Five
Essential Bible Truths – Part 4
What
Happened to the Lord’s Day?
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Most Christians today
recognize Sunday as the Lord’s
day, a day to attend church and
worship God. However, since World War
II, the significance of observing
Sunday as a “holy” day had
dropped dramatically. Yes, church
bells still ring and people attend
church on Sunday morning, but Sunday
afternoon is considered a holiday
instead of a holy day. The
Bible teaches that God Himself,
blessed the Lord’s day, called
it holy and rested from His work the
entire day. If God rested the entire
day, then shouldn’t we observe
the Lord’s day all day?
Has our society become so degraded
that we no longer know what holy and
scared means? Does worshiping God on
His holy day include shopping,
conducting business, washing the car,
watching TV, mowing the lawn,
cleaning out the garage, attending
ball games or skiing? Many Christians
believe it does. However, what was
God’s intention for his holy
day? Answers to these and other
questions about the Lord’s day
are found only in the Bible.
The
Lord’s Day Created
At Creation, the Lord
set aside one day of the week that
belongs to Him. He included a seventh
day in the weekly cycle at the time
of Creation for the benefit of man.
So, the Lord’s day is as old as
our world and God designed it to be
special. He did not make the first
six days of the week holy. Notice
this verse: “By the seventh
day God had finished the work he had
been doing; so on the seventh day he
rested from all his work. And the
Lord blessed the seventh day and made
it holy, because on it he rested from
all the work of creating that he had
done.” (Genesis 2:2-3) This
verse states that the Lord only made one
day of the week holy at the time of
Creation. Webster says the word holy
means “to set apart” or
“to make unique.” For
example, when a couple marries, God
makes their relationship holy and
they are “set apart” from
the dating crowd. In like manner, God
“set apart” the seventh day
of the week from His work of creating
our world; He blessed the seventh and
then declared it holy. If God Himself
rested from His labors on the seventh
day, what do you think He required
Adam and Eve to do each week?
Consider this profound point: There
is a direct link between observing
the Lord’s day and honoring the
Lord. If His people do not carefully
observe the Lord’s day, they
will eventually forget the Lord. Two
Biblical examples illustrate this
point. First, the antediluvians
forgot God and His laws governing the
universe, which include His weekly
day of rest. Second, the nation of
Israel also forgot God and His holy
day. (Genesis 6:5-6; 2 Peter 3;
Ezekiel 28) If history proves
anything, it proves that it does not
take long for succeeding generations
to forget the Lord. The time period
from Adam’s creation until the
flood is a mere ten generations. In
that short span of time, mankind
became so wicked that God grieved
that He had created man. By the
time of Noah’s birth, the world
had forgotten God and consequently,
Adam’s descendants eventually
neglected the Lord’s day.
Because of this neglect, it should
not be a surprise that the
antediluvians doubted the Lord’s
promise to destroy the world with a
flood.
Lord’s
Day Renewed
Eight hundred years
after the flood, God called Moses to
lead Abraham’s descendants from
Egyptian slavery to the Promised
Land. However, before God delivered
Israel, He required the slaves to
rest from their weekly labor on the
seventh day of the week as a
condition to obtain freedom.
God’s demand was bittersweet.
Naturally, every slave welcomed a day
of rest. Every Hebrew also wanted to
be delivered from Egyptian bondage.
However, after Israel kept their
first Sabbath, Pharaoh sensed he was
losing control of the Hebrews.
Therefore, he required the slaves to
produce the same quota of bricks in
six days as they had in seven. In
addition, he required them also
gather straw for the bricks as well!
This unreasonable demand pushed the
Hebrews beyond their physically
ability and stamina. Their failure
proved the “license” he
needed to beat the Hebrew slaves
unmercifully, since they could not
meet the demands for bricks. (See
Exodus 5.)
