Keeping the Sabbath
Because nobody believes it’s there … and it’s in both.
Ex. 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not 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: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Ex. 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15 Thou shalt not steal. 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Ex. 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. ~ KJV
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Deut. 5:6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast 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. 16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill. 18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19 Neither shalt thou steal. 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s. ~ KJV
No Idolatry. No killing. No adultery. No working your animals on the Sabbath. The God of the Universe put an animal welfare clause in the big 10 contract. Most people would deny it has anything about animals in it at all. Nothing about animals, really? Even though the words actually are right there on the page? Even though the examples Jesus gave of what kinds of work are acceptable on the Sabbath were about continuing routine care for animals (Luke 13:15) and helping an animal in need (Matt. 12:11, Luke 14:15)?
The point was that it’s ok to do good on the Sabbath and the examples he used were about caring for animals. Consider this comment in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (1992), in the Ethics of Jesus (ethics and the law) section, about the role of the Sabbath …
There was also a divine necessity for healing on the Sabbath, insofar as the Sabbath was divinely ordained to be for Israel a foretaste of the kingdom of God. By healing those bound by the kingdom of Satan, Jesus had enabled the kingdom of God to break in upon human life (Lk 11:20; Mk 3:27). Thus, since the Sabbath was a foretaste of the kingdom, there was no better day for him to perform his acts of mercy. Since the kingdom had arrived, the Son of man (see SON OF MAN) was Lord of the Sabbath (Mk 2:28).
In context, the point Jesus was making was about the fact that his questioners would not have hesitated to do these things for animals but then questioned him about helping a person … but this whole discourse is based on the assumption that doing good for animals is understood to be a good thing, that’s the reason the argument works. If A, then how much more B … it depends on both sides agreeing on A; A is the given from which you expound to B.
- The Sabbath commandment specifically includes a rest for the animals that serve man.
- The Sabbath is a foretaste of the kingdom.
- Jesus has inaugurated his kingdom.
- The prophets tell of a time when there will be a reconciliation not only among the animal kingdom but also between man and animal – as it was in the beginning, before we messed it up.
- Paul says the whole creation longs for the children of God to be revealed.
I think you have a pretty good argument for the people of God to be renouncing the ways of this world and our own history as it relates to animals.
We’ve been happy to focus on the biblical descriptions of how much more “valuable” we are than animals but it’s avarice to ignore the part that animals are valuable to God in their own right. With a greater understanding of how our value is based on the idea of our greater capacity to serve and reflect Jesus in his plan of redemption for all of creation we’ll eventually come to terms with the full extent of our arrogance in this respect. Sackcloth and ashes will be in order.
Prov. 12:10 A righteous man regards the life of his animal,
But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
“Compassion for animals is an indication of one’s character. The righteous are kind to all God’s creation (see Deut 25:4) because they have received his bounty. Toy suggests the analogy that if one is kind to the lower animals, he will surely be kind to humans (p. 248). Greenstone adds that even when the wicked are moved to compassion, they often manifest it in a cruel way (p. 129)”. ~ The Expositors Bible Commentary
