http://www.glenacres.org/Documents/030Sabbath.htm
SABBATH OR THE LORD’S DAY?
-A. Ralph Johnson
Under the Old Testament God’s people were required to observe the seventh day Sabbath (Saturday) as a day of rest and worship in remembrance of His completion of creation (Ex. 20:11) and their deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:15). Anyone who so much as gathered sticks or built a fire on that day was to be stoned to death (Num. 15:32-36; Ex. 16:23; 35:3).
When Jesus died upon the cross he established a “New Covenant” (or “Testament”—the Greek word in the original is the same) and abolished the Old (Heb. 8:13; 9:15-17; Col. 2:14). Therefore, we are no longer to be judged by the laws of the Old Covenant.
However, some insist that we must keep Saturday as our day of worship. They maintain that God had two sets of laws, one ceremonial, which passed away, and the other, moral, (the Ten Commandments) which remain. The Sabbath, being a part of the Ten Commandments, is considered to be “moral” and therefore still binding. This paper is to set forth the evidence that we are not bound by the Sabbath law.
I. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THE SABBATH WAS INTENDED FOR CHRISTIANS.
The Sabbath law was nowhere required of Christians.
Where there is no law, there is no transgression (Rom. 4:15; 5:13). “To whom spoken” is an essential factor in establishing responsibility (Gal. 3:16, 17). The New Testament nowhere tells Christians to keep the Sabbath.
Christians are a new nation under a new code of laws.
We are a new nation, free from the body of laws of the old. In the past we “were no people but now are the people of God” (Gal. 3:10, 23-28; Eph. 2:11-19; 1Pet. 2:9-I0). We are not obligated to the old.
ILLUSTRATION: California was once a part of Mexico. Mexico had laws against stealing and killing along with laws concerning holidays. California is now a part of the United States. We are not bound by any of the laws of Mexico, yet in our nation it is also a crime to kill or steal. These are not a continuation of Mexican laws but laws of the United States. The new nation has some laws like the old but any not passed under this government are not binding on this people. Likewise, unless the law concerning the Sabbath was re-enacted under the new constitution, it would not be binding.[1]
Deut. 5:2-3, 6, 15; 4:8; Rom 2:14. The Ten Commandments were made ONLY with Israel.
Deut. 5:15. The Sabbath was given as rest from their bondage in Egypt. Christians were never in Egypt.
Ex. 31:13, 17. It was a sign to ISRAEL—not to Christians (Ezek. 20:10-13).
OBJECTION: Christians are the true “ISRAEL OF GOD” (Rom. 9:6; Gal. 6:16).
ANSWER:
The “Israel” spoken to in Exodus is of the “flesh” (Rom 9:3-5, 31; 1Cor. 10:18). The New Covenant replaced theirs because of disobedience (Heb. 8:8-9).
OBJECTION: “All of God’s commands are established forever. (Ps. 111:7, 8)
ANSWER:
The Hebrew word here for “commands” [2] cannot be shown to exclusively mean the Ten Commandments. It is only found in the Psalms and is nowhere clearly used for the Ten Commandments.
Furthermore, the words translated, “for ever and ever” (“ad”[3] and #5769, “olam”[4]) do not necessarily indicate that it could not be abolished. God plainly says he abolished the law (Col. 2:14, 16, 17; Rom. 7:1-6 etc.).
The word, “ad,” means, “long or indefinite time, eternity”[5]
Example: Amos 1:11 “...his anger keeps tearing away forever (“ad”).
This is speaking of Edom but Edom no longer exists.
Likewise, “Olam” means “concealed, i.e. to the vanishing point...”[6]
· It is used of the time slaves served masters (Ex. 21:6).
· Lamps burning in the Tabernacle (Ex. 27: 21).
· Offering of the wave breast (Ex. 29:28).
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath is to last forever” (Ex. 31:17, 13).
ANSWER:
The time is limited to “throughout your generations.” It also limits it as being a sign between God and “the children of Israel.” This statement was to the fleshly generations, not to spiritual Israel. Christians are a new nation (1Pet. 2:9-10) that is “neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11).
