Feast Days and Sabbath
Days
The Jews still observe
the seventh day Sabbath, and they
also observe six annual feasts, also
called Sabbaths, which could fall on
any day of the week. God, Himself,
declared the seventh day Sabbath
“holy” at Creation (Genesis
2:1-3) and told the Children of
Israel to remember the Sabbath He
gave them in the Ten Commandments.
Additionally, He created six Sabbath
feasts for Israel’s benefit
shortly after the Exodus, and the
specifications for each feast were
defined in the laws of Moses. (Exodus
12:14-17; 34:23; Leviticus 16: 29-31;
23:16, 24, 34) The Jews regarded the
convergence of a Sabbath feast and a
seventh day Sabbath as a “high
Sabbath” or a “special
Sabbath.” (John 19:31)
The laws of Moses were
not an extension of the Ten
Commandments. The Ten Commandments
are a timeless and unilateral covenant
between God and man (Deuteronomy
5: 3-22; 4:13), whereas the laws of
Moses were written by man and were
based upon a mutual agreement or
bilateral covenant between
Israel and God. (Exodus 19: 5,6) From
their inception, the laws of Moses
were temporary laws – they were
designed to end when Messiah died. To
emphasize the difference between the
laws of Moses and the Ten
Commandments, the laws of Moses were
written on parchment. The Decalogue
(Ten Commandments written on stone)
rested inside the Ark of the
Covenant, but the law of Moses were
kept “in a pocket” outside
the Ark. (Deuteronomy 31: 24-26)
The use of the word
“law” can be confusing in
the New Testament. Sometimes, the
word referred to the Ten
Commandments. (Romans 3: 31; 7: 7) On
other occasions, the word referred to
the laws of Moses. (Acts 21:20; 23:3)
Moreover, sometimes, the word
“law” referred to the first
five books of the Bible. (John 12:34;
Luke 24:44) The Jews often debated
the differences between the Ten
Commandments and the laws of Moses.
Some Jews thought that all of
God’s laws were equal in nature.
Other Jews disagreed. One day, Jesus
was asked, “Which is the
greatest commandment in the
law?” and Jesus answered saying,
“…’Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your
mind.’ This is the first and
greatest commandment. And the second
is like it: ‘Love your neighbor
as your self.’ All the Law and
the prophets hang on these two
commandments.” (Matthew 22:
37-40)
People in the United
States should find it fairly easy to
understand certain differences
between laws. For example, the
Constitution is the highest and most
important law in the U.S.
Constitution. State laws vary from
state to state. For example, the
speed limit in one state may differ
from that of another state. Ohio has
a state income tax, but Texas does
not. State laws are not an extension
of the U.S. Constitution. State laws
cannot trample on the rights that are
protected by the Constitution, but
state laws are just as obligatory as
constitutional laws.
The Royal Law (that
is, the King’s law which is the
highest law) is fulfilled through
love. (James 2:8; Romans 13:10) Paul
wrote, “The entire law [that
is, the entire second tablet of the
Ten Commandments] is summed up in
a single command: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians
5:14, insertion mine) Of course, Paul
is not saying that we should love our
neighbor more than we love God. He
would never say that. Paul spoke as
he did because loving God above
everything else was not part of the
discussion. (Matthew 22: 37-40)
Love for God and love
for our neighbor is defined by the
Ten Commandments. The first four
commandments define how love is to be
expressed to God and the last six
commandments define how love is
expressed to our neighbor. You might
ask, “How is love defined in the
commandment, “Thou shalt not
steal?’” The answer is
simple: When we come to a place where
we love our neighbor more than
anything he possesses, the intent of
“thou shalt not steal” is
fulfilled. When we refuse to take
something that belongs to another
person because of love, God is
pleased (and so is our neighbor).
