The Sabbath and the Prophets

 By Pastor Aubrey Duncan

In the previous episode, it was clearly established that it was God who gave His Sabbath to mankind. He bestowed it on us as a gift. This gift, like all other gifts from God, is for our edification and His glorification. His Sabbath is to us a precious treasure and an eternal emblem by which we may always remember who is our Creator. God’s Sabbath affords us rest from our labors. It is a time when we come apart from the stresses and challenges of the world to contemplate His great works of creation and appreciate His manifold blessings on us.

We also discovered that whatsoever God blesses, He blesses forever, and no man can curse or change. God’s Sabbath, therefore, is changeless and is intended to be honored by all men at all times. And how does God ensure that this is accomplished? The apostle Paul answers: “God who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). But who are the prophets, and what did they have to say about God’s Sabbath?

God’s prophets are a unique class of humanity whom God raises up to speak to His people on His behalf. As men and women of God, the prophets deliver the word of God directly from God. Peter declared: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (1 Peter 1:21). The life of a prophet of God is always in conformity with God’s word and His will. His or her work is to comfort God’s people when they are hurt and to correct them when they are going down the wrong path. The counsel of the prophet is to direct men’s hearts towards God and His requirements for their lives. He or she does not speak contrary to the word of God.

We are admonished: “Believe in the Lord your God so shall you be established; believe his prophets, so shall you prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20). With this understanding of who the prophets are, let us examine how they related to and what they taught about God’s Sabbath.

For some time after the creation record, no specific mention is made of the Sabbath. Neither was there any indication that God’s Sabbath was abolished or irrelevant. We next encounter the Sabbath in a direct way when the prophet Moses is accused of giving his people ‘rest’ from their labors while in Egyptian bondage. Moses forsook the fame and fortune of Egyptian royalty to dwell and suffer with his people, the Hebrew slaves of Egyptian captivity. The record reveals: “And Pharaoh said, Behold the people of the land now are many, and you (Moses) make them to ‘rest’ from their burdens” (Exodus 5:5).

The word Sabbath is translated to mean rest. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that, within the context of this narrative, the rest mentioned is the Sabbath. The Hebrews, having been released from Egyptian bondage and journeying through the wilderness, had the high privilege of being fed by God with food that descended from on high. The heavenly food, called Manna, was miraculously rained down from heaven for six days each week. For the first five days, just enough manna to feed the people each day was provided.

But on the sixth day, the Scripture declares: “And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread (manna), two omens for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses … 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 you shall today: and seethe that you will seethe: and that which remained over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning” (Exodus 16:22–24). God’s Sabbath, which He gave at creation, is here clearly referred to by Moses, God’s prophet.

Of such importance is the Sabbath to God that, upon giving Moses His moral law, He included Sabbath-keeping as one of His holy commandments. The record reads: “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, six days shall thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shall not do any work, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates … For in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore God blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

One may be quick to say, ‘But that was for Israel of the Old Testament and is not binding on us Christians today’. But the question is, ‘Who is Israel?’ The apostle Paul answers plainly: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:28–29). A Jew, therefore, is simply one who acknowledges the God of creation as the only true God and demonstrates faith in His word by keeping all His commandments, including His Sabbath commandment. Israel is a spiritual term, not necessarily a political entity.

Paul reiterates: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male  nor  female: for we are all one in Christ Jesus… And if you be Christ’s then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:28–29).

Following the example and admonitions of Moses, the people of God held fast to the Sabbath. They recognized its significance and importance in their lives. When they neglected to honor the Sabbath, peril and destruction followed. The prophets of God, who came after Moses, likewise admonished the nation of Israel to hold the Sabbath in the highest esteem as God intended it to be.

For example, the prophet Jeremiah, recognizing the evil that was to befall the people of God if they continued to defile the Sabbath, issued this stern warning: “Thus says the Lord: take heed to yourselves and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do you any work, but hallow you the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers” (Jeremiah 17:21, 22).

Jeremiah concluded by pronouncing the evil that will befall the people if they refuse to obey God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy. He warned the people on behalf of God: “But if you will not hearken unto me to hallow my Sabbath-day, and not to bear a burden, even entering into the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched” (Jeremiah 17:27).

The people did not heed the word of God sent through His prophet Jeremiah. The result was catastrophic. Within a few years, with uncanny accuracy and divine precision, as a consequence of trampling upon God’s Sabbath, the Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonian monarch, King Nebuchadnezzar. The record reveals: “Therefore He [God] brought upon them the king of the Chaldees who slew their young men with the sword in the house of the sanctuary and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old men, or him that stopped for age: He gave them all into his [Nebuchadnezzar’s] hand” (2 Chronicles 36:17).

But God remained a God that did not change. He is a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness. Even in Babylonian captivity, He raised up a prophet to proclaim the sacredness of His Sabbath to His people. Ezekiel writes from Babylonian captivity: “Thus says the Lord God: the gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut six working days: but on the Sabbath it shall be opened.” (Ezekiel 46:1). The God of Creation, who bequeathed His Sabbath to man from the beginning, has never, under any circumstance, relieved man from the obligation of keeping His Sabbath-day holy. But someone else claims to change God’s law.