Note: Scholars
debate whether Moses and Aaron called
for God’s seventh day Sabbath to
be observed, thereby causing a work
stoppage. Even though the Bible does
not specifically say that, the slaves
observed the seventh day Sabbath,
this question can be resolved in four
texts:
- The
language Pharaoh used
supports the claim that Moses
and Aaron had called upon
Israel to rest from their
usual labor. Pharaoh’s
words in Exodus 5:5, “…You
make them rest from their
labor” (KJV) or
“You are stopping them
from working.” (NIV)
identify two points. First,
Pharaoh blamed Moses and
Aaron for leading the slaves
to rest from their labor by
emphasizing
“You…” Second,
the word for rest
Pharaoh used was shabath (Strong’s
#7673). This is the same and
idea expressed in Genesis 2:2
when God “rested”
or ceased His creative work
on the seventh day. To
suggest that God, through
Moses and Aaron, told the
Hebrews to rest from their
labors on any day of the week
other than His holy day is
inconsistent with the events
that soon followed in the
wilderness.
- The
Bible identifies only one
holy day between Creation and
the Exodus, the seventh day
of the week. (Genesis 2:2,3)
- The
Bible reveals that God tested
Israel on their observance of
His seventh-day rest before
He spoke the Ten
Commandments from Mt. Sinai.
(See Exodus 16.) For example,
God’s provision of manna
proves two interesting
things: First, Israel knew
about God’s seventh day
rest before He gave the Ten
Commandments. Second, the
holiness of the seventh day
was important to God before
He spoke the Ten
Commandments. God’s
intention for the seventh day
– that it was set apart
and special – did not
change between Creation and
the Exodus.
- When
the Lord spoke the Ten
Commandments from Mt. Sinai,
He expressly required
observing the seventh day as
a day of rest. The fourth
commandment begins with, “Remember
the Sabbath day….”
(Exodus 20:8) If Sabbath
observance were a new concept
of worship codified in the
Ten Commandments at Sinai for
the Hebrews, as some scholars
maintain, why would the
fourth commandment begin with
the word “Remember?”
The wording of the fourth
commandment makes it clear
– the holiness of the
seventh day did not suddenly
begin at Mount Sinai. The
holiness of the Lord’s
day, God’s Sabbath rest,
began at Creation and the
patriarchs who walked and
talked with God knew of the
Creator’s holy day. In
addition, the word
“Sabbath” (Strongs
#7676), in the fourth
commandment, is a derivative
of shabath – the
word Pharaoh used when he
accused Moses and Aaron of
making the Hebrews rest from
their labor. Further,
God’s caution to “Remember”
His holy day is necessary,
for when it is neglected,
people soon forget the Lord!
Therefore, if we honor the
Lord by keeping the
Lord’s day holy, we will
not forget the Lord!
As we carefully
analyze these four points, it is
obvious that the work stoppage caused
by Moses and Aaron came because
Israel elected to honor God and His
Sabbath rather than submit to Pharaoh
demands. Obedience to God and
deliverance by God are inseparable.
It is possible for a person to
knowingly disobey God and at the same
time receive His favor. Moses told
the Hebrew elders that deliverance
form bondage was based on
Israel’s submission to the God
of Abraham. Israel’s faith in
the Most High God was to be tested by
observing God’s higher law and
disobeying Pharaoh’s lower law.
Further, when Moses explained the
corporate guilt of Israel to
Israel’s leaders, they earnestly
sought reconciliation with God by
asking Pharaoh for a three-day pass
to offer sacrifices for atonement, “…or
he may strike us with a plague or
with the sword.” (Exodus
5:3)
The Ten
Commandments
The fourth commandment
is the only commandment that requires
man to do nothing at the right time
each week! Here is the law: “Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither
you, nor your son or daughter, nor
your manservant or maidservant, nor
your animals, nor the alien within
your gates. For in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, but he
rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and
made it holy.” (Exodus 20:
8-11)
This command states
four principles that should be
carefully considered:
- Do
not forget to set the seventh
day of the week apart from
the other six.
- Do
not work on the seventh day.
- Do
not allow others who are
under your authority to work
on the seventh day, whether
man or animal.
- The
seventh day belongs to God.
It is the Lord’s Day
because He rested on the
seventh day, blessed the
seventh day and made it holy.
Principle
1
God was very specific
when He said, “Remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy.”
