The horde of Israel numbering 603,550 men, counting only those over twenty who were able to go to war, encamped in the wilderness of Sinai around the Levites who camped around the tabernacle, and who were excluded in the census, instilled awe filled fear in the hearts of the spies that witnessed the order of the Israelites from their vantage points. We need picture this as it is recorded in scripture. The tabernacle was in the center with the cloud over it, and the Levites around it. Around the Levites were the twelve tribes of Israel. Three tribes to the East, three tribes to the South, three tribes to the West, and three tribes to the North. The multitude which left Egypt two years before, were commanded by The Lord to set their camps afar off from the Levites and the tabernacle, and the stranger who came near it, was to be put to death. Numbers chapter 1 verse 51, 3:10, 3:38, and 18 verse 7 in the old KJV. The exodus had taken place. The 10 commandments had been delivered to Moses. The Levites had slain about three thousand who had made the golden calf, Exodus 32 26:29 and a holy fear abode among the people of Israel who had accepted Almighty God, The Creator, as their King. A purging had taken place, the Levitical law had been established, and the people had freely chosen to obey God in all that God commanded.
The Sabbath, made for man, and not man for The Sabbath, Mark 2 verse 27 in the old KJV, is a holy day. Meaning set apart from the other days of the week, the fourth commandment clearly instructs us to keep the Sabbath Day holy, (set apart), and this for the purpose of rest. It is The Lord’s Day, Revelation 1 verse 10, a special day for our devotions, and to extend good will towards others. A day of rest firstly, Sabbath observance is far removed from onerous legalism. The Sabbath Day is the one day of the week reserved for rest, and doing good deeds. Intended solely for our wellbeing, the truth of this great blessing from God has been polluted for millennia as false doctrine has dominated teaching in the churches, synagogues, and various other religions.
To remove the confusion created by false teaching, we need to see what scripture says about keeping The Sabbath. We are commanded firstly to rest, and this, specifically on the seventh day of the week. For this reason, we shall not cause anyone in our employ or in our house to work on the Sabbath Day. We are commanded to set The Seventh Day of the week, The Sabbath Day, apart from all other days of the week for the purpose of rest, and this includes our staff so they may rest as well. We prepare our food for The Sabbath on the 6th day of the week being Friday, or the preparation day, so we may obey The Lord, and not light any fire on The Sabbath Day. Exodus 35 verse 3.
Starting at sunset on the Preparation Day, being Friday, The Sabbath Day, or The Lord’s Day, continues for 24 hours until the following sunset. We do not conduct our business, earn any income, or kindle any fire during this period of rest. Importantly, The Sabbath Day is not a day of pleasure seeking. Isaiah 58 verse 13 in the Old KJV. It is The Lord’s Day, set apart or kept holy to rest, and delight ourselves in God doing things for others who cannot do things for themselves, or on their own. It is in this knowledge of The Sabbath, that it was created for all men, rich and poor, free or bond, that we experience God’s equity, and the benevolence of God in God’s Kingdom!
Accepting the authority of the 10 Commandments, the original Hebrew Old Testament, and the original New Testament as presented in the Old 1611 King James, the fellowship of Christian belief embraces both the Old and New Testaments as being the record of the fulfillment of The Law and The Prophets by our Lord Jesus Christ. Moving forward, all teaching is founded on The Word. There is no other authority, and there is no other Word. God has spoken in The Word as the prophet Amos records, Amos 3:8, and God forbids changing one jot or tittle of The Word. Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but God’s Word will not pass away. Gainsaying this, is disagreement with The Word, and disagreeing with The Word, disfellowships that person from the Body of Christ!
The spies watching the Israelites in the wilderness would see palls of smoke rising early on the day we call Sunday. It would be the same each morning for 5 days. On the 6th day there would be more, and then on the 7th day, nothing! Except for the cock crowing at dawn, the bleat of a lamb, or the sound of a cow, absolute stillness prevailed over the camp of Israel in the early morning of the 7th day. Displaying an extraordinary discipline unlike any other nomadic group, the fires and the people of Israel gathering manna were visible 6 days a week. On the 6th day there were more fires than usual, and then on the 7th day, not a sign of fire, or a person out of his tent. Exodus 16:29. After the cock crowed, the dawn broke to reveal not a wisp of smoke in the sky, and it was the same every 7th day. To have witnessed this, must have intrigued to say the least.
The primary precepts of Sabbath keeping are that you will not earn your living on the Sabbath Day, you will not light a fire after sunset on Friday the Preparation Day, and no one in your house or employ shall be made to work. Neither beast nor servant, shall be made to work. The Sabbath is firstly a day of rest beginning at sunset on Fridays, and ending at sunset on The Sabbath Day, which the world calls Saturday. Those with the gift of healing may heal on the Sabbath Day. Our Lord Jesus did, and made it lawful to do well on The Sabbath Day. Mathew 12 verse 12. Nurses, Doctors, Firemen, Police, Rabbis, and all of humanity may perform their duties to their fellowman as might be required of them to save life or property, but not for reward on the Sabbath Day. Speaking to one another in Psalms and in scriptures, we must understand that the Gospel of Christ is to be obeyed. There is no license in The Lord Jesus’ vicarious death for the sins of all the world, past, present, and future, to commit sin! Breaking one commandment, renders a man guilty of breaking all of God’s commandments, James 2:10, and if we break God’s commandments, we are not living in The Kingdom of God, having come on Earth! Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 19 in the old KJV teaches us, “I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them, and hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God”. Psalm 133 reads as follows. “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore”. Amen.
By Lester Oliver Thomas Flock © 2020