Sunset to Sunset: God’s Sabbath Rest (Continues) God made the Sabbath for humankind Remarkably, some will still argue that this doesn’t prove the Sabbath existed from creation week, maintaining that it wasn’t instituted until given to Israel at Mount Sinai and that it was meant for the physical nation of Israel alone—and for only a limited time. However, Jesus Christ Himself dispelled this notion. “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath,” He explained to some who completely misunderstood its intent and purpose (Mark 2:27). He clarified the great underlying principle of the Sabbath day that so many have missed through the centuries: The Sabbath, far from enforcing a tiresome bondage or sanctioning a list of forbidden activities, is something God made for man! It was sanctified—made holy—when mankind was made, with God creating Adam and Eve on the sixth day of creation week and then creating the Sabbath on the following day by setting that day apart (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:1-3). To Jesus Christ the Sabbath was positive and beneficial, not the oppressive burden some religious leaders had made of it in His day. Notice His choice of words. The Sabbath wasn’t something just for the nation of Israel; He said it was made for man—for all humanity—and observing it wasn’t a meaningless practice forced on people to bring only hardship and difficulty. The seventh day was made for man, created expressly for mankind’s benefit and well-being! Several other translations bear this out: “The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings,”The Sabbath was made for the sake of man,” The Sabbath was made to serve man.“The Sabbath was made to benefit people Jesus understood the purpose of God’s law, including the Sabbath—that God intended it to be a blessing and benefit to mankind. God, speaking through Moses, had earlier told Israel to “love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments.” Why? “That you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess” (Deuteronomy 30:16). Moses, after leading Israel for 40 years through the wilderness, summed up the Israelites’ experiences just before they entered the Promised Land. He understood how wonderful the law was that they had received from God and how it was unique. “Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me . . . ,” he told them. “Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes,and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people ’What great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-8). Amen
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:07:33 +0000
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