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Promises Of The Law - Part 12

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• Deuteronomy chapter 5. We're still on the series "The Promises of the Law." This is number 12, and Lord willing, today we're going to be dealing with the fourth commandment. So we're going to be reading Deuteronomy chapter 5, verses 12 through 15. Deuteronomy 5, verses 12 through 15. God says, "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, 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. 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."

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• So, the fourth commandment is a commandment in which lies a great deal of controversy. I'm certainly not going to answer all of the objections and all the problems dealing with the fourth commandment in this message. It's not even my intent to do so. I could not do that in two messages. I probably could not do it in 20 messages either, because there's a great deal of division over this commandment, even among many Christians.

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• And in all probability, some of the things I say may indeed raise some hostility from others who hold differing views. I always say this: it is not my intent to attack those who hold differing views. All I'm trying to do is to share with you the Scripture based upon the light and the understanding that God has given me.

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• Now, when we talk about the Sabbath day, interestingly, whenever the Sabbath is mentioned, most people always think of Saturday. And I suppose the reason for that is because of the emphasis that has been laid down through history on the weekly Sabbath. Let me go ahead and say that the word "Sabbath" does not mean Saturday, which I will point out a little bit later. In fact, the truth of the matter is there's more Sabbaths than one. And when I think about the individuals who are so strict in observing what they would call the weekly Sabbath, I cannot help but think of James chapter 2, verses 10 and 11, or especially verse 10, where God says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of all." So if you're going to keep a weekly Sabbath, why are you not going to keep the other Sabbaths as well? There is not only the weekly Sabbath, there is also what is known as the New Moon Sabbath, which you can find in Numbers chapter 28, verses 11-15.

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• In the New Moon Sabbaths, labor was not forbidden, but sacrifices were indeed required. The Feast of the Trumpets, the New Year, was a Sabbath. And then of course you had the sabbatical year. That is every seventh year the land had to rest and people rested as well with it. And then you had the year of Jubilee, which was the 50th year. Plus you had the seven annual feasts, and those seven annual feasts were considered Sabbaths as well. And so when you went seven times seven, that's 49. So the 49th year was also a Sabbath. And then the 50th year, the year of Jubilee, was a Sabbath. So that's two years of Sabbaths straight. So, my question is: if someone is going to be so fastidious to observe the weekly Sabbath, why do they not also observe the New Moon Sabbath, the New Year Sabbath, the Feast of the Trumpets, the seventh feast, the sabbatical year, and the year of Jubilee as well? You are going to find that if you try to keep all of those Sabbaths in our day and age, it will be almost impossible to do so, just like it was impossible to do so in the Old Testament as well.

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• In fact, the children of Israel, and especially Judah and Jerusalem, got into trouble for violating God's Sabbaths. In the book of Leviticus chapter 26, verses 33-34, God says that if they did not keep His Sabbaths, He was going to send them into captivity. And while they were in captivity, the land was going to enjoy her Sabbaths. Well, obviously, the northern tribes went into captivity into Assyria, and the southern tribes went into captivity into Babylon. If you would hold Deuteronomy 5, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. 2 Chronicles 36, and look if you would please at verses 20 and 21. 2 Chronicles 36, verses 20 and 21. Because here we find what happened to the children of Judah and Jerusalem specifically, and why it happened to them. So 2 Chronicles chapter 36, verse 20, and the Bible says, "And them that had escaped from the sword, carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the

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• land had enjoyed her sabbaths. For as long as she lay desolate, she kept sabbath to fulfill threescore and ten years." So the children of Judah were in captivity for 70 years. And God says, for 70 years My land is going to keep her Sabbaths.

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• Now when we talk about the Sabbath day, most people will say that Saturday is the Sabbath, which is not necessarily true. I'm going to point out that Saturday was a Sabbath once every seven years, but then so was every other day of the week as well. Let me mention like this: the days of the week in the Old Testament and the days of the week in the New Testament were by different names, but still there were only seven days in the week. Okay, so if you start going back and you start thinking in the Old Testament and New Testament, there's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. No, no, no, no, there were the seven days, but they went by different names. Okay, so Saturday would have been Sabbath once every seventh year using the terminology of our days. But so would Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday as well. Now you're going to ask, how could that be?

