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The Most Ignored Commandment (Exodus 31:12-18) I. The Place II. The Purpose III. The Penalty IV. The Permanence
Introduction
I. THE PLACE
Why did God repeat this commandment multiple times?
A command given to all believers, even those involved in God’s work!
God’s provisions for certain works
II. THE PURPOSE
This knowledge of God will sanctify us!
The seven-day week is according to God’s design
What does it mean to rest?
III. THE PENALTY
Understanding God’s laws
IV. THE PERMANENCE
The proof of the Sabbath’s permanence
The Sabbath or the Lord’s Day?
Conclusion
Our text for tonight's message is taken from Exodus 31:12-18.
Many people have asked, which of God's commandments is being broken most frequently? Is it the sin of idolatry, lying, murder, stealing, adultery, covetousness, and so forth? It is impossible to answer this question because people break them all the time, and it varies from person to person.
While it is not possible to name the one commandment that is being broken most frequently, one thing we do know is that there is one commandment that is most ignored, and that is to keep the Sabbath holy. Nearly everyone knows that it is wrong to lie, murder, or steal, but many do not know that God has given us a holy day of rest, and we must rest from our regular labour and offer ourselves to Him in worship.
Today, most Christians still go to church on Sunday morning, but they do not dedicate the whole day to God. Some do not think that they need to honour God by keeping the Sabbath at all. Others consider this command as less important than the rest of God's laws, or that it has been abrogated and done away with.
There are questions as to why we obey this command to keep the Sabbath on Sunday and not on Saturday, as it was practised in the Old Testament, and if this command is still applicable to us today, then what about the implementation of the death penalty for those who violated it, as mentioned in this passage? Why is it not applicable to us when we break this command? We will attempt to answer all these questions as we consider this passage.
The title of our message is ‘The Most Ignored Commandment’.
I. The Place v12
Firstly, we want to consider ‘The Place’, the place of importance—as in why it was placed here in this passage.
Beginning with verse 12, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you" (Exodus 31:12-13). Keeping the Sabbath is clearly important because it was God speaking to Moses. It was Him who was giving this commandment.
Why did God repeat this commandment multiple times?
In the book of Exodus, God mentioned this commandment at least five times. The first time was when He sent manna from heaven six days a week. Through Moses, God set the rules as to how the children of Israel ought to collect the manna. They were to collect the manna every day, fresh every morning. If they tried to collect more, by the next day it would rot, decay, and breed worms. They must collect the manna day by day.
But interestingly, when it came to the seventh day, Moses said to the people, ‘You are not to gather anything, because on the sixth day, you are to gather twice as much, and God will preserve it.’ (Exodus 16:29) Why was that specific command given? Because of the Sabbath. And that command was given even before the giving of the Law. The second time it was mentioned was in the Ten Commandments, in Exodus 20:8, where God said, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". Subsequently, it was repeated in the Book of the Covenant, where God commanded the children of Israel how they ought to function as a nation, how they ought to keep the Sabbath. This law applied to the foreigners, slaves, and animals as well. And then, it was repeated here in chapter 31, and later on in chapter 35.
Why did God keep repeating the Sabbath so many times? Obviously, He wanted to stress to the children of Israel that keeping the Sabbath was central—it was His will and purpose for their lives. Five times may seem unnecessary, but they were not redundant. Each one of them emphasised a different aspect and perspective of the Sabbath.
A command given to all believers, even those involved in God’s work!
Here, the first thing we notice was that the instruction to build the Tabernacle was already given, and then God said to Moses, you must say to the children of Israel that they must keep “my Sabbaths” (v.12). The word "Sabbaths" refers to the weekly Sabbath. Remember, in the preceding verses, God had chosen two special persons, Bezaleel and Aholiab, and the rest of the craftsmen to construct the Tabernacle, the furniture, the utensils, the priestly garments, and mix the holy oil. Then, here He placed this commandment.
In other words, though they were given this awesome responsibility to build the Tabernacle, nevertheless, they still had to keep the Sabbath. They could not use their duties, no matter how significant or important they might be, as an excuse not to keep the Sabbath. This was emphasised by the phrase, "Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep" (Exodus 31:13).
In our modern-day context, it would apply to those people tasked to do the Lord's work—like repairing the church building, formatting and maintaining the church website, preparing the refreshment, etc. Although this may be the services pertaining to God, however, they cannot be used as an excuse not to come to church for worship. If anyone had a good excuse not to worship God at the Tabernacle, it would be Bezaleel and Aholiab. However, no matter how significant and important their work might be, they still had to stop working and keep the Sabbath.
Dear friend, how much less our secular work and activities, whether it be our business ventures, our employment in the different industries, our family commitments, our human relationships, and so forth? Of course, there are some exceptions for those who are required to work on the Sabbath. The Westminster Larger Catechism says, "except for the works of necessity and mercy." That principle is based on the New Testament’s teachings. As Christians, you and I should not be working on the Sabbath.
