by George Manolov
Many believers are taught that the seventh-day Sabbath was instituted at creation. I want to share some bible verses which will hopefully shed light on the topic. Whether we are obligated to keep the Sabbath as Christians is another question, I will discuss at later time. The purpose of this article is to make clear when was the Sabbath first mentioned in the bible and if God really established it as a day of rest for all creation in the Garden of Eden.
Notice what Genesis 2:3 says: "Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." You can read Genesis up and down all you want, but you won’t find any scripture indicating that God instructed Adam or Eve to keep the seventh day. It’s not even called Sabbath. Keep in mind the book of Genesis was written by Moses who is very familiar with God’s Law. If Sabbath was really given at creation, don’t you think Moses would have felt it is important to write about it in Genesis? Not one word was said about keeping the day. One would say “but Got sanctified the seventh day”, this is not evidence at all, as many things were sanctified by God and this doesn’t make them a law.
On the account of Genesis 2:3, God ceased from His work and Adam entered into continuous rest with Him, it wasn’t just for one day, it was meant to be forever. Notice that all six days of creation were described by having a morning and an evening except the seventh day on which God rested, where we see no such description, which indicates to me that our rest in the Lord was intended to last forever.
Did you ever ask yourself the question why God ceased from work on the seventh day? Here’s why - the work was COMPLETED, it was DONE, it wasFINISHED. He saw there was nothing more to add, it was PERFECT. So God rested and Adam, who didn’t do a thing, entered into a continuous rest with God.
Now let’s make a parallel to what Christ accomplished on the cross. It was the PERFECT sacrifice, substitution for the penalty awaiting us sinners, it was DONE, it was COMPLETED, "It is FINISHED" He cried (John 19:30). Once again there is nothing more to add, we couldn’t do a thing to “help” Him accomplish the plan of salvation. Now those who profess faith in Christ can rest from the works of the Law, accept the gift of salvation by faith and enter into continuous rest in Him. Jesus is our Sabbath!
There is no mention of the Sabbath for the first 2500 years of human history. Nowhere in the bible will you find evidence suggesting that anyone who lived in this period of time kept the Sabbath. Job was a righteous man, but when he makes his protest of innocence before God, he said “I did this, I did that in your honour,... or I didn’t do that in obedience”, but he never once said “I kept your Sabbath”. There’s no indication that Abraham, Isaac or Jacob kept the Sabbath. The first time bible speaks of Sabbath is one month before the Law was given to Israel on Mount Sinai. Moses simply prepares the children of Israel who are about to receive the Law:“On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.” (Exodus 16:22-23) NLT
Notice that the leaders of the people are unfamiliar with the Sabbath, they are confused and they came to ask Moses. If they always kept the Sabbath, would they be wondering why is there twice as much manna on the ground on the sixth day?
Consider the following few verses:
"You came down also on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments. You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses Your servant" (Nehemiah 9:13-14).
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel.” Moses remained there on the mountain with the Lord forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the Lord wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.”(Exodus 34:27-28)
“The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people ofIsrael.” (Exodus 31:16-17)
“When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God.” (Exodus 31:18)
“He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets.” (Deuteronomy 4:13)
“This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lordhad made with you. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate no food and drank no water.” (Deuteronomy 9:9)
The Sabbath being one of the 10 Commandments is inseparable part of the Old Covenant which God made with Israel on Mount Sinai. According to the scripture, Sabbath was not given to all humankind at Creation and anyone who teaches the opposite is in contradiction with the Word of God. I encourage the reader to open their bibles and study more on this topic.
