Nehemiah the Sabbath Reformer
Copyright © 2009 Marc Rasell All Rights Reseved
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 The Broken Walls
Chapter 2 Opposition
Chapter 3 Corruption
Chapter 4 More Opposition
Chapter 5 Revival Begins
Chapter 6 Backsliding
Chapter 7 Repairers of the Breach
Chapter 8 The Antidote for Selfishness
Chapter 9 The Origin of the Sabbath
Chapter 10 The Moral Law and the Gospel
Epilogue
Further Information
Acknowledgements
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture verses are from the King James Version, 1611 (Authorized Version) Copyright status: Crown copyright (UK).
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
Introduction
The Book of Nehemiah contains a fascinating story, the post-exilic Jews trying to rebuild their city walls, pitted against their more powerful foes who were prepared to do almost anything to stop them: including deception, murder, intimidation and violence. Under such forbidding circumstances, Nehemiah steps onto the scene, a man of prayer, courage, integrity and tact. Through the workings of providence and hard work, the people began to fill in the gaps and repair the walls. Their enemies mocked them and became increasingly desperate as the walls began to rise, but they were powerless to hinder God’s plan for His people.
The story contains a spiritual message for God’s people at the end of time, when a similar work takes place; this time not a literal wall, but a spiritual revival to restore the law of God. Modern society is moving toward a state of anarchy and lawlessness as the Western world turns to secularism and spiritualistic philosophies rather than the Bible. The walls protecting society have been broken down and need to be restored. These walls are the laws of God, which ensure that God’s blessing and protection rests on the land (Deut. 28:1-8; 30:16). Before the exile to Babylon, when Jeremiah the prophet counselled the people living in Jerusalem to seek out the ancient paths (Jer. 6:16), he was treated with derision, no one wanted to listen to his message of doom (Jer. 18:18). Today, people do not want to hear the ancient truths of the Bible, nor heed the warnings of the second coming of Christ. A great revival will take place among God’s remnant people - those who are willing to put in practice the law of God in their own lives. This will be achieved through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit leading to a complete rebirth, a new life in Christ (John 3:3-8).
Chapter 9 - The Origin of the Sabbath
In the last two chapters of this book I will look at the Biblical basis for the Sabbath and its origin, as well as the perpetuity of the moral law and how this relates to the gospel. Many Christians believe the Sabbath was a Mosaic institution which was abolished at the cross with the other ritual laws. However, the origin of the Sabbath goes back to Adam and Eve which suggests it was created as a day for all mankind. As the Sabbath was part of the original Creation, it was clearly intended to last for eternity. According to Luther, if Adam had not sinned he would not have died and would still be observing the Sabbath today[i]. I will start by looking at some texts about the Sabbath in the Old Testament[ii]:
Genesis 2:2-3
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
It stands to reason that God does not need to rest (Isaiah 40:28), therefore when God rests it must have had some other purpose than to replenish divine energies which are inexhaustible. It is true that God got weary of ritualised feasts which had no meaning (Isaiah 1:14; 43:24) because the people were living sinful lives; but God never gets tired in the way mortals do.
The Hebrew word used for rest in Genesis 2:2 is “shabath” which means to cease or rest from labour (see Genesis 8:22; Job 32:1)[iii]. The root of this word is “sbt” from which various words can be derived by changing the vowels, one of which is the word Sabbath. Genesis says that God “rested” (shabathed) on the seventh day, thus setting us an example of what we should do each week.
The structure of Genesis 1 in chronological order reveals that as the days of Creation proceeded, the most important things were made last. The earth was made as a home for mankind to live in and look after. Yet man was not the most important part of Creation. This is why on the seventh day God rested; the focus of creation needs to be on God rather than man. Without a day of rest man would tend to become egocentric, forgetting that it was only through God’s sustaining power that he is able to achieve anything. Here we have the first glimpse of the purpose of the Sabbath, to turn man’s gaze away from self to God.
Adam and Eve were given pleasant work to do in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15); however, even in their unfallen state they needed a Sabbath rest to preserve their unity with God. All the gifts of Creation were blessings: water, air, nature, warmth, food and companionship. Yet something more was needed – communion with God. Blaise Pascal said that within every human is a God shaped vacuum which can only be filled by God the Creator known through Jesus[iv]. Solomon discovered that without God everything was meaningless, vanity and a chasing after the wind (Eccl. 1). We need the Sabbath as a day for communion with God to reflect on the blessings of the past week. It is a day when we become spiritually recharged. In modern society we are used to recharging batteries, but we need to take time for our spiritual life too.
