Sunday, October 17, 2021

The Sabbath and Salvation

 

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Keep the Sabbath we are told

But what are we to keep?

After God created the world

Did he go off to sleep?

 

Well the Bible said he rested

But what does that really mean?

He rested from His work

That’s how to me it seems.

 

God blessed the seventh day

And set it apart

As a memorial I am told

Commemorating the start.

 

The seventh day is mentioned

Twice in the beginning

And in both of these cases

God had ceased his working.

 

He never worked after this

Having completed his work

His final creative act being

When he made man from the dirt.

 

Man was placed in a garden

And given one command

But of this he made a mess

And God instituted His plan.

 

The seventh day rolled over

Into every following day

Until Adam and Eve decided

They would contravene God’s way.

 

Before he had sinned

He had perfect rest

But he lost that and more

When he failed the given test.

 

The first covenant was in Eden,

The second was with Noah,

The third was with Abraham

And on they go.

 

The third was at Mount Sinai

As told in the book of Exodus

Where God gave the Decalogue

But not on Mount Olympus.

 

Go to the book of Exodus

Chapter 12 and verse 15

There you’ll find the seventh day

But it’s a very different scene.

 

The focus is on the Jews

Regarding what God required,

By this time they have left Egypt

And quite a lot has transpired.

 

God prepared the Israelites

To enter the promise land,

This was the land he had given

To their patriarch Abraham.

 

He gave them instructions

Regarding the seventh day

And he strictly admonished them

To walk in His determined way.

 

Notice the next point

That I want you to capture,

In chapter 16 verse 23

The Sabbath becomes the central matter.

 

Remember the Sabbath day

To keep it holy,

This purpose we find

In verse 8 of chapter 20.

 

However, for the first time

Just two verses thereafter

The seventh day is the Sabbath,

You’ll find it in this chapter.

 

Four covenants thus far

And each with its own theme,

Each one depicting different eras

And a changing of the scene.

 

Innocence marked the first of these,

The rainbow was the next,

Circumcision figured in the third

But the fourth was more complex.

 

So from the Adamic to the Noahic,

From the Noahic to Abrahamic,

Then after the exodus

God introduces the Sinaitic.

 

The Sabbath had its own laws

And there were many

And for each one that was breached

There was a penalty.

 

There were ceremonies too

That had to be observed,

They were to be strictly kept

By every woman, man, boy and girl.

 

Physical rest from labour

The Sabbath was mainly about rest

But like every law instituted

It was an obedience test.

 

It was a covenantal sign

A sign of sanctification too,

A reminder of the rescue from Egypt

And all God brought them through.

 

From Genesis to Exodus

And throughout the Old Testament

There were commands of different sorts

And a total of four covenants.

 

From the Old to the New

That’s our next move

Let’s see how the law shapes up

And what is there to prove.

 

 

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Now we have Jesus

The mediator of the new covenant,

Read about it in Hebrews

It is described as more excellent.

 

The new covenant is better

As indicated thirteen times,

Read it in the book of Hebrews

Let it sink in your mind.

 

Today some push the Sabbath

To make it stand on its own

But that was never the intention,

In the Bible such is not shown.

 

It was the central theme

Of the Ten Commandments

And it pointed to the creation

As in the old covenant.

 

But there’s been a change

That to us should be obvious,

Now there is a new covenant

And the central theme is Jesus.

 

The rainbow was once the sign

And then it was circumcision,

The fourth commandment followed

But Jesus bought salvation.

 

Where once it was the law

It now is the Christ,

He fulfilled the law

Through his willing sacrifice.

 

Fast forward from the law

Where the letter was the issue,

Now focus on the spirit

This is now what holds true.

 

I mean the spirit of love

Not the letter of the law,

It was the obsession with the letter

And therein was the flaw.

 

Go to the book of Hebrews

And see how better there relates,

The new covenant in Jesus

Offers a much better state.

 

A better revelation of truth

That gives a better hope,

Has a better guarantee in Christ

What wondrous scope!

 

The old was written in ink

On tablets of stone,

The new is written with the Spirit

In hearts for which Christ atoned.

 

The old was inadequate

Since the letter kills,

The new is more than adequate

Through the life the Spirit wills.

 

In the old there was bondage

In the new there is none,

We now have glorious liberty

Through Jesus Christ, God’s Son.

 

We welcome the transition

From the Old to the New,

Let all men be liars

And let God be true.

 

 

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Jesus is the way

And he is the truth,

Jesus is the life

And to this he gave full proof.

 

He is the Good Shepherd

And he is the Light

He was the only one in the Bible

To restore men’s sight.

 

He is the I AM

The first and the last

And only what’s done through him

Will truly last.

 

He is the bread of life

He is our resurrection

And with his precious blood

He bought our redemption.

 

So why focus on the Sabbath

When there is a new command?

“Love as I have loved you,”

Jesus personifies this plan.

 

The initiate was circumcised

Under the old covenant

And he was to remember the Sabbath

Throughout the Old Testament.

 

The Sabbath could not save

Neither could its keeping,

Salvation came by Jesus Christ

Who after the lost came seeking.

 

The Jews came out of bondage

Where they were in Egypt land,

The passage through the Red Sea

Was their baptismal plan.

 

To the promise land they journeyed

Just two out of Egypt made it

Not because they broke the Sabbath

But unbelief was their habit.

 

The Sabbath could not save them

Even if they had truly kept it,

At every obstacle they faced

They displayed an unbelieving spirit.

 

As a result of unbelief

All but two would perish

And even the prophet Moses

Could only view the land he cherished.

 

The Jews’ deliverance was physical

But our deliverance is spiritual,

Their deliverance was temporal

But our deliverance is eternal.

 

To a country we also journey,

We are just pilgrims on this earth,

We are led by the Holy Spirit

Having experienced the new birth.

 

 

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Jesus is our Saviour

Not the Sabbath as some opine

And daily as we walk with him

He is transforming our mind.

 

We came to him by faith

On account of hearing his word

And we trust him for our salvation

Even though some find that absurd.

 

As initiates in the new covenant

We were baptized into Christ

And the bread and wine we eat

Reminds us of his sacrifice.

 

The Sabbath was not meant to save us

It was just a shadow or type,

Its focus was to point to Jesus

The one whom John said is the Light.

 

The Sabbath points to creation

In particular to the seventh day

When God rested from His work

And everything was made.

 

But there is a new creation

Because Jesus came down from above

And the sign of that creation

Is the demonstration of love.

 

That love has been shed abroad

In the hearts of those that believe,

It’s in your heart too

If Jesus you’ve received.

 

Now we live a new law,

It is called the law of love,

It shows no contempt for a neighbour

And is regulated from above.

 

Love God with all your heart

And your neighbour as yourself,

On these hang the law and the prophets

And the way to spiritual health.

 

A rest remains for the believer

A rest that Israel never had,

Through unbelief they forfeited theirs,

For them this was really sad.

 

But the good news is God’s offer

Of rest to those who believe,

That true rest is found in Jesus

When God’s salvation they receive.

 

This is not a seventh day’s rest

As was required of the Jews,

This is God’s eternal rest

As detailed in the book of Hebrews.

 

Just like God ceased from His work

One day we too will cease,

It may be at the return of Jesus

Or at the end of our life lease.

 

The dead in Christ will rise first

Then they that are alive and remain

And eternal rest will be ours

Throughout Christ’s eternal reign.

 

Stewart Russell © June 2018

 

 

 

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