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Chapter 29—Jesus Rescues the Sabbath
The Sabbath was hallowed at creation. As ordained for man, it
had its origin when “the morning stars sang together, and all the
sons of God shouted for joy.”
Job 38:7
. Earth was in harmony with
heaven. “God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it
was very good”; and He rested in the joy of His completed work.
Genesis 1:31
.
Because He had rested on the Sabbath, “God blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it” (
Genesis 2:3
)—set it apart to a holy use. It
was a memorial of the work of creation, and thus a sign of God’s
power and love.
All things were created by the Son of God. “All things were
made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was
made.”
John 1:3
. And since the Sabbath is a memorial of the work
of creation, it is a token of the love and power of Christ.
The Sabbath brings us into communion with the Creator. In the
song of the bird, the sighing of the trees, and the music of the sea,
we still may hear His voice who talked with Adam in Eden. And
as we behold His power in nature, we find comfort, for the Word
that created all things is that which speaks life to the soul. He “who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 4:6
.
“Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I
am God, and there is none else.”
Isaiah 45:22
. This is the message
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written in nature, which the Sabbath is appointed to keep in memory.
When the Lord told Israel to hallow His Sabbaths, He said, “They
shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the
Lord your God.”
Ezekiel 20:20
.
The people of Israel had knowledge of the Sabbath before they
came to Sinai. On the way, the Sabbath was kept. When some
profaned it, the Lord reproved them, “How long refuse ye to keep
My commandments and My laws?”
Exodus 16:28
.
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