Exodus 31:12-17

RESTATEMENT OF THE SABBATH COMMANDMENT

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: everyone that profaneth it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Jehovah; whosoever doeth any work on the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

Scholars have several different opinions as to why this repetition of the sabbath law should have occurred just here. Some think that it arose from the practical necessity of restraining the people from working on the tabernacle even on the sabbaths, which they might, in their enthusiasm, have been prone to do. Others believe that it was designed to single out and emphasize what they regard as the "chief commandment" of the Decalogue, that of keeping the sabbath; and still others suppose that it was to preclude any idea that might have tended toward the replacement of the sabbath law by the holy services of the tabernacle.

However, this information regarding the sabbath is not a mere repetition. As is so frequently the case in the Word of God, a given subject is returned to again and again, with new and pertinent information being supplied in each new mention of it; and the same thing is true here. Two facts of the utmost importance are here revealed for the first time: (1) that the sabbath day was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel; and (2) that the profanation of it was a capital offense to be punished by the execution of all violators! This was exactly the proper place for Moses to have included this information, because the established worship of God in the services of the tabernacle was about to be inaugurated; and, as the sabbath was to be a prominent and vital part of that worship, this placement of the instructions stressed it as being also of equal importance with the tabernacle rituals.

"Shall be cut off from among his people ..." Dummelow, and others, are of the opinion that this does not necessarily mean to be be put to death.[8] Certainly in later times, "to be cut off from among his people" referred to one's being cast out of the synagogue (See John 9), and there could have been other occasions when the same meaning must be allowed; however, here, the expression is used as a parallel with "surely be put to death," and there can be little doubt that this rule was followed throughout the history of Israel. It will be remembered that Annas, some five or six of whose sons and sons-in-law exercised the office of the High Priest in the times of Christ, was deposed from his office by Tiberius Caesar in 14 A.D. for putting to death a young man for breaking the sabbath.[9] And, of course, there is the classical instance of it in Numbers 15:32. Fields stated that there is no difference in the meaning of the two expressions "cut off from his people" and "be put to death," as they are used here. "Nevertheless, it appears plain that very few people were ever executed for breaking the sabbath. Nehemiah declared that the Jews went into captivity for not keeping the sabbath."[10] Still this law remained, and the Jews even threatened Jesus Christ with death for "breaking the sabbath" (according to their silly rules which they had imposed upon God's Word). See John 5:16-18. There is no way to agree with Honeycutt's declaration that, "There are no records of death penalties having been administered for sabbath violation."[11]

"It is a sign between me and the children of Israel ..." Up until this time, circumcision had been "the sign" of the covenant with Abraham; but, as Rawlinson pointed out, "Other ancient peoples had also adopted circumcision, with the result that circumcision was no longer a sufficiently distinguishing mark; hence, the giving of the sabbath."[12] It should be noted that there is no hint whatever of sabbath keeping having ever been observed by anyone other than Israelites in all history.

It is a gross error to equate God's "resting on the seventh day" of creation with what was commanded for Israel. God's mention of his resting on the "seventh day" was indeed tied theologically to the Jewish sabbath, but the connection is not that God rested on Saturday, but it is seen in the fact that, "even God rested on the seventh day of creation." How much more appropriate therefore is it that men should have rested on the "seventh day of the week!"

For a more complete discussion of the Sabbath Day, see under Exodus 16:30 and Exodus 20:8.

Jews still observe the sabbath. One of their rabbis has written:

The Sabbath is the sign, the identifying mark, of the Jew. Just as the sign on the door of a home indicates who lives inside, so the Sabbath is the sign marking the place where a Jew dwells. Likewise, the shop that is closed on the Sabbath is marked as a Jewish enterprise. But if, heaven forbid, that shop should be open on the Sabbath, the mark indicates the reverse.[13]

"For a perpetual covenant ..." The actual meaning of this is not "through all time to eternity," but it rather should be understood in a dispensational sense, "until Christ should come."