Ten Commandments (1972)_b.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong
Ten Commandments (1972)_b.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong
Ten Commandments (1972)_b.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong
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The Fourth Commandment 63<br />
"Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths to be a SIGN<br />
between me and them, that they might know that I am<br />
the Lord that sanctify them. But the house of Israel<br />
rebelled against me in the wilderness: They walked not in<br />
my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a<br />
man do, he shall even live in them; and my Sabbaths they<br />
greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my FURY<br />
upon them in the wilderness, to CONSUME them" (Ezek.<br />
20:12-13).<br />
Over and over throughout this chapter, God indicts<br />
the nation of Israel for rebelling against Him - and specifically<br />
condemns them for breaking His Sabbaths.<br />
And it will be well to notice that God does not call<br />
them "your Sabbaths," or "Jewish Sabbaths," as so many<br />
like to say with contempt today, but the Almighty speaks<br />
of: "My Sabbaths," and condemns Israel for neglecting<br />
this command which He obviously regarded as of extreme<br />
importance!<br />
It is important to reiterate that God Himself rested<br />
on the seventh day - and "sanctified" or made holy that<br />
day as a time of rest and worship pointing to the true God<br />
- the Creator of all.<br />
God made the Sabbath command a special and everlasting<br />
covenant between Him and Israel. And the<br />
inspired example of Jesus Christ and His apostles certainly<br />
indicates that this identifying "sign" of the true God ought<br />
to be observed by the true servants of God - the "spiritual<br />
Israelites" today (see Rom. 2:28-29 and Gal. 3:28-29;<br />
6:15-16).<br />
It is an undeniable fact that every nation and every<br />
individual who has failed to "remember" the true Sabbath<br />
has been CUT OFF from the true God and turned to some<br />
form of pagan idolatry! For the Sabbath-keeper, God is<br />
REAL - He is the living, active Creator and Ruler of the<br />
universe. He is a God of POWER and activity.<br />
But the God of the Sabbath-breaker evolves into a<br />
sort of "essence" or a harsh, stern unreal being who is<br />
"way off" somewhere. And in reality, such a false worship<br />
degenerates into carrying on a form of religious observance<br />
only because it is "socially acceptable."
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