THE SABBATH A SIGN OF GOD'S EVERLASTING COVENANT.
By S. N. Haskell
What Makes Holy—God's Presence in the Sabbath—The Sabbath Eternal.
GOD alone is holy and righteous in all His ways. Only through Christ can we be partakers of His holiness. God's presence makes holy, whether it be in man or in objects of nature. The burning bush in which Christ appeared to Moses, revealed God. It was a lowly shrub, but God was there. The very ground upon which Moses stood became holy because of the divine presence of the great "I AM." "Draw not nigh hither," were the words of God; "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." He then adds, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God." When the Captain of the Lord's host appeared to Joshua, He said, "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so." Mount Sinai furnishes a striking illustration of this fact. In blazing glory Christ proclaimed the law of God. Bounds were set around about the mount to prevent the people or cattle touching even the border of it. "Whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death. There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live." The ground, the rocks, the trees were made holy by the special presence of God. It was the same ground as before, but God's presence sanctified the spot. It was thus that God made holy the seventh day of the week, upon which He rested. "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Thus the seventh day became as holy as the burning bush, or the ground upon which Moses or Joshua stood, because of the presence of God. So of the seventh day God said: "Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I AM the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 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. 31:13-17. It should be noticed that the Sabbath, the seventh day, is to be observed because upon it "He rested and was refreshed." His presence was as much in that day as in the bush. Men do not die now when they desecrate the Sabbath, because of God's mercy. But in the day of retribution, when Mercy has taken her everlasting flight from this world, when God arises to shake terribly this earth, then it will be found that "the wages of sin is death." Man will not then be left to inflict the penalty, but God who knew no sin, will administer the penalty of transgressing His holy law. The Sabbath was placed in the midst of God's holy law, like a golden clasp to bind together our duty to God and to our fellow-men. It also connects the soul with the great "I AM." It not only is a sign of God in outward obedience, but to the heart of the believer it reveals God; for God is in it. His rest, sanctification, and blessing are in it. The prophet Ezekiel speaks upon this point in such plain words that none can misunderstand it: "Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I AM the Lord that sanctify them." "And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I AM the Lord your God." Eze. 20:12, 20. There is a knowledge of the true God in the Sabbath of the Lord. To know of His sanctifying power is to know God. It is one of the Ten Commandments which expresses the character of God, and it carries in itself the divine credentials, namely, the knowledge of the true and the living God. The language of the prophet Isaiah associates the sons of the stranger and the eunuchs with the keeping of the Sabbath and taking hold of God's covenant: "Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from His people; neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant: Even unto them will I give in Mine house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the5Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant." Isa. 56:2-6. Sin had so separated man from God that the commandment that was ordained unto life was found to be unto death. The blessings of the Sabbath could not reach man, nor could man reach the blessings in the Sabbath until Christ by virtue of His blood raised man to a condition where the Sabbath, with all of its blessings, comes to him as it came to Adam in the Garden of Eden. It then to man becomes a sign of that covenant which had its origin before the Garden of Eden. It towers above sin, bringing the blessings of Eden to the one who, through Christ, is made holy, so that he can keep the Sabbath holy. And in the fruition of the Christian's hope when the eternal purpose of God has been carried out and the kingdom is given up to the Father, then man will sustain the same relation to the Sabbath that he would have sustained if man never had sinned. "And it shall come to pass, from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:23.