Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour (3)

K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. December 1965

When we turn to the OLD TESTAMENT, we immediately observe that there is a very strong emphasis on the sabbath. It does not only have a very prominent place in the Decalogue (it is the longest of all the commandments), but also in other parts of the 0.T. revelation it is singled out as the divine commandment par excellence for Israel. Read, for example, Ex. 31:12-17 and Ezek. 20: 20-21. It is, of course, not possible in one article to give an elaborate exegesis of all these passages. It must suffice to mention some of the main points only.

Sabbath and Creation.

One of the most striking facts in the O.T. is that several times we read of a connection between the sabbath and God’s own work of creation. We find this in the fourth commandment, in Gen. 2: 3, but also in Ex. 31: 17. This connection has been the basis of the traditional view which regards the Sunday as the N.T. continuation of the 0.T. sabbath (cf. the Westminster Confession, Ch.XXI. Usually it was said that the sabbath is a CREATION ORDINANCE, i.e., a divine commandment that is given with the creation itself and therefore binding on all people of all places and all ages.

Prof. John Murray, in his book ‘Principles of Conduct’, mentions the following creation ordinances: the procreation of offspring, the replenishing of the earth, subduing of the same, dominion over the creatures, labour, the weekly sabbath and marriage (p.27). As you see, he also includes the weekly sabbath. If this is correct, the whole matter is definitely and conclusively settled. But is it correct? In recent times many Reformed scholars have increasingly become more hesitant to answer this question with a simple Yes. A while ago I read in ‘De Wekker’ (Christelijk Gereformeerd) an article of Prof. Oosterhof of Apeldoorn, in which he also expressed doubt on this point. The main reasons are the following:

(a) It is NOT SAID in Gen. 2: 3 that the sabbath was instituted as a creation ordinance. We do read that God blessed and hallowed the seventh day, but it is not said that God AT THAT TIME INFORMED ADAM of it and commanded him to keep this day. Even Prof. Murray, who is a staunch supporter of this idea, is very cautious in his expressions. “There can be little doubt that in Gen. 2: 3 there is AT LEAST AN ALLUSION to the blessing of the seventh day in man’s week; and, when we compare it more closely with Ex. 20:11, there is STRONG PRESUMPTION IN FAVOUR of the view that it refers specifically and directly to the sabbath instituted for man” (p.32 – capitals supplied by me, K.R.). Murray further assumes that God explicitly informed Adam of this commandment. Kuyper (Tractaat van de Sabbath, p.19) assumes that it was innate in Adam, comparable with the instinct of migration in some birds. But – these are all assumptions. The text itself is silent on the matter. Whatever books one studies, there is always the same fact: the thesis that the sabbath is a creation ordinance is a DEDUCTION from certain scriptural data. Nowhere is it stated in clear words. (Read, e.g., Kuyper’s argument on pp. 86ff.). We do not say that in itself it is an impossible deduction. We are even willing to admit that it seems to be a very logical deduction, Personally we would be quite willing to accept it, IF, yes, IF there would not be other arguments, which in our opinion refute it.

b) There is further the remarkable fact that we do not read of the sabbath in the life of the patriarchs. Of course, this too is not conclusive. It might be explained as evidence of moral declension on this point in the time of the patriarchs, just as their polygamous marriages showed a declension from the monogamous marriage instituted at creation (cf. Murray, p. 35). Indeed, this is possible. Still, the fact that there is no mention whatsoever, neither positive (commandment and observance), nor negative (non-observance and rebuke), remains remarkable.

(c) The main reason, however, is the fact that in the N.T. the sabbath is declared to be abrogated. This, in my opinion and that of many other theologians, is CONCLUSIVE proof that the 0.T. sabbath was NOT a creation ordinance. For if it were a creation ordinance, it COULD NOT POSSIBLY be abrogated, or even changed. The usual counter-argument is that the main point was the 6-1 rhythm and that the changing of the seventh day into the first does not really alter the ordinance. I cannot accept this. In Gen. 2 and also in Ex. 20 all emphasis is on the SEVENTH day. Gen. 2: 3 does not say that God hallowed one of the seven days and that as long as man has a rest day once every seven days, he follows the pattern of the Creator, but it says: God hallowed the SEVENTH day. The same is true of the fourth commandment in Ex. 20: the SEVENTH day is a sabbath unto the Lord thy God. We have no right to say that only this part is ceremonial or typological (pointing to Christ) and that the rest is permanent. In Gen. 2 and Ex. 20 the commandment is ONE WHOLE. The fact that the N.T. rejects the Jewish sabbath (which was the SEVENTH day) can therefore only mean that the WHOLE commandment AS COMMANDMENT is not permanent and that the sabbath was NOT a creation ordinance. Furthermore, the redemption never alters the creation, but only restores it. None of the other creation ordinances is altered by the coming of Christ. They are only restored to their original (cf. Jesus’ attitude towards marriage, Matt. 19:4ff.).

