Sabbath:
A Gift from Eden
By Stephen
Terry
Commentary
for the March 16, 2013 Sabbath School Lesson
“Also
I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the
Lord made them holy.” Ezekiel 20:12, NIV
While some point to the seventh day of Creation as the
creation of the Sabbath, some remarkable facts come to the fore regarding such
claims. First, the Genesis account does not call the day created the Sabbath.[1] The word “Sabbath” cannot
even be found in the entire book of Genesis. This seems rather unusual if the
Sabbath was created during creation week. No one, not Noah, Abraham, or Joseph
is ever mentioned as observing any kind of Sabbath. Would these great
patriarchs of God’s chosen race be neglectful of the day? Or is it possible
that the Sabbath as we know it came about later?
Second, although the passage regarding the seventh day
tells us that God rested on that day and blessed it, it does not contain a
command for us to rest on that day. Again, nowhere in Genesis is there record
of anyone other than God resting on the seventh day. Even Enoch, who apparently
“walked with God,”[2]
is not mentioned as observing a seventh-day rest. Perhaps this can be excused
because very little is written about the lives of those who lived prior to Noah
beyond some names and life spans. But the post-deluvian patriarchs are not
mentioned as resting in any way on the seventh day either.
No command to observe the Sabbath occurs until the
Exodus narrative. By that time, the perspective regarding the seventh day
appears to have changed. No longer is it about God resting, but rather it
becomes a requirement that man rests, even under pain of death should he fail
to do so. The day is now called the Sabbath, and not merely the seventh day of
the week. Enshrined in the fourth commandment, it becomes an object of
veneration to God by venerating the day. It is of perhaps more than passing
interest that there are two competing commandments regarding the Sabbath. One
is found in Exodus, chapter 20,[3] and the other is found in
Deuteronomy, chapter 5.[4] While the Exodus
commandment points back to the seventh day of Creation as the justification for
observing the Sabbath, the Deuteronomy account does not. Instead, it relates
the requirement for Sabbath observance to being set free from Egypt.
A foundational principle for textual criticism is based on
the idea that scribes, if allowed to do so, will attempt to harmonize biblical
passages rather than allow apparent discrepancies to persist. This practice is
known as lectio difficilior potior.[5] If this is the case, then
perhaps, the Deuteronomy account is the earlier text and the Exodus account
represents a later attempt to harmonize Sabbath observance with Creation. As one
might expect from this, several scholars date Deuteronomy to the period of
reform under King Josiah in the 7th century B.C.,[6] and Exodus to the later period
of Babylonian captivity in the 6th century, B.C..[7] While some may wish for
reasons of conformation to denominational dogma to insist on Moses as the
author of these books, Moses could not very well have written the account of
his own death in the book of Deuteronomy.[8] If we accept that
Deuteronomy is the earlier book then Moses may not have written Exodus either if
it was written after those final verses regarding his death in Deuteronomy.
Whoever wrote the books, the word Sabbath is in the texts.
It is mentioned at least sixteen times in Exodus and only three times in
Deuteronomy. Even those three mentions seem rather chatty after the absolute dearth
of the word in Genesis. That Exodus mentions it far more could be in harmony
with it being the later text. But why would it be so much more prevalent in a
text developed during the Babylonian captivity?
We can glean from the accounts in 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles,
and Daniel that the period of the captivity was a time of deep soul searching
for the Jewish people. These books lay the blame for the captivity on spiritual
apostasy. Even prophets such as Ezekiel in the text at the top of this
commentary, and Isaiah, who lost his life for challenging the nation for its
spiritual failures, raised the issue of the neglect of Sabbath keeping prior to
the Babylonian exile.[9] The Jews who returned from
Babylon were naturally determined not to repeat that captivity experience. It is
little wonder that any religious texts produced during that time would be
filled with laws and rules intended to prevent recurrence. How seriously some
took these requirements could be seen in the mentions of the practices of the
Pharisees in the Gospel accounts. They became so obsessed with behavioral righteousness
that they were even tithing the herbs they used.[10] This behavioral
righteousness, which today we call righteousness by works, could be described
as a hallmark of the Babylonian captivity.
As human beings, we have a tendency to walk an extreme
faith rather than a balanced one. Like a person who is bitten by a dog and then
avoids all dogs as a matter of course, we can sometimes feel we must avoid even
the remotest possibility of compromise. The world becomes very black and white.
The person who was bitten may see the entire world as places with dogs and
places without them. So the religious extremist may see the world as simply
places and events that either represent compromise or not. There is little room
for a middle road. For a person who has divided up the world like this, a
person like Jesus, who claims to be in a relationship with God, but does not recognize
the same boundaries, can be a challenge.
While the Bible tells us that Jesus customarily attended
the Sabbath synagogue service,[11] He and His disciples did
not avoid the same things the Pharisees avoided on the Sabbath.[12] He instead asserted that
the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around.[13] What could this mean?
Perhaps, it means that if man were made for the Sabbath then he would be
required to live under its rule as servant to the Sabbath, but if the Sabbath
was made for man, then it is a gift that every man might choose to observe as
he will. Naturally, as with any gift, some might choose to reject the gift and
in so doing also dishonor the Giver of the gift, but others will thankfully
receive it and respect and honor the Giver.
There are those that might feel that creating a rigid
set of rules regarding the Sabbath is the way to show honor to the Giver, but
doing so means it is not a gift. It becomes something earned instead. Others
might feel it more appropriate to honor the Giver with a heartfelt attitude of love
and appreciation toward both the gift and the Giver. While that appreciation may
be demonstrated in the actions, those acts do not produce the appreciation. It
is the other way around. When one realizes this, it becomes apparent that there
is no law for gratitude; there is only its natural expression.
When we see ourselves as being defined spiritually by
laws and commandments, we can discover there is little room for faith. Instead,
we might find only obedience and strength of will to obey. But when our
relationship to God is driven by love and appreciation, there is little need
for such commandments. Our feet will naturally want to walk the path of love
and appreciation. This does not mean the path will always appear right to
others, for Jesus was at times even called a servant of the Devil by those who
judge others by laws and commands.[14] If they did this to
Jesus, how much more so will they to his followers? Nonetheless, a faithful
heart knows its relationship to God, and its relationship is one of love. Would
a God who is love make any law against love?[15]
There are those who see correct Sabbath understanding only
as a matter of laws and ordinances, and they would chain the individual to a
tablet of stone as a burden to ensure their entry to paradise. Those who would
do so may not be heading for paradise themselves and are possibly ensuring not
only their loss of eternal reward but also that of every soul they convince to
allow them to control them spiritually.[16]
We are not to look to others for counsel on such an important
matter, but to God alone. He will guide us into pleasant places and comfort and
restore us. He will also walk with us through the darkest moments providing for
our needs.[17]
We will naturally walk in the Sabbath as we walk with our loving God, just as
Jesus did.[18]
Perhaps that is why there is no mention of Sabbath observance by the Genesis
patriarchs. It simply did not occur to them that they would be walking by any
law, only that they would walk in relationship to God. That beautiful relationship
is the real blessing of God’s gift to us, not only on the Sabbath but every day
we choose to walk hand-in-hand with God.
