The Sabbath was kept by the Israelites in Egypt; at least Pharaoh charged Moses and Aaron with causing them to keep it, and for that reason made their burdens heavier, and took away the straw. Pharaoh said to Moses and Aaron,
Exodus 5
5 Behold the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens.
The word here translated “rest” is in Hebrew shabath, and in every other place where the word is translated rest it is in connection with the rest of the seventh-day Sabbath, except in Leviticus 26:34,35, where it refers to the land resting while it should be desolate.
But when we turn to 2 Chronicles, to the fulfillment of the words in Leviticus, there we have the word translated plainly,
2 Chronicles 36
21 As long as she lay desolate, she kept sabbath.
Following are all of the places wherein the word shabath is translated “rest” or “rested”:
Genesis 2
2 And he rested on the seventh day.
3 Because that in it he had rested.
Exodus 5
5 You make them rest from their burdens.
Exodus 16
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 23
12 On the seventh day you shall rest.
Exodus 31
17 The seventh day he rested.
Exodus 34
21 …on the seventh day you shall rest: in earing time and in harvest you shall rest.
Leviticus 26
34 Then shall the land rest and enjoy her Sabbaths.
35 …it shall rest; because it did not rest…
And in 2 Chronicles, the same word is translated as stated above, plainly, “sabbath,” in fulfillment of Leviticus 26:34-35:
2 Chronicles 36
21 As long as she lay desolate, she kept sabbath.
So, therefore, with the exception in Leviticus, in every place in the Bible where the word is translated “rest,” it refers to the rest of the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, unless we make a further exception of these words of Pharaoh in Exodus 5:5.
But why should this be more an exception when there is nothing in the text nor context which demands it as an exception? and when besides we have all these instances of the use of the word to justify the use of it in that same sense in this place?
Further: the context appears to justify this meaning; for Pharaoh said also:
Exodus 5
8 For they be idle.
Now what good reason could he have for saying they were idle unless it be in view of what he had said to Moses and Aaron that they made them rest, and in view of that rest being the Sabbath in which they should “not do any work.”
Consequently, there was a conflict of authority. Moses and Aaron came to the people with the authority of God, teaching the people to rest. Pharaoh refused to recognize the authority, and made their burdens heavier and their tasks harder, and would not let them serve God. Then,
Exodus 8
1 The Lord spoke unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh and say unto him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
And this is further confirmed by the fact that the very first service that the Lord demanded of them, after Pharaoh had finally let them go, was to keep the Sabbath,—to rest on the seventh day.
Another thing that strongly confirms this view of the text is,
Revelation 15
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God.
Who sing this song?
Revelation 15
2 …them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name…
How did they get the victory?
Revelation 14
12 [By keeping] the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
How did they get the victory “over his mark?” By being sealed with the seal (mark) of the living God (Revelation 7:3; 14:1), in opposition to the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:9-12).
We know that the last oppression that the people of God will suffer in this world, will be because they recognize their duty (and will do it) of keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, resting on the seventh day.
We know, likewise, by Revelation 13:15-17, that an attempt will be made to prevent our serving God, and therefore when the oppression of the modern Pharaohs becomes so cruel upon us, again the Lord will say unto them,
Exodus 8
20 Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Revelation 22
3 …his servants shall serve him:
And when that shall have been said, and he shall have given us the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark, etc., then indeed will it be that we shall “sing the song of Moses” the servant of God, as well as “the song of the Lamb.”
But how can we sing the song of Moses, unless we have a similar experience to that which gave rise to the song of Moses? Oppression alone does not give that experience; because if that were so, all of the martyrs could sing the same song.
But in this, none but those who have “gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark,” etc.,—”the hundred and forty-four thousand,”—none but these sing this song (Revelation 15:3; 14:3).
Therefore it cannot be oppression alone, but oppression for the same cause which gives rise to that song of Moses. And this text (Exodus 5:5), and this view of the text, furnishes not only a parallel oppression, but a parallel cause for the oppression.
And if this view of the text be not allowed, there is no fitting parallel between the circumstances and events of that time of old and the one soon to be. Therefore, I firmly believe that Exodus 5:5 was emphatically one of the things which was written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Corinthians 10:11).
