabbath-day's journey," see JOURNEY.
Was to be celebrated among the Jews once every seven years; the land was to rest, and be left without culture, Ex 23:10-11; Le 25:1-7. God appointed the observance of the Sabbatical year, to preserve the remembrance of the creation of the world; to enforce the acknowledgment of his sovereign authority over all things, particularly over the land of Canaan, which he had given to the Hebrews; and to inculcate humanity on his people, by commanding that they should resign to servants, to the poor, to strangers and to brutes, the produce of the fields, of their vineyards, and of their gardens. Josephus and Tacitus both mention the Sabbatical year as existing in their day. See JUBILEE.
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By the seventh day God had finished his work. He rested from all his work on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is because he rested from all the work of creation he had done.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
The sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses about it. (Mark 15:42) Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow. read more. They kept what was left until the next day as Moses commanded. It did not spoil or get worms in it. Moses said: Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to Jehovah. You will not find any food outside the camp. You shall gather it for six days. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there shall be none. Some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather. They did not find any. Jehovah spoke to Moses: How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions? Jehovah has given you the Sabbath. He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place! Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Plant your land and gather in what it produces for six years. Let your land rest the seventh year. Do not harvest anything that grows on it. The poor may eat what grows there. The wild animals may have what is left. Do the same with your vineyards and your olive trees.
You are to observe the Sabbath. It is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it will absolutely be put to death. Whoever does any work on it will be removed from his people.
The Passover, celebrated to honor Jehovah, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month.
Every day of worship (sabbath day) a priest must arrange the bread in Jehovah's presence. It is a long lasting reminder of my promise to the Israelites.
Jehovah spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and commanded: Give the following regulations to the people of Israel: 'When you enter the land that Jehovah is giving you, honor Jehovah by not cultivating the land every seventh year. read more. Plant your fields, prune your vineyards, and gather your crops for six years. But the seventh year is to be a sabbath year of complete rest for the land. It is a year dedicated to Jehovah. Do not plant your fields or prune your vineyards. Do not even harvest the grain that grows by itself without being planted. Do not gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. It is a year of complete rest for the land. Even though the land has not been cultivated during that year, it will provide food for you, your slaves, your hired men, the foreigners living with you, your domestic animals, and the wild animals in your fields. Everything that it produces may be eaten.
One time, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath. He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation. read more. They held him in custody until they decided what to do with him. Jehovah said to Moses: This man must be put to death. The whole congregation must take him outside the camp and stone him. So the whole congregation took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
On the Sabbath day offer two one-year-old male lambs without any defects, four pounds of flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering, and the wine offering. This burnt offering is to be offered every Sabbath in addition to the daily offering with its wine offering.
It was morning, the day after Preparation. The chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together with Pilate.
Evening arrived. It was the Preparation Day (Exodus 16:22-27), the day before the Sabbath.
Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples plucked the ears, rubbed them in their hands and ate.
Now it was the Preparation of the Passover, about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews: Behold, your King!
It was Preparation and the Jews insisted that bodies not remain on the stake on the Sabbath. The day of that Sabbath was a high day. They asked Pilate that the legs be broken and that they might be taken away.
We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread. Five days later we met them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul spoke to them. Intending to depart the next morning he prolonged his speech until midnight. read more. There were many lights in the upper chamber where we gathered. A young man named Eutychus sat in the window. He was very sleepy. Paul's talk was long and he fell asleep. He fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead. Paul went down and fell on him. He embraced him and said: Do not be troubled for he lives. He went up and they broke bread and ate. He talked with them a long time until morning. Then he left.
When you come together to one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper.
If therefore the whole congregation comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and the unlearned, or unbelievers, come there will they not say that you are out of your mind?
Let all things be done decently and in order.
Now concerning the collection for the holy ones, you should do the same as I told the congregations of Galatia. On one day of the week let every one of you set something aside, as God has prospered you, that there be no contributions collected when I come. (Greek: heis, number one)
On one day of the week let every one of you set something aside, as God has prospered you, that there be no contributions collected when I come. (Greek: heis, number one)
Let no man judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day.
There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day when I heard a strong voice behind me. It sounded like a trumpet.
Easton
(Heb verb shabbath, meaning "to rest from labour"), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Ge 2:2). "The sabbath was made for man," as a day of rest and refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul.
It is next referred to in connection with the gift of manna to the children of Israel in the wilderness (Ex 16:23); and afterwards, when the law was given from Sinai (Ex 20:11), the people were solemnly charged to "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Thus it is spoken of as an institution already existing.
In the Mosaic law strict regulations were laid down regarding its observance (Ex 35:2-3; Le 23:3; 26:34). These were peculiar to that dispensation.
In the subsequent history of the Jews frequent references are made to the sanctity of the Sabbath (Isa 56:2,4,6-7; 58:13-14; Jer 17:20-22; Ne 13:19). In later times they perverted the Sabbath by their traditions. Our Lord rescued it from their perversions, and recalled to them its true nature and intent (Mt 12:10-13; Mr 2:27; Lu 13:10-17).
The Sabbath, originally instituted for man at his creation, is of permanent and universal obligation. The physical necessities of man require a Sabbath of rest. He is so constituted that his bodily welfare needs at least one day in seven for rest from ordinary labour. Experience also proves that the moral and spiritual necessities of men also demand a Sabbath of rest. "I am more and more sure by experience that the reason for the observance of the Sabbath lies deep in the everlasting necessities of human nature, and that as long as man is man the blessedness of keeping it, not as a day of rest only, but as a day of spiritual rest, will never be annulled. I certainly do feel by experience the eternal obligation, because of the eternal necessity, of the Sabbath. The soul withers without it. It thrives in proportion to its observance. The Sabbath was made for man. God made it for men in a certain spiritual state because they needed it. The need, therefore, is deeply hidden in human nature. He who can dispense with it must be holy and spiritual indeed. And he who, still unholy and unspiritual, would yet dispense with it is a man that would fain be wiser than his Maker" (F. W. Robertson).
The ancient Babylonian calendar, as seen from recently recovered inscriptions on the bricks among the ruins of the royal palace, was based on the division of time into weeks of seven days. The Sabbath is in these inscriptions designated Sabattu, and defined as "a day of rest for the heart" and "a day of completion of labour."
