Sabbath Observance: Part 2

TWO KINDS OF WORSHIP

God gave two kinds of worship to mankind in Eden. One was before sin, and other was after sin. Before sin our first parent worshipped the Lord on the seventh-day Sabbath with the heavenly angels. The Lord says, – “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 31:13

After man committed sin, it was the will of God that all people must worship God continuously as it was before sin. We must observe the Holy Sabbath to preserve our holy relationship with God, to gain sanctification and to receive blessings from the heavenly Father. Also the practice of offering blood for redemption from sin continued until Jesus Christ shed His blood for mankind on Calvary’s cross.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 God created everything in this world in six days. “For He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalms 33: 9. God spoke and it was done. After He finished the creation, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Gen 1:31, “And on the seventh day God ended His work, which he had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:2, 3

Seventh day Sabbath

Man’s situation after sin entered into the world was revealed to him by God. He instructed man that he must work; He taught them how to face their problems and how to earn their daily bread. For man, who was to work physically and mentally, needed to rest; they learned that the aim of God was to establish a holy Sabbath day, the day of rest.

Before sin entered the world, what was the condition of man” “This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. While they lived in obedience to God, this circle of light enshrouded them. Although every thing God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth, which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet He manifested His great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. This beautiful garden was to be their home, their special residence.” SP, vol.1, p.25

“…The lion and the lamb sported together peacefully and harmlessly around them, or slumbered at their feet. Birds of every variety of color and plumage flitted among the trees and flowers, and about Adam and Eve while their mellow-toned music echoed among the trees in sweet accord to the praises of their Creator.” SP, vol.1, p.26.

Happiness forever; this everlasting happiness was given by the loving Father of heaven. This was given to man by God as the wonderful holy Sabbath day.

The week consisting of seven days was established by God in Eden. The sun, moon and stars were “to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days, and years.” Genesis 1:14. The blessings of the observance of the holy Sabbath is for man to communicate with God. Also, by its observance, man is privileged to enter into a physical rest and for mental happiness. “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:3 “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” Exodus. 20:10 The Holy Sabbath day must be respected above all other days. “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” Genesis. 2:3. This denotes the Sabbath day as blessed by God Himself in a special way.

For example, take seven glasses full of water. Put fruit and sugar in only one of the glasses of water. First drink the glass of water with fruit and sugar, afterwards drink each of the rest of the glasses of water. The rest of the glasses of water will taste sweet because of the one glass of water that contained fruit and sugar. The other glasses aren’t tasty as the first glass because on their own they are without taste. We can compare this to the special majesty of the Holy Sabbath day compared to the other days of the weekly cycle. We can call this special day as the especially tasteful day, blended with the sweetness of blessings and sanctification, a day of fruit.

So, “God rested on the seventh day from all His works. For he who has entered His rest has Himself also ceased from His works as God did from His.” Hebrews 4:4,10. Here we can come to the conclusion, in light of all the above, man must follow the same foot steps of God firmly without turning to the right or to the left, as pointed out by God himself. Revelation 1:10; Isaiah 58:13. This was the pattern of worship God intended, to worship Him on the Sabbath day.

Bloodshed Sacrificial Offerings

This system of sacrifices involving the shedding of blood is preached by almost all religions. But the origin of this subject is unknown to most of the believers of these religions. At the same time we can find proof from the Holy Bible. The Bible tells us when these sacrifices started, what was their purpose, what resulted from them, how long they were to remain and when these sacrifices would cease.

Because man was created by God as perfect, man did not know evil or sorrow. Because of this there was no death, nor sorrow. Man was happy, yet sin entered into the world. “It was not the will of God that this sinless pair should have any knowledge of evil. He had freely given them the good but withheld the evil.” SP, vol.1, p.37

Had man heard and obeyed the commandments of God and His instruction for the future benefit of man, he could have experienced everlasting life. Instead of doing this, man heeded the cheating words of Satan, who is a deceiver and murderer, and obeyed him. Man fell into sin. And the result was death, sorrow, unhappiness and all other evils that we see and experience in this world.

God told man that if he did not listen to God, and disobeyed Him and His commandments, the result would be death. The whole universe stretched out in a solemn silence as man fell into sin. Why” For they were waiting anxiously, looking for the result that would follow the disobedience of the commandments of God.