This view of the text furnishes additional light also upon other texts, Deuteronomy 5:14-15, for instance. There, Moses, after rehearsing the fourth commandment up to the place where the man-servant, the maid-servant, and the stranger are mentioned, breaks off and adds,
Deuteronomy 5
14 …that your man-servant and your maid-servant may rest as well as you.
15 And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt…
In this view, this was an appeal to the personal experience of every one, under the Sabbath commandment. And more, they were to remember how God had wrought for them with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and how He had punished their oppressors. They were to draw from that the lesson that they should not oppress the keepers of the Sabbath of the Lord, lest they be like Pharaoh and all his host. And the lesson was not for them alone, but for all people, and all time (Revelation 13:10-18; 14:9-12).
Further: this view of the text shows that the duty of keeping the Sabbath was the main cause of their deliverance, and decisively excludes it as the consequence. For if they had not been required to keep the Sabbath, their oppression would not have been so great; and if their oppression had not been so great, they would not yet have been delivered.
Once more, and with this I close: if this view of the text be allowed, and if it be shown that the keeping of the Sabbath was a point of conflict in Egypt, before the Exode, then we have a strong additional refutation of the claim that it originated in the wilderness. Other reasons might be given for this interpretation of the text, but I think these are amply sufficient to justify us in the belief that it is the correct one.
Other articles by A. T. Jones:
- The Education of Daniel
- Church History in the Book of Revelation
- Consecration
- The Two Principles
- The Mission of the Spirit
- The One Example
- Christ Revealed in the Sabbath
- Should Civil Law Forbid Blasphemy?
- The Nearest of Kin
- Ministers of God
- Receive Not the Grace of God in Vain
- A Complete Saviour
- That Faithful Saying
- The Return of the Jews
- Human Nature and Its Restraints
Beautiful teaching thank you.
1 point I would add is that the 4th commandment starts with “Remember” the Sabbath day. The children of Israel were to remember the original law passed down to them the garden of Eden they had kept throughout the generations.
Benji,
You are correct. There is much more depth in each word of the Scriptures than a mere casual reading will uncover.
Another point is that they were to “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” But an unholy man can’t keep the Sabbath holy. Therefore, only holy men can keep a holy Sabbath.
But holiness does not come from man. The Lord through Ezekiel said, “I gave them my sabbaths,…that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” The thought is a repetition of Exodus 31:13. In other words, the Sabbath was to teach us that sanctification, or holiness, comes from the Lord, and His working in and through us, and not from our own self-directed mind or flesh, or strength.
This was the clear lesson in the deliverance from Egypt. It was accomplished solely by God’s power and plans. So it is with the deliverance from sin.
The 144,000, who above all others, learn this lesson to it’s final end, the deliverance from all sin, proclaim:
“Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are your ways, You King of saints. Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify your name? for You only are holy.” (Rev. 15:3-4).
This is exactly what the Sabbath was designed to teach, and this confession by the 144,000 shows that they are true Sabbath keepers.
Why do you take Gods word out of context to try to “prove” your false teaching of obligation of Sabbath Observance?
First, the Children of Israel did not know about the Sabbath until they were in the wilderness when God gave them quail and manna in Exodus 16. Apart from God resting on the 7th day (not because He was tired and needed refreshing, but because His active work was complete when He created the universe and everything in it), there is no reference to anyone keeping the Sabbath or any command to do so.
Second, do you think Pharoah would let the Israelites keep a day for worship? No way. He did not honour God.
Here is the context of Exodus 5
But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you. . .”taking the people away from their labor”? Get back to your work!” Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”
verse 8. . . But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; . . .”that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’”
Moses was asking Pharoah to let him and Aaron take the Israelites into the wilderness for three days to worship God (he was not getting them to keep a day that had never been commanded to anyone before. . .see Deuteronomy 5:1-3).
No, the Israelites never kept the Sabbath in Egypt. They were idol worshippers, not Sabbath keepers.
