Did Abraham Keep the Sabbath?
By T. M. Steward
OUR opponents say, No! They tell us we have no evidence in the Bible that the Sabbath was observed before the time of Moses. But it is a significant fact that Moses dated the Sabbath back to Eden. If he knew that it had been observed all the way down to his time, his language is consistent with this fact; but if he knew it had never been observed, then his dating it back to creation without one word of explanation was a wonderful oversight. But let us see if Moses did not teach that Abraham kept the Sabbath. Moses says, Gen. 26: 2-5, “And the Lord appeared unto him [Isaac], and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of; sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries; and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Then God had laws in the days of Abraham and he kept them. The same writer tells what the Lord said to the children of Abraham when he brought them out of Egypt after a sojourn of four hundred years in that land. Ex. 16: 4: “Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no.” Then he had a law at least thirty-three days before it was given from Mount Sinai; and the people knew it, or they could not have been tested by it. It must have contained directions concerning the days of the week, or the gathering of the manna would not have tested their obedience to his law. These were the children of Abraham, and they had been taught the law of God that Abraham kept, and now they were to be proved to see if they would be the children of Abraham. Jesus said to this same people, John 8:39, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” But God is going to test them. Hear him. Ex. 16:5: “And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” Then this was the way in which they were to keep the law. Read verses 22, 23: “And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said.” (See verse 5.) Then this was not a violation of God’s law. Moses continues: “To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord.” Hence, to obey God’s law, they must observe the Sabbath. Verse 26: “Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.” Then God’s law before it was given at Sinai contained instructions about working six days and resting the seventh. The Lord says Abraham obeyed his law, and from the foregoing we see that to obey it he was obliged to keep the Sabbath. Verse 27: “And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.” This was a violation of God’s law. Verses 28, 29: “And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?” “So the people rested on the seventh day.” That is the way to keep his law, and he says Abraham kept it; so Abraham must have rested on the seventh day. Read also the testimony of Paul in Rom. 2:25: “For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the LAW; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.” Then in order for circumcision to avail anything, a man was obliged to keep the law. Paul has just told us in verses 17-23, what law he meant. Circumcision was first given to Abraham; so Abraham must have kept the law, or his circumcision would have been nullified. Therefore, Abraham was a Sabbath-keeper, and a seventh-day-keeper, too, for thus saith the Lord. “If ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Let us do the works of Abraham, that we may be his children. T. M. STEWARD. New Rutland, July 19, 1875.