The change of the day. Originally at creation the seventh day of the week was set apart and consecrated as the Sabbath. The first day of the week is now observed as the Sabbath. Has God authorized this change? There is an obvious distinction between the Sabbath as an institution and the particular day set apart for its observance. The question, therefore, as to the change of the day in no way affects the perpetual obligation of the Sabbath as an institution. Change of the day or no change, the Sabbath remains as a sacred institution the same. It cannot be abrogated.
If any change of the day has been made, it must have been by Christ or by his authority. Christ has a right to make such a change (Mr 2:23-28). As Creator, Christ was the original Lord of the Sabbath (Joh 1:3; Heb 1:10). It was originally a memorial of creation. A work vastly greater than that of creation has now been accomplished by him, the work of redemption. We would naturally expect just such a change as would make the Sabbath a memorial of that greater work.
True, we can give no text authorizing the change in so many words. We have no express law declaring the change. But there are evidences of another kind. We know for a fact that the first day of the week has been observed from apostolic times, and the necessary conclusion is, that it was observed by the apostles and their immediate disciples. This, we may be sure, they never would have done without the permission or the authority of their Lord.
After his resurrection, which took place on the first day of the week (Mt 28:1; Mr 16:2; Lu 24:1; Joh 20:1), we never find Christ meeting with his disciples on the seventh day. But he specially honoured the first day by manifesting himself to them on four separate occasions (Mt 28:9; Lu 24:34,18-33; Joh 20:19-23). Again, on the next first day of the week, Jesus appeared to his disciples (Joh 20:26).
Some have calculated that Christ's ascension took place on the first day of the week. And there can be no doubt that the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was on that day (Ac 2:1). Thus Christ appears as instituting a new day to be observed by his people as the Sabbath, a day to be henceforth known amongst them as the "Lord's day." The observance of this "Lord's day" as the Sabbath was the general custom of the primitive churches, and must have had apostolic sanction (comp. Ac 20:3-7; 1Co 16:1-2) and authority, and so the sanction and authority of Jesus Christ.
The words "at her sabbaths" (La 1:7, A.V.) ought probably to be, as in the Revised Version, "at her desolations."
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By the seventh day God had finished his work. He rested from all his work on the seventh day.
Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.
Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
You may work for six days. The seventh day is a holy day of worship (a Sabbath). It is a day when you do not work. It is dedicated to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on this day should be put to death. Do not light a fire in your homes on the Sabbath day.
You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship (Sabbath), a day when you do not work, and a holy assembly. Do not do any work. It is Jehovah's day of worship wherever you live.
Then the land will enjoy its time to honor Jehovah while it lies deserted. You will be in your enemies' land. Then the land will joyfully celebrate its time to honor Jehovah.
When the streets of Jerusalem were getting dark before the Sabbath, I gave orders for the gate to be shut and not to be open again until after the Sabbath. I put some of my servants by the gate so that nothing might be taken in on the Sabbath day.
Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
For Jehovah says: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me. They hold fast to my covenant.
Foreigners have become allied with Jehovah, to serve Jehovah, to love the name of Jehovah, and to worship him. They keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and hold fast to my covenant. I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy of Jehovah honorable, and honor it, desisting from your ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, you will take delight in Jehovah! I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of Jehovah has spoken!
Say to them: Listen to the word of Jehovah, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: Jehovah says: 'Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. read more. You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work. You should keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.
Jerusalem remembers in her days of sorrow and of her wanderings, all the desired things that were hers in the past. When her people were captive to the power of her adversary she had no helper. Her attackers desired her and made fun of her in her destruction.
There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him. He said to them: Which of you having one sheep, if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not get it and lift it out. read more. How much more value is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day! Then he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and it was restored whole like the other.
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Jesus met them and greeted them. They approached and took hold of his feet and kissed them in adoration.
Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath day. While they walked his disciples took the heads of grain. The Pharisees said: Why are they doing what it is not right to do on the Sabbath? read more. He said: Do you not know of what David did when he needed food for himself and his companions? He went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest. David took the holy bread for food and gave to his companions. Only the priests may take the holy bread. The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath. The Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath.
They went to the tomb when the sun had risen. It was very early.
Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. A woman had an evil spirit that kept her sick for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not stand straight. read more. Jesus called to her: Woman you are free from your sickness! He touched her and at once she stood straight up and praised God. The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He told the people: There are six days in which we should work. Come during those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath! The Lord answered: You hypocrites! You would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. Here is a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years. Should she be released on the Sabbath? His answer shamed his enemies. The people rejoiced over the wonderful things he did.
It was early in the morning on the first day of the week. They went to the tomb with the spices that they had prepared.
The one named Cleopas answered him: Do you travel alone in Jerusalem and not know the things that have happened there these days? He asked: What things? They said to him: The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene. He was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people. read more. The chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death. They impaled him! We hoped he would redeem Israel. Yes and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Some of the women of our company stunned us. They went to the tomb early. They did not find his body. They said that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Others with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women said. He was not there! He said to them: You are foolish men. You are slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Did the Christ need to suffer these things and enter into his glory? He explained to them all the Scriptures about the things concerning him. He spoke about Moses and all the prophets. They approached the village where they were going and he appeared to be going further. They persuaded him not to go saying, Abide with us. It is nearly evening and the day is almost gone. He stayed with them. When he had sat down with them to eat he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. Their eyes were opened and they knew him. Then he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other: Were our hearts not burning within us? When he spoke to us in the way and opened the scriptures to us? They rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. They found the eleven gathered together with others. The Lord has risen indeed, they said, and he appeared to Simon.
All things were made through him and without him not one thing was made.
Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb early on the first day of the week while it was still dark. She saw the stone was taken away from the tomb.
It was evening of the first day of the week. The disciples shut the doors where they stayed for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: May you have Peace. When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad, when they saw the Lord. read more. Jesus therefore said to them again: May you have peace. As the Father sent me, even so I send you. After he said this he breathed on them and said: Receive Holy Spirit. Forgive sins and they are forgiven. Do not forgive sins and they are not forgiven.