Darryl, there is nothing wrong with the “context” in the use of the Scriptures above. You may not agree with the interpretation, but the interpretation of your mind is not the “context” that everyone must measure up to. The context is the “rest” that Moses was leading the children of Israel into. The author draws a parallel with the Sabbath because the same word is used for “rest”, and when they came out of the land, they were immediately brought into God’s rest, via the Sabbath.
Can you prove from the Scriptures that the “feast” Moses wanted to take the people to, when he asked Pharaoh, was NOT on the Sabbath? Then if you can’t prove it, then the Sabbath could well have been part of that feast, and we need to look further in the Scriptures to see what other evidence there is, which is what the author of the article does.
Deuteronomy 5:1-3 does not negate the perpetuity of the Sabbath. The covenant that “the Lord did not make with their fathers” is the old covenant: the one the people made with God, to the effect that they themselves, without God’s renovating power on their hearts, would obey God perfectly. God never made the “old covenant” with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, or Adam. They all partook of the new covenant: they believed God, and He worked in them and through them.
There were two covenants in play after Sinai. First, the one made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the everlasting covenant; which we refer to as the “new covenant” because it had to be repeated after the old one was made. This covenant is the same as the gospel, for so Paul applies it in Romans and Galatians. It is also mentioned in places like Leviticus 26:42-45, and Deuteronomy 30:10-20 (compare with Romans 10:6-10).
God would gladly have had the people enter right into this covenant at their deliverance, and like Abraham, “believe the Lord,” and be made righteous. But the people, not realizing the depth of their inner sin problem, in self-confidence proclaimed that they were ready and able to keep God’s commandments. This was the old covenant: an agreement to try and bring “good fruit” from an “evil tree” (their sinful hearts). God’s solemn declaration of the Law from Sinai was designed to awaken them to their inner need. This is one role of the Law: to reveal sin. See Romans 3:20; 7:7; Galatians 3:24.
“The Israelites never kept the Sabbath in Egypt.” That was part of the problem. They had become permeated with heathenism, yet they still retained some knowledge of God, and so He could work with them. It is quite incorrect to state that the Sabbath “had never been commanded to anyone before.” It was made at the end of creation, and marked the last day of the week. The weekly cycle is based on the days of creation. Jesus said it was “made for man,” not “made for the Jew”. Jesus referred to the “making” of the Sabbath, and that points back to creation. God makes nothing for himself, He is not selfish. “All things are for your sakes.” 2 Corinthians 4:15. Therefore the Sabbath, which Jesus stated was “made for man,” would have been given to him right away.
Why was it necessary? Adam and Eve had done nothing yet, they had just been created, and the next day was the Sabbath. Why did they need it? They needed to study God’s works and His way of working, so that they could follow that pattern when they populated the Earth. The garden was a prototype that God planted as a pattern for them. They needed to study the pattern before entering upon their God-given work.
Furthermore, we are told that Abraham “kept…my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Genesis 26:5). Which commandments and laws were these? Why simply the same ones that the Lord has always commanded His people to observe! God does not have many different standards of righteousness. There is only one, and the 10 commandments were an expression of His righteousness. “Sin is the transgression of the Law.” 1 John 3:4. Which Law? The 10 commandments! See Romans 7, for example. Was there sin before Sinai? Of course! Then there was a Law, even though it may not have been spoken by God’s direct voice, as at Sinai. The Patriarchs, especially before the flood, had stronger mental powers, and were able to pass down the knowledge of God’s requirements, by word of mouth.
Although the ten commandments are often stated in the negative, “you shall not,” in Jesus, we see the positive attributes that are implied in the Law. Jesus “did not kill,” but more than this, He gave life to people. That is implied in the Law, but in Jesus we see it fully unfolded.
Many people think that the Sabbath (or any other day they choose) is simply a day to show God how much we love Him. That’s not the purpose of the Sabbath. It’s a day to educate us in the knowledge that God is the one who sanctifies us, and not we ourselves. It calls our attention to His created works, both in nature, and in the power of the gospel, so that we can avoid the mistake that has plagued the church all through history: the temptation to take the work of God into our own hands.
This means, of course, that if we meet together on Sabbath, we listen to the message as brought by the men whom God appoints (by His creative power), and not ministers of our own choosing, whom we like because they do not point out our sins.