THE SABBATH OF THE LORD.
By M. C. W.
THE LEVITICAL DISPENSATION.
IN treating the Sabbath question in the light of the dispensations, or different priesthoods, we do not wish to be understood as teaching that God's plan for man's redemption is any different in one dispensation than another. It is ever true that the transgression of God's law is sin; that the wages of sin is death; and that the only way by which man can be saved from sin and death, is faith in Jesus Christ, with all that faith implies. This faith has been differently manifested in the different dispensations, and these different manifestations of faith necessitated different forms of worship. Yet all these were intrinsically the same in spirit and object, and the basis of all was faith in Christ. In the Patriarchal dispensation, as before remarked, the father of a family was the priest of the family. Their simple sacrifices of clean beasts, offered upon an altar of rude stone wherever their tent might be pitched, showed their faith in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who had given himself for them, but who was to be manifested in a future age. When we reach the Levitical dispensation, while the same sacrifices of clean beasts are kept up, a more elaborate ritual is introduced, better fitted for that people who were designed to be a "kingdom of priests" to teach other nations, and to keep alive the truth of God in the earth. Their change of circumstances necessitated some changes for a time in their forms of worship; but the essence was still the same. The sacrifices and all the elaborate ritual were but a different manifestation of faith in the Redeemer to be manifested a little in the future. In order that there be no confusion in the worship of God, specific rules were given for this worship; and, added to these, were other laws for their government as a nation, etc. When Christ was manifested as the great vicarious sacrifice, true believers could no longer show their faith by the old forms; the shadow necessarily ends when the substance is reached. So faith is manifested now by the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and baptism. Now no one ever contends that the Sabbath was136changed or abolished in the midst of any of these dispensations. If such a thing has taken place, it must have been done when one dispensation gave way to another. This certainly is true: the Sabbath formed no part of that which manifested faith in a Saviour to come. This could not be; for first, it was given before man needed a Saviour, and secondly, there is nothing whatever in the institution which is of the character of ordinances or ceremonies or types which point to Christ or his work. If, then, we find the Sabbath plainly marked as a part of what is required of man in the opening of each dispensation, it is positive proof of its binding obligation during that dispensation. In our article of last week, we showed that the Sabbath was instituted at the beginning of the Patriarchal dispensation; it was kept by holy men throughout that dispensation; and, the people of God having been through servitude deprived of its blessings, a reform takes place in that very respect at the close of that dispensation. How about the Levitical dispensation? That period was ushered in by the covenant which the Lord made with the children of Israel, recorded in Exodus, chapters nineteen and twenty-four. The basis of that covenant, as of all covenants, was the law of God, the voice of God, the ten words, or the ten commandments. This law formed no part of their ritual or ceremonial system. It is expressly called a law (Ex. 24:12); Paul refers to it as such (Rom. 7:7); it is that which points out sin (1 John 4:3; Rom. 4:15; 3:20), because it is the rule of life (James 2:8-12; Eccl. 12:13, 14); it is complete and perfect in itself (Deut. 5:22; Ps. 19:7); it comprehends all justice, truth, and righteousness, and is the foundation of God's Government, a reflex of his character. Ps. 119:172, 160, 128, 106, et al. The impressive manner in which it was given is recorded in Ex. 19 and 20, the latter of which contains, in verses 3-17 inclusive, the whole code of God's great constitution. This holy law God did not trust man to give. He engraved it in the enduring stone with his own finger (Ex. 31:18; 32:16); he promulgated it from Heaven with his own voice, amid such grandeur, power, and glory, as earth had never before witnessed. In the very heart of that law, composing about one-third of its matter, is the law of the Sabbath. There is a reason for its being there. Had it been placed first, man would have said that it was no part of the law of God. The same objection would have been made against it if it had been lost. But God placed it in the very center of his law, so that man must, on the one hand, tear down three immutable precepts, guarding the worship