Does the Sabbath have any part in the New Covenant?
(Gen. 2:1-3; 17:9-14; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:12-17; Isa. 56:3-7; Eze. 20:19-20; Heb. 4:1-4) Blog 23-29 May, 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God’s Ten Commandment Law is the basis of his covenant with his people. God made a covenant with perfect humanity in the person of Adam our Federal Head. We could not have asked for a better, more fit, representative. But Adam freely chose to brake God’s covenant. God did not then abandon the human race; instead, he offered us a covenant of grace in which he promised to provide a new Covenant Head, that by means of sacrifice and obedience would fulfill God’s will in our place. As our human Representative, Jesus perfectly obeyed God’s Commandments and all who enter him by faith are counted worthy of every covenant blessing. The covenants made with Noah, Abraham, and David, like that made after the fall (Genesis 3:15), were also promissory covenants in which a person becomes a partaker on condition of faith alone. The covenant God made with Israel at Sinai, like that made with Adam before the fall, was based on human performance. They were obligatory covenants because in them humanity was to render perfect obedience to God.
Covenant Signs (Gen. 2:2-3; 3:15-21; 9:13; 17:10-14; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:16-17; John 10:16; Rom. 4:9-16)
1. Why is a sign included when making a covenant? I sign serves as a continual reminder of the covenant promises that were agreed upon & made.
2. What is the characteristic of a sign? A sign is a visible, external object or event pointing to some other reality.
3. What was the sign of the covenant God made with Adam before the fall? The seventh-day Sabbath.
4. What was the sign of the covenant God made with Adam and Eve after the fall? The clothing God gave them or the seventh-day Sabbath.
5. How does the sign of the covenant God made with Noah after the flood remind us of God’s promise? The rainbow comes with clouds & rain when the sun shines to remind us that God will not again destroy the earth with a flood.
6. What was the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham in the land of Canaan? Circumcision.
7. What was the sign of the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai? The seventh-day Sabbath.
8. Is it possible to enter God’s covenant without also taking the sign of the covenant? Yes, Abraham did & Paul says many do. Jesus says that he has sheep (true believers) who he must bring into the covenant fold.
9. What does God say should happen to those who have taken the sign of the everlasting covenant and then willfully reject that sign? They are to be cut off from among God’s people.
The Sign of the everlasting Covenant (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:1-17; 34:28; Deut. 4:13; 5:12-15; Matt. 5:17; Heb. 4:1-11; 8:7-9; 10:5-10)
10. What are the words of God’s everlasting covenant? The words of God’s everlasting covenant are the words of the Ten Commandments.
11. According to Hebrews 8, what was the matter with the Old (“first”) Covenant? The words of the covenant were not the problem; the people were the problem.
12. If the Sabbath was part of the Old Covenant made at Sinai and subsequently broken, does it have any part in the New Covenant? Yes, the 7th day Sabbath is also part of the New Covenant for the “words” of the covenant are the same as those of the Old – rather it was the promisor who changed.
13. In the new, everlasting covenant who took on himself the obligation to fulfill all the Ten Commandments? Jesus.
14. How does the weekly Sabbath continually remind us of God’s covenant? The weekly Sabbath reminds us that in six literal days God created our environment & made the seventh day as a special time for us to know God better & for our sanctification.
15. Besides reminding us of our creation and sanctification of what else does the weekly sabbath remind us? The weekly Sabbath appearing in the center of God’s covenant points to our spiritual rest in Christ’s finished work for our salvation & to the future eternal rest that all will enjoy who remain in God’s covenant.
The Everlasting Sabbath (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 16:27-30; 20:1-17; 31:16-17; Isa. 56:3-7; 66:22-23; Eze. 20:20; Mark 2:27)
16. What common factor does God give both in Genesis 2 and Exodus 31 that makes the 7th day Sabbath a special day? That it is a sanctified day in which God pledges to make his people holy.
17. How does the Bible make clear that the Sabbath was God’s special sign for all humanity long before the Ten Commandments were given on Mount Sinai? By the fact that God made it holy & blessed at creation, by the statement of Jesus that it was “made for mankind,” & by the fact that God gave detailed instructions regarding it when he provided mana before the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai.
18. How does Isaiah illustrate the entering into God’s covenant? Isaiah equates keeping the Sabbath with entering into God’s covenant.
19. As God’s pledge that he will fulfill his promises to us and our pledge of loyalty to him, how long will the Sabbath continue? Throughout eternity.