Here again, the use of “forever” is the same as elsewhere said of other things in the law of Moses (Lev. 16:29-31, 34; 23:21, 31, 32; 2Chr. 2:4; Ex. 21:6; 12:14 etc.). The Hebrew is, “olam,”[7] “beyond sight,” but not beyond God’s ability to change in making a new covenant (Heb 8).
OBJECTION: “God will not alter what he has spoken” (Ps. 89:34).
ANSWER:
The “covenant” here mentioned is with David concerning his throne (v. 36). The passage says nothing about the Sabbath. This cannot be forced against scriptures like Heb. 8:7-13 which teach that the old was to pass away.
OBJECTION : “God does not change.” (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8)
ANSWER:
The text tells us in what He does not change. This can not be used against the teaching that when the purpose of the law was completed it was “changed” (Heb. 7:12).
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath will be kept even in heaven.” (Isa. 66:22-23)
ANSWER:
It includes “new moons” along with Sabbaths. Must we keep the new moons?
Since Sabbaths are counted by evenings and mornings, and in the new earth there will be “no night there” (Rev. 21:23, 25; 22:5), it would appear that Isaiah was using his usual poetic style, as when he speaks of the mountains singing (Isa. 44:23; 49:13) etc. This is no discrepancy.
Even if it were to be kept in heaven, we are not to be judged here and now concerning these things (Col. 2:16). The passages say nothing about us being required to keep these days, much less establish rules defining how they are to be kept.
OBJECTION : “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mk. 2:25-28).
ANSWER:
Yes, the Sabbath was made for man. So were the other six days of the week. Jesus chides the critics as acting like they thought man was made for the Sabbath. They had their priorities reversed.
This was before Christ died and abolished the Old Covenant that contained the Sabbath (Heb. 9:15-17; 8:6, 13). It says nothing about the Sabbath being required under the New Testament.
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath was hallowed at creation, long before the giving of the Law.” (Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:11).
ANSWER:
That is questionable. The statement appears to be what is called a literary prolepsis. The statement was written by Moses, as commentary concerning God’s hallowing of the day following their departure from Egypt.
The same reason was give in Exodus 20:11 at the time of giving the Ten Commandments.
Ex. 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your manservant, or your maidservant, or your cattle, or the sojourner who is within your gates; 11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. (Compare Ex. 31:17)
Deut. 5:15 gives a different reason for God commanding them to keep the Sabbath.
Deut. 5:15 You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out thence with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Since God commanded them to keep the Sabbath because He had brought them out of Egypt, that places the time of giving the command AFTER that event.
Moses uses this same grammatical feature elsewhere in Genesis.
Gen. 2:13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
Cush, the son of Ham, was not born until after the flood, at least 1600 years later (Gen. 10:6). Likewise, Assyria did not become a country until after the flood when the nations were formed (Gen. 10:11).
Nehemiah 9:13-14 says the Sabbath was “made known” at Sinai (cf. Ezek. 20:10-12).
Furthermore, Genesis 1:3 says that God rested. Nothing is said of Adam or his descendants keeping it.
Even if we assume that God intended for man to keep the Sabbath in Eden, that doesn’t mean that He intended for Christians to keep it. Sacrifice of animals also started in Genesis (Gen. 4:4; 8:20; 22:1-13; 31:54).
The first recorded command to keep a seventh day was concerning the Passover that began the exodus from Egypt. (Ex. 12:15-16. cf. 13:6).
Exodus 16:23-30 is the first specific observance of the seventh day as the “holy Sabbath.”
23 And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Jehovah: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not become foul, neither was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath unto Jehovah: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none. 28 And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
OBJECTION: God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone, indicating they would not pass away.
ANSWER:
God wrote the old covenant upon cold hard stones. This was like their stony hearts (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). Now God writes upon hearts of flesh (2Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10).
II. THE COVENANT CONTAINING THE SABBATH WAS DONE AWAY IN CHRIST.
The Ten Commandments are specifically called, “the Covenant.”
Ex. 34:28 “...And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”
Deut. 4:13 “And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.”
1Kings 8:9, 21 “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone... 21 And there have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah...”
The “ministration of death written and engraven on stones, was done away (2Cor. 3)
The old covenant (3:14 cf. 3:6)
Written (with ink -3:3)
…and engraven on stones (3:3, 7)
…was glorious (3:7-14, cf. Ex. 34:28-33; Deut. 4:13; 5:22, 24, 2; 10:1-4).