Amazingly, some people say, “It
does not matter which day of the week
I worship God.” God’s law
refutes this. Some people say,
“I worship God every day of the
week. Therefore, one day is just like
any other – every day is the
same.” God’s law refutes
this. Some people say, “The Ten
Commandments were nailed to the cross
and the observance of the seventh day
is a Jewish requirement – not
for Christians. If the Sabbath
commandment is so important, why is
it mentioned in the New Testament?
These statements are untrue. Jesus
said, “,The Sabbath was made
for man, not man for the Sabbath. So
the Son of Man is Lord even of the
Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27,28) If
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath (has
dominion over the Sabbath), then He
can tell us how and when to observe
the Sabbath. If the Ten Commandments
were nailed to the cross, then
God’s grace is no longer needed
and we are not sinners. Sin is the
violation of the law. If there is no
law, there can be no sin. (Romans 4:
15) If the Ten Commandments were
nailed to the cross, then God has no
law against adultery (and judging by
what goes on today, many people
really believe the Ten
Commandments were nailed to the
cross.) So, if there is no law, who
needs grace from the penalty of a law
that does not exist? The fourth
commandment is mentioned in numerous
places within the New Testament,
including Hebrews 4. Paul clearly
says: “There remains, then, a
Sabbath-rest for the people of God,
for anyone who enters God’s rest
also rests from his own work, just as
God did from his.” (Hebrews
4:9,10)
Note: Many
Christians believe the duties and
sacredness of the seventh day Sabbath
were transferred to the first day of
the week when Christ was resurrected.
However, the Bible does not
explicitly place man under any
obligation pertaining to Sunday
observance. Part II includes a
presentation on the change from
Sabbath to Sunday observance.
Principle 2
The law says, “You
shall not do any work on the seventh
day…” This principle
raises several questions. Primarily,
what is meant by “work?”
Work is defined as something we do
for gain, something we do for
survival, or something that we have
to do. Does this “no work”
commandment mean that we should stay
in bed on the Lord’s Day? No.
Instead, the fourth commandment means
we should no do any work on the
Sabbath that we normally do during
the week.
How can a dairy farmer
observe this commandment without
causing injury to the cattle? How can
a nurse keep the Lord’s Day when
patients need his or her service in a
hospital? How can a police officer
keep the Lord’s Day when
criminals (lawbreakers) are at work
every day of the week? How can a
mechanic, responsible for generators
that provide electricity to thousands
of homes, take the Lord’s Day
off? How can a cook in a nursing home
observe the Lord’s Day when the
elderly need food seven days a week?
When God gave the fourth commandment,
didn’t He anticipate the
problems we would face in the
twentieth century? Yes, of course.
So, how can these situations be
reconciled?
For a balanced
perspective regarding this aspect of
the fourth commandment, we need to
look at how Jesus regarded the
Lord’s Day. This is the first of
three important texts: “At
that time Jesus went through the
grain fields on the Sabbath. His
disciples were hungry and began to
pick some heads of grain and eat
them. When the Pharisees saw this,
they said to him, “Look! Your
disciples are doing what is unlawful
on the Sabbath.” He answered,
“Haven’t you read what
David did when he entered the house
of God, and he and his companions ate
the consecrated bread – which
was not lawful for them to do, but
only for the priests. Or haven’t
you read in the Law that on the
Sabbath the priests in the temple
descrete the day and yet are
innocent? I tell you that one greater
than the temple is here. If you had
known what these words mean, ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice,’
you would not have condemned the
innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord
of the Sabbath.” (Matthew
12:1-8)
In this text, Jesus
makes four points. First, gathering
food to eat “on the way” is
not necessarily a defiant violation
of the Sabbath. In other words, there
are some instances when one cannot
prepare food for the Lord’s Day
of rest. (Exodus 16:23,24 for the
basis of the Pharisee’s
complaint.) Second, motive appears to
be an important issue. Jesus
illustrated this point by sharing how
David and his men ate the
“holy” bread that was in
the tabernacle without offending God
(I Samuel 21: 1-6). Third, certain
tasks may be performed on the
Sabbath. Jesus used the work the
temple priests did on the Sabbath
(which desecrated the day) as an
example. Even though the Sabbath was
a busy workday for them, they were
not guilty of contempt for God’s
law. (Note: The priests rotated
assignments to that no priest was
continuously desecrating the Sabbath
– see Luke 1:8.) Last, Jesus
rebuked the Pharisees because as Lord
of Sabbath, He –not they –
was in a position to interpret how
man should observe the Sabbath.