The Soul Who Sins Shall Die

There is a way is opened by God for all who have fallen into sin. “…without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Leviticus 17:11 “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4.

The bitter experience of death and sorrow entered into this world to mankind because of the disobedience of our foreparents, Adam and Eve in Eden. At this time, Jesus, the only begotten Son of God approached the presence of God.

Jesus stood before God and pleaded with His Father that the blood of animals is not equal to His own blood in redeeming man from sin. He was ready to go and offer His own blood for mankind.

“The news of man’s fall spread through heaven “every harp was hushed. The angels cast their crowns from their heads in sorrow. All heaven was in agitation. The angels were grieved at the base ingratitude of man, in return for the rich bounties God had provided. A council was held to decide what must be done with the guilty pair.” SP, vol.1, p.42

“”He had been pleading with His Father and had offered to give His life a ransom and take the sentence himself that man might find pardon.” SP, vol.1, p.45

When anyone committed sin, he must bring an sacrificial offering before God for redemption from sin. This was the instruction given to him by God and it was to continue until the death of Jesus Christ for mankind. Jesus Christ is, “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. The act of sacrificing animal was dreadfully cruel. It made man aware of the seriousness of needing a sacrifice for sin and to decide, “I shall never commit sin in my life hereafter. Man sacrificed animals without knowing the reason for the sacrifice. This animal offering did not set man free from sin, because without the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ there is no redemption for mankind.

When Adam, according to God’s special directions made an offering for sin, it was to him a most painful ceremony. His hand must be raised to take a life, which God alone could give, and make an offering for sin. It was the first time he had witnessed death. As he looked upon the bleeding victim writhing in the agonies of death, he was to look forward by faith to the Son of God, whom the victim prefigured, who was to die as man’s sacrifice.

This ceremonial offering, ordained of God, was to be a perpetual reminder to Adam of his guilt, and also a penitential acknowledgement of his sin. This act of taking life gave Adam a deeper and more perfect sense of his transgression, which nothing less than the death of God”s dear Son could expiate. He marveled at the infinite goodness and matchless love, which would give such a ransom to save the guilty. As Adam was slaying the innocent victim, it seemed to him that he was shedding the blood of the Son of God by his own hand.” S.P, Vol. 1, p.53

The origin and close of sacrificial offerings

Since sin entered into this world, the system of animal sacrifices for the redemption of man from sin was given by God to man in Eden. From the time of Adam to the age of Jesus Christ, this animal sacrificial system of offerings were followed by our forefathers, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, people of Israel, Judges, kings and prophets and all for approximately 4000 years.

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God”? Hebrews 9:12-14

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, He saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” Hebrews 10: 4-12.

Redemption only by the blood of Jesus Christ

Even then there was no redemption experienced by man from sin. These sacrificial offerings of animals continued up until the death of Jesus Christ. Those who were offering the animal sacrifices were expecting the coming of Christ, to offer Himself as a sacrificial offering, His blood providing true redemption for man. According to the expectation of all the sinners, Jesus Christ came to this world for man. He suffered much torture, was cruelly crucified on Cavalry, He shed His blood, died was buried and then was resurrected victoriously. Hereafter there is no offering necessary for the redemption of man; and all the sacrificial offerings were finished with the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ “Messiah is the Jesus Christ” John 1:14 “Messiah shall be cut off… And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the oblation to cease”- Daniel 9:26, 27 “Who needeth not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s, for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” Hebrew 7:27 “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” Hebrew 10:18 So, while we feel that we are sinners, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9. “Nor is there salvation in any other”” Acts 4:12 We must remember to keep these thoughts in our mind.

For example suppose a student unexpectedly fell and was wounded on the way to school. He would need to be taken to hospital to have his wounds dressed; this must be done until his wounds are healed. Then treatment is no longer necessary. But, he must still attend school until he completes his educational course of studies. Just like this wounded student, it is an example for the sinner to worship the Lord until he is healed of his sins. The healing of the wound is an analogy of the need for sacrificial offerings until the death of Jesus Christ. So, also the Sabbath day observance too will be continued up until one”s last breath.

Through the Sabbath worship human beings can increase their great relationship with God; the Sabbath also binds them to God. “Let none deceive themselves with the thought that God, in his great love and mercy, will yet save even the rejecters of His grace.” SC p.20 “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:17
AMEN.

S. Raj Israel