Most of us recognize there are elements of the Old Covenant which serve as symbols or pointers to realities in the New Covenant.  For example, Moses’ tabernacle pre-figures, or shadows, the heavenly tabernacle. The same can be said for circumcision, the Feasts of the LORD, sacrifices, and many other artifacts whose stories fill the pages of the Old Testament.

 

One of the earliest symbols we read about is the Sabbath.  The first pointer to it occurs in Genesis 2, and instructions for its observance make up the fourth commandment from Exodus 20. 

 

The Sabbath was the foundation to every holy day, to every feast, to every Sabbath year, and to every Jubilee observed by the Israelites. Keeping the Sabbath was fundamental to Israel maintaining their relationship to the LORD. 

 

It was also the key to understanding eschatology from Israel’s perspective, although it seems that much of that was buried by the time of Christ. When we read the Gospel accounts, we find the traditionalism surrounding the Sabbath observance so heavy-handed that it is no wonder that it was the chief point of contention between Jesus and the religious leaders at the time. 

 

It would appear that most religious people in Jesus’ time saw the Sabbath (and many other Old Covenant elements) as an end in itself. No “hidden” meanings, no eschatological meaning, no wider meaning. They did not recognize it as a symbol, but saw it only as a ritual they must continue to observe because the LORD said so. We might wonder, how could they not recognize the Sabbath (and certainly, Jubilee) for what it truly represented? How could they be so blind?

 

The answer is very simple, and something we have been guilty of ourselves. They missed the context, just as we do.

 

 

 

 

 

Ahh … weekends! For some, weekends mean rest and relaxation.  For others, it is when we get together with our family & friends, pursue leisurely activities, and work to complete projects around the house. As we grow older and our lives change, so does the way we use weekends. But however we utilize the time, we recognize there is a difference between work days (working for someone else) and rest days (where we generally spend the time the way we want to). 

 

This was a concept that was foreign to the Hebrew slaves at the time of the Exodus. The stories of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt give us the context we need to understand more about the Sabbath – both historically and symbolically. 

 

Most of us who have been born in the 20^th Century would find it difficult to truly grasp what is means to be a slave. That is not to say that we have not been touched by the horror – examples abound in the world around us. But to experience it first-hand, or to suffer under it for our entire lives – this is something that is completely foreign to us. So, maybe we do not know what it is like to be a slave in Egypt, but there are facts we do know which can still build context for us.

 

The Hebrews were in the land of Egypt for over 400 years, and for over half of that time, they lived in slavery. For most Hebrew families, this would equate to 7 generations of slavery. It was all they ever knew. Yes, they were familiar with stories of Abraham that had been handed down, but they surely did not have any concept of freedom or rest from working other than what they saw reflected in the Egyptian culture around them – something to which they had no hope of ever attaining.

 

The Egyptian people, as a whole, despised the Hebrews almost as much as they feared them. What causes one human to treat another as badly as the Hebrews were treated by the Egyptians? The only way it is possible is to see the other human as something not human, to dehumanize the individual. 

 

Egyptian history is clear on this; however, this same practice is used all over the world even today in wars, in social settings, in prisons and labor camps: once I have degraded you to being wholly-other than myself, I can treat you as something less than human because we are not the same; you are not even human.

 

In Egypt, the Hebrews were seen as wholly of the lowest class, in terms of their society. They were considered an occupied people, whose sole purpose was to do the work of the Egyptian hierarchy. They “deserved” no rest, no leisure, no breaks.

 

This is the setting for Moses’ arrival as the Deliverer. The Hebrews are freed through a series of plagues that Moses unleashes on Egypt – we have all seen the movie. Once freed, the Hebrews journey to the Promised Land. During the Exodus Moses sets about writing Israel’s mythology – the stories that give the Hebrew nation their history, and their place in that history. It is in these early writings that we find two inspirations for the Sabbath.

 

The first is based on God’s example from the days of creation. God labored six days and rested on the seventh, and Israel is to follow God’s example (Exo. 16, Exo. 20, Exo. 31). Israel (“my child”) would be patterning his life after God’s – being created to both work and enjoy rest, just as the Creator God has done.

 

The second inspiration comes from the Deuteronomic Law, where the Sabbath is linked to Israel’s liberation from Egypt (Deut 5:12-15). Israel is to remember his own slavery and regularly celebrate his freedom from bondage.

 

Taken together – following God’s example and celebrating liberation from Egypt – the instructions to the Hebrews stand in stark contrast to the surrounding cultural views about class, work, rest and leisure. In fact, what God presents to the Hebrews regarding the Sabbath was considered scandalous. To understand why, we only need to look at many of the mythologies prevalent in Mesopotamia prior to, during, and after the Exodus.

 

These early stories relate many fantastic events, including the creation of the world and mankind, the destruction by a world-wide flood, how the gods interact with humans, and many others. While scholars continue to debate whether the Pentateuch author was influenced by stories such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, or vice versa, this is not our focus here.

 

Regarding the Sabbath, many of these early mythologies share a common theme, echoed in great detail. “Leisure belongs to the gods, and labor is the domain of created man.” This arrangement is what separates gods and man. The Atrahasis Epic in particular, well-known during the 1^st and 2^nd millennia BC, explains how this came to be.