God’s provisions for certain works
But God made provisions for the works of necessity. For example, doctors, nurses, policemen, firemen, and soldiers. The gynaecologist cannot tell his patient, ‘Please do not go into labour on Sunday because I cannot be working on the Lord’s Day.’ The fireman cannot say, ‘Whether it be bushfire or house fire, please do not call on Sunday because I cannot be working on the Lord’s Day.’ Those are works of necessity.
God also made provisions for the works of mercy. For example, if a wall falls on someone on the Sabbath, can you tell the person that he must remain there until the Sabbath ends and then rescue can come? Most certainly not! You try to rescue him immediately. Our Lord Jesus performed many miracles on the Sabbath. He healed the sick, the lame, the blind, the dumb, and the deaf. He did not violate the fourth commandment. Instead, He was fulfilling the true purpose. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). We should follow His example. Whenever we use the Lord’s Day to welcome the stranger, to feed the poor, or to visit the sick, all these are works of mercy.
God also made provisions for the works of service. For example, the priests in the Old Testament would have to minister on the Sabbath in the temple or in the Tabernacle. Today, there are pastors and preachers who are serving on the Lord’s Day in the church. All these people who are engaged in the works of necessity, mercy, and service, they should set aside another day of the week for rest and for private and public worship. So, except for the works of necessity, mercy, and service, we have no excuse not to keep the Sabbath.
II. The Purpose v13, 15, 17
Our second point is ‘The Purpose’.
Firstly, God said in verse 13, "for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations" (Exodus 31:13). A sign is a mark that points to something. In other words, keeping the Sabbath is a sign that points to the relationship between God and His people—that He was their God, and they were His people. Who else in this world would keep the Sabbath? The believers. And God said, "that ye may know that I am the Lord" (Exodus 31:13).
First and foremost, it was meant for the believers to know their God—not just intellectually, but more importantly, experientially. God had created a Tabernacle where He promised to dwell. Not that He needed a place to dwell—He was the Creator of the whole universe. He wanted His people to have a place to meet Him, to worship, and to know Him.
So, there is also this aspect of coming to church not only to worship God but to know Him. It is a place for learning more and more about God. To the priest, God revealed Himself, and the people got to know more about Him. Today, through the pastors and preachers, using the revelation of His Word, we get to know more and more about God. That is why we have sermons, messages, Sunday schools, Bible study classes, and catechisms in our church.
This knowledge of God will sanctify us!
And this knowledge of God will sanctify us, as God said at the end of verse 13, "that doth sanctify you" (Exodus 31:13). By spending time in worship, prayer, and in the study of the Bible, the people will grow in their knowledge of God and draw closer and closer to Him. In the process, they would become holy—sanctified. Take a moment and consider this: if we were to violate this command to keep the Sabbath, what is the first thing that is being compromised? Our worship, our prayer life, and the study of God’s Word. And all these activities have to do with our sanctification. Our sanctification will be compromised.
You can never name a person who does not attend church services when he is able to, and he refuses to do it, and yet he is still being sanctified daily. You may argue, ‘But he is studying the Bible at home.’ If he truly studies and understands the Bible, it will lead him to be worshipful, prayerful, and he will obey God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy. He will come to church.
The seven-day week is according to God’s design
In verse 15, it is called the “Sabbath of rest”. In verse 17, God set Himself as an example: "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed" (Exodus 31:17). Again, here God emphasised that the institution of the Sabbath was way before the law was given. God worked through a creation week—six days of labour, and on the seventh day, He rested. At the time of creation, God had already set up the management of human time on a week of seven days.
The seven-day week is not the invention of men. It is not instituted by the church. It does not come about because of a parliament. Throughout the history of mankind, there were occasions whereby various nations tried to have different divisions of time other than the seven-day week, but all that did not work out. Why? Because at the very beginning, in the creation of this world, God had already laid down the seven-day week: six days of labour and one day of rest. God Himself set the pattern in creation, and in setting the pattern, He instituted the Sabbath.
What does it mean to rest?
The word "rest" or "rested" means to cease or stop, and the word "refreshed" literally means to catch one's breath, like when you are running, you need to stop to catch your breath and be refreshed. While it is true that when you and I stop the businesses of six days of hard work and rest on the seventh day, it is very refreshing and nourishing, and we become more productive, but that is not the emphasis here. It was used in the context of God, so it has to do with spiritual refreshment, not just physical refreshment.