The next text brings
more understanding to the subject of
Sabbath observance: “Going on
from that place, he went into their
synagogue, and a man with a shriveled
hand was there. Looking for a reason
to accuse Jesus, they asked him,
“Is it lawful to heal on the
Sabbath?” He said to them,
“If any of you has a sheep and
it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will you not take hold of it and lift
it out? How much more valuable is a
man than a sheep! Therefore it is
lawful to do good on the
Sabbath.” Then he said to the
man, “Stretch out your
hand.” So he stretched it out
and it was completely restored, just
as sound as the other. But the
Pharisees went out and plotted how
thy might kill Jesus. Aware of this,
Jesus withdrew from that place. Many
followed him, and he healed all their
sick, warning them not to tell who he
was.” (Matthew 12:9-16)
From this text, we
glean two important points: First,
Jesus did good for others on the
Sabbath. He did not sleep the Sabbath
away and pass the Lord’s Day in
a hangover from having overworked on
the previous six days. No, He used
the Sabbath to minister to others.
Second, Jesus affirmed again that
there are certain matters that do not
violate the intent of the Sabbath. If
rescuing an animal is not a violation
of the intent of the law, then
rescuing a human being certainly is
not offensive to God and the proper
behavior in light of the fourth
commandment.
The last text reveals
two key issues dealing with the
observance of the Lord’s Day.
The setting is the rebuilding of
Jerusalem under the leadership of
Nehemiah. He writes, “In
those days I saw men in Judah
treading winepresses on the Sabbath
and bringing grain and loading it on
donkeys, together with wine, grapes,
figs and all other kinds of loads.
And they were bringing all this into
Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I
warned them against selling food on
that day. Men from Tyre who lived in
Jerusalem were bringing fish and all
kinds of merchandise and selling them
in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the
people of Judah. I rebuked the nobles
of Judah and said to them, “What
is this wicked thing you are doing
– desecrating the Sabbath day?
Didn’t your forefathers do the
same things, so that our God brought
all this calamity upon us and upon
this city? Now you are stirring up
more wrath against Israel by
desecrating the Sabbath.” When
evening shadows fell on the gates of
Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I
ordered the doors to be shut and not
opened until the Sabbath was over. I
stationed some of my own men at the
gates so that no load could be
brought in on the Sabbath day. Once
or twice the merchants and sellers of
all kinds of goods spent the night
outside Jerusalem. But I warned them
and said, “Why do you spend the
night by the wall? If you do this
again, I will lay hands on you.”
From that time on they no longer came
on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the
Levites to purify themselves and go
and guard the gates in order to keep
the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for
this also, O my God, and show mercy
to me according to your great
love.” (Nehemiah
13”15-22)
These verses
illustrate that conducting business
on the Lord’s Day is offensive
to God – whether it is for food
or merchandise is immaterial. Like
the Levites of old, we should
“guard” the gates of our
house in order to keep the Sabbath
Day holy. Did you notice that
Nehemiah clearly associates the wrath
of God (Nebuchadnezzar’s
destruction of Jerusalem) with the
desecration of the Sabbath? Just as
in Nehemiah’s day, I believe the
basis of God’s coming wrath upon
the world is due, in part, to the
lack of respect for His holy day.
When the Great Tribulation begins
worldwide, then God’s authority
will be placed in its proper
perspective.
We honor God by
resting during the Sabbath hours from
our work. If we honor God, He will
bless us. The Lord told Isaiah, “If
you keep your feet from breaking the
Sabbath and from doing as you please
on my holy day, if you call the
Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s
day honorable, and if you honor it by
not going your own way and not ding
as you please or speaking idle words,
then you will find your joy in the
Lord, and I will cause you to ride on
the heights of the land and to feast
on the inheritance of your father
Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord
has spoken.” (Isaiah
58:13,14)
Observing
the Lord’s Day
So, how do we solve
the problems represented by the dairy
farmer, the nurse, the cook, the
police officer, ect? What principles
do we apply to these types of
situations? Here is my view on the
matter. The Lord’s Day is the
Lord’s Day – all day long
– from Friday sunset to Saturday
sunset. (Genesis 1; Leviticus 23:32)
The Sabbath was made for man. It was
to be a day of rest and renewal each
week, both physically and
spiritually. Preparation for the
observance of the Lord’s Day, as
far as possible, will help us
recognize God’s intended
blessing. The weekly Sabbath is not
for God’s benefit, but ours!