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• And the answer is it is based upon the Hebrew calendar, which was set in Exodus by God Himself. So, if you would go back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 12, everyone will remember, of course, the Passover when God delivered the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Let me just show you what is going to be stated in this particular passage. Watch, Exodus chapter 12, beginning there with verse 1, "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you." So, Abib is always going to be the first month of the Hebrew calendar. God required that. Alright, skip down if you would please to verse 14.

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• Notice if you would, he says, "And this day shall be unto you for a memorial and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever." So not only is the month fixed, but the date is fixed as well, which we shall see now. I skipped—that was just verse 14. Let's get down to verse 18. He says, "In the first month, on the 14th day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread until the one and twentieth day of the month at even." So here you have the 14th day of the month when the blood was applied, and of course the next day Israel wants to

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• leave Egypt. Now look in Exodus chapter 13, beginning there with verse 3. Exodus 13, verse 3, "And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, this particular day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. This day came you out in the month Abib." So here we have the month and the date has been set. So the Hebrew day began in the evening and ended in the evening, and the 15th of Abib, of the first month, had to be a Sabbath every year. So that meant the first and the eighth of their month had to be a Sabbath as well. They were fixed Sabbaths. And if you study the Scripture, once you had Passover, you had to number seven Sabbaths from there for those feasts. And then of course the 50th day was Pentecost.

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• So, let me try to explain it like this. Since the month and the date was fixed, that means the day varied. So, the 15th had to be a Sabbath. That meant the 8th was a Sabbath, and the 1st was a Sabbath. And then they numbered after that as well. So it's just like your birthday. Suppose your birthday, say, is September the 3rd. And I would have to look on the calendar, but September the 3rd this year may come on Monday. If September the 3rd comes on Monday this year, next year it's going to be on Tuesday, the following year will be on Wednesday, and so on all the way until it gets seven times, and then it'll start right back over. So the Sabbath, the weekly Sabbath, varied every year. And that is why I said I could almost say with certainty that Saturday was a Sabbath, but it was a Sabbath only once every seven years. So, since that month was set, and the date was set, it means therefore that the day was absolutely varied. Now, moreover, you've got to consider this: it is also possible to have more than one Sabbath in a week.

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• How could that be? What if you had a New Moon Sabbath? The new moon or the new month came during one week. So actually you would have a New Moon Sabbath and then you would have a weekly Sabbath as well. And then of course if some of those annual feasts or some other certain day came, then of course that would be an additional Sabbath. That's why, like in the New Testament, it said "down the end of the Sabbaths," plural, so there could have been more than one Sabbath in the week that our Lord was crucified. Okay, so the interesting thing is you could have more than one Sabbath. Also, here's another fact concerning the Sabbath: the emphasis on the Sabbath in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament, was not worship. It was rest. In the Old Testament, worship was family-centered. They worshiped as a family. When it came to sacrificial worship,

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• that had to be done at the tabernacle and/or the temple. No other place. But the emphasis in the Bible was not on worship on the Sabbath, but it was on rest. Let me give you some scriptures. Listen carefully. Here's Exodus 34, verse 21: "Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest shalt thou rest." So it didn't matter if harvest was coming in; if it was a Sabbath day, you had to rest. Leviticus 23, verse 3: "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is a Sabbath of the Lord in all of your dwellings." And here's Jeremiah 7, verses 21 and 22: "Thus saith the Lord, Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work."

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• But hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. Now, if you would take the time to run through Scripture, you're going to find a number of things concerning the Sabbath, how that rest was absolutely enforced and that absolutely no work was to be done. For instance, in Exodus chapter 16 and verse 29, everyone was to abide in his place on the Sabbath day. In Nehemiah 13 and verse 19, the gates, that is the gates of the city, were to be shut on the Sabbath day.

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• No one could come in, no one could go out. Asses should not be laden on the Sabbath day, Nehemiah 13, verse 15. No burdens could be borne, which we just read, Jeremiah 7. No fires were to be kindled, Exodus 35 and verse 3. No sheaves were to be brought in, Nehemiah 13, verse 15. No sticks were to be gathered, Numbers chapter 15, we'll look at that later. And no vittles or wares were to be bought or sold, Nehemiah 10.

