Sabbath in the Wilderness
By William Covert
God's Works Are Forever — Idolatry When His Works Were Forgotten — Continued Miracles Attended the Day of the Sabbath
THE Sabbath was intended to bless all men; and as it was committed to Adam and Eve before the fall (Gen. 2:2, 3), evidently its Author designed it to be kept by all people for all time. With this agree the words of Solomon where he says, "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him." Eccl. 3:14. If God should be constantly changing His laws and purposes, men would be confused, and the result would be a loss of reverence for God, and a want of confidence in His word. The psalmist said of the Lord: "He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered. . . . The works of His hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Ps. 111:4, 7, 8. God gave His commandments to men because the eternal principles of righteousness demanded that He should do it. And the law which He gave was perfect. Ps. 19:7. He neither exceeded that which was required, nor did He come short of the mark. PROCLAIMED WITH AUDIBLE VOICE
When God led Israel out of Egypt, He gathered the whole people around Sinai, and there with audible voice He delivered His law in the hearing of them all. Then the law was engraved in stone with His finger. Also a covenant was ratified with them concerning the law. See Exodus 24. Thus the people of Israel were out of Egypt and started on their way to Canaan. They were to be installed in the land of promise, in harmony with a covenant which God had previously made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The promises made to these covenant fathers all looked forward to the redemption of the earth from the curse of sin, and the settling of men on their eternal inheritance. We have only a brief of what was said to the patriarchs, yet we gather enough from the brief to know that God's ancient people had faith in the same Redeemer whom Christians now accept. Of course all careful Bible students know that Israel had but recently emerged from a long and trying period of slavery when they entered into covenant with the Lord. In this covenant they promised to keep the commandments, yet their human weaknesses kept them from fulfilling their vows. So they entered upon a bewildering experience, instead of earning a clear title to the land of glory. In writing of their defect, the psalmist said, "They soon forgat His works; they6waited not for His counsel: but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert." Ps. 106:13, 14. In speaking of the specific acts of their transgressions, the writer of their history says, "They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image." When they forgot God's works, which He had made to be remembered, they could not keep the Sabbath. In fact, they entered upon a shameful scene of heathen debauchery while Moses was up in the mountain communing face to face with the Lord. The cause of their transgression is told in words too plain to be mistaken: "They forgot God their Saviour, which had done great things in Egypt; wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red Sea. . . . Yea, they despised the pleasant land [land of promise], they believed not His word: but murmured in their tents, and harkened not unto the voice of the Lord." Ps. 106:21-25. Their association with idolaters and idolatry in Egypt had blinded their minds to such an extent that they lacked the mental and moral qualifications to make them yield willing and loving obedience to the commandments. Their want of reverence was such that Moses once said to them, "Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you." Deut. 9:24. CONTINUED MIRACLES FOR FORTY YEARS
To help and instruct them in their Sabbath obedience, the Lord rained manna from heaven to feed them, and this was done for a period of forty years. The manna fell six days each week during the whole period, and it was restrained from falling every Sabbath day during the entire time. That which fell on the sixth day of the week was double the amount of that which fell other days; and it had a quality in it which preserved it over the entire seventh day, while the manna which fell any other than the sixth day could not be kept over. Thus God was working a continual miracle before their eyes in the matter of the manna, but largely relating to the keeping of the Sabbath commandment. This was done for a period of forty years. During all this time, God was associating a physical as well as a special spiritual blessing with and in the Sabbath day. In all that period, there could be no question with that people as to which day was the Sabbath. Nor could any fail to see that God wanted the day to be properly observed. Please to read Ex. 16:4-26. But a blessing so constant and evident as was the manna and the Sabbath may become so common that a murmuring people will even speak in a critical and thankless way about it. So it was with the manna. The Hebrews said it was a very poor food and was lacking in relish. They wanted flesh with fish and garlic. See Num. 11:4-6. A PROPHET TELLS HOW IT WAS
The prophet Ezekiel, in looking back to this bit of unpleasant conduct in the wilderness, and to an earlier scene of their rebellion, said for the Lord: "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. But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: they walked not in My statutes, . . . and My Sabbaths they greatly polluted. . . . For their heart went after their idols." And as stated in another verse, "Because they had not executed My judgments, but had despised My statutes, and had polluted My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers' idols." Eze. 20:12, 13, 16, 24. The foregoing scriptures show what a fearful havoc idolatrous associations work upon those who are thrown among them. Judging from the account given of the god which Aaron provided for Israel when they came out of Egypt, we decide that the image was made according to the order of those who led in the apostasy. It was cast into a mold which was brought out of Egypt, or one which some one provided for the occasion. The account says that Aaron fashioned it with a graving tool after he had made it a molten calf. For the man in charge of the Lord's people to yield to their request and provide them with an Egyptian divinity, the calf Apis, was not a dignified act. What a foolish thing for a great man to do! Whatever the form of that image was, it had in it a hidden meaning for the people, which would lead them to direct transgression of the commandments they had heard proclaimed from the top of Sinai, and had promised to obey. WOULD PROMOTE WORSHIP OF THE TRUE GOD
As we have abundantly seen, the Sabbath, if intelligently and devoutly observed, would promote the worship of the true God, and also serve as a guard against the practise of all forms of idolatry. When the prophet expressly declares that "the Sabbath was greatly polluted" because their hearts went after their idols, the statement is very significant. A BRIGHTER SIDE TO THE PICTURE
But there was a better day for Israel when the younger people became trained in the ways of righteousness. And this training was done during the forty years of sojourn in the wilderness. The generation taught and led by Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, with their helpers, became a mighty host. By the Omnipotent One, a wide space in the Jordan bed was made dry, and so the river was held, to prevent its waters from coming down from above, while all the people passed over to the other side. The marvelous work was done so openly that all the neighboring peoples knew of it, and were astounded at the wonderful thing which God had wrought for Israel. Then the Lord said to Israel, "This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." They were then free from Egypt, and ready to make history for the cause of God.