Mt. Zion Christian Church
3631 Combs Ferry Road
Winchester, KY
859.745.2446
exists to... Worship God. Love Others. Share Jesus.
If you ever wanted this weekly lesson to be a bit deeper...well put on your studious self and get ready cause here it is. I will conclude with an illustration which emphasizes our need to pay close attention to the observance of each of God’s ten words.
The fourth Word of God deals with doing all of our work in six days and then resting on the seventh. All throughout history Sunday has been the first day of the week and Saturday was to be the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a word from the Hebrew language which is "Shabbath", meaning "to rest from labor", the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). "The Sabbath was made for man," as a day of rest and refreshment for the body and of blessing to the soul.
It is next referred to in connection with the gift of manna to the children of Israel in the wilderness (Ex. 16:23); and later, when the law was given from Sinai (Ex. 20:11), the people were solemnly charged to "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Thus it is spoken of as an institution already existing.
In the Mosaic Law strict regulations were laid down regarding its observance (Ex. 35:2, 3; Lev. 23:3; 26:34). In the subsequent history of the Jews frequent references are made to the sanctity of the Sabbath (Isaiah 56:2, 4, 6, 7; 58:13, 14; Jer. 17:20-22; Neh. 13:19). In later times they perverted the Sabbath by their traditions.
If you will remember, this past Sunday I spoke of Jesus talking about how the leaders had placed more weight on the traditions of the Elders than they were giving to the 10 Commandments / Words. Our Lord rescued the Sabbath from their perversions, and recalled to them its true nature and intent (Matt. 12:10-13; Mark 2:27; Luke 13:10-17).
The physical necessities of humanity require a Sabbath of rest. We are made in such a way as to need at least one day in seven for rest from ordinary labor. Experience also proves that the moral and spiritual necessities of men also demand a Sabbath of rest.
Here is something very interesting; After his resurrection, which took place on the first day of the week (Mat 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), we never find Christ meeting with his disciples on the seventh day. But he specially honored the first day by manifesting himself to them on four separate occasions (Mat 28:9; Luke 24:34, 18-33; John 20:19-23). Again, on the next first day of the week, Jesus appeared to his disciples (John 20:26).
Some have calculated that Christ's ascension took place on the first day of the week. And there can be no doubt that the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost was on that day (Acts 2:1). To some, this seems as though Jesus was instituting a new day to be observed by his people as the Sabbath, a day to be henceforth known among them as the "Lord's day." The observance of this "Lord's day" as the Sabbath was the general custom of the early churches, and must have had the Apostles approval.
Now for the illustration;
Jan Davis, 60, a professional veteran parachutist, was involved in a dangerous sport called BASE jumping—leaping off fixed objects like cliffs and towers. It was while BASE jumping that she fell to her death October 22, 1999.
Her husband, who was filming the jump, and several reporters were stunned when Jan, the fourth of 5 jumpers, fell for 20 seconds and crashed into the rocks. Her chute had not opened properly. She was jumping off the 3,200 foot granite cliff, El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, California.
She and the other jumpers knew that BASE jumping is illegal in Yosemite Park. The law was adopted because there had already been six deaths in Yosemite along with numerous injuries due to BASE jumping.
The five jumpers were in fact protesting the park's jumping restrictions and, ironically, were jumping to prove that the sport is safe. These jumpers not only knew the risks, they also knew the law and deliberately broke it. Jan Davis paid with her life.
In a similar way, many people think they can deliberately violate God's law. But eventually people learn, sometimes the hard way, that God's laws are there for a reason: our well-being.
For the Cause of Christ,
Kenny