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• And no wine was to be traded in the press. In other words, there was no work to be done on the Sabbath, period. The emphasis on the Sabbath was rest. Now, the word "Sabbath" does not mean Saturday, which I said earlier. The word "Sabbath" just simply means cessation or rest. That's all it means. Cessation or rest.

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• Now the problem is that Israel consistently and constantly violated the Sabbaths. Not only did they consistently and constantly violate the Sabbaths, they violated the totality of God's law. Let me show you. Turn in your Bibles to the book of Amos chapter 8. Amos chapter 8. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Amos chapter 8. And look if you would please beginning there with verse 4. Amos chapter 8 and verse 4. Look what the Bible says. Amos 8, verse 4. God is speaking out against Israel and especially Judah, Jerusalem. He says, "Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail. So here the people are swallowing up the needy and harassing the poor, saying, verse 5, 'When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the Sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit, that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat.'"

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• In other words, here are people who are not only willing to violate the Sabbath, they were stealing, they were defrauding, they were cheating, they were doing whatever they wanted to do, and all of this is absolutely contrary to God. Now, when we're talking about the violations of the Sabbath, to violate the Sabbath was to merit the death penalty. I want you to go back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 31. Exodus 31, and look if you would please at verses 14 and 15. Exodus 31, beginning there with verse 14. Exodus 31, verse 14, God says, "You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy unto you. Everyone that defiles it shall surely be put to death.

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• For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whosoever doeth any work on the seventh day, he shall surely be put to death." Look, if you would, in Exodus chapter 35, Exodus 35 and verse 2. God says, "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whosoever doeth any work therein shall be put to death." So here is the penalty for violating the Sabbath. Now I want you to turn to the book of Numbers chapter 15. I'm going to read a passage, ask some questions, then I will come back to this passage before I end, Lord willing. Numbers chapter 15, and let's begin reading there with verse 29. Numbers 15—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Numbers chapter 15, look in verse 29. God says, "You shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel and the stranger that sojourneth among them."

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• So one law, it doesn't matter if you are home born or a stranger. Verse 30, "But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off, his iniquity shall be upon him." Now watch carefully.

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• "And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron and unto all the congregation. And they put him in a ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death, and all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died as the Lord commanded Moses."

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• Now, here is an interesting incident that happened, and it raises an awful lot of questions. Although we understand that the death penalty was involved for violating the Sabbaths, this man was out picking up sticks. Why was he out picking up sticks? Well, it could be that he needed fuel for the fire, not to warm himself particularly, but to cook. Eating was allowed on the Sabbath. Work is condemned many times throughout the Scripture. So why then was this man put to death for gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath day, probably in order that he could cook something that he might eat?

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• Now, I want to answer that question for you, but you're going to have to wait until I get toward the end of this message. Until then, I've got to point out the fact that when we're talking about the Sabbath, there are different Sabbaths mentioned in the Bible. There is the Creation Sabbath, which celebrates creation. Look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 20. Exodus chapter 20, notice if you would please beginning there with verse 8. Exodus 20, verse 8, God says, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, 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 the gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."

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• Now the Creation Sabbath obviously commemorates creation. There are many scriptures that indicate this as well. For instance, Isaiah 45 and verse 12, God said, "I have made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all the hosts have I commanded." You get to Isaiah 45 and verse 18, "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, God Himself that formed the earth and made it, He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited, I am the Lord and there is none else." And so the Creation Sabbath celebrates creation. Now obviously when you read in the Bible it said, "and God rested on the Sabbath day," God was not tired. God is omnipotent. He is all-powerful.

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• He does not run out of energy. He does not run out of strength. He does not become tired. All it means is He had completed His creation and He ceased creating. All the word "Sabbath" means is a cessation or a rest. So God rested in the sense that He had finished His creation. He was not creating anything else anymore. That is the Creation Sabbath. There is, secondly, the Hebrew Sabbath. The Hebrew Sabbath did not celebrate the creation. The Hebrew Sabbath celebrated deliverance from Egypt. If you would go back in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 5, our text. Deuteronomy 5, look if you would please. Verse 14, I don't have to read it again. Verse 13, of course, talks about six days thou shalt labor. Verse 14, "but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it you are not to do any work." Skip down to verse 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.