The word "rest" has been used variously in the Bible. You have the creation rest, the Sabbath rest, the Canaan rest, salvation rest, and Heaven's rest. Notice, it is always forward-looking. As we work six days a week, we look forward to the seventh day whereby we can have the Sabbath rest. As the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, they looked forward to the day they would enter the promised land and have the Canaan’s rest. And as pilgrims living on this earth, we endure the trials, tribulations, and afflictions that would often torment us, and then we look forward to the Heaven's rest, where ultimately we would rest forever and ever. It is always forward-looking.
So, each week as we work hard, doing whatever has been set before us, we look forward to the day whereby we can physically and spiritually rest—to spend time with our almighty God in public worship, to pray, and to learn more and more about Him. Of course, needless to say, we have to spend time with Him every day. Daily Bible reading and prayer is vital and essential. But oftentimes, we are distracted, hindered, and bogged down by the many challenges and issues of life. So, God has especially set aside a day so that you and I can spend our entire being—both our hearts and minds—on Him and Him alone.
And it is a day. It is not just a morning. It is not just a couple of hours in church in the morning and then spending the rest of the day on the things of the world. That is why some churches have worship services in the evening as well. One pastor made this interesting observation—that he had never known anyone who was faithful in attending morning and evening services to leave the faith or fall into horrendous sins. No doubt, there are exceptions, but as a general rule, someone who is faithful in public worship will also be faithful in private worship, and such a person will grow spiritually. He or she will be sanctified.
Dear friend, as we grow in grace, looking forward to the Sabbath—that special day of rest whereby we can spend time, our entire being, both our hearts and minds, on God without any distractions—ultimately, there will come the day whereby we will spend every moment in the presence of God, worshipping Him, glorifying Him perfectly, with absolutely no distractions at all. And that is our Heaven's rest. If I may say it this way, our Sabbath rest is like a foretaste, a glimpse of our Heaven's rest.
III. The Penalty v14
Our third point is ‘The Penalty’.
Now, there was a serious consequence if the people violated this command. Verse 14 says, "Every one that defileth it”—which means profane, violate, or dishonour it—”shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people" (Exodus 31:14). This warning was repeated in verse 15. Now, the question is—if the law of the Sabbath is still applicable to us today, why is this death penalty not applicable to us? Why are we not put to death when we break the law of the Sabbath?
Understanding God’s laws
There were three types of laws, or three categories of laws—moral, ceremonial, and civil laws. The moral laws, as in the Ten Commandments, are God's universal and eternal will for all people in all places.
The civil laws were only for the nation of Israel, as to how they ought to function as a nation under the rule of God, who was their King, and they were not applicable to us.
The ceremonial laws were primarily the rituals of religious worship and the system of sacrifice. They were pointing to the coming Messiah, who had already come, and they were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. So today, the Ten Commandments—all the moral laws—are still applicable to us. Though we draw principles from the civil and ceremonial laws, they are not applicable to us, but there are many spiritual lessons we can learn from them.
Although the law of the Sabbath was part of the moral law—the Ten Commandments—certain aspects of this law, like the application of it, were civil, and they applied only to the nation of Israel. Why do we say that? At this point in time, Israel was Theocratic, which means God was ruling as their King, and failure to abide by the rules of the King—the consequence was death. By refusing to obey the rule of the King, it was an act of defiance and rebellion. It was like saying, ‘I have no relationship with You, God. You are not my God, and I am not Your people. You are not worthy of my time. I am not going to keep the Sabbath.’
Remember, the purpose of the Sabbath was a sign of the relationship between God and His people. As their King, He had the right to say, ‘If that is what you think and how you behave, then you have no right to be in My kingdom. You will be put to death, and you will be cut off from amongst My people.’ Having said that, though the death penalty does not apply to us today, it teaches us that God takes the violation of this commandment very seriously. By refusing to keep the Sabbath, we are like saying, ‘God, I don't know You, and I have nothing to do with You. I have seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I want to work 24/7. I want 24/7 for myself.’ In reality, we are implying that our work, our bosses, our friends, our human relationships, our activities, and our families are more important than God.
The old Puritans used to say, "If a man's business requires so much of his time that he cannot attend the Sunday worship services, then that man has more business than God intended him to have." That man does not really know God.
As believers, we must acknowledge that every second, minute, hour, day, and year that we have is given by God, and He requires one day out of seven for us to rest, catch our breath, and to worship and know Him. The violation of this commandment has very serious consequences. We may not be struck dead immediately, but most certainly, it will affect us spiritually, and eventually, God will deal with us accordingly.
IV. The Permanence v16, 18
Our final point is the permanence of the Sabbath.
Look at verse 16: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (Exodus 31:16). Perpetual means everlasting. Verse 18: "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God" (Exodus 31:18).
So here was a reference to the Ten Commandments. It does not mean that God has hands and fingers like us. It was used in a metaphorical sense, which means Moses did not make up the Ten Commandments—they came from God. He was the one who had engraved them on the stone tablets. Here, the emphasis was that the Sabbath was everlasting and permanent.