and holiness of God, before it can be reached; and on the other hand, six equally immutable precepts must be obliterated, which guard our duties to our fellow-men, before man can lay his unholy hands on the law of the Sabbath. What more could God do than he did do to show the holiness and excellency of the Sabbath day? All that applies to the law as a whole, applies to the whole of the law, so far as the character and binding obligation are concerned. And when the Scriptures inform us that the law is perfect, holy, just, good, and righteous, they mean that every part of that law is perfect, holy, just, good, and righteous. Imperfect parts, that is, as regards character, cannot make up a perfect whole. The Sabbath law is a part of the immutable law of God. Ex. 20:8-11. The very beginning of the law indicates the prior existence of the institution, "Remember the Sabbath day." It was a day which past history had proved that men were liable to forget. The great world had forgotten it, and gone into idolatry. Israel was rescued that they might serve God. But to do this, they must "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." If they regarded the command, it would prove a constant sign (as it will to all the Israel of God) between them and God. Says the Lord: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:16, 17. The reason for this observance and why it would prove a sign, is stated in the Sabbath law; it is because God rested upon that day from his work of creation. Thus the Sabbath would be a constant reminder of the great God who made all things in six days and rested the seventh. Note again that it is the day of the Sabbath which is emphatic, or in other words, the day of the rest of Jehovah. Rest implies labor previously performed. God rested on the last day of the cycle as the foundation for the Sabbath. He then set apart the day on which he rested, namely, the seventh day of the cycle in all time to come. God rested only upon that day, that day only could be the rest day (Sabbath) of the Lord. It is the same rest-day of Jehovah which we find at the beginning, based upon the same reasons. Gen. 2:2, 3. It would be of interest to trace the Sabbath throughout the Jewish age; but we have not space thus to do in this article. The people of God wandered from him, forgot his Sabbath, and went into idolatry. 2 Chron. 36; Eze. 20. Its importance is shown from the fact that the Lord promised that if they will but keep his Sabbath, Jerusalem would stand forever; but if not, they would be destroyed. Jer. 17:21-27. Promises are made to the strangers (nations outside of Israel) who would keep it. Isa. 54. A reformation takes place upon it under Nehemiah, not only as regards the day, but the time of beginning the day, namely, at the going down of the sun. Neh. 13:15-22. But we come to the close of that dispensation. The Jews who had suffered many things for Sabbath-breaking, now went to the other extreme. They loaded down the Sabbath law till it became a burden. They would not heal the sick or relieve the needy or oppressed. They accused our Lord and his disciples of breaking the Sabbath, because they plucked the wheat and ate it, and because he healed the sick. Healing the sick, was to them unlawful labor, especially when the lame man was bidden to carry his bed; and rubbing out wheat in the hands, was to them a kind of threshing. See Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-11; John 9:1-16; Matt. 1:1-13. But did our Saviour break the Sabbath? Doubtless he transgressed "the tradition of the elders," but not the law of God. He who came from God, who was in the counsel of the Father in creation, through whom God made the earth, knew the design and scope of the Sabbath law. Hear his conclusion: "Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12. "Lawful," means "conformable to law," "legitimate." The law of the Sabbath is found in Ex. 20:8-11. Therefore our Saviour, in his works of mercy and compassion, most truly kept the Sabbath. All that he did was conformable to the Sabbath law. Christ's object in doing as he did, was to elevate the Sabbath to that place where it would not be a burden, but a delight; not a wearisome day, but a day of rest to the soul. This was its original object, this was the lesson taught by our Lord. Thus we find in this dispensation, as in the previous one, the Sabbath is binding. The same seventh-day Sabbath is affirmed at its beginning by the voice of God from Heaven, and the dispensation closes with a reform concerning that holy day, advocated and wrought by none other than our great Example, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Surely in regarding the Sabbath, we can do no better than to follow our Master, who is its author, and who kept it "conformable to law." We will consider the Sabbath in the Christian dispensation, in our next. M. C. W.