***Note to the reader: Although this sermon is in no way exhaustive in it’s scripture reference, it does I believe touch on some very thought provoking subject matter.
Whether you are a minister of the Word or a serious bible student, I encourage you to study this message without the aid of “denominational glasses” that tend to blind us to clear biblical truths that could prove to be very advantageous in our Christian journey. I will carefully consider any questions or comments that you may have about this subject and will gladly provide an abundance of further scriptural support for this sermon and it’s implications. You may email me at dwightdavis@embarqmail.com.
“Strange Fire and the Sabbath Day”
Today, whenever we Christians here the word “Sabbath,” we always seem to think of our Jewish friends because oddly enough, this word seems no longer to be relevant to the Christian population. But today, I ask that you would put aside any pre-conceived ideas and join me on a biblically sound study of the “forgotten commandment.”
The time at which the Sabbath was first instituted is in itself a key to understanding both it’s significance and it’s perpetual nature. We are all familiar I’m sure with the creation story as recorded in Genesis chapters one and two. There we find that the Sabbath had it’s origin immediately after God had finished the work of creating that He had done. It is important for us to realize that the Sabbath was instituted while everything was still “very good” -- that is to say before this world and humanity was defiled by the crimson stain of sin. Let me just ask that you remember this point because we will certainly elaborate on that aspect a little later in our message.
But for now I want us to consider exactly what it meant when God blessed the seventh day and made it “holy.” To do that, we need to dig a little bit beneath the surface of translation... The Hebrew word for “sanctify” or to “make holy” is (kaw-dash) which essentially means to set apart for sacred use. To “cut it off” if you will from its contemporaries which would in this case be, of course, the other six days of the week.
Needless to say that God could have chosen to bless this particular day at any time but it is very interesting that he chose to set it apart as holy right from the beginning-- again, before the introduction of sin and the fall of mankind. Now what we have to figure out is why He set the seventh day apart as holy--why He cut it off from the rest of the week. Let’s look at what the bible says in Genesis 2:1-3
“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
Here we read that God “rested” from all His work. But again, when we look at the original language, we find that the Hebrew word from which “rest” is translated is “shabath” which could actually be translated to mean “to cease or to have completed” rather than “to rest.” And, in this application, that makes sense because obviously the Almighty God of the Universe was not physically “tired” and in need of rest. So why did He bless the seventh day if it wasn’t to commemorate this day upon which He rested? The emphasis here should not be on the fact the God “rested from” or “ceased” His creative work but rather the emphasis should be on the fact that it was He Who did the creating-- the Sabbath was actually set aside as a memorial to Yahweh--a “seal of His Creatorship.” As a great artist always signs his masterpieces, so God also signed His masterpiece, and He signed it with a perpetual signature in the form of a very special day He calls the Sabbath.
And that “seal of Creatorship” that signature of God upon His creation not only applies to the earth, sky and sea but it also and especially applies to you and me. In Exodus 31:12,13 the scriptures tell us; “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites, You must observe My Sabbaths. This will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.’”
So here we see that the Sabbath is also a link between us and God. And by our treating this specific day as holy, we are acknowledging God as our Creator and Sustainor of life. On this day we, like God during creation week, also “cease” from our labor but being human we, unlike God, do in fact need to literally “rest and be refreshed.” This is a concept that the Lord began trying to drive home to His people from the beginning.
But the first place in the Scriptures that we read about the “concept” of the Sabbath is in the book of Exodus. As you know the Israelites were held in bondage for 400 years in the land of Egypt. During this time they obviously did not keep the Sabbath-- mainly because they were forced to work as slaves but also because they had been greatly influenced by the gods of the Egyptians and had, to a large degree, “lost touch” with the God of heaven. How did they become captives? More than four centuries earlier, because of a famine they moved to this foreign land as honored guests, numbering less than a hundred. But it required only a few generations and a handful of wicked rulers to turn them from a small band of guests into an entire nation of slaves.
Many people don’t realize it, but Israel’s state of bondage to Egypt perfectly parallels our bondage to sin. Just as God liberated Israel from her captor, so Jesus came to free us from our slavery to sin.
But these “slaves” weren’t just any slaves, they were God’s people, the heirs of His covenant made with their forefathers, and He was about to deliver them. Through Moses, He did lead them out of bondage, and soon after He liberated His chosen people, He began re-introducing Himself to them. The Israelites had been in the wilderness only about two months after their exodus from Egypt when the water and food that they had brought with them ran out--and remember, we’re talking about between one and a half to two million people who needed to be fed! Think about it..even if each person received only one McDonalds’happy meal a day, that would still add up to a tremendous amount of food!