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• Now look, 'therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.'" Why? Because God brought them out of the land of Egypt. In other words, here this Sabbath, the Hebrew Sabbath as such, is not celebrating creation per se, it is celebrating deliverance from Egypt. Now, when you think about these two Sabbaths, these two rests—the creation rest and the Hebrew rest—there are two very clear implications, and I want you to remember this. Number one is: the pattern of the Sabbath is God's creation rest. Okay, the pattern of the Sabbath is God's creation rest. Secondly, the goal of the Sabbath is man's redemption rest. So the pattern of the Sabbath is God's creation rest. The goal of the Sabbath is man's redemption rest. Now, if you'll look in Exodus chapter 6, go back there, because I told you now that the Hebrew Sabbath celebrated their deliverance from Egypt, their redemption from Egypt. So in Exodus chapter 6, beginning there with verse 5, Exodus 6, verse 5, God says, "And I've also heard the groanings of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant." Saying to the children of Israel, "I am the Lord, and I will bring you out

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• from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments, and I will make you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God. And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." So note if you would please, here is redemption. Therefore in Deuteronomy chapter 5, God says, "You keep this Sabbath because I have brought you out of the land of Egypt." Now, the pattern of the Sabbath is God's creation rest. The goal of the Sabbath is man's redemption rest. So, He's talking about redemption and rest as He delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt.

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• If this was understood, Pharisees would not have maliciously condemned Jesus Christ in the New Testament. For instance, since the goal of the Sabbath is the redemption of man, you have to understand that redemption is rest. We have been redeemed. Life could be saved on the Sabbath day. Look in Mark chapter 3, Luke chapter 6—don't turn there, but I'm just simply saying our Lord Himself said it is right to save life on the Sabbath day. Moreover, you could also understand that the sick could be healed on the Sabbath day. Matthew chapter 10, Luke chapter 14. Livestock could be rescued on the Sabbath day. You will find that also in Matthew 12 and Luke 14. And it is proper to eat and to preserve your life on the Sabbath day, Matthew chapter 12. Moreover, since redemption involves victory over one's enemies, it was also right to fight on the Sabbath day if it became necessary, because the goal of man's redemption is rest, and therefore you cannot rest unless you have victory and unless you have everything that God has provided for

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• you. So in the New Testament, often times these Pharisees and these scribes were attacking Jesus Christ, and they did not even understand the goal of the Sabbath.

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• Now there is the creation rest. There is the Hebrew rest. There is another rest that is not mentioned right here, and that is the Canaan rest. There is a passage in the New Testament that puts all of these things together and in a proper perspective. You will find that in Hebrews chapter 4, and that is where I want you to turn. Hebrews chapter 4, Hebrews chapter 4, and we are going to read the first 11 verses. Hebrews 4, and then we'll do just a little more reading before we come back and comment on this passage. Look in Hebrews 4, beginning there in verse 1. "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

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• And unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, 'As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest,' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, 'And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.' And in this place again, 'If they shall enter into my rest.' Since therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief. Again he limited a certain day, saying in David, 'Today, after so long a time,' as it is said, 'Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.' For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not have afterwards spoken of another day? There remaineth therefore rest to the people of God.

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• For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."

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• Now, in order to really comprehend chapter 4, you have to understand that the argument actually begins in chapter 3. So, if you look in Hebrews 3 at verses 10 and 11 first, look what God says, Hebrews 3, verse 10, "Wherefore I was grieved with that generation and said, They do always err in their heart and they have not known my ways. So I swear in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest." Now notice he says, these people always erred in their heart. They did not know his ways. Now skip down to verse 17. "But with whom was he grieved forty years?

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• Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not. Now watch. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." Wow. Now, hold on. Let me try to tie some things together. First of all, you notice in verse 4, Hebrews 4, there is a clear reference to what you and I would call the creation rest. "For He spake in a certain place on the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works." So there is the creation rest. When you get to verses 7 and 8, we are now talking about a Canaan rest, not the Hebrew rest, not the deliverance from Egypt, but the victory over their enemies in occupying Canaan. Look in verse 7. "Again, he limited a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time, as it is said, Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would he

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• not afterwards have spoken of another day?" Now, the word "Jesus" in verse 8 is actually the word "Joshua." I hope you know that the word "Jesus" and the word "Joshua" are basically one and the same, because the word just simply means "salvation," or "salvation is of the Lord." So, now we're talking about the Canaan rest. He said, "for if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken of another day."

