Who Keeps the “Jewish Sabbath”?
By R. D. Hottel
THE expression “Jewish sabbath” does not occur in the Scriptures. To apply the term to the “Sabbath of the Lord thy God” is to charge the Almighty with the same character that the Jews possessed, who, although highly favored of God, refused to walk in his way. Now while the term “Jewish sabbath” does not occur in the Bible, yet we are led to believe that there is such an institution after all. Anything that is “Jewish” must pertain to the Jews. Now we read in Gal. 1:13, 14, of a “Jews’ religion.” Paul, before his conversion, had profited in it. This is a Bible term, and shows that there was a religion in Paul’s day peculiar to the Jews. Of what did it consist? Paul tells us in the same verses: it was “the traditions of my fathers.” Instead of this people obeying the voice of God and keeping his covenant, which would have made them “a peculiar treasure” unto the Lord (Ex. 19:5), recognized as a people of superior wisdom and understanding by all the nations of the earth (Deut. 4:1–13), they made of none effect the commandments of God by their traditions, and in vain worshiped him, “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” Matt. 15:1–9. Therefore it can be truly said that any observance that is not according to the commandments of God, but after the traditions of the fathers, is of the “Jews’ religion,” or “Jewish.” Now according to the commandment of God, the “seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God;” it is the “Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10); it pertains to God; it is peculiar to him,—a memorial of his power, a sign between him and his people that they “may know that I am the Lord your God.” Eze. 20:20. According to the testimony of First-day observers, the Sunday institution rests “on custom first, and voluntary consecration of it to religious meetings” (Peter Heylyn); “was always only a human ordinance” (Neander); “the Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath” (The Watchman, Baptist); “it is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the church” (Augsburg Confession, by Melanchthon). Therefore, who keeps the “Jewish sabbath”?