The Sabbath as a SIGN

Ironically, some of the passages of Scripture most often cited as prooftexts for carrying the Sabbath forward into the New Covenant do exactly the opposite! In the thirty-first chapter of Exodus, we read: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'" (Exodus 31:12-17, ESV)

Notice, God said that the Sabbath was "a sign between me and you throughout your generations" - so that they would always know that it was God who had sanctified them or set them apart as his people! Indeed, the statement is reiterated to underscore its importance: "It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel." Like male circumcision, the Sabbath was to serve as a SIGN of the covenant which God had made with the people of Israel.

Interestingly, the prophet Ezekiel also referenced this special role that the Sabbath played in God's relationship with the Israelites. In recounting the sordid history of their failure to live up to the terms of the covenant which God had made with them, we read: "I gave them my statutes and made known to them my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live. Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned." (20:11-13) There it is again. Yes, they were GOD'S Laws and HIS Sabbaths, but HE specifically gave them to ISRAEL! And, like the reference in Torah, the statement is reiterated to underscore its significance. A few verses down, we read: "And I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor keep their rules, nor defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’ But the children rebelled against me. They did not walk in my statutes and were not careful to obey my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; they profaned my Sabbaths." (Verses 18-21)

This is significant! The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and the Children of Israel - the Old Covenant. Gentiles were NOT part of that covenant! Indeed, the only way that a Gentile could be a part of that covenant was to become a Torah observant Jew! Moreover, there is NOTHING in Scripture to suggest that God EVER regarded the Sabbath as a sign between him and the other peoples of the earth! In the language of the New Covenant, Gentile Christians would NOT be required to become Torah observant Jews (Acts 15), and the signs of the Old Covenant (circumcision and Sabbaths) would only apply to them in a spiritual sense (Romans 2:26, 28 and Hebrews 4).