Eight days later the disciples were inside with the doors shut and Thomas was with them. Jesus came in and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be with you.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all with one accord in one place.
After three months he set sail for Syria. He decided to return through Macedonia. He left there because the Jews formed a plot against him. Those who accompanied him as far as Asia: Sopater of Beroea, the son of Pyrrhus; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. read more. They left early and were waiting for us at Troas. We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread. Five days later we met them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul spoke to them. Intending to depart the next morning he prolonged his speech until midnight.
And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands. (Psalm 102:25)
Fausets
Hebrew "rest." Applied to the days of rest in the great feasts, but chiefly to the seventh day rest (Ex 31:15; 16:23). Some argue from the silence concerning its observance by the patriarchs that no sabbatic ordinance was actually given before the Sinaitic law, and that Ge 2:3 is not historical but anticipatory. But this verse is part of the history of creation, the very groundwork of Moses' inspired narrative. The history of the patriarchs for 2,500 years, comprised in the small compass of Genesis, necessarily omits many details which it takes for granted, as the observance of the sabbath. Indications of seven-day weeks appear in Noah's twice waiting seven days when sending forth the dove (Ge 8:10,12); also in Jacob's history (Ge 29:27-28). G. Smith discovered an Assyrian calendar which divides every month into four weeks, and the seventh days are marked out as days in which no work should be done. Further, before the Sinaitic law was given the sabbath law is recognized in the double manna promised on the sixth day, that none might be gathered on the sabbath (Ex 16:5,23).
The meaning therefore of Ge 2:3 is, God having divided His creative work into six portions sanctified the seventh as that on which He rested from His creative work. The divine rest was not one of 24 hours; the divine sabbath still continues. There has been no creation since man's. After six periods of creative activity, answering to our literal days analogously, God entered on that sabbath in which His work is preservation and redemption, no longer creation. He ordained man for labour, yet graciously appointed one seventh of his time for bodily and mental rest, and for spiritual refreshment in his Maker's worship. This reason is repeated in the fourth commandment (Ex 20:10-11); another reason peculiar to the Jews (their deliverance from Egyptian bondage) is stated De 5:14-15; possibly the Jewish sabbath was the very day of their deliverance. All mankind are included in the privilege of the seventh day rest, though the Jews alone were commanded to keep it on Saturday.
Besides its religious obligation, its physical and moral benefit has been recognized by statesmen and physiologists. Its merciful character appears in its extension to the ox, ass, and cattle. Needless and avoidable work was forbidden (Ex 34:21; 35:3). But like other feasts it was to be a day of enjoyment (Isa 58:13; Ho 2:11). Only the covetous and carnal were impatient of its restraints (Am 8:5-6). In the sanctuary the morning and evening sacrifices were doubled, the shewbread was changed, and each of David's 24 courses of priests and Levites began duty on the Sabbath. The offerings symbolized the call to all Israel to give themselves to the Lord's service on the Sabbath more than on other days. The 12 loaves of shewbread representing the offerings of the 12 tribes symbolized the good works which they should render to Jehovah; diligence in His service receiving fresh quickening on the day of rest and holy convocation before Him. The Levites were dispersed throughout Israel to take advantage of these convocations, and in them "teach Israel God's law" (De 33:10).
The "holy convocation" on it (Le 23:2-3) was probably a meeting for prayer, meditation, and hearing the law in the court of the tabernacle before the altar at the hour of morning and evening sacrifice (Le 19:30; Eze 23:38). In later times people resorted to prophets and teachers to hear the Old Testament read and expounded, and after the captivity to synagogues (2Ki 4:23; Lu 4:15-16; Ac 13:14-15,27; 15:21). Philo (De Orac. c. 20; Vit. Mos. 3:27) and Josephus (Ant. 16:2-3; Apion, 1:20, 2:18) declare the earliest Jewish traditions state the object of the sabbath to be to furnish means for spiritual edification (Le 10:11; De 33:10). Isaiah (Isa 1:13) condemns hypocritical keeping of sabbath. So Christ condemns the burdensome sabbath restraints multiplied by the Pharisees, violating the law of mercy and man's good for which the sabbath was instituted (Mt 12:2,10-11; Lu 13:14; 14:1,5; Joh 7:22; Mr 2:23-28); yet inviting guests to a social meal was lawful, even in their view (Lu 14:5).
Not inaction, but rest from works of neither mercy nor necessity, is the rule of the sabbath. Man's rest is to be like God's rest. His work did not cease at the close of the six days, nor has it ceased ever since (Joh 5:17; Isa 40:28; Ps 95:4-5). God's rest was satisfaction in contemplating His work, so "very good," just completed in the creation of man its topstone (Ge 1:31). So man's rest is in the sabbath being the dose of week day labour done in faith toward God. God orders "six days shalt thou labour," as well as "remember the sabbath" (Ex 20:8-11). "Remember" marks that the sabbath was already long known to Israel, and that they only needed their "minds stirred up by way of remembrance." The fourth commandment alone of the ten begins so. The sabbath is thus a foretaste of the heavenly (sabbatism) "keeping of sabbath" (Heb 4:9-10 margin), when believers shall rest from fatiguing "labours" (Re 14:13). The Sabbath reminds man he is made in the image of God.
Philo calls it "the imaging forth of the first beginning." It was to the Israelite the center of religious observances, and essentially connected with the warning against idolatry (Le 19:3-4; Eze 20:16,20). As the Old Testament Sabbath was the seal of the first creation in innocence, so the New Testament Lord's day is the seal of the new creation. The Father's rest after creation answers to Christ's after redemption's completion. The Sabbath was further a "sign" or sacramental pledge between Jehovah and His people, masters and servants alike resting, and thereby remembering the rest from Egyptian service vouchsafed by God. The weekly Sabbath, moreover, was the center of an organized system including the Sabbath year and the Jubilee year. The Sabbath ritual was not, like other feasts, distinguished by peculiar offerings, but by the doubling of the ordinary daily sacrifices. Thus it was not cut off from the week but marked as the day of days, implying the sanctification of the daily life of the Lord's people.