The proof of the Sabbath’s permanence
Many years ago, I had a friend who was taught by some people that the Sabbath was only a Mosaic law in the Old Testament, and after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is no longer applicable to us today. Because of that, he refused to attend church worship services. How sad. Where is the proof text that the Sabbath is permanent and everlasting? Allow me to quote just one verse.
Isaiah 66:22–23 says: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." "One new moon to another" is a reference to the monthly coming together for worship, and Isaiah says, "from one sabbath to another," they are to come for worship—which means the Sabbath will continue even beyond the Millennial Kingdom and onto the new heavens and the new earth, where the believers will dwell for all eternity. The Sabbath will continue even in the new heavens and the new earth.
The Sabbath or the Lord’s Day?
Now, the next question is: Why are we keeping the Sabbath day on Sunday—the first day of the week—instead of Saturday? Well, the resurrection of Jesus Christ has transformed the Sabbath. It is no longer the seventh day but the first day. It is no longer called the Sabbath day but the Lord's Day. And it is no longer just remembering the creation of God but to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Exodus chapter 20, when God gave the Ten Commandments, including the law of the Sabbath, the children of Israel were told to remember how God had redeemed them from the land of Egypt. And this is what God said: "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Exodus 20:2). Then God said to them: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). Today, we remember the Christian Sabbath on Sunday because Christ has accomplished the greatest redemption by dying on the cross of Calvary and shedding His precious blood, and on the third day, He rose again from the dead.
B. B. Warfield, the theologian, said: "Christ took the Sabbath into the grave with Him and brought the Lord’s Day out of the grave on the resurrection morning." That is the reason why the New Testament records all the significant events that happened on the first day of the week.
Let me end by briefly giving you some examples. The Lord Jesus was risen on the first day of the week. He met His disciples on the first day of the week. When He poured out His Spirit at Pentecost, it was on the first day of the week. The New Testament Church met on the first day of the week. When Paul was in Troas, he went to the church on the first day of the week. When he wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 16:2, he said: "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." So, the apostles had given to us a clear picture, a clear pattern, that the New Testament Church met on the first day of the week.
But most importantly, the Apostle John, in Revelation 1:10, calls this special day the Lord’s Day. And this is what John said: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (Revelation 1:10–11a). In the Old Testament, God calls the Sabbath my day, and now He calls it the “Lord’s Day”. You know, there are only two things in the New Testament that are said to be the Lord’s: The Lord’s Table and The Lord’s Day. In other words, the Lord Himself is putting His stamp, His own stamp, on the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. It is called the Lord’s Day, and you and I are commanded to keep the Christian Sabbath—the Lord’s Day. It is everlasting, and it is permanent.
Conclusion
Dear friend, keeping the Lord’s Day is not a trivial matter. To many, indeed, it may be the most ignored commandment. But to us believers who are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we love Him because He first loved us, and we want to worship Him on this special day called the Lord’s Day. It has a special place in our hearts. No work, activity, commitment, or human relationships can or shall ever take its place. It serves a sovereign purpose as a witness that we are the children of God. As we worship, pray, and know more and more about Him, it will sanctify us.
The violation of it has serious consequences. We may not be struck dead immediately, but to die spiritually or to drift away from our Almighty God, in whom we derive our life from, is most devastating, dn't you think? And it is permanent. We will keep the Lord’s Day until the day we see Him face to face. And we will continue to worship and glorify Him forever and ever—perfectly, with no distractions at all. From our Sabbath rest to our Heaven’s rest—that is how you and I should live our lives.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we come before Thee and give Thee thanks for this opportunity for us to consider this portion of Scriptures. It is not by chance, nor coincidence, that it was repeated at least five times in the book of Exodus, that Thy people are commanded to keep the Sabbath. It is not a trivial matter. It is a vital doctrine. We must keep the Sabbath, and our Lord Jesus has transformed the Sabbath by His resurrection. And today, we call it the Lord’s Day, and we want to keep it holy. It is the day that we find rest—both physically and spiritually—that our entire being, both our minds and our hearts, will be on Thee and Thee alone. That we will worship, pray, and learn more about Thee, for it will sanctify us.
We pray that we will understand the serious consequence of violating this commandment. As true believers, saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, how can we do that? God forbids! The Holy Spirit, who indwells in us, will cause us to turn and worship Thee on the Lord’s Day and to keep it holy. And we will continue to do so until the day we have our Heaven’s rest, whereby we will see Thee face to face, and we will continue to worship and glorify Thee forever and ever. Help us, O Lord, that we will apply this teaching into our lives. That all of us will not just be hearers only, but to be doers of Thy Word as well—all to the glory of Thy precious name. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.