10/3/17 – Eph 6:2-3, The Commandment, Pt 10, The 4th Commandments, Pt. 2. Lesson #17-105

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HBvZsZetx0

Pastor/Teacher, Jim Rickard
Grace Fellowship Church

www.GraceDoctrine.org

The Doctrine of the Ten Commandments Related to the Church Age, Part X.

Before we begin study, we should: 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The 4^th Commandment, Ex 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15. Cf. Ex 16:23-30; 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:13-17; 34:23; 35:2-3; Lev 23:3; 26:2; Neh 13:16-19 .

This is the 4^th and last of the Ten Commandments that directly relates to the worship and service of God. It was a mandate by God to honor the Sabbath Day and make it holy unto the Lord. It was a day during which the Israelites were to rest from their work, i.e., the normal activities and labors of the other six days of the week were to be avoided.

Principles:

1. Although the seventh day is designated as a day of no work in the creation record for God, Gen 2:3, it is not mentioned again until the Israelites were on their way to Mount Sinai. There is no command during that period for people to honor that day.

2. The Israelites were instructed for the first time to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest in that God did not provide any manna on the seventh day, but provided a double portion on the 6^th so they could rest on the 7^th, Ex 16:13-34.

3. Various offerings were prescribed to be offered to the Lord on this day, Lev 24:5-9; Num 28:9-10; 1 Chron 23:31; 2 Chron 8:13.

4. Through Moses, God further instructed the Israelites, Ex 31:12-17; Ezek 20:12-21, that the Sabbath would be “a sign between God and the sons of Israel forever.” They were commanded to observe it as a “Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord.” 

Ezek 20:12, “And also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.”

Ezekiel is the fourth, (number of material things), time God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath. Ezek 20:12, 20, teach that it was a sign of the covenant between the Lord and Israel. Therefore, the fourth time God gave them the Fourth Commandment; it emphasized the material sign given to Israel and the world that He was the actual, one, and only YHWH ELOHIM, (The Lord God). For Israel, the keeping of the Sabbath would affirm one’s loyalty to the Lord and would guarantee His presence and deliverance. It would manifest to the heathen nations the covenant relationship the Israelites possessed with the Lord. Observing the Sabbath as a testimony of the Lord’s finished work in the restoration of the earth was an essential part of their sanctification as a people. The observance of the Sabbath as a corporate unit by the Israelites would serve as a powerful testimony to the heathen nations surrounding them that they were a people set apart to serve the Lord exclusively and that He was the One true God, creator of the heavens and the earth.

5. Moses admonished this new generation in Deut 5:15, “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy as the Lord their God has commanded them.”

Observing the Sabbath and “keeping it holy,” would also demonstrate that YHWH was present with the Israelites. In Ex 31:14, the Israelites were to keep the Sabbath because “it is holy for you,” which denotes the unique application to the Israelites who were to keep Saturday as a day set aside exclusively for God, i.e. worshipping Him. “Keeping it holy” means, “do as the Lord tells you to do,” which meant that this day was to be set aside exclusively by the Israelites as a day to bring into remembrance who God is and what He has done for them resulting in worshipping Him, i.e. giving thanks to Him.

6. Observance of the Sabbath was included as an official obligation when the covenant was ratified post-exile, Neh 9:13f. In this new era, to ensure they lived by and fulfilled the Law, God reiterated this commandment.

7. The Israelite Sabbath was a unique institution in the ancient Near East that testified to the covenant relationship between God and His people, The observance of the Sabbath uniquely distinguished Israel’s relationship with God and their religion from that of surrounding nations. For the Israelites, the Sabbath was to be positively observed, remembered, and hallowed as a witness to God’s grace and saving activity in both creation and in deliverance from captivity.

Psalm 92 was specifically written for the weekly Sabbath day of remembering the grace of the Lord towards His people.

Psa 92:1-15, a Psalm, a song for the Sabbath Day.

^“1  It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
²  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night,
³  With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.
⁴  For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.
⁵  How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.
⁶  A senseless man has no knowledge, Nor does a stupid man understand this:
⁷  That when the wicked sprouted up like grass And all who did iniquity flourished, It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.
⁸  But You, O LORD, are on high forever.
⁹  For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered.
¹⁰  But You have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.
¹¹  And my eye has looked exultantly upon my foes, My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
¹²  The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³  Planted in the house of the LORD, They will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴  They will still yield fruit in old age; They shall be full of sap and very green,
¹⁵  To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

The fourth commandment also contains a principle related to the necessity of periodic rest for the body, of both humans and animals, and a change of pace and routine for the individual. This commandment is designed to protect physical health, as well as soul stability, both of which are necessary for the proper function of life.

Therefore, every week, His covenant-keeping people were to honor Him by refraining from those normal activities and recreations performed on the first six days, in order that they might rest and devote their attention to Him on the seventh. Their attention toward Him could include study of the Word and prayer, offering sacrifices, assembling for the singing of hymns, and the mutual admonition and encouragement in their own homes and family circles.

So serious was the command, as all were, that if someone broke it, he was to be stoned to death, Ex 31:14-15; 35:2-3. This happened to one poor soul for simply collecting fire wood, Num 15:32-36. Sabbath violations also occurred after the restoration of the Jewish nation in the land, Neh 13:15-21. Thus, those in Israel who failed to keep the Sabbath were put to death.

As the fourth commandment of the four Godward mandates, violation of it was associated with apostasy and idolatry of the Jews, Jer 17:19-27; Ezek 23:37-39.

Ezek 23:37-39, “For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. Thus they have committed adultery with their idols and even caused their sons, whom they bore to Me, to pass through the fire to them as food. ³⁸Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My Sabbaths. ³⁹For when they had slaughtered their children for their idols, they entered My sanctuary on the same day to profane it; and lo, thus they did within My house.”

Notice that when the Jews began following the false gods of the neighboring nations like Molech, they worshipped those gods, including child sacrifices to them, on the Sabbath day, Saturday. It was not that they worshipped them on a different day. It was on the same day they worshipped them.

In conclusion, the observance of the Sabbath was designed to be a benefit for the people of Israel in that it would contribute to making them spiritually stronger and draw them closer to God.

A PERSONAL NOTE FOR YOU

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I am here to tell you that Jesus loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His life for you. God the Father also loves you. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son for you by sending Him to the Cross. At the Cross Jesus died in your place. Taking upon Himself all of your sins and all of my sins. He was judged for our sins and paid the price for our sins. Therefore, our sins will never be held against us.

Right where you are, you now have the opportunity to make the greatest decision in your life. To accept the free gift of salvation and eternal life by truly believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and was raised on the third day as the proof of the promise of eternal life. So right now, you can pause and reflect on what Christ has done for you and say to the Father:

"Yes Father, I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins."

If you have done that, I welcome you to the eternal Family of God!

Grace Fellowship Church
Pastor/Teacher: James H. Rickard
23 Messenger Street, Unit 3
Plainville, MA 02762

Copyright © 2001 - 2017.
Property of: James H Rickard Bible Ministries
All Rights Reserved.