When was the Sabbath first observed? - 04/18/01 05:58 PM
I have found some references and want to hear what you have to say about it.
Thanks.
Matthew Henry:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And 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. 3 And God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested
from all his work which God created and made.
We have here, I. The settlement of the kingdom of nature, in God's resting from
the work of creation, v. 1, 2. Here observe, 1. The creatures made both in heaven and
earth are the hosts or armies of them, which denotes them to be numerous, but
marshalled, disciplined, and under command. How great is the sum of them! And yet
every one knows and keeps his place. God uses them as his hosts for the defence of
his people and the destruction of his enemies; for he is the Lord of hosts, of all these
hosts, Dan. iv. 35. 2. The heavens and the earth are finished pieces, and so are all the
creatures in them. So perfect is God's work that nothing can be added to it nor taken
from it, Eccl. iii. 14. God that began to build showed himself well able to finish. 3. After
the end of the first six days God ceased from all works of creation. He has so ended
his work as that though, in his providence, he worketh hitherto (John v. 17), preserving
and governing all the creatures, and particularly forming the spirit of man within him, yet
he does not make any new species of creatures. In miracles, he has controlled and
overruled nature, but never changed its settled course, nor repealed nor added to any
of its establishments. 4. The eternal God, though infinitely happy in the enjoyment of
himself, yet took a satisfaction in the work of his own hands. He did not rest, as one
weary, but as one well-pleased with the instances of his own goodness and the
manifestations of his own glory.
II. The commencement of the kingdom of grace, in the sanctification of the sabbath
day, v. 3. He rested on that day, and took a complacency in his creatures, and then
sanctified it, and appointed us, on that day, to rest and take a complacency in the
Creator; and his rest is, in the fourth commandment, made a reason for ours, after six
days' labour. Observe, 1. The solemn observance of one day in seven, as a day of holy
rest and holy work, to God's honour, is the indispensable duty of all those to whom
God has revealed his holy sabbaths. 2. The way of sabbath-sanctification is the good
old way, Jer. vi. 16. Sabbaths are as ancient as the world; and I see no reason to
doubt that the sabbath, being now instituted in innocency, was religiously observed by
the people of God throughout the patriarchal age. 3. The sabbath of the Lord is truly
honourable, and we have reason to honour it--honour it for the sake of its antiquity, its
great Author, the sanctification of the first sabbath by the holy God himself, and by our
first parents in innocency, in obedience to him. 4. The sabbath day is a blessed day,
for God blessed it, and that which he blesses is blessed indeed. God has put an
honour upon it, has appointed us, on that day, to bless him, and has promised, on that
day, to meet us and bless us. 5. The sabbath day is a holy day, for God has sanctified
it. He has separated and distinguished it from the rest of the days of the week, and he
has consecrated it and set it apart to himself and his own service and honour. Though it
is commonly taken for granted that the Christian sabbath we observe, reckoning from
the creation, is not the seventh but the first day of the week, yet being a seventh day,
and we in it, celebrating the rest of God the Son, and the finishing of the work of our
redemption, we may and ought to act faith upon this original institution of the sabbath
day, and to commemorate the work of creation, to the honour of the great Creator,
who is therefore worthy to receive, on that day, blessing, and honour, and praise, from
all religious assemblies.[M.Henry was not a sabbatarian]
Easton's Bible Dictionary:
Text: (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning "to rest from labour"), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). "The Sabbath was made for man," as a day of rest and refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul. It is next referred to in connection with the gift of manna to the children of Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16:23); and afterwards, when the law was given from Sinai (20:11), the people were solemnly charged to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Thus it is spoken of as an institution already existing.
The Sabbath commandment identifies God as creator (Exodus 20:11) it also restates that He rested onn the seventh day and blessed it and hallowed it (made it Holy)
A direct quote from Gen.2:2-3.
Verse 10 says that all were to observe it, men and women and children, servants and visitors.
God asks us to calll the Sabbath a delight
Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
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Examine me, O LORD, and prove me: try my reins and my heart. Ps.26:2
[This message has been edited by Gerry Buck (edited April 19, 2001).]