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.
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.
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.
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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