If the sabbath was a creation ordinance, we would have expected the same. But in actual fact we see that Paul says that the sabbath belongs to the past, and by saying this he declares it to be a PURELY JEWISH INSTITUTION.

Origin of the Sabbath. 

Where then do we have to seek the origin of the sabbath? The answer to this question is: no one knows. All that we know is that it already existed before the lawgiving on Sinai. This does not only follow from the fact that the fourth commandment begins with the word ‘Remember’, but we do actually read of the Sabbath before Sinai, namely, in Ex.16. When God promises manna, He says to Moses that on the sixth day the Israelites should gather a double portion v.5. In the verses 25-30 we then read of the seventh day as “a Sabbath to the Lord”. According to some commentators this very event means the beginning of the sabbath. Prof. Keil, e.g., writes (pp.68/69) :

“It is perfectly clear from this event that the Israelites were not acquainted with any sabbatical observance at that time, but that, whilst the way was practically opened, it was through the decalogue that it was raised into a legal institution”. This might well be correct, although we cannot be definite on this point. One thing is sure, however, viz. that it was the Decalogue which made it a permanent legal obligation for Israel.

The fourth Commandment of the Decalogue 

What then is the reference to the creation in the fourth commandment, as recorded in Ex. 20? We can find the answer only, when we understand the meaning of God’s own resting on the seventh day after the creation, as we read in Gen. 2:2. It has always rightly been emphasised that this RESTING OF GOD does not mean inactivity. God as the LIVING GOD is never inactive. On this seventh day, too, He is active as the Preserver and Ruler of the universe He has made. The ‘rest’ refers only to the termination of the creative activity. But why is this mentioned in Gen. 2:2 (and Ex. 20)?

Is it only a piece of factual information about God? Certainly not! The Bible never gives factual information for its own sake. It always has a spiritual intention, when it gives such information. This is true of the first six days – they are the most radical demythologisation of this world: all the powers and objects worshipped by the other nations as idols are nothing else than creatures made by God. It is also true of the seventh day. It is a message for ISRAEL (Gen. 2 was originally written for Israel) that there is a rest of God, which is the completion and perfection of the creation. The first man, Adam, was allowed to live and work as God’s child on this seventh day. His creaturely life was like playing in the light of God’s rest. But then sin came and life became for man a toiling ‘in the sweat of his face’ (Gen. 3:19). Yet the message of the rest remained as a promise. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews has emphasised this ESCHATOLOGICAL meaning of God’s rest when he writes: “There remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labours, as God did from his” (4:9,10).

This was also the meaning of the reference to the creation in the FOURTH COMMANDMENT. It was not only a model for Israel’s division of labour and rest, but it was essentially a SIGN OF GOD’S GRACE TO ISRAEL. The commandment itself, as recorded in Ex. 20 – and this is fully in keeping with its character as commandment, i.e., part of a legal code – does not say this explicitly. It emphasises Israel’s duty to observe the day of rest. But the reference to God’s own seventh day of rest clearly intimates this promise of grace. In other passages it is openly stated. E.g., Ex. 31:13 says “You shall keep my sabbaths, for this is a SIGN between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know THAT I, THE LORD, SANCTIFY YOU” (Cf.also Ezek. 20:12 and 20). It is particularly clear, in the formulation of the fourth commandment in Deut. 5.

Here the reference to the creation has been replaced by that to the redemption from Egypt. The sabbath is a constant reminder of the redemption given by God and as such at the same time a promise of the great, eschatological redemption, which awaits God’s children. But, within the context of the law, it is given in the form of a commandment: by strict obedience Israel has to show its faith in this promise.

The Israelite sabbath had still OTHER ASPECTS too. It was also a day for SPECIAL WORSHIP (cf. Lev. 23:3; Numb. 28:9,10). It further had an important SOCIAL ASPECT: the sons and daughters, the slaves and servants, and even the animals should not be exploited but enjoy a day of rest every week. But these other aspects are subordinate to the first and primary aspect: the sabbath as SIGN OF REDEMPTION: “that I, the Lord, sanctify you. And it is this primary aspect that has been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ. As Calvin states: “There is no doubt that by the Lord Christ’s coming the ceremonial part of this commandment was abolished. For he himself is the truth, with whose presence all figures vanish; he is the body at whose appearance the shadows are left behind… This is not confined within a single day but extends through the whole course of our life, until, completely dead to ourselves, we are filled with the life of God. Christians ought therefore to shun completely the superstitious observance of days” (Instit. II, viii, 31 – Calvin means here: as if the one day is holier than the other and brings us more closely to God).