God did two more things on the seventh day, He blessed and sanctified it. Whom did the Lord bless the seventh day for? The only logical answer is that it must have been for Adam and Eve, to be a blessing for them. A similar blessing was also bestowed upon the animals and mankind (Gen 1:22, 28)[v] which suggests that this blessing was meant to be continuous. If man had not sinned he would have been blessed for eternity. To sanctify something means to set it apart for holy use. For example, Aaron and his sons were set apart to minister in the temple as priests (Lev. 8:30; Ex. 29:44). Again, this setting apart was not a one off event but was meant to continue. The ritual laws continued until the cross, but the Sabbath was given before the fall as part of Creation. It was God’s purpose for man to enjoy the blessings of Creation and the Sabbath for all eternity, as long as the earth should last.
Genesis 4
3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
These verses clearly show that Cain and Abel received religious instruction, beyond those recorded in the Scriptures. As the weekly cycle began in Eden, they must have been familiar with the weekly Sabbath.
Genesis 8
10 And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; 11 And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12 And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more.
In these verses we have evidence of the weekly cycle. The seven day week began at Creation and has been observed ever since. Otherwise we would only need a six day week. The week is also referred to in the story of Jacob’s marriage week (Genesis 29:27), clearly showing that the Patriarchs must have had a knowledge of the Creation week and the Sabbath. From father to son the knowledge of God and His requirements was passed down by the Patriarchs. It is recorded of Abraham that he kept God’s commandments (Gen. 26:5).
The number seven is used as a symbol of perfection in the Bible because God’s Creation was complete on the seventh day[vi]. Some examples are:
i. Cain was marked so that anyone murdering him would suffer sevenfold vengeance (Gen. 4:15)
ii. Noah was to take seven clean pairs of every clean animal into the ark (Gen. 7:2)
iii. Abraham chose seven ewe lambs for a covenant oath (Gen. 21:27-28)
iv. Jacob bowed seven times to Esau (Gen. 33:3)
v. Joseph mourned for his father for seven days (Gen. 50:10)
Exodus 5:5
And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
This statement by Pharaoh suggests that Moses had encouraged the Hebrews to keep the Sabbath before the law was given at Sinai. The Hebrew noun used for rest is derived from the same root as the word for “Sabbath” (sbt). In verse 3, Moses had been asking permission for the Israelites to go into the desert to sacrifice to the Lord, therefore the conversation was already on religious grounds[vii]. It appears that Moses had encouraged the people of Israel to observe the Sabbath and Pharaoh was displeased with this.
Exodus 16
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
The giving of the manna is associated with Sabbath observance. The manna was given six days of the week but not on the seventh day. On the sixth day they would collect double the amount and it would miraculously last for two days, whereas usually it would melt in the sun or go rotten by the next day (Ex. 16:4-26). The giving of the manna taught the Israelites to keep the Sabbath while they were wandering in the wilderness, as well as to rely on God for the bread of life. When the manna was first given, some were slow to change the old habits of slavery and went out on the seventh day to collect the manna (Ex. 16:27). God asked them how long they would refuse to keep His commandments (Ex. 16:28). This suggests that they had been breaking the Sabbath for a long time while slaves in Egypt. It seems that during their time of slavery in Egypt, the Sabbath had either been neglected or they were not allowed to keep it by their slave masters.
Exodus 20:11
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.
The fourth commandment as given by God on Mount Sinai clearly refers back to Creation. The reason for keeping the Sabbath is to remember that God is our Creator; this is fundamental to our relationship with God, that we acknowledge that He is our Maker. The Sabbath has been given added meaning by the death of Christ. When God finished creating the world He rested on the seventh day, and likewise when Christ finished the work of salvation He cried out, “it is finished” on the cross (John 19:30), then He rested in the tomb on the Sabbath (Luke 23:54-56). So after the work of Creation and salvation God rested on the seventh day, thus giving it a double solemnity.
We can see from the above texts that the Sabbath institution goes right back to the beginning of Genesis. Although many claim it began with Moses and ended at the cross we find no evidence for this in the Scriptures. The seventh day was made holy by God and was kept by the Patriarchs from the beginning of earth’s history. The weekly cycle began then and has never ceased, it is kept all over the world in most countries. Therefore it is a day for all mankind and is still God’s holy day. As part of the final reformation, this forgotten commandment will be restored to those who are willing to follow the light from heaven regarding this subject.
Chapter 10 - The Moral Law and the Gospel
When we speak of “the law” it is important to clarify what we are talking about. The Apostle Paul used this phrase in a wider and narrower sense[viii], sometimes using it to refer to the Ten Commandments (Romans 2:17-23; 7:7-12; 13:8-10) and in other cases referring to all the Mosaic laws (Galatians 3:10). At Sinai, God gave the Israelites a written code containing principles that were already true, because during their long years of slavery in an idolatrous land they had lost sight of the true principles of God’s law (Gal. 3:19). We can find all the principles of the Ten Commandments before the time of Moses in the Book of Genesis[ix]:
1-2 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image”
Gen. 35:2-3 Jacob instructed his family to put away foreign gods, which included idols.
