Focus on God & His righteousnessHow can Sabbath which specifies no ceremony be classified as ceremonial?
There are various attempts to label the Sabbath as ceremonial. Some say that Christ never grouped Sabbath with moral laws. Some say the Sabbath command was not repeated in the New Testament. Some lump it together with the ritualistic law of sacrifices, offerings and divers washings and label it as “law of Moses”. Still others say that the Sabbath is both moral [loving God] and ceremonial [the timing].
The above explanations reflect flawed appreciation of the laws as God gave them to Israel. To understand it therefore, we need firstly, to clear misconceptions about God’s laws AND secondly, to understand the relationship between those laws.
The Laws That God Gave to Israel
Not a few are familiar with the narrative of the giving of the ten commandments, which can be found in Exodus 20. The first two verses say:
Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Is there any doubt WHO is speaking here?
This passage shows beyond any doubt that the ten commandments [enumerated in the succeeding verses] was spoken by God Himself, directly to the Israelites. Moreover, God wrote it Himself on the tables of stone [Deut 10:1,4]!
How then could anyone dare call it the “law of Moses”, as if it is not God’s?
Anyway, the point here is that the “ten commandments” is a distinct set of commandments.
Bear that IMPORTANT point in mind.
Book of the Covenant
Now, in Exodus 24:7 is mentioned the “book of the covenant”:
Exo 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
What is this “book of the covenant”?
Back in verse 4 we read that Moses “wrote all the words of the LORD”. These are the words that God spoke to Moses, AFTER the Israelites withdrew from the presence of God due to the ear-splitting noise and thunders that startled them as God spoke the ten commandments:
Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed [left], and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
So from then on, God spoke to Moses only [Ex.20:21-22]. The words that God spoke to Moses, as found in Exodus 20:22 through Exodus 23, are what Moses wrote in the “book of the covenant”. That “book” is clearly distinct from the “ten commandments” that God wrote earlier on tables of stones.
The Law given “under the Levitical priesthood”
Now, there is yet another “law” that God gave LONG AFTER the tables of stones and the “book of the covenant” were given. This law is alluded to in Hebrews 7:
Heb 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
As this verse says, “the law” was given under the Levitical priesthood. Verse 28 further says “the law maketh men high priests” — a function that is nowhere found in the ten commandments or in the book of the covenant. Now, Levitical priesthood was instituted about a year AFTER the giving of the ten commandments at Mt. Sinai [Ex. 40]. This can only refer to the law on the Levitical priesthood, the sanctuary and its attendant rituals [offerings, sacrifices, divers washings, etc], as detailed in the book of Leviticus and mentioned in Hebrews 8-9.
This makes at least THREE distinct sets of law, namely:
- ten commandments
- laws written in the “book of covenant”
- law of Levitical priesthood, sanctuary and rituals
To ignore this distinction, is to disregard what God says about sin and how He ordained to get rid of it. And to do so, is to MUDDLE the concept of sin, forgiveness and salvation altogether.
Purposes of God’s Laws and Their Relationship
In Galatians 3 we read:
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
The “seed” as verse 16 says is Christ. Two laws are clearly mentioned here:
- “the law” that was added “because of transgressions”, and
- The law that was being transgressed.
Transgression [or violation] and sin are terms that are widely misunderstood. As John wrote, “Sin is the transgression of the law” [1 John 3:4]. This very simple definition unfortunately fails to escape wasteful debate. Paul himself understood sin only in terms of the law:
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
What law was Paul talking about here?
Paul gave the “Thou shalt not covet” command as an example. The law on covetousness can be found ONLY in the ten commandments.
Can you grasp the IMPORTANT implication of that?
It is simply that in Rom.7:7, Paul was talking about the ten commandments! Which means that the ten commandments alone, as Paul points out, IS WHAT shows us what constitute sin. Anything that is called sin can be traced back to the basic points of the ten commandments. The ritualistic law of sacrifices, offerings and washings do not define sin. They merely show by symbolism how God would handle sin. They were temporary substitutes for the redemptive work of Christ and the Holy Spirit. That is why they were intended ONLY “till the seed should come”. This is the same law mentioned in Hebrews 7 to 10 [except Heb.8:10]. In Hebrews 9, it says:
Heb 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
Reformation means: to straighten thoroughly; rectification, that is, (specifically) the Messianic restoration: – reformation. This clearly refers to the restoration or rectification that results from the sacrifice and death of Christ, as most commentaries would attest to. Paul clearly identifies this law as consisting of meats and drinks [sacrifices or offerings, v.9], divers washings and carnal ordinances. It was added temporarily because of transgression! This added law is not about Sabbath or the ten commandments!
The “book of the covenant”, on the other hand, is a document that governs the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites – the one known today as the “old covenant”.
Conclusion
Sabbath, as should be obvious even to a little child, is part of the ten commandments. The ten commandments, as Paul wrote, defines what sin is [Rom.7:7]. Sin results in death [Rom 6:23]. The first command tells us to worship ONLY the true God. The second command tells us to worship God DIRECTLY. The third command tells us NOT to carry or USE God’s name frivolously or with evil intent. The fourth command tells us to fully FOCUS on God, His righteousness and plan – on the day that He sanctified for that purpose. These four commands complete the first great commandment:
Deu 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
If that is NOT moral law, pray tell me WHAT is!
As the apostle John wrote:
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
The weekly 7-day cycle is not a natural ocurrence in nature. It is rather a supernatural edict purposely to enshrine the command to keep holy the day that God blessed and differentiated from the other six. Despite attempts to destroy it, the weekly cycle continues unbroken since the beginning of creation. To say that Sabbath is no longer sanctified is to presumptuously preempt God, who never issued a reversing command. And whoever say that loving God in ways contrary to or other than what He specifies probably thinks he knows better than God… he can only be blind.
