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Commentary on "Rest"
Day 2: Sunday, May 17, 2009
Introduction
Marriage and the Sabbath are two institutions that date all the way back from creation and, therefore, have been under much attack from the evil one. God knew what mankind needed so He gave us a special day, and those who have respected this “divinely instituted rhythm” have been blessed by it. It is an intrinsic part of the divine program for human happiness. The study mentions Gen. 2:2, 3, asking why God rested on the seventh day after the creation of the world. A reference is made to Ezek. 20:12, asking, “With what term does the prophet Ezekiel refer to the Sabbath? What do you think that means?”
Problems
This section is referred to as “God’s gift to busy people”. I need to say up front that Christ is God’s gift to busy people (Matt. 11:28-30). Gen. 2:2, 3 talk about God resting on the seventh day and making it holy. He didn’t rest because He was physically tired, like we need to, but to enjoy fellowship and communion between Creator and created life. In the text there is no “and there was evening and there was morning, a seventh day” like for each of the previous six days, indicating that it was to be a continuing and ongoing intimate relationship--it was interrupted by the introduction of sin. The command to keep Sabbath with specific rules and regulations didn’t come until God gave the 10 Commandments (and other Old Covenant laws) to Moses and the Israelites on Mt. Sinai as recorded in Ex. 20. It was a specific set of laws to be a covenant between two specific parties—God and the Israelites—as demonstrated by the wording of these laws (Ex. 20:2, Deut. 5:1-6).
Ezekiel 20:12 is specifically talking about how “my Sabbaths are a sign between me and them (God and Israelites), so they (Israelites) will know that I (God) am the Lord who sets them (Israelites) apart as holy.” This isn’t a reinforcement for church/New Testament Christian Sabbath-keeping, but a reminder and a sign of the Old Covenant between God and the Israelites. It’s a non-issue for the church. We’re called to a higher standard of behavior (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 3:24-26; Gal. 5:14).
The lesson then goes into a long E. G. White quote (from Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 47, 48), which is irrelevant because it’s extra-biblical and reinforces S.D.A. theology, not the Bible. If one is to understand the Bible correctly and consistently, then it needs to be studied alone, without the confusion of Ellen G. White’s “enlightenment”. They contradict, not complement, each other (Heb. 1:1, 2; Matt. 11:13; 1 Tim. 4:1-5; Rom. 14:1-7).
Summary
- While God “rested” on the seventh day and made it holy, Sabbath-keeping didn’t appear until Ex. 20, when the 10 Commandments and the Old Covenant laws were given specifically to the Israelites. (Righteousness was imputed to Abraham much earlier due to belief, not the law. Rom. 4:13, Gen. 15:6)
- Sabbath-keeping was given as a sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites specifically, not New Covenant Christians.
- Only Christ can give us true spiritual rest, not a day. We rest in Him (Heb. 4:9, 10).
Copyright 2009 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised May 11, 2009. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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