Le 23:38 expressly distinguishes "the Sabbaths of the Lord" from the other Sabbaths (Col 2:16-17), namely, that of the day of atonement and feast of tabernacles, which ended with the cessation of the Jewish ritual (Le 23:32,37-39). The Decalogue was proclaimed with peculiar solemnity from Mount Sinai (Ex 19:16-24); it was written on tables of stone, and deposited in the ark (representing Himself) covered by the mercy-seat on which rested the Shekinah cloud of His glory; Moses significantly states "these vows the Lord spoke, and He added no more." The Decalogue was "the covenant," and the ark containing it "the ark of the covenant;" and therefore the Decalogue sums up all moral duty. The Sabbath stands in the heart of it, surrounded by moral duties, and must therefore itself be moral. God, who knows us best. has fixed the mean between the too seldom and the too often, the exact proportion in which the day devoted to His service ought to recur, best suited to our bodily and spiritual wants.
The prophets foretell its continuance in the Messianic age (Isa 56:6-7; 58:13-14; 66:23). Christ moreover says "the sabbath was made for man," i.e. not for Israel only, but for universal "man" (Mr 2:27-28). The typical Sabbath (Heb 4:9) must remain until the antitypical sabbatism appears. In Ro 14:5 the oldest manuscripts omit "he that regardeth not the day to the Lord he doth not regard it." As the month of Israel's redemption from Egypt became the beginning of months, so the day of Christ's resurrection which seals our redemption is made the first day Sabbath. The Epistle of Barnabas, Dionysius of Corinth writing to Rome A.D. 170 ("we spent the Lord's day as a holy day in which we read your letter"), and Clemens Alex., A.D. 194, mention the Lord's day Sabbath. The judgment on the Jews for violating the Sabbath was signally retributive (2Ch 36:21). The Babylonians carried them captive "to fulfill the word of the Lord by Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths; for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten y
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God saw all that he had made. It was very good. There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is because he rested from all the work of creation he had done.
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is because he rested from all the work of creation he had done.
He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife.
They are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it on the sixth day.
Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.
Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.
Jehovah has given you the Sabbath. He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place! Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
On the morning of the third day there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain. A very loud trumpet sounded. It caused all the people in the camp to tremble. Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They stood at the foot of the mountain. read more. Mount Sinai was all in smoke because Jehovah descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace. The whole mountain quaked violently! The sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. Jehovah descended on the top of Mount Sinai. Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mountain. Moses climbed to the peak of Mount Sinai. Jehovah spoke to Moses: Go down and warn the people. They should not break through to gaze at Jehovah. Many of them would perish. Let the priests who come near to Jehovah consecrate (purify) themselves, or else Jehovah will destroy them. Moses said to Jehovah: The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you warned us. You said: 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.' Jehovah replied to him: You and Aaron come up to me. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to Jehovah, or he will destroy some of them.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. You have six days to do all your work. read more. The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.
The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Work may be done for six days. The seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest. It is holy to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will definitely be put to death.
You may work six days. On the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work on this day.
You must also teach the people of Israel everything that I commanded Moses to say to them.
Respect your mother and father. Observe my days of worship. I am Jehovah your God! Do not turn to worthless gods or cast metal idols. Never make any gods for yourselves. I am Jehovah your God.
Observe my days of worship and respect my holy tent. I am Jehovah.
Tell the Israelites: 'These are the appointed festivals with Jehovah. You must announce these as holy assemblies. You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship (Sabbath), a day when you do not work, and a holy assembly. Do not do any work. It is Jehovah's day of worship wherever you live.
It is a day of worship (sabbath), a day when you do not work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship.
These are Jehovah's appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to Jehovah. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings-each one on its special day. This is in addition to Jehovah's days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to Jehovah.
This is in addition to Jehovah's days of worship, your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to Jehovah. Celebrate Jehovah's festival for seven days. This should begin on the fifteenth day of the seventh month; at the time you gather what the land produces. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals.
Then the land will enjoy its time to honor Jehovah while it lies deserted. You will be in your enemies' land. Then the land will joyfully celebrate its time to honor Jehovah. All the days it lies deserted, it will celebrate the time to honor Jehovah it never celebrated while you lived there. read more. I will fill those who are left in the land of their enemies with despair. The sound of a windblown leaf will make them run. They will run away and fall, but no one will be chasing them.
Outside the city measure off three thousand feet on the east side, three thousand feet on the south side, three thousand feet on the west side, and three thousand feet on the north side, with the city in the center. This will be their pastureland around the city.
The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God: in it you should not do any work. Your son and daughter should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should not work. Your ox, donkey, cattle or any stranger living with you should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should rest as much as you do. Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
They will teach your ordinances to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They will burn incense before you, and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
They will teach your ordinances to Jacob, and your Law to Israel. They will burn incense before you, and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
You should keep a space of a thousand yards between you and the ark. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go: for you have not passed this way before.
Why must you go today? Her husband asked. It is neither a Sabbath nor a New Moon Festival. She replied: Never mind.
This fulfilled the word of Jehovah that was spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete.
Deep places of the earth are in his hand. The strength of the mountains is also His. The sea is his. He made it and his hands formed the dry land.
Do not bring any more worthless grain offerings. Your incense is disgusting to me! So are your New Moon Festivals, your days of worship, and the assemblies you call. I cannot endure your evil assemblies!
Do you not know? Have you not heard? JEHOVAH IS THE EVERLASTING GOD, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and no one can measure (find out) his understanding.
Foreigners have become allied with Jehovah, to serve Jehovah, to love the name of Jehovah, and to worship him. They keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and hold fast to my covenant. I will bring them to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar. My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy of Jehovah honorable, and honor it, desisting from your ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word,
If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy of Jehovah honorable, and honor it, desisting from your ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, you will take delight in Jehovah! I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of Jehovah has spoken!
From one month to the next and from one week to the next all people will come to worship me, declares Jehovah.
They rejected my rules. They did not live by my laws. They dishonored the days to worship me, because their hearts chased disgusting idols.
Sanctify my Sabbaths. They shall be a sign between you, and me that you may know that I am Jehovah your God.'
Again, they have done this to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and have profaned my Sabbaths.
