Here's another interesting argument brought against the Sabbath.
Ready?
If the Sabbath is moral, then why did God grow weary of them keeping it? God never said he was weary of them NOT stealing or NOT committing adultery. But God did say he was could not endure their keeping the Sabbath: Isa 1:13-14 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me.” Such is never said of any moral command anywhere in the Bible! Think about it!
Let all Sabbatarians comprehend this bit of irrefutable logic:
God NEVER grows weary of men keeping moral laws.
God DID grow weary of men keeping the 4th commandment (Sabbath law)
The first thought that comes to mind on reading the argument is:
This person doesn't KNOW what true Sabbath observance is. This person doesn't realize WHY God was weary of their outward compliance while missing the whole meaning of Sabbath observation.
Also notice the very next verse:
Isa. 1:15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
So is God also weary of people praying to Him.? Are we to stop praying?
No, of course not! Neither are we to stop remembering His Holy Sabbath Day!
So why is the Lord so displeased with their worship services. Because they are living in iniquity, and expecting their religious rituals to make them acceptable to God. That has NEVER been acceptable! Not in the old or new testament times. God wants sincere, whole hearted worship, that comes from a committed heart.
Isaiah is not prophecying the end of the Sabbath, he is telling them to STOP pretending they are worshipping God by going through rituals while living in sin.
Jeremiah says much the same thing:
Jer. 7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; 7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? 7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen [it], saith the LORD. 7:12 But go ye now unto my place which [was] in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.
Again -- this is NOT speaking of doing away with God's law, but pointing out the hypocrisy of coming to worship God thinking "The temple, the temple" because of the temple we are delivered (under grace?) to do all these abominations -- (breaking God's commandments).
Yes, the Sabbath is a moral imperitive. Firstly it is part of the moral ten commandment law.
Secondly, it appears "loving the neighbor" and showing it by approbrate deeds is considered "moral" but "loving God" and showing it by approbriate deeds is not considered moral????
If two people make an agreement and promise to meet on given times, is it a sign of a good moral character to meet that agreement?
Morality has to do with character. No matter what good deeds one does, whether they are outlined in the new testament or the old, if they are simply an outward ritual while the heart and motives are steeped in rebellion and sin, they are NOT moral.
On the other hand, when Christ rules in the life and the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life, the love for God and others grows and forms our character and we develop moral characters that walk in the ways outlined by God's law, showing love to God and love to others.
Humans and humanism tend to equate right and wrong by natural law. That is, if by the laws of nature which are obvious, an action results in harm, then it is wrong. If by these same laws of nature, an action results in edification, then it is right. Thus stealing, killing etc. are generally considered wrong, while remembering to keep holy the seventh day appears to have no natural reason for being (a day of rest now and again, sure, but not every seventh day)
But God's moral law rises above and beyond nature. It does not rise from nature itself.
In fact the very first command we read in scripture rises above and beyond natural law. Don't eat of a certain tree. Why? Was the fruit bad? No, it was beautiful fruit.
The issue was TRUSTING GOD. We could say, there was no moral reason for not eating that fruit. Satan made that suggestion clear, insinuating that it was just an arbitrary command meant to burden and keep them in bondage. Disregard the command and they would be like god!
The serpent has many a spokes person now telling Christians the same type of thing. The Sabbath is just an arbitrary command that burdens and enslaves.
Natural law was no aid in helping Eve, she either believed God or believed Satan. The tree and the fruit thereon looked good eat.
Why did God give that command if the fruit wasn't any different from other fruit?
Why did God take ONE day out of the seven and bless and sanctify it there in the sinless Garden?
Satan asks: "Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" Gen. 3:3 Now he asks: "Did God really say You can't do your own thing on every day of the week?"
In reality God, in His wisdom, offers freedom! He offers freedom from the control of satan -- don't listen to satan, he will enslave you. But satan twists it around to portray God as exacting and arbitrary.
When we get to the book of Revelation we find that same old serpent misrepresenting God and deceiving the whole world ON WORSHIP issues! What is intended as a benefit to human beings, meant for their freedom and spiritual as well as physical welbeing is turned into a burden and privation.
In all this we see that God's commands play out as the central issue in the conflict. Revelation plainly tells us the devils assault is on those who "keep God's commendments." Rev. 12:17 and God's affirmation rests on "those who keep God's commandments" Rev. 14:12
The serpent misconstrues the intent of the command for the purpose of smearing the character of Law Giver. By directing people's focus on "natural law" he focuses them away from God as the One Who knows what is best for His created beings, and gets people to look to their own logic as to what is right or wrong.
God is not arbitrary in His commands, Is it arbitrary to say that (your date of birth) is your birthday? The Sabbath is the memorial of Creation! It is a contingent action which shows the love of God for His broken creation which He will heal and recreate if they but turn to Him.
The text "Can a mother forget her nursing child...even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. See I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; (Is. 49:15,16)
God as our Creator compares Himself with a mother's love for her child which she has born. The Sabbath is sign that He is reaching out to heal and sanctify His broken children, who have been harrassed and nearly destroyed by the conniving deceiving serpent. (See Ez. 20:12)
God, the Creator, invests the Sabbath with His presence in a special way and then calls us to remember to keep it holy and delight ourselves in Him! (See Gen. 2:2-3, Ex 20:11,Is. 58:13-14)
"Worship Him Who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the fountains of water...here is the endurance of the saints, here are they that keep God's commandments and have the faith of Jesus" Rev. 14:7,12