…but caused death (3:7-14, cf. Rom. 7:10, 11; 5:20, 21; Gal. 3:10-12; Num. 15:32-36)
…was done away (3:7, 11, 13, 14)
…and replaced by a “new” and “more glorious” covenant (3:6, 8-11).
This passage clearly has reference to Ex. 34:28-33, which speaks of Moses bringing the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai the second time. His face glowed, so he covered it. He contrasts the temporary glory of the Old Covenant in Moses’ face to the superior and everlasting glory under the new. This passage refers to the Ten Commandments (“engraven on stones”) as being the “old covenant” and defines them as being the “words of the covenant.” He says they were glorious but they were passing away.
OBJECTION: “It was the glory, not the Ten Commandments, that was passing away.”
ANSWER:
Verse 7 says that which was written on the stones “was glorious.” The Ten Commandments were on the stones.
Verse 11 says, that which was passing away “was glorious.” Therefore, the Ten Commandments, which were “glorious” were passing away.
It also includes what was “written.” That includes more than just the Ten Commandments.
OBJECTION: “Only the penalty of death was done away.”
ANSWER:
Nothing on the stones says anything about the penalty of death. Nor does 2Cor. 3 say anything about abolishing the death penalty.
The Old Covenant was on the stones. The Ten Commandments were called the Old Covenant (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 4:13). The Sabbath itself is specifically spoken of as included in the covenant (Ex. 31:16). That which was passing away was “glorious.” Death was not glorious.
OBJECTION: “The agreement, not the Ten Commandments, was what was done away.”
ANSWER:
The Ten Commandments were the words of the agreement (Ex. 34:28). The agreement to keep them was done away. Christians have a new agreement in which the Sabbath was not included.
The Law, or covenant, has been “cast out” (Gal. 3:10-12, 19-25; 4:10, 11, 21-31; 5:1-4, 14, 18).
The “law” or “covenant” is like a “schoolmaster” that Paul says brought them to Christ. Now that we have Christ we are no longer under the schoolmaster. The covenant from Mount Sinai (4:24) is to be “cast out” (4:30). We do not come to a mountain (Sinai) that shook. (Heb. 12:18-22)
The first covenant is vanishing away (Heb. 8:6-13; 9:15-17; 7:11-12, 16, 10, 19).
The Old Covenant (8:13) or “first covenant” (8:7, 9; 9:15) from Mount Sinai (12:18-27) is vanishing away (8:13). Establishing a New Covenant, makes the first “old.”
OBJECTIONS: “The old covenant agreement was done away but God’s Sabbath law is now written on our hearts” (Heb. 8:10).
ANSWER:
It says nothing about the Sabbath or the Ten Commandments being written on our hearts. The laws of the “New Covenant” are written on our hearts.
OBJECTION: “There are two laws, one moral and the other, ceremonial. The ceremonial is done away. The moral remains.”
ANSWER:
Neither term is found in the Bible. The weekly Sabbath is no less “ceremonial” than the yearly feast days or new moons. They are all a “shadow of things to come” (Col. 2: 16, 17 Heb. 4:1-11).
Scriptural terminology makes no distinction.
· They are all called “The law” (Gal. 3:10, 23-25; 4:10, 11, 21-31; 5:14, 18)
· The teachings of Moses are called the “Law of God” (Josh. 24:26).
· They are called the “Law of the Lord” (Lk. 2:23-24, 39)
· They are called (in Hebrew) the “Law of Jehovah” (2Chron. 31:3; 1Chron. 16:40)
· They are called “commandments” (Lev. 27:34; Mk. 12:28-31. See Deut. 6:4, 5; Lev. 19:8)
· They are all “forever” (Ex. 27:21; 9:28; 30:21; Lev. 6:18; 16:29, 31 etc.)
· They were all given by Moses” (Jn. 1:17; 7:19 “kill”; Mk. 7:10; Josh. 8: 32)
· They were all written in the book by Moses.
There are many moral laws, scattered through the writings of Moses. The following are some examples. Must we obey these?