I will also cause all her exaltation to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
You say: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit. We may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
The Pharisees saw it and said to him: Your disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him. He said to them: Which of you having one sheep, if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not get it and lift it out.
Pray that your flight not be in the winter, neither on a Sabbath.
Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath day. While they walked his disciples took the heads of grain. The Pharisees said: Why are they doing what it is not right to do on the Sabbath? read more. He said: Do you not know of what David did when he needed food for himself and his companions? He went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest. David took the holy bread for food and gave to his companions. Only the priests may take the holy bread. The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath.
The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath. The Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath.
The Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. Then he returned to Nazareth the place where he was raised. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day. This was his custom. There he stood up to read.
The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He told the people: There are six days in which we should work. Come during those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath!
Shortly after that he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. They were there to eat on the Sabbath. They watched him.
He said: Which of you who has an ass or a bull that falls into a well, and will not immediately pull him up on a Sabbath day?
He said: Which of you who has an ass or a bull that falls into a well, and will not immediately pull him up on a Sabbath day?
Jesus responded to them: My Father works until now and I work.
Moses gave you circumcision. Not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers. And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
When they left Perga, they went to Antioch in Pisidia. They went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down. After the public reading of the law and the prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying: You men and brothers if you have a message of encouragement for the people speak.
The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not know Jesus. They fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath when they condemned Jesus.
Moses has been preached in the synagogues from old times until now every Sabbath day.
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul spoke to them. Intending to depart the next morning he prolonged his speech until midnight.
Owe no man any thing but to love one another. He that loves another has fulfilled (obeyed) the law. For the Law code says: You must not commit adultery, you must not murder, you must not steal, you must not bear false witness, and you must not covet. If there is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying; namely, you must love your neighbor as yourself. read more. Love works no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the law's fulfillment.
One person judges one day above another. Another person judges every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
On one day of the week let every one of you set something aside, as God has prospered you, that there be no contributions collected when I come. (Greek: heis, number one)
Let no man judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day.
Let no man judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day. They are a shadow of the things to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.
If Joshua had given them rest, he [God] would not have spoken afterwards about another day. There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God. He who enters into his rest also rests from his own works, just as God did from his.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day when I heard a strong voice behind me. It sounded like a trumpet.
Then I heard a voice from heaven say: Write: Blessed are the dead who die in union with the Lord from this time forward: Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works follow them.
Hastings
SABBATH
1. Origin of the Sabbath.
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By the seventh day God had finished his work. He rested from all his work on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is because he rested from all the work of creation he had done. read more. This is the account of when Jehovah (YHWH) God created the heavens and the earth.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. You have six days to do all your work. read more. The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Work six days a week. Do no work on the seventh day. Allow your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals to rest.
Work six days a week. Do no work on the seventh day. Allow your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals to rest.
Work six days a week. Do no work on the seventh day. Allow your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals to rest.
You are to observe the Sabbath. It is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it will absolutely be put to death. Whoever does any work on it will be removed from his people.
It is a long lasting sign between the people of Israel and me for the reason that Jehovah made heaven and earth in six days. Then He ceased from work and was refreshed on the seventh day.'
You may work six days. On the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work on this day.
You may work six days. On the seventh day you must not work. Even during the time of plowing or harvesting you must not work on this day.
That day is to be a very holy day, one on which they fast and do no work at all. These regulations are to be observed for a long lasting time to come.
It is a day of worship (sabbath), a day when you do not work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of worship.
One time, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath. He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation. read more. They held him in custody until they decided what to do with him. Jehovah said to Moses: This man must be put to death. The whole congregation must take him outside the camp and stone him. So the whole congregation took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it (keep it holy), as Jehovah your God has commanded you. Do all your work in six days. read more. The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God: in it you should not do any work. Your son and daughter should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should not work. Your ox, donkey, cattle or any stranger living with you should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should rest as much as you do.
The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God: in it you should not do any work. Your son and daughter should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should not work. Your ox, donkey, cattle or any stranger living with you should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should rest as much as you do. Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
and gave them the following orders: When you come on duty on the Sabbath, one third of you are to guard the palace.
He removed the covered way they built in the Temple court and the king's outer entrance. This was because of the king of Assyria.
If the peoples of the lands come to do trade in goods or food on the Sabbath day, that we would do no trade with them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. In the seventh year we would take no payment from any debtor.
In those days, I saw in Judah some who were crushing grapes on the Sabbath, and harvesting grain and putting it on Asses; as well as wine and grapes and figs and all sorts of goods that they took into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. I gave witness against them on the day when they were marketing food.
Then I made protests to the chiefs of Judah, and said to them: What is this evil you are doing, not keeping the Sabbath day holy?
Do not bring any more worthless grain offerings. Your incense is disgusting to me! So are your New Moon Festivals, your days of worship, and the assemblies you call. I cannot endure your evil assemblies!
Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy of Jehovah honorable, and honor it, desisting from your ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word,
From one month to the next and from one week to the next all people will come to worship me, declares Jehovah.
From one month to the next and from one week to the next all people will come to worship me, declares Jehovah.
Jehovah said to me: Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem.
I will also cause all her exaltation to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
You say: When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit.
Jesus' disciples were hungry. It was Sabbath day and yet Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields plucking ears and eating them.
There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him.
The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath.
Then he returned to Nazareth the place where he was raised. He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day. This was his custom. There he stood up to read.
The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He told the people: There are six days in which we should work. Come during those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath!
Shortly after that he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. They were there to eat on the Sabbath. They watched him.
A man who had an infirmity for thirty-eight years was present.
A man receives circumcision on the Sabbath. That way the Law of Moses may not be broken. Are you angry with me, because I made an entire man whole on the Sabbath?
You should abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these you will do well. Farwell (best wishes).
One person judges one day above another. Another person judges every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and poor fundamental things? Do you want to slave for them all over again?
Let no man judge you in food or in drink or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day.
Let no man rob you of your prize by a self-abasement and worshipping of the angels, dwelling in the things that he has seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
Morish
The first time the Sabbath is specifically mentioned in scripture is in Ex 16:23, after the manna had been given from heaven; but the Sabbath clearly had its origin in the sanctification and blessing of the seventh day after the six days of creative work. And a hebdomadal division of days apparently existed up to the flood, since it is very distinctly mentioned in connection with Noah. We are also told in Mr 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for man. It was an institution which expressed God's merciful consideration for man.
