Five
Essential Bible Truths – Part 4
page 2
What
Happened to the Lord’s Day?
page : 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 :
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.