Deut. 23:19, 20. Laws concerning taking usury.
Deut. 23:15, 16; Ex. 21:2-11; Deut. 15:12-18. Laws concerning slaves.
Num. 35:9-24. Laws concerning cities of refuge for murders to escape.
Deut. 25:5-10. Levirate marriage. Taking brother’s widowed wife.
Ex. 25:2-7. Laws concerning letting the land rest.
Deut. 15:1-3. Laws concerning debts.
Lev. 18:6-18; 20:11. Marriage to near relatives
Deut. 22:1-5. Returning an animal that has strayed.
Deut. 22:5. Wearing garments of the opposite sex.
Deut. 22:9-11. Two kinds of animals, seed etc. being mingled.
Deut. 14:21. Eating a thing that dies of itself; Boiling a kid in it’s mother’s milk.
The Ten commandments, or “Decalogue” serve as a rough summary of all, including the ceremonial aspects.
When the people heard God speak they fled and begged that the rest be given through Moses.
Exodus 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
So, the rest of the laws were given through Moses. He stood between them and God to show them His word (Deut. 5:5). He brought the Ten Commandments on the stones to them. He recorded them in the book and prepared the second set of stones (Deut. 5: 2-5, 22-33) which he then delivered to them. Without Moses recording and delivering them we would not even know what was on the stones.
Jesus said that Moses gave them “the law.” He specified that this included the law against murder (Jn. 1:17; 7:19. See Deut. 5:22-28; Ex. 34:28-33).
The Ten Commandments are the introduction to the Law. The full understanding and elaboration upon those ten principles is contained in the rest of the writings of Moses. All that Moses gave was from Jehovah God. Moses was told how to keep the Sabbath holy. If they refused to obey what Moses said about how it was to be kept, they were disobeying God --including death for picking up sticks (Num. 15:32-36).
OBJECTION: “Rev. 12:17; 14:12; 22:14 identify Christians as those who keep the commandments of God.”
ANSWER:
As shown above, God’s “commandments” do not necessarily refer to the Ten. The yearly feasts are also commandments of God yet they have been removed (Col. 2:16), just as the sacrifices. The “commandments” in Revelation would be those we are under. The Sabbath was not binding in the New Testament. In 19:10 the “testimony of Jesus” is defined as “the spirit of prophecy.”
Ex. 23:15. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was “commanded” by Jehovah.
Ex. 27:20. Using pure olive oil in the lamps of the tabernacle was commanded.
Lev. 7:36-38. God commanded the sacrificial offering. (Also, Lev. 8:17-21)
Lev. 8:9-13. The garments of the priests were commanded by Jehovah
Lev. 16:34. Sacrifices on the Day of Atonement were commanded as an everlasting statute.
Num. 19:2. Sacrificing a red heifer was commanded by Jehovah as a statute of the Law.
Num. 27:11. The law of inheritance was a statute and an ordinance as Jehovah commanded.
Num. 30:1-16. The law of vows was commanded by Jehovah.
1Cor. 7:19. Circumcision was included in the “commandments of God.”
Heb. 7:5. The sons of Levi were commanded to take tithes.
On the other hand, the New Testament also included commandments of God, not only the Ten but also others.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another
1Cor. 7:10. And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
1Cor. 14:34. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
14:7 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
1John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
OBJECTION: “The Ten Commandments were IN the Ark. The writings of Moses were BESIDE it. This indicates superiority of the Ten Commandments.”
ANSWER:
Such analogies prove nothing. When Moses finished writing the book he placed it beside the ark (Deut. 31:24-26). All of God’s laws were in the book, including the Ten Commandments. They were BOTH in the Most Holy Place, a type of heaven itself. Both were commanded by God, and both were prepared and delivered to the people by Moses.
Note that the rod of Aaron was also in the ark. Does that mean that the priesthood of Levi is still binding? (Heb. 7:12) While we are speculating, perhaps we should note that the tabernacle, the ark and tables of stones have long since disappeared. Only the book of the law written by Moses remains. Without it we would have no record of the Ten Commandments.
OBJECTION: “Nehemiah 9:13-14 makes a distinction between what was given through Moses and what was given by God.
ANSWER:
All of these things are said to have been by Moses. There is no distinction here that indicates some are temporary and others eternal.