The words 'rest' and 'Sabbath' in the passage in Exodus have no article, so that the sentence may be translated "To-morrow is a rest, a holy Sabbath unto the Lord." So in Ex 16:25-26 there is no article: there is in Ex 16:29. The Sabbath was soon after definitely enacted in the ten commandments, Ex 20:8-11, and reference is there made to God having rested on the seventh day after the work of creation as the basis of the institution.
The Sabbath had a peculiar place in relation to Israel: thus in Lev. 23, in the feasts of Jehovah, in the holy convocations, the Sabbath of Jehovah is first mentioned as showing the great intention of God. God had delivered Israel out of the slavery of Egypt, therefore God commanded them to keep the Sabbath. De 5:15. The Sabbath was the sign of God's covenant with them, and it may be that the Lord in repeatedly offending the Jews by (in their view) breaking the Sabbath by acts of mercy foreshadowed the approaching dissolution of the legal covenant. Ex 31:13,17; 20/12/type/nsb'>Eze 20:12,20. The Sabbath foreshadowed their being brought into the rest of God; but, because of the sin of those who started to go thither (who despised the promised land), God sware in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest. Ps 95:11. God has purposed to bring His people into His rest, for whom there remains therefore the keeping of a Sabbath. Heb 4:9.
The Sabbath was never given to the nations in the same way as to Israel, and amid all the sins enumerated against the Gentiles, we do not find Sabbath-breaking ever mentioned. Nevertheless, it appears to be a principle of God's government of the earth that man and beast should have one day in seven as a respite from labour, all needing it physically.
The Christian's Sabbath is designated the LORD'S DAY
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Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.
Moses said: Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to Jehovah. You will not find any food outside the camp. You shall gather it for six days. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there shall be none.
Jehovah has given you the Sabbath. He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place! Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. You have six days to do all your work. read more. The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Speak to the people of Israel. Say: 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This is a sign between you and me throughout your generations that you may know that I am Jehovah, the one who sanctifies you.
It is a long lasting sign between the people of Israel and me for the reason that Jehovah made heaven and earth in six days. Then He ceased from work and was refreshed on the seventh day.'
Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
I swore to them in my anger that they should not enter into my rest.
I also gave them certain days to worship me as a sign between us so that they would know that I, Jehovah, made them holy.
Sanctify my Sabbaths. They shall be a sign between you, and me that you may know that I am Jehovah your God.'
The Sabbath was made for man, said Jesus, and not man for the Sabbath.
There remains then a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Smith
(shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced not merely in the general Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself. The consecration of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation. The first scriptural notice of it, though it is not mentioned by name, is to be found in
at the close of the record of the six-days creation. There are not wanting indirect evidences of its observance, as the intervals between Noah's sending forth the birds out of the ark, an act naturally associated with the weekly service,
and in the week of a wedding celebration,
but when a special occasion arises, in connection with the prohibition against gathering manna on the Sabbath, the institution is mentioned as one already known.
And that this (All this is confirmed by the great antiquity of the division of time into weeks, and the naming the days after the sun, moon and planets.) was especially one of the institutions adopted by Moses from the ancient patriarchal usage is implied in the very words of the law "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." But even if such evidence were wanting, the reason of the institution would be a sufficient proof. It was to be a joyful celebration of God's completion of his creation. It has indeed been said that Moses gives quite a different reason for the institution of the Sabbath, as a memorial of the deliverance front Egyptian bondage.
De 5:15
The words added in Deuteronomy are a special motive for the joy with which the Sabbath should be celebrated and for the kindness which extended its blessings to the slave and the beast of burden as well as to the master: "that thy man servant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thought.
De 5:14
These attempts to limit the ordinance proceed from an entire misconception of its spirit, as if it were a season of stern privation rather than of special privilege. But in truth, the prohibition of work is only subsidiary to the positive idea of joyful rest and recreation in communion with Jehovah, who himself "rested and was refreshed."
comp.
It is in
that we find the first incontrovertible institution of the day, as one given to and to be kept by the children of Israel. Shortly afterward it was re-enacted in the Fourth Commandment. This beneficent character of the Fourth Commandment is very apparent in the version of it which we find in Deuteronomy.
De 5:12-15
The law and the Sabbath are placed upon the same ground, and to give rights to classes that would otherwise have been without such--to the bondman and bondmaid may, to the beast of the field-is viewed here as their main end. "The stranger," too is comprehended in the benefit. But the original proclamation of it in Exodus places it on a ground which, closely connected no doubt with these others is yet higher and more comprehensive. The divine method of working and rest is there propose to work and to rest. Time then to man as the model after which presented a perfect whole it is most important to remember that the Fourth Commandment is not limited to a mere enactment respecting one day, but prescribes the due distribution of a week, and enforces the six days' work as much as the seventh day's rest. This higher ground of observance was felt to invest the Sabbath with a theological character, and rendered if the great witness for faith in a personal and creating God. It was to be a sacred pause in the ordinary labor which man earns his bread the curse the fall was to be suspended for one and, having spent that day in joyful remembrance of God's mercies, man had a fresh start in his course of labor. A great snare, too, has always been hidden in the word work, as if the commandment forbade occupation and imposed idleness. The terms in the commandment show plainly enough the sort of work which is contemplated-servile work and business. The Pentateuch presents us with but three applications of the general principle --
The reference of Isaiah to the Sabbath gives us no details. The references in Jeremiah and Nehemiah show that carrying goods for sale, and buying such, were equally profanations of the day. A consideration of the spirit of the law and of Christ's comments on it will show that it is work for worldly gain that was to be suspended; and hence the restrictive clause is prefaced with the restrictive command. "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;" for so only could the sabbatic rest be fairly earned. Hence, too, the stress constantly laid on permitting the servant and beast of burden to share the rest which selfishness would grudge to them. Thus the spirit of the Sabbath was joy, refreshment and mercy, arising from remembrance of God's goodness as Creator and as the Deliverer from bondage. The Sabbath was a perpetual sign and covenant, and the holiness of the day is collected with the holiness of the people; "that ye may know that I am Jehovah that doth sanctify you."
