What special reason did the Israelites have for keeping the Sabbath?
Answer
"And remember that thou was a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out
thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to
keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5: 15.
NOTE-In their bondage the Israelites had to some extent lost the knowledge of God, and departed
from His precepts. The Sabbath came to be greatly disregarded by them; and in consequence of the
oppression of the Pharaohs, especially the Pharaoh of the exodus, as witnessed by the rigorous exactions
made upon them by this latter king through their taskmasters, its observance was made apparently
impossible. See Ex. 5:1-19. The special point, both of reform and of conflict, just preceding their
deliverance from bondage, was over the matter of Sabbath observance. Moses and Aaron had shown them
that obedience to God was the first condition of deliverance. Their efforts to restore the observance of the
Sabbath among the Israelites had come to the notice of Pharaoh; hence his accusation against them,
"Wherefore do you, Moses and Aaron, let [hinder] the people from their works? get you unto your
burdens. . . . Behold, the people of the land are many, and you make them rest [Heb., Shabbath] from their
burdens." Ex. 5: 4,5. Deliverance from this oppression was indeed, therefore, an additional and special
reason for their keeping the Sabbath. But Egypt and Egyptian bondage simply represent sin and the
bondage of sin. See Rev. 11:8; Hosea 11:1; Matt. 2:15; Zech. 10:10. Everyone, therefore, who has been
delivered from sin has the same reason for keeping the Sabbath as had the Israelites who were released
from Egyptian bondage.
How many may receive this gift?
What has Christ been made for us, and for what purpose?
From whom does faith come?
Is there to be a special message for the last days?
What does God say the Sabbath will be to those who hallow it, or keep it holy?
How did Jesus answer them?
In what one promise are all these promises summed up?
Questions & Answers are from the book Bible Readings for the Home Circle