3 “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain”
Gen. 24:3 Eliezer was made to swear by the Lord to find a wife for Isaac, but not one from the Canaanites; he was not to break his oath which would have been profaning God’s name.
4 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”
Gen. 2:2-3 God made the Sabbath holy during the Creation week for Adam and Eve.
5 “Honour thy father and thy mother”
Gen. 18:19 Abraham commanded his household after him.
6 “Thou shalt not kill”
Gen. 4:8-11 Cain murdered Abel.
7 “Thou shalt not commit adultery”
Gen. 39:9 Joseph refused to commit adultery which he said was a sin against God.
8 “Thou shalt not steal”
Gen. 44:8 Joseph’s brothers recognised that it would be wrong to steal from Pharaoh.
9 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour”
Gen. 27:11-12 Joseph deceived his father and suffered a long exile from home as a consequence.
10 “Thou shalt not covet”
It is hard to find a direct reference, but it is implied in Genesis 27 when Jacob schemed to take the birthright from Esau. The breaking of the other commandments such as stealing implies that coveting took place beforehand.
Clearly the principles of the law had to be in existence before the time of Moses otherwise as the Scripture says, where there is no law, there is no transgression (Romans 4:15). Had there been no law before Moses then no one would have been guilty of sin. So although the ritual laws concerning animal sacrifices became obsolete at the cross, the moral principles which have always been true are still valid.
We cannot divide the moral law into parts we agree with and those we don’t. The moral law is a complete unit, either we accept all or reject all. The Apostle James says that if we break one part of the law we break them all (James 2:10-11), with reference to the moral law and two of the Ten Commandments.
Paul endorsed the moral law in a number of places in his letters:
Ephesians 6:1-3
1“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”
Ephesians 4:28
“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
1 Corinthians 5:11
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”
Romans 3:31
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”
Literally translated from the Greek this verse says: “Therefore, are we [set free / abolish] law because of faith? Let it not be! But law, let it stand”
In Paul’s day some mistakenly believed that he advocated the abolition of the moral law, so he had to make a plain statement to repudiate this. Martin Luther found himself in a similar situation during the Reformation and repudiated that he had advocated the abolition of the Ten Commandments. Luther said that to abolish the law would mean the abolition of sin itself[x]! Many creeds recognise the validity of the moral law of the Old Testament such as Article 7 of the “39 Articles of Faith” (Anglican) and the Westminster Confession (Presbyterian)[xi].
By looking at the Book of Galatians we can get a better concept of what Paul was speaking against:
Error 1) trying to earn salvation by our own works and the requirements of the law:
[Gal. 2:16] no one is justified by works of the law
Error 2) trying to enforce certain features of the ritual law beyond the cross:
[Gal. 5:6] there is no longer any need to observe circumcision
[Gal. 4:10-11] observing certain days, months, seasons and years (ritual days involving animal sacrifices) is contrary to the gospel
[Gal. 3:10; 5:3] it is inconsistent to keep part of the ritual law; in that case you need to keep all of it!
Paul was against trying to earn salvation by keeping the law; such a notion is contrary to the gospel of free grace (Eph. 2:8-9; Isa. 55:1). He was also against keeping part of the ritual law as an additional means of earning salvation for the same reason and also because these rites were now obsolete. However, we should not use our freedom in Christ as a license to sin (1 Pet. 2:16). The gospel leads to a transformation of character by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 3:18). The question of whether the Sabbath is part of the moral or ritual law is dealt with in my first book, “Exploring the Heavenly Sanctuary”[xii].
The Apostle John had to deal with the Gnostics who claimed that their special knowledge gave them freedom to break God’s law; he refuted such a notion in his first epistle:
1 John 2:3-4
3And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
In his epistles, John uses the word commandment in the singular and the plural (e.g. 1 John 2:3-8; 3:22-24). This suggests that the one commandment to love summarises the many commandments of God’s law. John made it clear that those who claim to know God but hate their brothers and do what is wrong have not been born of God (1 John 3:7-10). John defines sin as lawlessness which dispels the idea that the law has been abolished (1 John 3:4). True rebirth is more than an intellectual exercise; it involves the indwelling of the Spirit and a radical change. The attributes of love and righteousness characterise God’s children (1 John 4:7; 3:7); hate and deception are attributes of the devil (1 John 3:10-12). Paul made it clear that those who live unrighteously will not inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21).