Joy was the key-note Of their service. Nehemiah commanded the people, on a day holy to Jehovah "Mourn not, nor weep: eat the fat, and drink: the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared."
The Sabbath is named as a day of special worship in the sanctuary.
It was proclaimed as a holy convocation.
In later times the worship of the sanctuary was enlivened by sacred music.
... etc. On this day the people were accustomed to consult their prophets,
and to give to their children that instruction in the truths recalled to memory by the day which is so repeatedly enjoined as the duty of parents; it was "the Sabbath of Jehovah" not only in the sanctuary, but "in all their dwellings."
When we come to the New Testament we find the most marked stress laid on the Sabbath. In whatever ways the Jew might err respecting it, he had altogether ceased to neglect it. On the contrary wherever he went its observance became the most visible badge of his nationality. Our Lord's mode of observing the Sabbath was one of the main features of his life, which his Pharisaic adversaries meet eagerly watched and criticized. They had invented many prohibitions respecting the Sabbath of which we find nothing in the original institution. Some of these prohibitions were fantastic and arbitrary, in the number of those "heavy burdens and grievous to be borne" while the latter expounders of the law "laid on men's shoulders." Comp.
Mt 12:1-13; Joh 5:10
That this perversion of the Sabbath had become very general in our Saviour's time is apparent both from the recorded objections to acts of his on that day and from his marked conduct on occasions to which those objections were sure to be urged.
Mt 12:1-16; Mr 3:2; Lu 6:1-5; 13:10-17; Joh 6:2-18; 7:23; 9:1-34
Christ's words do not remit the duty of keeping the Sabbath, but only deliver it from the false methods of keeping which prevented it from bestowing upon men the spiritual blessings it was ordained to confer.
See Lord
See Day
See Verses Found in Dictionary
God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. This is because he rested from all the work of creation he had done.
He sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the water dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. read more. The dove, however, could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth. It returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and held the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years. Jacob did that. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife.
The sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses about it. (Mark 15:42) Moses said: Jehovah has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to God. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow. read more. They kept what was left until the next day as Moses commanded. It did not spoil or get worms in it. Moses said: Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to Jehovah. You will not find any food outside the camp. You shall gather it for six days. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there shall be none. Some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather. They did not find any. Jehovah spoke to Moses: How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions? Jehovah has given you the Sabbath. He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place! Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
Jehovah has given you the Sabbath. He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place! Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.
Work six days a week. Do no work on the seventh day. Allow your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals to rest.
Jehovah also said to Moses: Speak to the people of Israel. Say: 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This is a sign between you and me throughout your generations that you may know that I am Jehovah, the one who sanctifies you. read more. You are to observe the Sabbath. It is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it will absolutely be put to death. Whoever does any work on it will be removed from his people. Work may be done for six days. The seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest. It is holy to Jehovah. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day will definitely be put to death. The Israelites must observe the Sabbath and celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a long lasting covenant. It is a long lasting sign between the people of Israel and me for the reason that Jehovah made heaven and earth in six days. Then He ceased from work and was refreshed on the seventh day.'
It is a long lasting sign between the people of Israel and me for the reason that Jehovah made heaven and earth in six days. Then He ceased from work and was refreshed on the seventh day.'
Observe my days of worship and respect my holy tent. I am Jehovah.
You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship (Sabbath), a day when you do not work, and a holy assembly. Do not do any work. It is Jehovah's day of worship wherever you live.
You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship (Sabbath), a day when you do not work, and a holy assembly. Do not do any work. It is Jehovah's day of worship wherever you live.
Keep the religious festivals and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am Jehovah.
One time, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, a man was found gathering firewood on the Sabbath. He was taken to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation. read more. They held him in custody until they decided what to do with him. Jehovah said to Moses: This man must be put to death. The whole congregation must take him outside the camp and stone him. So the whole congregation took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as Jehovah commanded Moses.
Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it (keep it holy), as Jehovah your God has commanded you. Do all your work in six days. read more. The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God: in it you should not do any work. Your son and daughter should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should not work. Your ox, donkey, cattle or any stranger living with you should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should rest as much as you do.
The seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah your God: in it you should not do any work. Your son and daughter should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should not work. Your ox, donkey, cattle or any stranger living with you should not work. Your manservant and maidservant should rest as much as you do. Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Why must you go today? Her husband asked. It is neither a Sabbath nor a New Moon Festival. She replied: Never mind.
Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha (Governor), and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, said to all the people: This day is holy to Jehovah your God. Let there be no sorrow or weeping. For all the people were weeping on hearing the words of the law. He said to them: Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready. This day is holy to our Lord. Let there be no grief in your hearts. The joy of Jehovah is your strong place. read more. So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying: Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not give way to grief. All the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words that were said to them had been clearly communicated. The second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law.
The singers are in front. The musicians are behind them. The young women beating tambourines are between them. Praise Jehovah our God with choirs for He is the foundation of Israel. read more. Benjamin, the youngest, is leading them, next the leaders of Judah with their noisy crowds, then the leaders of Zebulun, and then the leaders of Naphtali.
Praise Jehovah! Praise God in his holy place. Praise him in his mighty heavens.
I also gave them certain days to worship me as a sign between us so that they would know that I, Jehovah, made them holy.
Jesus' disciples were hungry. It was Sabbath day and yet Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields plucking ears and eating them.
Jesus' disciples were hungry. It was Sabbath day and yet Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields plucking ears and eating them. The Pharisees saw it and said to him: Your disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees saw it and said to him: Your disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath. He replied to them: Have you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
He replied to them: Have you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered into the house of God, and he and his companions ate the showbread (holy bread), which it was not lawful for them to eat. It was only lawful for the priests.
He entered into the house of God, and he and his companions ate the showbread (holy bread), which it was not lawful for them to eat. It was only lawful for the priests. Have you read the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless?
Have you read the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? I say to you, one greater than the Temple is here.
I say to you, one greater than the Temple is here. If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
If you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.
For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath. He left and went into their synagogue.