It was here in Exodus 16 that the Lord first introduced manna to these starving refugees. And He used that manna to teach His people a very important lesson. Let’s look at Exodus 16:15-30
“15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.” (NIV)
When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He set them apart as His holy nation--He was going to be their God and they were to be His chosen people. It was during that forty years in the desert that the children of Israel learned first-hand who God was.
As it is with we modern-day Christians, an intimate relationship had to be established between them and God, and the Sabbath would play a very important part in the nurturing of that relationship. Speaking of the revelation of God’s character and His will for our lives, let’s go to where He puts it in writing. The ten commandments are given in Exodus chapter 20 but in the interest of time and space, I have “abbreviated” most of the statutes that we are not necessarily studying today:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make or bow down to idols.
3. You shall not use the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4.Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maid serrvant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness.
10. You shall not covet.
If we took a survey of all Christian denominations today, we would be hard-pressed, to say the least, to find anyone to say that God’s Ten Commandment Law is no longer His revealed will for His modern-day children. Yet, if we were to take another survey as to how many thought the fourth commandment was still valid and applicable (as it is written) to the lives of Christians today......an overwhelming majority of the answers would begin with “yes--BUT....”
But every excuse I’ve ever heard has fallen short of being biblical or sometimes even logical. The general consensus is that; yes, Saturday is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment but we, as Christians, observe Sunday instead of Saturday in honor of Christ’s resurrection.”
Here’s one question we need to consider; how can we honor Christ by treating as common the day that He blessed, sanctified and He Himself observed as holy!(1Cor. 10:1-5; Jn 1:1-14)
In Mark 7:5,6 Jesus says; “’These people worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men....’ You have let go of the commandments of God and are holding on to the traditions of men.”
With a close study of the Bible and your History books, there is no doubt that Christian Sunday observance is nothing more than man-made tradition. Don’t get me wrong; traditions in and of themselves are not considered evil in the sight of the Lord, but when our man-made traditions contradict and even replace the revealed will of God, not only are they wrong but they become, in a sense, idolatrous. Please don’t misquote me on this point. I’m not saying that people who don’t keep the biblical Sabbath are idol worshipers, nor am I saying that they are not sincere in their relationship with the Lord.. But according to the fourth commandment; they are unknowingly transgressing the Law of God.
The bible tells us in 1John 3:4 the definition of sin; it says that; “.....sin is transgression of the Law.”
Obviously, here the apostle John is referring to the ten commandment law -- the same law of which James says in 2:10 that: “whoever stumbles at even one point of the law is guilty of breaking all of it.”
And the point that James is driving at with this statement is that God’s Law is a package deal -- it’s not like a grab box at a yard sale where we rummage through it and keep only what appeals to us and trash the rest. God is very clear that He gives no man “editing privileges” with any portion of His word -- not to mention His Law.
There is a passage of scripture that quite a few ministers refer to, claiming that the Sabbath commandment was abolished at the cross. This passage is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians 2:13-17;
“ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he
took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (NIV)
Is Paul really saying here that we no longer need to keep the Sabbath of the 4th commandment? Looking at these few verses alone, if one was not very familiar with the Old Covenant, it would seem quite possible. But it is a very dangerous thing when we fail to thoroughly investigate obscure passages of scripture that seem to contradict the majority of other scripture -- again, especially God’s Ten Commandment Law. In fact, I remember stumbling upon this very scripture for the first time and as soon as I read it, I knew that it was going to be a long night. But through the guidance of the Holy Spirit I discovered the reason for the apparent contradiction.
These “sabbaths” that Paul was referring to are clearly not the 7th day Sabbaths. You see, the Jews, under the Old Covenant, were given 7 additional sabbaths that were included in their ceremonial calendar. They can be found in Leviticus 23. These additional sabbaths include; the 1st and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread; the 1st and Last days of the Feast of Tabernacles; the Day of Atonement; Pentecost; and the 1st day of the 7th month.
