Sabbath

Here is the Old Testament text from which this common question arises: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day" (Deuteronomy 5:14, 15).

The key to understanding this passage as it relates ...

Read more of Wasn't the Sabbath just a reminder of freedom from Egypt?

The seventh year and the year of jubilee are not mentioned in the Ten Commandments. They were to be kept only 'in the land' of Israel and were not once kept in the wilderness before the Israelites entered Canaan. They are parts of that 'law of commandments contained in ordinances' (Ephesians 2:15) that ended at the cross.

Adapted from H.M.S. Richards, Hard Nuts Cracked, 3.

The contrast between the Sabbath of the Lord and these sabbaths of the Hebrews is strongly marked.

1. The Sabbath of the Lord was instituted at the close of the first week of time; while these were ordained in connection with the Jewish feasts.


2. The ...
   
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