The Bible reveals that
preparation for the Lord’s Day
is important. In ancient times, the
Jews did not have names for the days
of the week. Instead, they used
numbers, such as “the
first”, or “the third
day of the week.” After the
Babylonian captivity, the sixth day
of the week became known as “The
Preparation” as it summarized
the urgent importance of being
prepared for the Lord’s Day.
(Matthew 27:62; Mark 15:42; Luke
23:54)
Therefore, the second
principle mentioned in the fourth
commandment is that any activity
bringing the blessing of Sabbath to
others is permissible on Sabbath.
Sharing the blessing of Sabbath can
be a good meal for a patient or
helping victims from a tornado. Yes,
the dairy farmer has to milk cows and
the doctor must respond to an
emergency. The nurse may render care
and the preacher may work harder on
the Lord’s Day than any other.
However, the primary issue each of us
has to consider when trying to
resolve this matter for themselves is
this: How can I best honor the Lord
on His holy day? Yes, the dairy
farmer should milk the cows, but
should the barn be cleaned on the
Lord’s Day? Yes, the doctor
should rush to the hospital to care
for a patient in an emergency
situation, but should usual and
customary services be provided on the
Lord’s Day? The nurse can
provide care for patients, but must
he or she serve others on every
Lord’s Day? The preacher has to
serve people on the Lord’s Day,
but does he have to preach every
week? As the general statement, there
are two basic principles for
rendering service on the Lord’s
Day: First, do not ruin God’s
purpose for the Lord’s day with
continual desecration. It is
permissible to serve as emergencies
warrant, but do not make it a
customary process. Second, neither
charge nor receive compensation for
the services rendered on the
Lord’s Day. When financial gain
is taken out of the picture,
“work” scheduling becomes
quite clear. If by law, you must be
paid for services rendered on the
Lord’s day, donate it to the
Lord’s work since you used His
day to earn that income. Third,
Nehemiah’s actions clearly
indicate that commerce on the
Lord’s Day is offensive to God.
As far as possible, do not buy or
sell on the Lord’s Day. Conduct
business at other times. Look at the
big picture, we have six days –
God has one. Live accordingly.
Therefore, spend the
Lord’s Day in activities that
are physically, mentally and
spiritually renewing. Worshiping God
on His holy day is an invigorating
and spiritually renewing exercise. We
can make the Sabbath a delight for
others by visiting those in prison,
sharing music with nursing home
residents, holding Bible studies in
our home, or reading a Bible or
character building story to a child.
A hike in the woods or a drive to a
scenic overlook can enhance
emotional, physical and spiritual
renewal. Each of these activities can
promote re-creation in all three
dimensions: physical, mental and
spiritual. In His wisdom, the Lord
does not mandate how His holy
day is to be spent except to say that
one must not work. Your relationship
with the Lord will determine,
largely, how you spend His day and
the benefit you will receive.
Principle 3
The fourth commandment
says “Do not work others under
your dominion whether man or animal
on the seventh day.” This
concept raises some interesting
questions. For instance, would it be
fair of God to require His dominion
(you and me) to work on the
Lord’s Day while He rested? No,
of course not. Instead, God’s
Kingdom works this way: If God, the
ruler of all the Universe, gives rest
to His servants each week, then it is
altogether fitting that you, His
Earthy servants, give your dominion
rest as well.
Perhaps the most often
asked question regarding this element
of the fourth commandment is the
question of “eating out” on
the Lord’s Day. Does
“eating out” violate the
intent of the fourth commandment?
