Sabbath and Hebrews 4
God made a series of covenants with mankind – Noah, Abraham, Moses. Each covenant consisted of promises and blessings for those that kept it, curses for those that didn’t and a sign of the covenant. The sign was important and was a reminder of the covenant to the parties involved and a witness to others that someone was in a covenant.
God made a covenant with all the people of the earth and the rainbow as the sign. (see Gen 9:8-9,12-13,16-17).
God made a covenant with Abraham for him and all his descendants through Isaac with circumcision as the sign. (see Gen 17:1-2,11,13)
God made a covenant with Moses and with the people of Israel. It was an expansion of the Covenant with Abraham. The sign was the Sabbath. (see Ex 24:7-8, 31:12-13, 31:16-17)
If we are not in a covenant then the sign is irrelevant to us, and indeed we may say that adopting a sign of a covenant we are not in is giving false witness.
We are not in the Mosaic covenant. There are many arguments for this so I won’t go into them but here are some references (2 Cor 3:3, Rom 7:1-6, Gal 3:23-25, (Eph 2:14-15, 2 Cor 3:7-8, Heb 7:18-19, Heb 7:12, Heb 8:7-8, Heb 8:13, Heb 10:9)
For the Jews there are two covenants they were in, the covenant with Abraham and the covenant with Moses, with signs of circumcision and Sabbath respectively. The first was specifically dispensed with at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. No mention was made in Acts 15 of keeping the Sabbath and there would be no point in abolishing one sign and not the other.
“But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.’" (Acts 15:5).
The decision was to do neither so clearly they did not ask anyone to continue to observe the Sabbath.
Paul says “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.” (Col 2:16-17). Paul did not expect anyone to keep the Sabbath or be judged for not keeping it. It was a shadow of what was to come in Christ
“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord.” (Rom 14:4-6).
If Sabbath keeping was mandatory this is surely a place for Paul to mention it.
In the whole of Hebrews the word Sabbath appears just once, in Heb 4:9. And it does not say the Sabbath day but Sabbath rest. Indeed Hebrews 4:1-11 is about rest, about entering into God’s rest.
Now remember what Paul says in Col 2:17 – “the substance belongs to Christ”
“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Mt 11:28-29).
The Sabbath rest is fulfilled in Christ. This is why Jesus declared himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Mt 12:8).
Heb 4:1-3
1. “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it.
2 For good news came to us just as to them; but the message which they heard did not benefit them, because it did not meet with faith in the hearers.
3. For we who have believed enter that rest,”
We enter that rest (God’s rest) by faith (in Christ) not by Saturday Sabbath keeping. Those who fail to enter his rest fail because of lack of faith/disobedience (Heb 3:19, 4:6)
