NCCG.ORG - Sabbath Exegesis - The True Christian Sabbath Day

I. THE SABBATH AT CREATION

A. THE SABBATH WAS MADE AT CREATION

GENESIS 2:

2 "And on the seventh day Elohim (God) ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."

3 "And Elohim (God) blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

NOTE:

The last of verse three tells why He blessed and sanctified the seventh day: ".... because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." HE IS OUR CREATOR!

NOTE:

Sanctify: means to set apart as holy or for a holy purpose; consecrate.

TEXT OF INTEREST

1 CHRONICLES 17:

27 "Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O Yahweh, and it shall be blessed for ever."

MARK 2:

27 "And he (Christ) said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:"

NOTE:

Yahweh rested on the seventh day, not because He needed rest, but to set an example for us. Yahweh knew that we would need a day set aside from our hard work in which to rest, worship Him, and to gain spiritual strength. The sabbath was created to be a blessing and a joy to man. "The sabbath was created for man".

B. THE SABBATH IS A MEMORIAL TO CREATION

i. MEMORIAL TO THE CREATION OF THIS EARTH AND MAN

EXODUS 20:

8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."

9 "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:"

10 "But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahweh thy Elohim (God): in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:"

11 "For (or because) in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

NOTE:

Dictionary says "memorial" means: Something that serves to keep in memory a deceased person or an event.

EXODUS 31:

17 "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

NOTE:

The seventh-day sabbath is to be a day in which to remember that Yahweh is the creator of this world and mankind; and that He is worthy of our worship because He did create us. (see chapter section I. C.)

The seventh-day sabbath is the memorial of creation or the day in which we are to remember creation and our creator. Our birthday is the day on which we remember or celebrate the day of our birth. Would we be satisfied with just any day, or is there something special about a specific day?

ii. MEMORIAL TO THE CREATION OF A NEW HEART AND MAN

EPHESIANS 4:

24 "And that ye put on the new man, which after Elohim (God) is created in righteousness and true holiness."

PSALMS 51:

10 "Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim (God); and renew a right spirit within me."

2 CORINTHIANS 5:

17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

EXODUS 31:

13 "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Yahweh that doth sanctify you."

EZEKIEL 20:

12 "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh that sanctify them."

C. WORSHIP ELOHIM (GOD) BECAUSE HE IS OUR CREATOR

REVELATION 4:

11 "Thou art worthy, O Yahweh, to receive glory and honour and power: for (or because) thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."

NOTE:

Elohim (God) is "worthy" of our worship because He has made us and all things. There is no better day on which to worship Him than the day that is a memorial to that creation.

REVELATION 14:

7 "Saying with a loud voice, Fear Elohim (God), and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

PSALMS 95:

6 "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before Yahweh our maker."

ISAIAH 40:

26 "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth."

JEREMIAH 10:

10 "But Yahweh is the true Elohim (God), he is the living Elohim (God), and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation."

11 "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens."

12 "He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion."

NOTE:

JEREMIAH 10:10-12 Speaks of the difference between the true and false gods. The true Elohim (God) is the one that "made the earth by his power" and the false gods are the ones "that have not made the heavens and the earth".

D. THE SABBATH WAS MADE LONG BEFORE A JEW EVER EXISTED

GENESIS 2:

1 "THUS the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them."

3 "And Elohim (God) blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

NOTE:

The seventh day was "blessed" and "sanctified" at the creation of this world. Mark 2:27 says, "the sabbath was made for man". That sounds like everyone, does it not? Sabbath is not just for the Jews! (see chapter V.)

This page was created on 28 June 2000 Last updated on 28 January 2013

Reproduced and adapted with Thanks and Kind Permission of the Author