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• Now, I want you to stop and think with me. God's creation rest is the pattern. Okay. The Hebrew rest pointed out the goal of the Sabbath was man's redemption. You could say the Canaan rest demonstrated victory over our enemies. Now, so in this passage, we're talking about the creation rest, the Hebrew rest, the Canaan rest. There's yet another rest. Let me say it like this. The creation rest, the Hebrew rest, and the Canaan rest were basically emblematical and symbolical. In other words, they were not the real rest. God's creation rest, of course, was the goal, but the Hebrew rest and the Canaan rest were just simply symbolic.

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• Here is, I believe, an implied promise in this fourth commandment. If this fourth commandment had been kept and observed the way God commanded, then those Israelites would have realized that their Hebrew rest and their Canaan rest were only symbolical. They were not real rest, but they pointed to that which was real and genuine. Let me explain a little bit further. For instance, go back to Hebrews chapter 4, look in verse 1. Hebrews 4, verse 1. Look at the author of the book of Hebrews and what he is saying. "Let us"—this is the New Testament now—so the author of the book of Hebrews happens to be writing to a bunch of Hebrew Christians or believers in the New Testament, and he says this: "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left of us entering into his rest, any of you should

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• seem to come short of it." Now wait a minute. If the creation rest was what we were to enter into, that's over and done with. I'm sorry. If the Hebrew rest is what we're to enter into, that's over and done with. If the Canaan rest is what we're to enter into, that's over and done with. There is another rest. And he's talking about that here. And he tells you that in this rest, faith and obedience happen to be required. You did not necessarily have to be a believer to come out of Egypt. You did not have to be a believer particularly to go into Canaan. You remember there was a mixed multitude that came out with the Hebrews out of Egypt.

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• And it is true a lot of people died in the wilderness, that is for sure, and their children went in, but that did not guarantee that all their children were believers either. That is like the Apostle Paul said in Romans 9, "they are not all Israel who are of Israel." In other words, there's an elect within an election. So, he's saying there's still a promise. Look at verses 2 and 3.

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• "For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them. But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them which heard it. For we who have believed do enter into rest." Oh, there is a rest that we're entering into. As he said, "I've sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest, all the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

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• Now stop and think about this. This is a rest that he's talking about that we enter into by faith, which was finished from the foundation of the world. So obviously the creation rest, the Hebrew rest, the Canaan rest were only symbolical, because now he's speaking of a different rest, one that is entered into only by faith and obedience. Look at verses 5 and 6. "And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief." Now let me show you something to demonstrate that the Hebrew rest and the Canaan rest were not the real genuine rest or the real genuine Sabbaths. When you look at verses 7 and 8, here's a quote by David. This quote is taken from Psalm 95, verses 7 through 11. Verse 7 says, "Again, he limited a certain day, saying in David, Today, after so long a time, as it is said, Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would he not have afterwards have spoken of another day?"

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• When you talk about David saying this in Psalm 95, the land had already been occupied 500 years when David was on the throne, and the creation had already taken place 3,000 years earlier. So David in Psalm 95, which is being quoted here, is speaking of a different rest other than the creation rest, other than the Hebrew rest, and other than the Canaan rest. So the creation rest pictures the eternal rest in which those who believe and trust and obey the Lord will rest from their works as He rested from His works.

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• Now, listen to me very carefully. The creation rest is the goal, or it is the pattern. The creation rest is the pattern. We've already seen in the Hebrew rest and the Canaan rest, the goal is man's redemption and man's redemptive rest. We also see that the Hebrew rest and the Canaan rest were not the real rest. If you will go back to verse 8, "For if Jesus or Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterwards have spoken of another day?" Now look at verse 9. "There remaineth therefore rest to the people of God." In other words, all the rest that have been mentioned are not the real rest. There remains, therefore, rest for the people of God. The word "rest" is the Greek word "sabbatismos." Literally, here's what verse 9 says: "There remaineth therefore a sabbath for the people of God." There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. In other words, this sabbath rest is a rest where redemption is real and genuine.