Yes, if you allow yourself to become
too busy and neglect to prepare for
the Sabbath. No, if circumstances
(such as travel or emergency)
prohibit you from preparing food for
the Sabbath. The underlying
principle is this: God has one day we
have six. Live accordingly.
Principle
4
The seventh day
belongs to God. It is called the
Lord’s Day because He rested on
the seventh day and made it holy. A
wonderful experience awaits those
individuals who are willing to take
God at His word and honor Him by
keeping the Lord’s Day. Here is
how it works:
To properly observe
the Lord’s Day is a challenge
and according to the prophecies of
Revelation, it will become
increasingly difficult as time draws
to an end. For some people, the
commitment to keep the Lord’s
Day holy has meant the loss of
income, job or career. Other people
have faced rejection and ridicule by
family members and friends. Keeping
the Lord’s Day always puts
a person at odds with the pace or
activities of the world. When you
experience this kind of conflict, it
is often difficult to believe that
God has a purpose behind all the
struggles you face regarding His holy
day. Yet, from the very beginning of
time, God’s purpose for creating
a day for Himself, included a PLAN
that is far more encompassing than
most people realize. Not only does it
bring rest to the faith-full who are
weary from their weekly labors, but
the Lord’s Day will also become
a definitive test of faith to
determine who trusts God implicitly
during the Great Tribulation. The
command to rest sounds so easy, but
in fact, it becomes hard because it
is a test of faith. The devil has
made sure that the seventh day, the
Lord’s Day, has been forgotten
by most of the world. In its place,
he has developed two spurious days
– one for the East (Friday) and
the West (Sunday). However, there is
still no rest on this planet!
Nevertheless, there is a wonderful
experience behind the command to keep
the Lord’s
Day holy: If wee rest
according to the commandment of God
on His holy day, He sustains all that
we laid down for 24 hours so that
when we resume our activities, not
one thing will be lost or hurt. If it
is the charge of every faithful
steward to see that the King suffers
no loss when He arrives, what can be
said of the Faithful King who
personally sees to it that every
faithful steward is rewarded for his
faithfulness?
The people who honor
the Lord’s Day honor God.
Regardless of your background, when
you honor God, you are considered a
descendant of Abraham. (Galatians
3:28,29) This is why He said: “The
Israelites are to observe the
Sabbath, celebrating it for
generations to come as a lasting
covenant. It will be a sign between
me and the Israelites forever, for in
six days the Lord made the heavens
and the earth, and on the seventh day
he abstained from work and
rested.” (Exodus 31:16,17)
Summary
The obligation to
observe the Lord’s Day is both
timeless and universal. Many
individuals do not regard the
Lord’s Day, as they should. The
race to make more money and capture
market share is a powerful economic
force that pushes God out of the
weekly cycle. Overextended people use
what available free time they have
for pleasure and entertainment. This
leaves very little time for God. A
nation without God is a nation in
moral darkness. Further, most people
are not aware of the requirements in
the Ten Commandments. They do not
concern themselves with the law of
Almighty God. This point is
self-evident each time we hear the
news. We have become a lawless
society. Why? “If I were called
upon to identify the principle trait
of the entire 20th
century, I would be unable to find
anything more precise than to reflect
once again on how we have lost touch
with our Creator…Men have
forgotten God” (Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn, Readers Digest, September
1896).
Think about this: If a
man is caught breaking the law, even
though he innocently thinks that he
is “within the law” the
arresting officer will tell him that
ignorance of the law is no excuse. If
this is true of man-made laws, what
can be said of the law of God? When
the Great Tribulation begins,
billions of people will be surprised
at God’s response to our
world’s corporate ignorance and
disobedience. So, why not begin
exercising your faith and honor the
Lord on His holy day. Enter into an
experiment with God and watch what He
will do to honor your faith!
What
Happened To The Lord’s Day
Most Christians
believe Sunday is the Lord’s
Day. They believe that Jesus
transferred the sacredness of the
seventh day Sabbath to Sunday, the
first day of the week, when He was
resurrected. If Jesus did indeed make
this change, there should be
sufficient evidence in the Bible to
prove or disprove the claim. Because
the topic of the Lord’s Day is
highly important (as written
earlier), is important that we know which
day of the week is The
Lord’s Day.
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