The Ten Commandments
represent God’s will for all
mankind at all times. The
King’s law reaches beyond the
highest human thought. (Isaiah 55:9)
The Ten Commandments are stated in
the negative because we live in a
carnal world. The carnal nature is
diametrically opposed to the
spiritual nature. (Romans 8) In other
words, God wrote the Ten Commandments
in such a way that even carnal minded
people could benefit from them. For
example, if a carnal person refrains
from stealing because God said it was
wrong to steal, then it is good for
everyone. Society requires law and
order. However, if a spiritual
person’s motive not to steal is
because he loves his neighbor as
himself, then this is much better
because the glory of the law is
fulfilled. When the Ten Commandments
are written in the heart, they
reflect the behavior of a born again
person. In other words, when a
spiritual person loves God and his
neighbor as himself, the Ten
Commandments “in action”
become how love is expressed.
Christian Squirming
Most Christians are
caught in a difficult situation with
respect to the Ten Commandments. They
widely accept nine of the
commandments as the will of God;
however, the fourth commandment is a
totally different story. Thousands of
books have been written on this topic
and the defense always builds its
case on textual distortion. This is
foolish. What is wrong with the
fourth commandment? Why is it so
undesirable? Why do people hate the
idea of giving God the respect He is
due on the day that He has made holy?
Let me be clear:
Compliance with the Ten Commandments
does not bring a human being in favor
with God. The Pharisees were careful
to obey the Ten Commandments, but
that did not draw them close to God!
Obeying the seventh commandment will
not merit salvation and neither will
observing the seventh day. Obedience
merely brings the person into favor
with the law. If the law is good and
beneficial, the obedient person
becomes the beneficiary of that law.
If everyone obeyed the letter of the
law as written in the Ten
Commandments, planet Earth would be a
much-improved place to live! There
would be no killing, stealing,
adultery, or cursing, and
furthermore, there would be a
wonderful day of rest each week!
God gave the Ten Commandments to
humanity for the benefit and welfare
of the nations.
Paul experienced the
difference between living under the
law as a means to achieving salvation
versus living under the law to
discover the enabling power of
God’s grace. As a Pharisee, Paul
had been rigorous in his obedience to
the Ten Commandments and the laws of
Moses because he believed that
salvation was achieved through
perfect obedience. After he was
converted, he discovered a profound
truth. His efforts were in vain.
Salvation comes as a gift from God,
granted to everyone who is willing to
trust and obey God. Does faith
eliminate God’s law? Yes and No.
Yes, faith eliminates the law as the
way to salvation. No, faith does not
eliminate our obligation to obey the
law. Paul wrote, “Do we,
then, nullify the law by this faith?
Not at all! Rather, we uphold the
law.” (Romans 3:31)
After Paul came to
know Jesus and the plan of salvation,
he began to understand the higher
purpose of the Ten Commandments. He
saw everything in a totally different
light. In fact, he saw that instead
of being the perfect Pharisee he
thought he was, he was actually a
corrupt human being! Notice his words
[insertion mine]:
“For when we
were controlled by the sinful [carnal]
nature, [we were not aware of]
the sinful passions [that
controlled us until they were] aroused
by [a true knowledge of] the
law [of God. Then we discovered
that evil passions] were at work
in our bodies, so that we bore fruit
for death [even though we thought
we were pleasing God]. [I was
persecuting Christians thinking I was
doing God a service. I was totally
ignorant, blinded by my religion, but
I didn’t know it then.] But
now, [after hearing the gracious
offer of God, I reject my former
ways] by dying to what once bound
us [the foolishness of rigorous
obedience that merits salvation], we
have been released from the [sinless
perfection demanded by the] law so
that we serve [God and man] in
the new way of the Spirit, and not in
the old way of [trying to work
our way to Heaven by obeying] the
written code.
What shall we say,
then? Is the law sin [a
transgression against mankind]? Certainly
not! Indeed I would not have known
what sin was except through the law.