These days were named “sabbaths” because they were special days of “rest” during certain ceremonial events and though they sometimes fell on the seventh day Sabbath, they, in and of themselves were not of a perpetual nature-- rather they were, as Paul states, merely a “shadow” or “type” of better things that were to come. These ceremonial feast days and additional sabbaths were symbolic of the reality that was to be found in the Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
The “written code” or the “law” that Paul was referring to as being “nailed to the cross” in Vs 14 was the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant. This particular law was put in place specifically as a result of sin, and it met it’s fulfillment through the perfect life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remember earlier we talked about how the seventh day Sabbath was instituted BEFORE sin as a memorial to God as Creator... well, obviously we can’t simply associate this Sabbath with the other sabbaths here that Paul is talking about because it was not merely a “shadow of things to come.”
The Sabbath was first a memorial of God's Creatorship and sovereignty over all creation. And yes, it also speaks to the "rest" we find in Christ's finished work of redemption and the final rest we will enter at His Second Coming. But again, given that it was instituted BEFORE SIN, it would be unreasonable to think that it would be ripped from God's eternal Ten Commandment Law and nailed to the cross with other laws and ordinances that came into existence BECAUSE of sin and were fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice that saves us from our sin.
Yet now, every week, this holy 24 hour “sanctuary in time” comes and goes and is not even acknowledged by most of the Christian world. That which has been blessed and sanctified by God is treated as common, even by many Christian leaders who are well-versed in the Holy Scriptures.
Let me remind you that even Martin Luther’s conviction that we are saved by grace was, at one time “strange new truth,” yet it kindled the fires of the Christian Reformation. This clear biblical truth which is now taught in every Protestant denomination, was for centuries overlooked simply because it was not taught by the majority. The majority failed to see the beautiful truth of Grace then, and now it has been blinded to the spiritually enriching truth of
the Sabbath.
The title for this message comes from a tragedy that is recorded for us in Leviticus chapter 10. It reads;
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: “‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’”
Nadab and Abihu, who were by the way, sons of Aaron and the Nephews of Moses, had recently been chosen and ordained as priests under the direction of God Himself. There is no doubt that they had been thoroughly instructed as to their sacred duties as Priests of the Most High God, but they made one fatal mistake; they failed to distinguish between common and holy.
The bible says that they were destroyed because they offered (to God) “unauthorized" or "strange" fire. Although the scripture isn’t clear as to exactly what was meant by the term “unauthorized fire," upon careful study of the levitical priesthood we can determine that, more than likely, the glowing embers or coals which they put in their censors was from a “common fire.” Probably from one of the small hearths where the priests cooked their food. And more than likely it wasn’t just a careless mistake on their part because they knew full well that the only fire they were to use in their censors was the fire from the altar of burnt offerings, the sacred flame of which God Himself had kindled.
Who knows? maybe they were in a hurry or didn’t want to be inconvenienced by going all the way the altar of burnt offering when their cooking fires were near at hand. It is very likely that they justified in their minds that “fire is fire.” But by doing so, they sinned by failing to distinguish between holy and common.
This same mentality that destroyed these two young priests, would prove to be largely to blame for Israel’s downfall. The following is a portion of the prophecy against Israel by the prophet Ezekiel found in Ezekiel 22:26. Speaking of apostate Israel, He says;
“ Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.”
I, for one, believe that this particular verse of scripture applies even more so to this generation of “spiritual Israel.”
Notice that in both passages we just read, God is essentially saying; that by His people not distinguishing between holy and common and also specifically by “shutting their eyes to the keeping of His Sabbaths” He Himself is being “profaned” among them.
You see brothers and sisters, the fourth commandment is not just about a “day,” more importantly, it’s about a relationship. A relationship with our Creator--it’s about clearing our schedule of all other secular commitments so that
we can spend true “quality time” getting to know our heavenly Father. And not only is this time “quality” but it is “holy” as well. You might ask; what would be the difference if we kept any other day as long as we keep it holy? After all, a day is a day... Well, as we just read, Nadab and Abihu found out the hard way that all fire is not necessarily created equal. One fire was “kindled by God Himself” for a specific purpose and the other was kindled by man. And because God specifically blessed, sanctified and made holy the 7th day, neither are all days equal nor are they interchangeable.
Referring to the New Testament, some will tell us that Jesus broke or desecrated the Sabbath on a regular basis, therefore we need not observe it.. While it is true that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law often accused Him of desecrating the Sabbath, Jesus never did anything contrary to the commandments of God.
Many times when Jesus was teaching on the Sabbath day, some poor soul afflicted with some sort of disease or ailment would seek healing from the Lord, and of course Jesus would freely heal them. Well, the act of healing was considered work by the Religious elite of that time and thus they condemned Jesus for “working on the Sabbath.”
