Is Sabbath "Rooted in Creation" in Exodus 20:11?
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This is a question particularly for those who believe, based on Biblical data in the New Testament, that the Sabbath is no longer binding for New Covenant Christians since Jesus has fulfilled the Law and has become our rest. Particularly for those of you who hold this theological view (please neglect to answer if you don't hold this view, as the question will not apply to you) how do you interpret Exodus 20:11 in particular, and reconcile it with your theology? I will explain what I mean, and then conclude with my concrete question at the bottom.
After the command to observe the Sabbath, Exodus 20:11 in the ESV says: "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
This verse begins with the word "for," which can also be translated "because." In other words, it seems God is grounding to the Israelites his command to observe the Sabbath in his creation pattern. Am I missing something? Grammatically, it seems to me God is effectively saying, "because" I myself rested on the 7th day after creation, you therefore are to rest too. Although this is a command in the Old Covenant, under which New Covenant Christians are no longer bound, the grounding in Creation (and the facts of Creation never change, unlike the binding and fulfillment of covenants) could be seen as making this commandment in particular binding on everyone, at all times, forever, even though it is an Old Covenant law. **The fact of God resting on the 7th day will never change, and since this is his grounds for the commandment to observe the Sabbath in Exodus 20, it almost seems as if the Sabbath commandment should be binding on his people, including New Covenant Christians forever.**
**Question:** In light of your conviction that the Law is no longer binding on New Covenant Believers, how should we make sense of Exodus 20:11 in particular?
I am asking specifically how to reconcile this verse with all the Scriptural data, and not a vague and general debate on Sabbath-keeping. Full disclosure, personally, all my life I believed the Sabbath did not apply to Christians because of all the data in the New Testament on how to view the Law. But I am so lost on how to reconcile my current theology together with a coherent theology from Exodus 20:11.
Asked by Cole Mizel
(61 rep)
Jun 10, 2024, 06:58 AM
Last activity: Jul 22, 2024, 01:48 PM
Last activity: Jul 22, 2024, 01:48 PM