THE SABBATH DID NOT ORIGINATE WITH THE JEWS.
By Daniel T. Bourdeau
THE first passage in the Bible which contains instruction concerning the Sabbath or Rest-day, is found in the second chapter of Genesis, and reads as follows: “And 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. ii, 2, 3. From this passage we learn the following important truths: First, God rested from his work of creation on the seventh day. Second, when God rested from his work, he blessed and sanctified the seventh day. Hence we see that the seventh day became the blessed and sanctified Rest-day or Sabbath of Jehovah, as soon as he had created the heavens and the earth. The Sabbath did not therefore originate with the Jews, and should not be termed a Jewish Sabbath. But here an objection is urged against the view we advocate. Says one, I believe that God rested on the seventh day, and that he blessed and sanctified the day on which he rested; and that is all I can believe. Gen. ii, 2, 3, refers merely to the first seventh day; and the Sabbath may be Jewish after all. This reasoning seems quite plausible at first; but let us analyze it. The conclusion, the Sabbath may be Jewish after all, is drawn from the statement that Gen. ii, 2, 3, refers merely to the first seventh day. Is this statement correct? If so, the conclusion is also correct, and our reasoning is worth nothing. We take the position that the premise is false, and that therefore the conclusion must also be false. The record says, “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.” This shows us that God blessed the seventh day after he had rested. To bless, means “to give success to, to praise, to honor,” etc. Webster. A man by blessing his children, honors and exalts them; and that man would be thought insane, or at least uninformed who would insist that he who blesses his children should be severed from them, and no more enjoy their society. Now God blessed the seventh day: he exalted it, so to speak, above the other days of week; and what must we think of him who affirms that God blessed the seventh day at creation, and left it there alone, with the intention that it should be no more regarded than the other days of the week, till it would have a resurrection among the Jews, and thus become Jewish? This is the view that those must take who say that the Sabbath was not instituted at creation. But God also sanctified the seventh day. The definition of the word sanctified is, “to set apart to a holy, sacred, or religious use.” That this definition is correct is evident from the Scriptures of truth. For instance, we learn in Ex. xix, that when the Lord was about to promulgate his holy law, he commanded Moses to sanctify the people, and mount Sinai. Verses 10, 23. That is, the Lord commanded Moses to set the people and the mountain apart to a holy, sacred, or religious use, or for holy purposes. We might trace the word sanctify through the Bible, and show that it always has the same meaning (the meaning that Webster gives it) but this is sufficient. We now ask, Can we confine the act of blessing and sanctifying the seventh day, to the seventh day of the first week of time? We cannot; for God did not bless and sanctify a day in which he intended to rest from his work of creation; he blessed and sanctified the seventh day, because that in it he had rested. And it is evident that past time cannot be set apart for holy purposes. We therefore conclude that when God had created the heavens and the earth, and rested on the seventh day, he blessed and sanctified, or set apart to a holy, sacred, or religious use the seventh day in the future; which was also the day on which he rested. Now if we can rely on Webster’s definition of the words bless and sanctify; if it is true that a thing which is blessed and sanctified belongs particularly to the Lord, and should be spent to his glory; and that it has always been right to render unto God the things which are God’s, we must admit that the obligation rested upon our first parents to turn their feet from the Sabbath, from doing their pleasure on God’s holy day; and to call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable. Isa. lviii, 13. But another effort is made to show that the Sabbath was not instituted at creation. It is said that the six days of creation were not literal days, but (d’immenses epoques de temps, des milliards d’années) immense periods of time—millions of years. We must acknowledge that we never could see any force in this statement so often repeated; and we have been surprised in hearing learned men make this statement to substantiate the view we oppose. A moment’s reflection will suffice us to show the utter absurdity of this assertion. We learn in the account of creation that the Lord was six days in creating the heavens and the earth, and that each of the days of creation was composed of “the evening,” and “the morning.” Moreover in the same account we are taught that when God had finished his work, he rested on the seventh day. The same term which is employed to denote the length of94the different periods in which God wrought in the work of creation, is also employed to denote the length of the period in which he rested. Hence if words are expressive of ideas, the seventh day was just as long as the days of creation. If the six days of creation were immense periods of time, the seventh day was also an immense period of time. With this conclusion before us, let us notice a few facts in the history of Adam. First, Adam was created on the sixth day. Gen. i, It is not said how near the close of the day he was created. The day following was the Rest-day of Jehovah; and Adam lived hundreds of years after God had rested on the seventh day, and begat sons and daughters. Now if the six days of creation were not literal days, but immense periods of time, we must necessarily conclude that Adam lived a part of an immense period of time, (for he lived during a part of the sixth day,) one immense period of time, (the seventh day,) and hundreds of years besides. How many years would this make? One million of years at any rate. But the infallible word of God says in plain English, "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died." Gen. v, 5. Therefore the six days of creation were not immense periods of time, but literal days. Other arguments might be advanced to show the absurdity of this position; but we must be brief, and come at once to the ground on which those rest who state that the creation week was not a literal week. We therefore inquire, On what do our opponents base their assertions in regard to the six days of creation? On geology, says one. But is geology infallible? By no means. We know that by the aid of geology men have made remarkable discoveries; but this science is only in its infancy. This fact is confirmed by geologists themselves, who arrive at different conclusions, even on the point that we are now noticing. There are some who believe that the six days of creation were six immense periods of time; others on the contrary believe that these days were literal days, during which God, who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, (Gen. i, 1,) arranged, created, or organized things which existed already. With the latter we find the famous Mr. Burnier, who adhered to Sunday-keeping. How then can we base an argument on geology? We have nothing to say against geology as a science; but we do enter our solemn protest against that science falsely so-called, which makes the word of God of none effect. These objections remind us of an anecdote which a presiding elder related a few years since while speaking on the subject of charity. He said that on a certain occasion he spoke to his congregation on a practical subject; and that while he was delivering his discourse, one of his auditors would occasionally whisper, "This belongs to that one; that hits well." Said the elder, He gave all the discourse to his neighbors. This was not the right kind of charity. These remarks were very true; and there are many at the present time who have the kind of charity spoken of by the elder. They would gladly give the Sabbath and other institutions which are binding upon all men, to the Jews, or to some other people. And when these individuals are reined up to plain Bible truths which they are not inclined to receive, they begin to plead for charity, forgetting that true charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, and that God's frown rests upon those who talk so much about charity and love, while they refuse to do the will of our Father which is in heaven. O that God would open the eyes of the honest, that they might see that the Sabbath was made for man. DANIEL T. BOURDEAU.