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Six days shalt thou labour, 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 thy gates: 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. (Exodus 20:8-11, KJV)
One of the most profound truths in the Bible is that God is a Creator. Many have struggled with the claims of science and the information found in the Bible, trying to justify one position or another; some claim that God created the heavens and the earth, others claim that either evolution or the Big Bang were responsible for the universe in which we live. Those who believe the Bible often feel that while they trust God they don't have a firm foundation to stand on in order to refute the claims of science. For many, this becomes a dilemma for their faith.
Have you ever wondered why God gave the Sabbath Day as part of the ten commandments? There is very little explanation for the other commandments, but, in comparison, a rather lengthy explanation for why the Sabbath must be kept. Then folks become confused as to why Jesus didn't command the disciples to keep the Sabbath. Interesting, isn't it?
So, let's look at the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. A good reading of Exodus is always helpful to understanding the giving of the Law. Background material from Genesis and the first chapters of Exodus tells us that the Israelites, taking the name God had given to Jacob, were in Egypt for over 400 years. Jacob, his sons, grandchildren, daughters-in-law, all numbered 75 when they went to Egypt. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, their numbers were probably between one and a half and three million. They had become a people. But they had become a people who didn't really know the God who sent the plagues to bring them out of slavery. He wanted them to know that He wasn't like the gods that the Egyptians worshiped, nor was He like the gods that were in the families that came up out of Ur of the Chaldees. Joshua addressed the problem before left the earth, asking the people to choose whom they would serve. No, God wanted the children of Israel to know exactly who He is. Notice the explanation for keeping the Sabbath Day. God reminds the people that He made the heavens and the earth and everything in them in six days and then rested on the seventh. By keeping the Sabbath, the people were constantly reminded of who God really is. He is the Creator of the Universe. He is the Creator of all living beings. He is God the Creator.
The next question is, why didn't Jesus command that the Sabbath should be kept? John, in his gospel, tells us that the Word (Jesus) was God, was with God, and everything that was made was made through Him. Jesus is God, therefore He is the Creator. God was not living with His people the way Jesus lived with His people; the time had not yet come for God to do so. Jesus came to show the people who God is. Because Jesus is Creator and because He is God, He is the one who gave the Sabbath to the children of Israel; He commanded that they remember the Sabbath Day in order to know who He is. But one of the names of the Messiah is “Immanuel,” God with us. Once Jesus came to the earth, it was no longer necessary to have a day to remember that He is the Creator because He is with His people. When Jesus said that He is Lord of the Sabbath He reminded the people that the sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. The Sabbath was given to help the people know who God is, the Creator. Therefore, Jesus, who is God who is the Creator is Lord of the Sabbath. He is the One they were to remember, although He had not been revealed as the Son at that time.
In Romans chapter 1, the apostle Paul tells us that there is enough in nature for man to know a lot about God. What Paul is saying is that the power of God to create is visible in nature itself and God's invisible nature is perceived by man in the things that have been created. Paul also warned a young preacher named Timothy to be careful about profane and empty babblings that are falsely called science. Paul wasn't saying that science is false, but he was warning about things that were being passed off as science that really weren't. Much of what is passed off as science today is really just empty talk.
So what does our faith tell us? God is the Creator. He wanted the children of Israel to know Him as the Creator. Jesus wants us to know that He is the Creator, as well as our Savior. We don't have to worry about whether the Bible will square with the latest scientific theory or not; the Bible says that God created the universe. It is a foundation stone of our faith. Those who choose to live their lives incarnadine will stand up for that faith, believing that the One who died for us is the One who created us.