Enmity against God’s Law

It is the work of our adversary, Satan, to attempt, by any means necessary, to blot out the memory of the Sabbath from men’s hearts. This would lead them to forget their Creator and deny Him the worship that He alone deserves. But God is all-powerful. He ensures that in all ages and under all circumstances, He will have prophets. He inspires them to turn men’s hearts back to their Creator. God’s true prophets do so by uplifting the sanctity of the Sabbath before His people.

After seventy years in Babylonian captivity, the Jewish nation was liberated. Precisely as God had prophesied, the declaration to set Israel free came in 536 BC at the hands of Cyrus, king of Persia. Though some chose to remain in the Babylonian empire, many, including the prophet Nehemiah, took advantage of the opportunity to return to Jerusalem to help reestablish the people in God’s ways. He returned with a company to Jerusalem and the full support of the Persian king to rebuild the temple and reform the people.

Upon arrival in Jerusalem, the prophet declared: “Thou (God) came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments … And made known to them thy holy Sabbath and commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, by the hand of Moses, thy servant ” (Nehemiah 9:13–14). His counsel to God’s people was to remind them of the sacredness of His Sabbath.

Of all the statutes, laws, precepts, and commandments mentioned by Nehemiah, only the Sabbath is specifically stated. Why so? Because the Sabbath directed their minds back to their Creator. Nehemiah continued to remind God’s people: “And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, then we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath day, or on the holy day” (Nehemiah 10:31).

Nehemiah’s work of restoring the Sabbath to God’s people continued incessantly. He admonished Israel: “In those days saw I in Judah some treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves and lading asses; as also wine, grapes and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought in Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day; and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals, then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do and profane the Sabbath-day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath” (Nehemiah 13:15,17,18).

The prophet pointed out to the nation the seriousness of breaking and profaning His holy Sabbath day. It is no less so for us today. The prophet then turned his focus to the religious leaders, calling upon them to be living examples for the people. Nehemiah strongly commanded the leaders: “And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath-day. Remember, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy” (Nehemiah 13:24).

So is it today. God, through His chosen vessels, is calling his people, particularly the religious leaders, to take a stand for Him. In the face of many challenges and the proliferation of erroneous doctrines concerning the Sabbath, God is calling upon the religious leaders to return to Him by keeping His Sabbath day holy and teaching their followers to do likewise.

Of all the Old Testament prophets, none spoke of the benefits of the Sabbath to mankind like the Prophet Isaiah. He promised: “Thus says the Lord, keep you judgment, and do justice, for my salvation is near to come… Blessed is the man that doeth this, and to son of man that lay hold on it; that keep the Sabbath from polluting it, and keep his hand from doing evil… and also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord to be His servants, everyone that keep the Sabbath from polluting it, and take hold of my covenant” (Isaiah 56:2, 6).

Isaiah, of course, was talking directly to the Jews of his time. He completely obliterated the misconceived notion that the Sabbath was just for the Jews. It is clearly shown that the Sabbath is for all humanity, then and now, who join themselves to God. The question is, ‘Are you joined to God?’ If your answer is yes and you claim Jesus Christ as your Savior, then the Sabbath is for you. As a child of the living God, you are required to keep the Sabbath holy. He can give you His strength and power to enable you to obey Him.

God’s Prophet continued: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words … then shall thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob, thy father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13–14).

What child of God would want to deny such a promise and reject such a blessing? Many claim ignorance. The prophet Hosea speaks to this issue: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shall be no more a priest to me: seeing that thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” (Hosea 4:6)

It is a tragedy for those who claim to love God but reject the precious gift of His holy Sabbath. Such a condition is particularly troubling when it is so plainly stated in God’s word, the Holy Bible, which is so readily and abundantly available. Finally, the prophet Isaiah foretold of our worship experience in eternity: “And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to the other, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23). It pays to take heed if you plan on being there.

To reject the Sabbath today is to forfeit that blessing tomorrow. We have heard the prophets, God’s chosen vessels, address the subject of the Sabbath. To a man, they all proclaim its sanctity, sacredness, and special place in God’s heart and in His plan for our salvation. So-called prophets, contrary to God’s word, are increasingly calling for Sunday sacredness. However, there is one thing that they lack: God’s criterion for a true prophet: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

One may ask, ‘Does God have a true prophet who meets this criterion? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. Here is what she predicted more than one hundred years ago concerning God’s Sabbath for the times in which we live:

“The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon humanity, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other choosing the token of allegiance to divine authority, receive the seal of God” (E.G White, the Great Controversy, 605).

The issue of God’s eternal Seventh-day Sabbath versus Rome’s increasing call for Sunday sacredness, which she claims as her mark of authority, is the subject of the final Conflict of the Ages. Whose side will you choose? Choose wisely.

About: Follow Pastor Aubrey Duncan at his Unfolding Prophecy Page.