There is a connection but it is a principle, not a command in Genesis…..God is said to have rested and blessed the 7th day, but there is not a single mention of any human observing a Sabbath till God gave his laws to Israel…..a law code that was not binding on anyone else but them.
Why was the Sabbath made for man? In Genesis, it was a period of time for God to bring about his first purpose for mankind, which had been interrupted by the rebellion in Eden. God had allowed the 7th day to run its course to show any problems associated with the use or abuse of free will…..which was first manifested in the spirit realm, and spread to mankind on earth.
For Israel, it was to act as an enforced rest day, to recharge the batteries and wind down after 6 days of work….but only the Jews were required to observe it. None of God’s faithful servant before Moses were ever commanded to observe the Sabbath. Please find scripture that says that they did…..it is assumed by those who want to observe it, and to enforce it on others as a requirement for Christians, when it never was.
Christians are not under Jewish law.
Do you remember the circumcision issue that the apostles had to sort out?
When Gentiles Christians were being pressured by their Jewish brother to follow the Law of Moses and be circumcised, it was causing a lot of arguments.
So the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, met to sort it out….they considered everything prayerfully and with guidance from the holy spirit, they came to a unanimous conclusion and that decision was binding on all Christians…..the law of Moses was not binding on Gentile Christians because these had not converted to Judaism, but to Christianity…..under a new covenant, and the law of the Christ.
Their decision is recorded in Acts 15:28-29…
”For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!”
There was no reason to keep a law that was now obsolete. All of the “necessary things” outlined by the apostles, pertained to Gentiles because the Jews already held to these principles as they were taught under the old covenant. So no circumcision, no Sabbath, or any Jewish practice was forced on Gentile Christians.
There is no scripture that says otherwise. Having the same requirements for all Christians was to unite them as one body in Christ. (Eph 2:15)
The principle upon which the weekly Jewish Sabbath was held is based on Genesis, but the Sabbath that God blessed in Genesis is not the Sabbath that the Jews were commanded to observe. (Romans 7:6)
In case you were not aware, Jews were rather notorious for their inordinate love of money, and prominence, which became somewhat of a national character trait….it led to being involved in lucrative business enterprises for the wealthy, and underhanded tactics for the criminals who could not make themselves rich by legal means….e.g. the tax collectors.
Its the reason why Jesus threw the money changers out of the Temple, for extorting money for the animals that the Jews had to bring to the Temple for sacrifice. Some had journeyed long distances and it was more convenient to buy the animal right there at the Temple….but they were over charged. Jesus called it a den of thieves and threw them out with their animals.
So for Jews it put the brakes on their own interests, and concentrated on God for one day of the week.
All the scriptural details for why we are not required to observe the Sabbath are explained in post #1156.
There is no scripture that forbids a Sabbath observance if one is inclined to want to do that…..but there is no
requirement to do so, as the Jews were obligated to….that is what Scripture teaches.
