Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach

SABBATH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
of life during those years. But there is no mention of the
Sabbath for 2500 years! It is highly unlikely that the
Sabbath would never have been mentioned during this time
if it truly was established at Creation. What I learned from
a closer examination of the Creation account is that the
Creation ordinance idea has some serious weaknesses. So if
I was going to be faithful to what the text actually says, I
had to admit that two interpretations are feasible: 1) a
Creation ordinance of a seventh-day Sabbath, or 2) a
completed work and celebration that was intended to affect
the world for every day thereafter. The latter meaning
would indicate that God never intended for humans to toil
in hardship to make it in life. There was to be a perpetual
state of rest in unbroken relationship with the Creator.
We do not find Sabbath mentioned again until Exodus
16:23. God explains the Sabbath concept to the people of
Israel through the manna experience. As I studied, it
became evident that the people were unaware of any
Sabbath up to this time. They had been given some new
commandments, such as the sacrifice of the lamb in Exodus
12, and the institution of the Passover feast in the same
time period. They knew about circumcision, but they had
not yet been introduced to the Sabbath. The context is clear
that the people had to be taught about the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is later expanded into one of the Ten
Commandments in Exodus 20:8-11. There they were
instructed to remember the Sabbath. Some have suggested
that this refers to Creation establishment, others that it
refers to the manna episode. Either interpretation is feasible
in the text. Notice that those who were obligated to rest
included “the stranger within your gates,” a different group
from the “stranger that sojourns among you” in Leviticus
17-18. This command was not for everyone as a Creation
ordinance might indicate. (See comments on Acts 15 in the
previous chapter.) Finally, verse 11 reads:
115