THERE are many places in the Old Testament where the Sabbath is mentioned. It means a day of test, and is referred to in Gen. 2:2,32And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2‑3), which speaks of God finishing all His work, and then resting on the seventh day. In Exod. 16:2626Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. (Exodus 16:26), the seventh day is called the Sabbath, and in verse 23, the day is called, “the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.”
When God finished creation, He rested on the seventh day; but sin came in and spoiled God’s rest. God is love, and love could not rest when man was suffering; and so God began to work again, in order to bring about the deliverance of His fallen creatures.
When God brought Israel out of Egypt, delivering them from their cruel bondage under Pharaoh, there was given a type of redemption—that work of Christ which is to bring in eternal rest for God and man in the new heavens and the new earth; and in connection with this God gave the Sabbath as a type of that eternal rest which remains for the people of God.
In Exod. 31:12-1812And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 13Speak 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 the Lord that doth sanctify you. 14Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 17It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. 18And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exodus 31:12‑18), we get the special meaning of the Sabbath for Israel. God gave to Israel the Ten Commandments, and put the Sabbath in as one of them, which was to be a special sign between Him and them. If they kept His covenant He would give them rest; but if they broke His covenant they would perish. And in this Scripture it is said, “Whosoever doeth any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.” This is indeed very solemn, when we remember that they broke the covenant, and finally put to death the Son of man, who was Lord of the Sabbath. The result is that Israel, as a nation, has been scattered for nearly nineteen centuries. But by and by God will have mercy upon Israel, and will bring them to repentance. He will then gather them back to their own land, and will make a new covenant with them, forgiving their sins through the blood of Jesus, and writing the law in their hearts. Then they will keep His Sabbaths, and enjoy His blessing in the land of Canaan.
In the meantime, while Israel is scattered, the Lord of the Sabbath has also set aside that which was the sign of His covenant with them. Those who now believe the Gospel are called Christians, and God has not placed them under the covenant which He made with Israel, and so they have nothing to do with the seventh day Sabbath. Instead of this we find in the New Testament the first day of the week marked off in a special way. The first day in the week is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, the day on which the Holy Ghost came down—the day of Pentecost, the day on which Christians came together to break bread, and it is called the Lord’s day, See Lev. 23; John 20; Acts 20:77And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. (Acts 20:7); Rev. 1:1010I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (Revelation 1:10).
The first day of the week, then, is the day that we as Christians observe unto the Lord. It is not called the Sabbath, but the Lord’s day. There is “the Lord’s supper,” and “the Lord’s day;” and believers observe the Lord’s supper on the Lord’s day.
Now, dear children, do you not think it would be very bad if any one treated the Lord’s supper just as they would any other supper? I am sure you must think so. And is it not just as bad if people treat the Lord’s day like any other day? Yes, it is just as bad. The Lord Jesus claims the day and the supper as His, and we must not abuse what is His. It would be very wrong for us to go on with our work on that day the same as other days, and for boys and girls to take the Lord’s day for play and pleasure-seeking. We need first to own Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and then observe the Lord’s day unto Him.
ML 12/09/1900