We are freed from the Law (Rom. 7:1-4, 6, 7).
We cannot be joined to both the Old and the NEW. We must be “free from the Law” (7:2), “loosed from the law” (7:3), “dead to the law” (7:4) and “delivered from the Law” (7:6) to become part of the bride of Christ. Being joined to Christ while still under the law is spiritual adultery (6:14; 3:21, 27, 28).
OBJECTION: “This is the ceremonial law”
ANSWER:
Romans 7:8 is speaking of “the commandment” and verse 7 specifies it is the one about coveting --one of the Ten (Ex. 20:17).
OBJECTION: Rom. 7:12, 14 says the law was good.
ANSWER:
The Law was good. It was not evil, but since mankind seems to be attracted to what is prohibited (as Eve was in the garden), coveting increases. Without law there is no transgression, but with law comes transgression (Rom 4:15). Without law there is no knowledge of sin, but with law comes the knowledge and accountability (Rom. 7:5). Gal. 3:23-25; 4:21-31 shows we are not under the Law.
OBJECTION: “This means that when we do what the Law says we are not under its condemnation. cf. Rom. 8:1.”
ANSWER:
The passage clearly says that marriage to a second husband while the first is living is adultery (Rom. 7:3). It says that the person must be dead to the law in order to be married to Christ. It shows that it is the authority of the law that included the ten that ceased (7:2, 3, 4, 6 -cf. 6:14-15; 3:21 etc.).
OBJECTION: “Did not Paul keep the law?” (Rom. 7:5; 8:4)
ANSWER:
Indeed, Paul kept the law. He kept not only the ten commandments but also the ceremonial teaching (Ac. 2l:17-27). When he went in and was at charges for the men giving offerings in the temple he was keeping the requirements of Num. 6:9-12. He did this that he might save the Jews (1Cor. 9:20-22). He also kept the law concerning circumcision in the case of Timothy (Ac. 16:3), but he refused to circumcise Titus (Gal. 3:3).
Christ did not put his laws into old wineskins (Matt. 9:16-17).
Christ did not just patch up the Old Covenant. He gave us a new covenant. Nothing passed from the law and the prophets until it was ALL fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18). Christ came to do just that. Now it is fulfilled and has passed away.
III. THE SABBATH IS SPECIFICALLY CITED AS NO LONGER BINDING.
Col. 2:14-17, 20, 21[8] says we are not judged by the Law.
It says, that the bond written in ordinances[9] that was against us, he had “taken out of the way, nailing it to the cross.” Verse 16 says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day: which are a shadow of things to come... “
Here we have the three-fold list of sacred observances:
1. “Feast days” (Greek. “heorte” 27 times in the NT, always of the yearly feasts. (Lk. 2:41; 22:1; Jn. 7:2; Ac. 18:21).
2. “New moons”—clearly the monthly holy days (cf. Num. 10:10)
2Chron 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
Note that the three solemn feasts are The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Passover), the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles. They are not called “sabbaths.” They are clearly distinguished.
3. “Sabbaths” (sabbatoon) is the weekly observances.
OBJECTION: “The word is plural, ‘Sabbaths,’ indicating the yearly Sabbaths. When speaking of the weekly Sabbath, it is never used in the plural.”
ANSWER:
a. Nowhere in the, New Testament is any form of the word “sabbath” (singular or plural) used of any yearly feast.
b. The fact that it is plural in no way indicates it is not speaking of the weekly Sabbaths. If anything, the plural would include all Sabbaths. We find the plural “Sabbath days” is used eight other times (Mat. 12:5, 10, 12; Mark 3:4; Luke 4:31; 6:2, 9; Acts 17:2) for the weekly rest in the King James version of the New Testament. Besides that, “sabbatoon” (plural) is used of the weekly rest four times in the same identical form. (Matt 28:1; Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14; 16:13)
c. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint) we find the plural commonly used of weekly Sabbath --even right in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8; Deut. 5:12, 15. cf. Lev. 23:15, 38).
a. On the other hand, it is rare to find the yearly feast days called “Sabbaths.”
Lev. 16:31 [#7676] shabbat [#7677] shabaatown, translated, “Sabbath rest” defined by Strong as “a sabbatism or special holiday.” --Day of Atonement, 10th day of the seventh month.