But the only violation that Jesus was guilty of was that He violated the laws and stipulations that the Pharisees themselves had added to God’s Law. I thought you might be interested to hear a few other ways that the Sabbath could have been desecrated in the eyes of the Pharisees:
** Tying or loosening a knot.
** Writing as much as two letters of the alphabet or erasing to make space for as much as two letters.
** Eating an egg that was laid on the Sabbath
** Using a handkerchief. Although one could use it if atleast one end of it were sewn to one’s garment because it was no longer technically a handkerchief.
** Using the bathroom on or near grass because one could technically be accused of irrigating or fertilizing.
Friends, Jesus was never opposed to the keeping of the Sabbath as commanded by God, rather He adamantly opposed the way God’s law--especially the Sabbath, was being misrepresented by the religious leaders of His day. By the constant heaping of man-made restrictions upon God’s original statute, worshippers soon lost sight of the true essence of Sabbath observance. They were so overwhelmed by the rules and regulations that they totally overlooked the spiritual aspect of this blessed day.
In Mark chapter 2, Jesus once again faces off with the Pharisees about another Sabbath violation. This time He was walking through a grain field and His disciples, being hungry, reached out their hands and pulled a few heads of grain. They probably rubbed them between their palms to separated the husks from the kernels and they ate the remaining kernels.
Because of this, they were accused of “harvesting” and “threshing” on the Sabbath. It was at this point that Jesus was fed up with their incessant hair-splitting and made this statement in Mark 2:27; “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
The original Greek is clear here that Jesus is saying that the Sabbath was made “to benefit” man. And by the way the Greek for “man” here is “anthropos” which means “human” or “humanity” --not exclusively Jews. So Jesus made it clear that the Sabbath was intended to liberate us, not imprison us!
But you know, I’m afraid that many Adventists and other Sabbatarians still lock themselves inside the Sabbath every week. And by doing this, they not only are missing out on the abundant blessing that it holds, but they are transforming it into a sharp stumbling stone for themselves and those around them. For so many Sabbath keepers, Saturday is a day full of “can’ts” and they walk around fearing that they will in some way desecrate the sanctity of the day.
Brothers and sisters, I believe we desecrate the sanctity of the Sabbath more when we treat it as a burden, than we would if we were to go to work. In Isaiah 58:13 God says that we should not break the Sabbath but He also says that we should consider it a “delight.” And when you come to the point in your spiritual life where you see that the Sabbath is far from a burden, that it is rather a “standing weekly date with God” you will consider it a delight.
How can we truly keep the Sabbath holy? By giving to God our undivided attention. By realizing that He who created you is still very much alive and wants nothing more than to spend the day with you. Sure, worship, study and prayer are wonderful ways to get to know your Savior better. But there are many other ways to spend quality time with the Lord.
Take a walk in the park and just consider God by beholding the beauty of His creation. Experience the joy of allowing Him to minister through you by visiting the sick and lonely. Turn off the television and get to know those special people called
family that God has blessed you with.
As many of you know, we as a church believe that our special message to the world is the message of the three angels or Revelation 14.
The message of the first angel is proclaimed in 14:7 and reads as follows: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship Him Who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
This message calls our attention to and distinguishes the true God of Heaven from all others and directs us to know and worship Him. The fourth commandment of the decalogue conveys to us the exact same message.
Brothers and sisters, we serve a God that knows us much better than we know ourselves. He knew from the beginning the demands that would be placed on our time, and how easily our thoughts could be diverted from Him and His will for our lives. And for this inherited ailment, He instituted and prescribed an “antichaotic” called the Sabbath Rest.
Are you faithfully taking this “spiritual medicine” that promotes spiritual growth and dramatically stunts the growth of most forms of the fatal disease we call sin? It’s quite odd that most Christians today forget even though the Sabbath commandment is the only one that God purposely began with the word “Remember.”
**If you're reading this and you have not been enjoying the blessing of truly keeping the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment, I encourage you not to take what you've just read lightly. Just as He has done for me, God has revealed to you a precious truth you have overlooked in the past. Please objectively study this out. I believe if you do, you will find as I did, that there is no Biblical support for dropping or editing this commandment of God. And, as Peter said, "We must obey GOD rather than men!" (Acts 5:29) To quote Jesus after He washed His disciples' feet; "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
May God richly bless you as you consider His Word.
** If you are interested in a more lengthy Bible study on the topic of the Sabbath that would be well-suited for small group study, please email me at dwightdavis@embarqmail.com.