He left and went into their synagogue. There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him.
There he saw a man who had a withered hand. They asked him if it is lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? They wanted to accuse him. He said to them: Which of you having one sheep, if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not get it and lift it out.
He said to them: Which of you having one sheep, if this sheep fell into a pit on the Sabbath day, will not get it and lift it out. How much more value is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day!
How much more value is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day! Then he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and it was restored whole like the other.
Then he said to the man: Stretch out your hand. He stretched it out and it was restored whole like the other. The Pharisees left and took counsel against him, to decide how they might destroy him. read more. Jesus was aware of this and withdrew from the place. Many followed him and were healed by him. He warned them not to tell anyone where he was.
They watched to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath day. Then they might have something against him.
Jesus and his disciples went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples plucked the ears, rubbed them in their hands and ate. Some of the Pharisees asked: Why do you do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day? read more. Jesus answered: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry. He and his companions, entered into the house of God. They and the others with them ate the showbread (holy bread). It is only lawful for the priest to eat it. He continued: The Son of man is lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. A woman had an evil spirit that kept her sick for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not stand straight. read more. Jesus called to her: Woman you are free from your sickness! He touched her and at once she stood straight up and praised God. The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. He told the people: There are six days in which we should work. Come during those days and be healed, not on the Sabbath! The Lord answered: You hypocrites! You would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. Here is a descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years. Should she be released on the Sabbath? His answer shamed his enemies. The people rejoiced over the wonderful things he did.
So the Jews told the man who was cured: It is not lawful for you to pickup your bed for it is the Sabbath.
A great crowd followed him because they saw the signs (miracles) he performed on the sick. Jesus and his disciples went to the mountain. read more. It was time for the Passover feast of the Jews. Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming to him. He asked Philip: Where will we buy enough bread to feed them? He said this to test him for he knew what he would do. Philip answered: Two hundred shillings' worth of bread is not sufficient for everyone to take a little. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, one of his disciples said: There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish. What are these among so many? Jesus said: Make the people sit down. There were about five thousand men who sat down on the grass. Jesus gave thanks and then he distributed the loaves along with the fish to those sitting on the grass. When they were filled he told the disciples to gather up the broken pieces left over so nothing would be wasted. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers after everyone had eaten. When the people saw the miracle performed they said: Truly this is the prophet who came into the world. Jesus knew that they were about to take him by force and make him king. So he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. That evening his disciples went to the sea. They boarded a boat to travel over the sea to Capernaum. It was dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. A great wind made the sea rise.
A man receives circumcision on the Sabbath. That way the Law of Moses may not be broken. Are you angry with me, because I made an entire man whole on the Sabbath?
He saw a man who was blind from birth. His disciples asked him: Rabbi he was born blind. Who sinned, this man or his parents? read more. Jesus answered: This man did not sin. Neither did his parents sin. The works of God should be made known in him. We must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. When the night comes no man can work. When I am in the world, I am the light of the world. He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle. Then he anointed the eyes of the blind with the clay. He told him: Go wash in the pool of Siloam. He went there and washed. And he could see! The neighbors saw him afterwards. They knew he was a blind beggar. So they asked: Is this he who sat and begged? Others said: It is he. Yet others said: No, but he is like him. He said: I am he! How were your eyes opened? They asked. He answered: The man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. I went there and washed, and I received sight. They inquired asked: Where is he? He responded: I do not know. They brought the former blind man to the Pharisees. Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees asked him how he received his sight. He said to them: He put clay on my eyes, I washed and now I see. Some of the Pharisees said: This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said: How could a man that is a sinner perform such signs? There was division among them. They spoke again to the former blind man. What do you say about him? He said: He is a prophet. The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and then received his sight. So they called his parents. They asked the parents: Is this your son? Was he born blind? How does he see now? His parents answered: This is our son and he was born blind. We do not know how he now sees or who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age and he will speak for himself. The parents said these things because they feared the Jews. The Jews had agreed that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. So the parents said: Ask him, he is of age. So they called the man that was blind a second time, and said to him: Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered: I do not know if he is a sinner. One thing I know, I was blind and now I see. They asked: What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them: I told you before and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Would you also become his disciples? Then they spoke abusively to him: You are his disciple! We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this man we do not know where he is from. The man answered: This certainly is a marvel that you do not know where he is from and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. If any man respects God and does his will, God listens to him. Since the world began no one ever heard of a man opening the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered: You were born in sin and you teach us? Then they threw him out.
Watsons
SABBATH. The obligation of a sabbatical institution upon Christians, as well as the extent of it, have been the subjects of much controversy. Christian churches themselves have differed; and the theologians of the same church. Much has been written upon the subject on each side, and much research and learning employed, sometimes to darken a very plain subject. The question respects the will of God as to this particular point,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark.
He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you will have to work for me another seven years.
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. You have six days to do all your work. read more. The seventh day is a Sabbath dedicated to Jehovah your God. Do not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them in six days. He rested on the seventh day. Therefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
When you buy a Hebrew slave he will be your slave for six years. In the seventh year he may leave as a free man without paying for his freedom.
Someone gives his neighbor a donkey, a bull, a sheep, or any other kind of animal to keep for him, and it dies, is injured, or is captured in war, and there are no witnesses.
Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt, and that Jehovah your God brought you out through a mighty act. Jehovah your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
This is how you should release. Every man who has a loan to his neighbor shall release it. He shall not require it from his neighbor, or from his brother, because it is called Jehovah's release.
Samson said to them: Let me tell you a riddle. If you can tell me the meaning before the seven days of the wedding feast are over, I will give each of you a piece of fine linen and a change of fine clothes. Tell us your riddle, they said: Let us hear it.
On the fourth day they said to Samson's wife: Trick your husband into telling us what the riddle means. If you do not, we will burn your father's house with you in it. Did you invite us here to rob us?
She cried about it for the whole seven days of the feast. She nagged him so that on the seventh day he told her what the riddle meant. Then she told the Philistines.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.
Do we nullify the law through faith? No we do not! In fact, we establish (continue) (stand by) (uphold) the law.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid! I had not known sin except through the law. For I had not known coveting except the law had said: You should not covet.