Lev. 23:24 [#7677] “shabaatown,” which Strong defines as “a sabbatism or special holiday.” --Speaking of the Feast of Trumpets, first day of 7th month.
Lev. 23:32 [#7676] shabbath [#7677] shabbathown, translated, “Sabbath rest,” defined as “a sabbatism or special holiday.” --Day of Atonement, 10th day of 7th month.
Lev. 23:39 [#7677] shabbathown “a sabbatism or special holiday.”
This was on the fifteenth day of the 7th month, 8 days later (one week, which again falls on the Sabbath)
Note that #7677, which we find in Exodus 8 for the weekly Sabbath is only used in Lev. 16:31 and 23:32. In both those cases it is accompanied with the explanatory word #7677, indicating it was a rest like the Sabbath.
This is distinctively designated as, “sabbata sabbaton,” unlike Col. 2:16, which only uses the word, “sabbaton.” Nowhere else is any form of this word used with reference to the yearly feasts. Interestingly, even in this chapter we find the yearly observances 8 times called “feasts” (Lev. 34:2, 4, 6, 34, 37, 39, 41, 44). This was the common way of designating the yearly feasts throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
In addition to these cases where yearly feast days are called Sabbaths, we find that every seventh year is also called a “Sabbath,” for the land to rest (Lev. 25:2, 4; 26:34-35; 2Chron. 36:21)
The three-fold grouping of yearly, monthly and weekly observances appears several times in the Bible though some of these are in a different order (1Chron. 23:31; 2Chron. 2:4; 8:13; 31:3; Neh.10:33).
Ezek. 45:17 and Hos. 2:11 have the same order as Col. 2. Note the following comparison:
Ezek. 45:17 (Septuagint)
In
the
feasts
and
at
the
new moons
and
on
the
Sabbaths
En
tais
heortais
kai
en
tais
noumeniais
kai
en
tois
sabbatois
Col. 2:16
In
respect
of a feast
or the
new moon
or of the
Sabbaths
En
merei
heortees
hee
neomeenias
hee
sabbatoon
In Gal. 4:10, speaking of their return to the Law (3:10, 12, 23-25; 4:4, 5, 21-30), he uses this order, “Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years...”
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath was not a ‘hand-written ordinance’.”
ANSWER:
God wrote on the stones with His hand. (Ex. 31:18; 32:16; 34:1; Deut. 10:1-4; 9:10; 4:13; 5:22; 2Kings 17:37).
Moses wrote it in the book with his hand (Ex. 34:21-28; 24:4. cf. Ex. 20).
The Greek word for “ordinance” is “dogma” and means “decree.” (cf. Ac. 16:4; 15:28, 29). Note: “fornication” is one of the Ten.)
OBJECTION: “Stones could not be ‘nailed’.”
ANSWER:
-Nor was the book “nailed.” Christ was nailed and in so doing he symbolically carried the old covenant to the cross with him (Heb. 9:15-17), both were “written and engraven” (2Cor. 3:3, 7).
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath was FOR man, not against him.”
ANSWER:
All of the law was intended for man’s good
Lev. 16:30; 23:28. The Atonement was “for” them.
Lev. 23:11. The wave sheaf sacrifice was “for” them.
Num. 35:11. The cities of refuge were “for” them.
However, through human weakness, the commandment which was unto life, was found to be unto death (Rom. 7:I0; Gal. 3:10-13, 22, 23; 4:3, 5, 25; 5:3; Heb. 7:18, 19; 8:7, 8; 2Co. 3:7). Thus, the old localized concept of Sabbath was replaced by the universal concept of commemorating the resurrection of Christ.
OBJECTION: “The Sabbath was a memorial, looking backwards to creation, not a shadow of things to come.”
ANSWER:
The Passover looked back to the deliverance from Egypt and also forward to deliverance through the blood of Christ.” Likewise, the Sabbath looks backwards to both Egypt and creation. (Ex. 20:11; Deut. 5:15), and forward to our entrance into God’s rest (Heb. 4:1-11). The Jews kept the Sabbath yet they never entered that rest. We are told to labor to enter into it.