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• We're delivered from our toils and our burdens, our sins, and any and everything that troubles us. It is a rest in which we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. So, obviously, when you look at verse 9, "There remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God." The creation rest could not have been that which we were to rest in. The Hebrew rest was not that which we would rest in. The Canaan rest was not that which we would rest in. There remaineth therefore rest for the people of God. It is going to be a rest like unto the creation rest, where God ceased from all of His works. It will be a complete and total rest. It will be like the Hebrew and the Canaan rest in the sense that we will be redeemed and we will be victorious. We'll be free from all of our burdens and trials. So the question has to be asked, where do you find such a rest in the Bible?

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• And the answer comes back: the only rest that you find in the Bible that answers to all of these pictures, all of these types, all of these symbols, is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Sabbath. In fact, Matthew, Mark, and Luke declare Him to be the Lord of the Sabbath day.

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• Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Matthew 11. You can probably quote this passage. You're certainly aware of it, but I want you to see it since we're talking about the fact that there remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God. Look if you would in Matthew 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 27. Matthew 11, verse 27. Look at what our Lord says: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Now look what our Lord says: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you what?

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• rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Have you ever stopped to think about this? In Jesus Christ, we have redemption. In Jesus Christ, we have rest. It is only in Jesus Christ that we rest from all of our burdens, all of our toils, all of our deeds. We rest totally in His complete work. For instance, I've told people, actually there are only two letters that distinguish Christianity from all other religions.

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• How can I say that? Because most all of the other religions spell theirs D-O. You have to do this. You have to do that. You do, and you do, and you do, and maybe you might end up saved. That's not Christianity. Christianity is not spelled D-O. It is spelled D-O-N-E, done. That's why Jesus Christ said, "It is finished." Complete salvation, complete redemption, complete rest is found only in Jesus Christ. That's why in the book of Titus, chapter 3, verses 5 through 7, the Bible says, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord, that being

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• justified by His grace we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." So He is our rest, not just in eternity, but He is our rest in time and history as well. By that I mean this: we are to fulfill our duties, our obligations, our responsibilities to the best of our ability, for God's honor and glory, and then we are to rest. The Bible says in Romans 8, verse 28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose."

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• So, let me give you an illustration. This is what I'm talking about, Jesus Christ being our rest. Let's suppose Steve and I get into a knockdown, roaring argument. I mean, it gets bad. And right in the middle of that argument, I all of a sudden catch myself and I say, "Man, this is not right." And I look at Steve and I say, "Steve, I shouldn't have said those things. I shouldn't have acted that way. I'm sorry. Please forgive me.

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• I want our relationship to be like it should. Please just forgive me." And Steve looks at me and says, "It'll be a cold day in July before I forgive you." Now wait a minute. He was wrong and I was wrong. I'm trying to do what's right and he's not willing to do what's right. Well, you know, according to the Bible, I could still appeal to him and he still may not listen. And if he doesn't listen, then I can take Francis, I can take David, and I can go to him and say, "Steve, I was wrong. I want your forgiveness." And Steve could run us all out of the house. And I could bring him before the church, and Steve still wouldn't forgive me. Here's my question: once I've done that, what else can I do? Nothing. So what am I going to do? "Lord, I've done everything that I can do. I've done it in obedience. I've done it for Your honor and Your glory. Lord, I'm going to just rest in You. And You're going to have to work in his heart.

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• I can't." See, that's what we're talking about when we're talking about the fact that it's not just an eternal rest. It is that, but it is a temporary rest in the fact that we do what we're supposed to do, and then we rest. It doesn't matter if you're talking about finances, doesn't matter if you're talking about family, doesn't matter if you're talking about work, doesn't matter what you're talking about. You do what you're supposed to do, and you do it in faith to the best of your ability for God's honor and God's glory, and then you simply rest.

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• Now, the reason we meet on Sunday is very simple. We're not celebrating creation. We're not celebrating the Hebrew deliverance from Egypt. We're not celebrating Canaan victory. We're not celebrating any of those pictures. We meet on Sunday because we are celebrating reality. It is in Jesus Christ that we have real, genuine redemption. It is in Jesus Christ that we have real, genuine rest. And what we're doing is we're worshipping Him and glorifying Him and His accomplished work that He finished. This month, there'll be a great emphasis upon Easter Sunday. Let me tell you something: the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not celebrated once a year. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated every Sunday because He arose on the first day of the week. And that is why we worship Him publicly on the first day of the week. In Jesus Christ, we have redemption. In Jesus Christ, we have rest. He is our Creator. He is our Deliverer. He is our Preserver. He is our Sustainer. Everything that we have, we have in Jesus Christ.