Only nine commandments left?

Does the foregoing mean that there are only nine commandments of the Decalogue left? Or to put it even more pointedly: Should we omit the fourth commandment from the Decalogue, when the latter is read from the pulpit every Sunday morning? I believe that such a conclusion is TOO HASTY.

I would agree with Calvin when he writes: “Although the Sabbath has been abrogated, there is still occasion for us: (1) to assemble on stated days for the hearing of the Word, the breaking of the mystical bread, and for public prayers; (2) to give surcease from labour to servants and workmen. There is no doubt that in enjoining the Sabbath the Lord was concerned with both” (II, viii, 32). The second aspect is perhaps not the most relevant in our day with its general practice of a forty hours working week. Nearly all ‘servants and workmen’ ( a terminology which we hardly understand anymore!) have too much rather than too little leisure! But the first aspect is still fully relevant. I quote Calvin again:

“Meetings of the church are enjoined upon us by God’s Word; and from our everyday experience we well know how we need them. But how can such meetings be held unless they have been established and have their stated days? According to the apostle’s statement all things should be done decently and in order among us. It is so impossible to maintain decency and order – otherwise than by this arrangement and regulation – that immediate confusion and ruin threatens the church if it be dissolved. But if we are subject to the same necessity as that to alleviate which the Lord established the Sabbath for the Jews, let no one allege that this has nothing to do with us. For our most provident and merciful Father willed to see to our needs not less than those of the Jews. Why do we not assemble daily, you ask, so as to remove all distinction of days? If only this had been given us! Spiritual wisdom truly deserved to have some portion of time set apart for it each day. But if the weakness of many made it impossible for daily meetings to be held, and the rule of love does not allow more to be required of them, why should we not obey the order we see laid upon us by God’s will?”

This is also the teaching of the HEIDELBERG CATECHISM in Lord’s Day 38. In the first part everything is concentrated on the public worship of God. “First, that the ministry of the gospel and the (theological) schools be maintained; and that I, especially on the Sabbath, that is, the day of rest, diligently attend the church of God, to learn God’s Word, to use the sacraments, to call publicly upon the Lord, and to give Christian alms”. By the way, the expression ‘Sabbath’ does not occur in the original German edition. It only speaks of the ‘Feiertag’, ie., the holiday, or day-of-rest, or Sunday.) In the second part the full spiritual meaning of this commandment for the Christian of the new dispensation is brought out in almost blinding clarity: “Second, that all the days of my life I rest from my evil works, let the Lord work in me by His Holy Spirit, and thus begin in this life the eternal Sabbath”.

No, I do not want to do away with the fourth commandment. It still has a rich meaning for the believers of our day too. It calls us to worship the Lord with the whole congregation. The day as such is no longer a matter of ‘law’, in the sense of a legal code. The old prohibition of all work is no longer ‘law’, in the sense of a legal code either. These aspects have been brought out of the sphere of law into that of PRIVILEGE.  And the early church, almost from the very start, has seized upon this privilege with great joy and has chosen as day of worship the DAY OF THE RESURRECTION of their Master, who Himself was the fulfilment of the old shadow. As Barnabas writes at the beginning of the 2nd century: “Wherefore also we celebrate with gladness the Eighth Day, on which also Jesus rose from the dead”. Or as Justin Martyr says in the middle of the same century: “On the Sunday we all make our assembly in common. For it is the First Day, on which God, changing the darkness and the matter, made the world; and on the same day Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead”.

Everything is new now. There is a new light shining over the day of worship. There is a new light shining also over the fourth commandment. It is the light of the rest that has been revealed in Christ’s resurrection, a light that points to the still greater light that is to come. Everyone who neglects the worship of God’s people on this day, neglects the light and so also breaks the spiritual meaning of the fourth commandment.

In our next article we intend to discuss the practical and pastoral implications of this view of the Sunday. At the same time we inform our readers already that, after the completion of this series, the Rev. J.W. Deenick, who believes that the traditional view is correct, will write some articles on the problem from his point of view. It will be interesting to see whether there are real differences in the practical conclusions.

K. Runia.

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• Sunday Observance and Sunday Labour (3)
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