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The Sabbath

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, Cal. · Aug 8, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 3.

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The Sabbath.

1. When and how was the Sabbath instituted?
It was instituted at Creation. "On the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 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." Gen. 2:2, 3.
2. Was there any change in the Sabbath up to the time of Moses?
On Sinai God repeated His Sabbath law. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11.
3. Was there any mention of the Sabbath day between Creation and Sinai?
One month before coming to Sinai Moses reminded the Israelites of the Sabbath. When the manna was given, they were directed to gather a double portion on the sixth day and prepare it for the Sabbath. He said, "Six days shall ye gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none." Ex. 16:26.
4. What special blessing is attached to the Sabbath day?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
5. Did Christ make any change in the Sabbath law?
Hear His own words: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5:17, 18. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27, 28. Christ taught Sabbath reform, but not a change of the day.
6. How did His followers observe the Sabbath?
On seeing Christ laid in the tomb, "they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them." Luke 23:56; 24:1.
7. How did Paul observe the Sabbath?
At Corinth he worked at his trade of tent-making, with Aquila and Priscilla, but on the Sabbath he taught the people in the synagog. This he did for a year and a half at one time. Acts 18:1-4, 11.
8. How long will the Sabbath be a recognized institution?
"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23.