If The Sabbath Was Mine
Author: Pastor John Lemley
Used by permission
If the Sabbath was mine – if it was my idea, my invention, my possession – then I could write the manual describing its purpose, giving its parameters and outlining its principles. I could define it, determine who it is for, what is to be done, said and thought during its sacred hours, where it is to be observed, when it is to occur, why it is to be kept and how long it is to last. I could change it, abrogate it or give it new meaning and purpose. If I owned the Sabbath, I could make the rules.
If the Sabbath was mine – then people would be correct who say to me, “Your Sabbath is on Saturday, my Sabbath is on Sunday. What is important is that we keep one day in seven.” After all, they often add, Romans 14:5 says, “One-man esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”
If the Sabbath was mine – then my estimation, according to what I was convinced of in my own mind, would determine whether or not a particular day was a day I would regard to the Lord.
Who Owns the Sabbath?
But the Sabbath is not mine and it is not yours. It was not devised by any human. It originated with God Himself at creation. Therefore, God’s estimation is the only valid estimation.
Whose is it? “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God” Exodus 20:10. Since the seventh day of every week is the Lord’s Sabbath that period of time belongs to Him.
When did He make it? He created it on the last day of earth’s first week; separating the hours of the seventh day from those of the previous six days. “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day…” (Genesis 2:2). He blessed and sanctified those hours (verse 3).
Why did He make it? What did He determine to be its purpose? “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Exodus 20:11). God’s Sabbath points back in time. It is a memorial of Creation.
The Owner alone has the right to make the rules
When does it start and end? He determined when it is to begin: at sunset ending the sixth day of the week (Nehemiah 13:19). And when it is to end: at sunset twenty-four hours later (Mark 1:32).
Who is it made for? He determined that the Sabbath was made for everyone: Mark 2:27.
How is it to be kept? Do well (Matthew 12:12) and do not work (Exodus 20:10). Isaiah gives a more detailed answer: “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, or speaking our own words” (Isaiah 58:13).
Help From an Ancient Question
The 23rd and 24th chapters of Numbers are about Balak, the king of Moab, trying to convince Balaam to curse Israel. Before giving the first of his three prophecies, Balaam asks an important question. The answer, so obvious that it needed no words, reveals an eternal truth. It is a truth that remained throughout Israel’s history. It defined Jesus’ worldview, was passed on to His disciples and continues to this very day. It proves that Romans 14:5 is not about God’s Sabbath. Notice what Balaam asks. “How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the LORD has not defied?” (Numbers 23:8). In other words, can what a mortal esteems change or affect in any way what God has already esteemed? The Bible’s answer is “No!” Regardless of how exalted their position might be, no one has the authority to change what God esteems.
I do not have a Sabbath. Neither do you. The Sabbath is God’s. The only option God gives you and me is to keep His Sabbath. It is His idea, His invention, His possession. As a result, He alone has the authority to write the manual describing its purpose, giving its parameters and outlining its principles. He alone can define it, determine who it is for, what is to be done, said and thought during its sacred hours, where it is to be observed, when it is to occur, why it is to be kept and how long it is to last. To this very day, God owns the Sabbath. Only He can make the rules.
Therefore, your duty and mine is this: Remember His Sabbath to keep it holy. God didn’t change His mind and, try as one might; no one has the authority or power to defy what he has not defied.
A Devotional Thought
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.” [Ps.23]. Notice: The sheep journey from pasture to pasture. The shepherd knows where the best green pasture is. There he makes the sheep lie down. The sheep do not have the freedom to decide when and where to lie down. The shepherd decides. The sheep are made to comply.
Likewise. mankind journeys from day to day through each seven day period of time. The Lord knows which day He prepared for us to lie down – the seventh day. There He makes us rest from the responsibilities and activities of the previous six days of the week. Not one of us has the freedom to decide when the day of rest is. The Lord already made that decision years ago. Our duty is to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