 

 

 

The epic begins with deities of the higher class, the seven great Anunnaki, reserving all leisure for themselves. It is the lot of the lower class gods, the Igigu, to labor continuously. 

 

After a number of years, the Igigu call a “strike.” They refuse to work, burn all of their tools, and demonstrate for better treatment. This results in the creation of a third class, so to speak: men to do the work with which the Igigu were formerly charged.   Leisure becomes the exclusive domain of the gods (the first two classes), while man has no genuine leisure and has been created to be the slave labor of the universe.

 

This creates a sharp distinction by which gods and men can be measured. In fact, these mythologies demonstrate that should any class attain even a small part in leisure, it would rise above normal humanity and become, more or less, like the gods.

 

The Hebrews in Egypt were surely aware of this distinction. For the first two hundred years or so in Egypt, they followed their own customs and beliefs in regard to work and leisure. All that changes once they became slaves and were forced to participate in Egypt’s class system at the lowest level.

 

The Egyptian class system can be broadly represented as: gods & pharaoh, the priesthood, common people, and slave peoples. 

 

The gods & pharaoh make up the highest class and can be represented as one, since the pharaoh has equality with the gods. He is the representation in the land of his home city’s deity.

 

The priesthood is a lower class, but still imbued with leisure since they only do work for the gods, not the whole cosmos. 

 

While the common people still have labor to perform on behalf of the dynasty, they also enjoy leisure to some degree.

 

For the slave class, leisure is non-existent. There is rest, but it carries no real relief, and certainly does not carry the same meaning inherent in the Old Testament passages.

 

To summarize: the higher your class in Egyptian society, the more god-like you are. 

 

 

 

 

With this background, we can understand how revolutionary the fourth commandment was in three ways.

 

First, it established the uniqueness of Yahweh, Israel’s god, against all other gods. He is a god who works, completes his work, and rests – unlike other gods who will not or cannot work and need to create a lower class to carry out the universe’s labor.

 

Second, it reinforced that man is created in the image of God. This is similar to the Mesopotamian mythologies; however, man is not created to be a cosmic slave, but to be a participant in creation work. To be in the image of God is to work, complete the work, and to rest (“cease from work”); a role fulfilled completely by the Last Adam.

 

Third, it graphically sets Israel apart from the other nations. Here are a people whose god demands them to observe one day of rest in seven for their benefit. 

 

Once we see the Sabbath in context, there is something else that sticks out in my mind that adds to the scandalous nature of this day, at least as it pertains to the time of Christ and even our current time. Although the admonition to the Hebrews is to keep it holy, this does not mean to maintain it as an overtly religious or spiritual celebration. It is not a “tabernacle” day. Instead, it is a day that celebrates ceasing from labor. 

 

Granted, many of the Feast days consisted of specific requirements on Sabbath days, but those are specific days on the calendar to which every Israelite was bound. And other than these Feasts Sabbaths, God did not detail a list of “do’s” and “don’ts” regarding how to keep the Sabbath day holy. It was the rabbis and Pharisees who added stipulation upon stipulation, turning a day of freedom and liberty into slavery and bondage.

 

We have an example of where this led in Luke 13.

 

 

 

 

In this passage, as in others, Jesus demonstrates the true meaning of Sabbath. He is completing the work. So the individual who is suffering, who is bound up (physically or spiritually), and who is most in need of a true Sabbath, can finally cease from working and be healed.

 

This woman had been bound under the Pharisee’s additions to the Law, just as the Hebrews had been bound in Egypt, and the Sabbath’s true meaning was one of freedom and liberty.

 

The Sabbath concept was a scandal to the Egyptians in their day; its true meaning as Jesus interpreted it scandalized the religious leaders in his day and ultimately, contributed to his crucifixion.

 

 

 

 

 

Now that we have some additional context, just what does the Sabbath mean? And what does it mean for us today?

 

It is a reminder that God is unlike any other god, that he pursues us to bring us into his rest. He does not separate himself from us.

 

It is a reminder of God’s promise in Genesis 1. He has made man in his image; Christ has fulfilled this promise. There is no separation by class.

 

It is a reminder that God initiated this for our benefit, not his (Rom 5:8).

 

It is a reminder that “keeping it holy” is not about appearances, pretending to be spiritual or religious. It is about being God – being love – to others.

 

It is a reminder that we have freedom and liberty. It is bringing freedom and liberty to others, regardless of their differences, into the same rest we have. 

 

For us, who are this side of all things being fulfilled, we are not laboring to enter God’s rest.  The first-fruits body has already accomplished this. Hebrews 4 is not directed to us, but we are the beneficiaries of all that Christ Jesus and the Body have completed – we are beyond the rest.

 

Still, I find it helpful to reflect on the true meaning of Sabbath because it reinforces where I find myself now – in the Presence. I also find that Sabbath reflections help me to share with those “outside the gate” – who do not yet realize that the Kingdom is truly here, and who continue to work when the work is already done. 

 

What a tremendous gift the Sabbath scandal truly is.

 

 

 

URL: http://www.presence.tv/cms/cov_sabbathscandal.php

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