And speaking of sola scriptura…is there a SDA, or any other sola scriptura Christian, who would address my post above? That is Post # 65 in this thread…a little above this one… either to agree or disagree and show from that scripture how they arrive at the conclusions they do regarding the sabbath being instituted at creation. Thanks in advance!!
God bless all!!!
Sure. But before showing that, it would be wise to take other things in consideration.
Think of the system of sacrifices before Israel ever existed. Does Genesis say that God told Adam and Eve, or Cain and Abel to sacrifice a Lamb for remission of sins? No He didn’t. The only reference regarding this was “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21
How could we arrive to the conclusion that God told them to kill a lamb (symbolic of Christ) for the remission of sins? It can only be found later in Scripture, just like Abel’s offering, etc. It is something that is understood in the context of the story.
In that Light then, lets read then:
Gen 2:2-3 - “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. 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.”
Take into consideration that Adam and Eve were made before the Sabbath, not after, therefore they must have observed the Sabbath which God sanctified and rested, how could they work while God rested? The creature follows the creator. The understanding of the observance of the Sabbath existed before God re-instituted it in Sinai. Those who had kept the Word of God knew about it, example of that is what Moses told Israel even before God handed the tables of stone regarding its observance.
Exodus 16:23-30 - “And he said unto them, This is that which the
Lord hath said, Tomorrow is
the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning… And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field…
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the
seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none… And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the
sabbath… So the people
rested on the seventh day.”
It existed before Israel even got the Decalogue, and God says it clearly by telling us to “remember” because it’s not a new thing, its from creation and he even ties it to creation, and explains how to observe it.
Exodus 20:8-11 - “
Remember the sabbath day, to
keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the
seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
God would not reference it to creation, unless it’s something he instituted at that time, which Adam and Eve who were made on the 6th day, must have been witness of and gave unto their children and so forth for many generations till it was lost through paganism, and God used his people to restore it and keep its knowledge. Therefore the Sabbath is an eternal commandment just like the other 9. Even in heaven after sin is destroyed, we will keep the sabbath.
Isaiah 66:23 - “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.”