Paul spoke of putting on the new self and becoming a new creation (Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 5:17); this transformation would be so great it would be like being a new person or being born again (John 3:3-8). Such as person cannot live in opposition to the law of love, because God’s love abides in him (John 15:10). It is by living a life of love that we fulfil the law (Rom. 13:10; Gal. 6:2). The doctrine of sanctification which means growth in holiness is imparted righteousness; this holiness springs from justification which is termed imputed righteousness. If there is no growth in holiness it suggests that a person has not received the free gift of salvation; and without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Jesus said, if you abide in me you will bear fruit, but the branch that does not bear fruit will be cast into the fire (John 15:1-8). When we receive the free grace of Christ it produces a mysterious change in our life. This is why the saints are judged by their works, these indicate whether a person has truly received the gospel (Matt. 12:37; 16:27; 2 Cor. 5:10). It is surprising that so many question judgement by works when it appears in so many of Jesus’ parables, some examples are: the parable of the sower, the good and bad fish, the sheep and the goats, and the parable of the talents (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23, 47-50; 25:14-46). When Jesus spoke of the resurrection of the dead, He said those who have done good will rise to life (John 5:28-29). This is a paradox, that we are saved by free grace, yet judged by our works. Our works do not save us but they indicate whether the truth is abiding in us, or whether it is just a superficial commitment. Salvation is more than an intellectual exercise; it involves the indwelling of God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16). This is the difference between the seed that fell on the rocky ground and the one that fell on good soil (Matt. 13:3-9; 18-23). They both appeared to be doing well, but when the sun rose, the one on the rocky soil shrivelled up because the roots had no depth. In the judgement it will be determined who are the genuine followers of Christ, those who have lived according to the precepts of the moral law. But those who say, lord, lord but are in fact workers of “lawlessness” (anomia) will not pass the test, even though they worked great miracles in the name of Jesus (Matthew 7:21-27). We cannot separate believing in God from keeping His commandments.
“If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Epilogue
There was once a king who built a beautiful palace for his servants and in the midst of the palace was a garden for them to enjoy. But after a while his servants began to behave badly and broke down the palace and destroyed the garden. The king was furious; he cast them out and told them they could not come back until they had paid for all the damage.
The king felt sorry for his servants and sent his messengers to them saying, “My Son has paid for all the damage, only come to the feast and all will be forgiven.” But some of the servants protested and said, it seems to us that the king is a very poor builder to make such a ruin, why should we believe these messengers? They mocked them and beat them and continued in their wicked ways.
Others were too busy to come and made many excuses; one had just built a new house and had to finish mending the roof, another had just bought two oxen and wanted to try them out, and another had just come home from a long journey and was too tired. The king’s messengers however did find some poor servants who were willing to come to the feast. The richer servants did not pay much attention to them, and said, “they are an ignorant lot, what do they know?”
Now the king had invited ten special guests whom he wanted to honour. But some grumbled because they did not like the look of one of them, and refused to acknowledge him. They said, “Is it not enough that we honour nine of your guests?” The king was embarrassed and angry with them and said, “If you dishonour my honoured guest, you also dishonour me.” The king’s messengers pleaded with them to honour all of the king’s guests but they would not listen. So the king threw out those wicked servants and only a few were left. Then the doors were locked and the feast began.
Then the other servants began to come to the door, and asked to be admitted but the king would not let them in. He called from inside, “depart from me you wicked servants, I never knew you.”
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References
[i] Martin Luther, Commentary on Genesis, ed. by J. N. Lenker, Vol. 1 (Minneapolis, Minn.: Lutherans in All Lands Co., 1904), Comment on Gen. 2:3, pp. 138–140 in The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book, S. 1376
[ii] Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath, Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, pp. 494-497
[iii] Francis D. Nichol, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 1 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978) p. 220
[iv] http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/there_is_a_god_shaped_vacuum_in_the_heart_of/166425.html
[v] Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath, Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, p. 495
[vi] Samuele Bacchiocchi, Divine Rest for Human Restlessness: A Theological Study of the Good News of the Sabbath for Today (Michigan: Biblical Perspectives, 2001, eleventh printing 2006) p. 64
[vii] Kenneth A. Strand, The Sabbath, Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, p. 495
[viii] Mario Velose, The Law of God, Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, p. 471
[ix] Ibid., pp. 465-466
[x] Martin Luther, “Wider die Antinomer (“Against the Antinomians”),” secs. 6, 8, in his Sämmtliche Schriften, ed. by Joh[ann] Georg Walch, Vol. 20 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1890), cols. 1613, 1614. German in The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book, S. 1695
[xi] See Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (New York: Harper, 1919), Vol. 3 quoted in The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Students' Source Book; see also http://anglicansonline.org/basics/thirty-nine_articles.html
[xii] See “Exploring the Heavenly Sanctuary” www.adventistenterprises.co.uk