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• Let me give you a quote. I'm going to come back. Matthew Henry, listen to what Matthew Henry said: "From the certainty of another rest, besides the seventh day of the rest instituted and observed, both before and after the fall, and besides that typical Canaan rest, which most of the Jews fell short of by unbelief, for the psalmist has spoke of another day and another rest, whence it is evident that there is more spiritual and excellent Sabbath remaining for the people of God than that under which Joshua led the Jews. And this rest remaining is"—and he lists two things. Number one, "a rest of grace and comfort and holiness in the gospel state." That is, we're saved by His grace. This is the rest wherewith the Lord Jesus, our Joshua, causes weary souls and awakened consciences to rest. And this is refreshing. Number two, "refers to a rest in glory, the everlasting Sabbatism of Heaven, which is the repose and perfection of nature and grace too, where the people of God shall enjoy the end of their faith and the object of all their desires."

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• So Matthew Henry is saying the real Sabbath is number one in our salvation and number two in eternity where we enjoy everything that Jesus Christ has purchased for us. Now, I said I was going to come back to Numbers chapter 15. Before I do, may I remind you of Exodus chapter 31, verse 14, for God said in that passage and in verse 15 that whoever did not keep the Sabbath was to be put to death.

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• So let me explain it like this. The penalty for Sabbath violation has not been nullified. You remember that man who picked up sticks on the Sabbath day was put in the ward. God said he's to be executed. Take him out and stone him. And that's exactly what they did. So why was this man stoned to death for picking up sticks, in all probability to cook with so they might have something to eat? The answer is like this: God had said you're not to do any work, period. You are to abide in your place. You're to stay there. And here was this man saying, "Well, I have no regard for God. I have no regard for His commands. I'm going to do what I want to do.

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• This is my own deed. This is my own needs. This is my own work." And so what he was doing was not only refusing God's rest, he was refusing God's redemption. And God says he's to be executed. Listen carefully: the death penalty for violating God's Sabbath has not been nullified. And if you don't believe that, you just try dying one time without Jesus Christ and you will find out. Because Jesus Christ is God's Sabbath. Jesus Christ is God's rest. Jesus Christ is our redemption. Jesus Christ said it like this in Proverbs 8, verses 35 and 36: "For whosoever findeth me findeth life and obtaineth favor of the Lord." But listen to verse 36: "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

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• I want to show you one other passage. I want you to turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. And let's begin reading there with verse 7. Just to show you, the death penalty for violating God's Sabbath has not been nullified, since Jesus Christ is God's Sabbath. Look if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, beginning there with verse 7. It's interesting what the apostle says. "And to you who are troubled"—that is you who are being persecuted, afflicted, tormented, because you're Christians—look what he says in verse 7: "And to you who are troubled, rest, rest with us.

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• Now watch: when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power, when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day." What did He say?

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• "And to you who are troubled, rest with us." When our Lord Jesus Christ returns, He's going to come back in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those that know not God and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ. The death penalty is still applicable for those who violate God's Sabbath. And God's Sabbath is the Lord Jesus Christ. If Israel had observed the Sabbaths the way God had demanded they observe it, they would have understood, I believe, the spiritual impact and the eternal Sabbath that was to be brought to them through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. But when you refuse God's rest, when you refuse God's redemption, you heap unto yourself judgment and death. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. Jesus Christ is our Sabbath. Jesus Christ is our redemption. Jesus Christ is our rest. Jesus Christ is our all in all. We do not celebrate the creation Sabbath. We do not celebrate the Hebrew Sabbath. We do not celebrate the Canaan Sabbath. We celebrate the eternal Sabbath that was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and given to us by His grace and His mercy.

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• Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that You would help us today. Teach us, we pray, and build us up in the most holy faith. And give us grace, Lord, that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear. And Lord, we pray that You would indeed teach us to rest in Thee and to look to Thee and to trust only in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:10:05Z