For I would not have known what
coveting really was if the law [the
tenth commandment] had not said,
“Do not covet.” [After
I began to understand my evil
passions with respect to the
spiritual goal of the law, I saw my
weakness within.] But [my
attraction and propensity for] sin,
seizing the opportunity afforded by
the [knowledge of the tenth] commandment,
produced in me [a conflict. I
discovered] every kind of covetous
desire [within me, whereas, I had
thought I was in perfect obedience
with the law].
For apart from law,
sin is [non-existent] dead. [In
other words, where there is no law,
there is no sin!] Once I was alive
[my self-righteousness was very
pleased, but I was] apart from [truly
understanding the spiritual nature of
God’s] law; but when [my
heart was changed and a spiritual
understanding of] the [tenth] commandment
came, [my self-righteous nature
was offended because the power of] sin
sprang to life and I [willingly] died
[to my self-righteousness]. I
found that the very commandment that
was intended to bring life [in
the Spirit] actually brought death
[to self-righteousness].
For sin [within
me], seizing the opportunity
afforded by the [tenth] commandment,
deceived me [I thought I was a
good person before God since I had
not violated the law], and through
[a correct understanding] the
commandment [the Spirit] put
me [and all of my
self-righteousness] to death. So
then, [I now see that] the law
is holy, and the commandments is
holy, righteous and good. Did that
which is good, then become death [the
end of me] to me? By no means! But
in order that sin might be recognized
as sin [within my carnal heart], it
[the law] produced death in me
[by killing my
self-righteousness] through what
was good, so that through [a
spiritual understanding of] the [tenth]
commandment sin might become
utterly sinful.” (Romans 7:
5-13)
Paul wrote this
passage after he had been a Christian
for about 30 years. His words reveal
two profound points. First, Paul
chose the tenth commandment to make
his point because he discovered that
he had a serious weakness for
coveting. As a young man, Paul
coveted the praise and adulation of
the Pharisees. Once he understood the
spiritual value of the law, the tenth
commandment proved that he was a
common sinner. Second, Paul insists
that apart form the law there is no
sin! Again, it seems so silly for
Christians to nail the Ten
Commandments to the cross and then
revive nine of them for the purpose
of having some definition of sin.
John wrote, “Everyone who
sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is
lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4)
James adds, “For whoever
keeps the whole law and yet stumbles
at just one point is guilty of
breaking all of it.” (James
2:10) Again, I have to ask,
“What is wrong with the fourth
commandment?”
Sabbath Feasts
There is a big
difference between observing a weekly
seventh day Sabbath and an annual
feast day Sabbath. The fourth
commandment forbids work on the
seventh day. From a carnal point of
view, that is the sum and substance
of the fourth commandment. Feast day
laws were entirely different. They
required many specific activities
internal to the observance of the
feast. For example, the law of Moses
stated that Passover observance
required selecting, slaying, and
roasting a lamb at a certain time on
certain days. (See Exodus 12 and
Numbers 28: 16-25.) The Day of
Atonement required sacrificing a
young bull, one ram and seven male
lambs that were one year old.
(Numbers 29:8) The Feast of
Tabernacles required a very intricate
series of burnt offerings for eight
days. (Numbers 29: 12-40) The Feast
of Pentecost also required a specific
series of burnt offerings. (Numbers
28: 26-31)
Now that we know what
the Mosaic law required with respect
to the feasts, I have to ask:
“Where in the Bible does it say
that you can observe a feast day without
meeting the requirements of that
feast?” When Israel was in
Babylonian captivity, feast days were
not celebrated because the exiles
could not carry out the specific
requirements of the feast days. (See
Hosea 2: 8-11.) Some people argue at
great length that the commands
establishing the observance of the
feast days are separate and distinct
from the commands requiring certain
activities on those days. This is
nonsense. Such a division is
fabricated and a distortion of
Scripture. God never separated the
observance of a feast day from the
activities required of a feast. The
annual feasts cannot be observed
without obeying all that the law
demands. Remember, James said if
we break the law on one point, we
break the whole thing. This is true
for the Ten Commandments and it was
true for the laws of Moses.
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