Weekly Devotional 10-2-17 Seventh Day-First Day of the Week
Recently, I received a picture from a friend who lives in India. There are words on it that read, “Happy Sabbath.” In smaller text there are words that say, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” This latter phrase is found in Exodus 20, where God through Moses is giving the Israelites instructions as to how they were to live before Him. They were to set the seventh day aside as a day of rest and remembrance, consecrated to God. It was intended to keep the Israelites focus on God. Keeping the Sabbath, however, did not make the Israelite holy. That was to be the experience of the inner man. In this age, the age of grace so to speak, God has given His Spirit to indwell those that are His in order that the experience of the inner man can be a holy experience. So, whether one sets the seventh day aside or the first day aside, it should be with the intent of focusing as much as possible on the Lord. However, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), and “the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:5). Therefore, we need to be careful not to make either day an object of worship. We must worship the day giver, not the day. Didn’t God through Moses say, “Thou shalt have no other god’s before me” (Exodus 20:3)? Yes he did. Would not worshipping a certain day be a god? Yes.
Turning to the Luke passage, we read; “1Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. 2And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3But Jesus answering them said, ‘Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?’ 5And He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath’ (Luke 6:1-5). When the need of David and his fellows arose (1st Samuel 21:1-6), to their taking and eating from the storage house of the priest, God permitted it without chastisement. In the same sense, when Jesus’ disciples were hungry and satisfied that hunger, they were not chastised by the Lord.
Also, as we continue reading from the Gospel of Luke we read; “6Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. 8But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. 9Then Jesus said to them, ‘I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?’ 10 And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other” (Luke 6:1-10).
From Luke 14:1-5, we read; “1And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2And, behold, there was a certain man before him who had the dropsy. 3And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?’ 4And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5And answered them, saying, ‘Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?’ 6And they could not answer him again to these things.”
John MacArthur in The MacArthur Bible Commentary writes; “The Law did not forbid doing good on the Sabbath. The Sabbath laws forbade labor for profit, frivolous diversions, and things extraneous to worship. Activity per se was not unlawful. Good works were especially appropriate—particularly deeds of charity, mercy, and worship. Works necessary for the preservation of life was also permitted. No actual Old Testament law forbade the giving of medicine, healing, or any other acts of mercy on the Sabbath. It was always lawful to do good.”
Was the Sabbath an important day to the religious vitality of Israel, and is the First Day of the week important to the vitality of the church? Yes. Although the intention of both was not to make one holy, but that the holy would have one day set aside each week where one’s attention could be focused principally on Lord God. We of today must understand that the only thing that makes us holy is the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since we are holy by position, we should worship Him every day in our practice, not just on Saturday (the Sabbath) nor Sunday, the first day of the week. There is nothing wrong in setting either of these days aside as a day of focus and rest from our labors. In fact, these days are blessed by the Lord God, but if they are observed because of a sense of not sinning, they are misunderstood.
Thank you, Lord, for loving us and for your provision.
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