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THE SABBATH

002-THE SABBATHBesides the six days of creation, God gave us one day more of 24 hours, the last and seventh day1, the Sabbath. He is said to have stopped and rested from all his work of creation, unlike someone tired, but satisfied with the fruits of his wisdom and goodness and manifestation of his glory. According to the Bible, God blessed the seventh day, the Sabbath, and sanctified it, then presented it as a sign between Him and us2, like a temple or monument of the Creation in the time. He gave it to us so we would keep it, as the Sabbath was created for mankind3, for all humanity. This originates the concept of the week, the seven days of our Creation.

The Sabbath is a sign of the creator’s and redeemer’s power. It indicates God as fountain of life and knowledge reminds mankind of the original glory and therefore testifies to God’s commitment to create us in his own image again. The Sabbath and the family were introduced in the Eden and are everlastingly united in God’s purpose. In that day, more than in any other, it will be possible for us to live the life of Eden.4 God’s love has limited the demands of work. In his day, he saves an opportunity for the family to be in communion with him, with nature and their neighbour. The same says the fourth commandment of the Law of God5 and it invites us to remember and keep the Sabbath, precisely because God created heaven and earth in six days and rested on the seventh. The Law of God, the ten commandments, were written with God’s finger6, are everlasting and there will be never removed one jot or tittle7, as Jesus himself declared.

Furthermore, as Jesus was the Creator of all, he affirms himself as “Lord of the Sabbath”.8 He also kept the Sabbath as day of rest9, teaching us how to keep it rightfully10, from sunset to sunset.11 Although he did not work on Sabbath day, he cured ill people, preached and explained the Holy Scriptures in the temple and the synagogue. Every disciple of Christ kept the biblical Sabbath12, until their deaths13, too. The Bible says that even on the New Earth14, God’s children will be worshipping God every Sabbath. In the mind of God and his love for all his creatures, the law of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment also includes the right of animals to have a rest, and that on that day no one had the right to make them work, or for the benefit own or for third persons who might be rendered on that day. It is the first law providing that right for domestic animals that have been so severely exploited by man.15

 

Biblical References:

  1. Genesis 2: 1-3
  2. Ezekiel 20: 12, 20
  3. Mark 2: 27
  4. Isaiah 58: 13-14
  5. Exodus 20: 8-11
  6. Exodus 31: 18
  7. Matthew 5: 17, 18
  8. Mark 2: 28
  9. Luke 4: 16, 31
  10. Matthew 12: 9-13
  11. Leviticus 23: 32
  12. Luke 23: 54-56
  13. Acts 13: 42-44; 16: 12, 13; 17: 2; 18: 4
  14. Isaiah 66: 23
  15. Deuteronomy 5: 14
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