Objection:
You declare that the seventh day of the week was set apart as a Sabbath by the blessing and sanctification of God at the creation of the world. You thus seek to prove that the Sabbath preceded the Jewish race and applies to all men. But Genesis, which contains the record of God’s resting upon and blessing the Sabbath, was written by Moses 2500 years after creation, or about the time of the Exodus. Thus, Moses simply set down in that Genesis reference to the Sabbath a statement of what God actually did for the seventh day at Mount Sinai.
Answer:
The first fact that stands out clearly, and should be noted at the outset, is this: It is admitted that the Genesis record of the blessing of the Sabbath at creation carries with it a powerful argument on behalf of the universality of the Sabbath for all peoples in all ages.
The second fact is this: The objector poses as possessing a knowledge of Moses’ literary procedures that is remarkable, to say the least. How did he gain it? He has access to no other sources of knowledge than those known to all Bible students. And such students, including eminent commentators, have rather uniformly through the years held that Moses, in the book of Genesis, is giving a historical record of creation week when he mentions the blessing of the Sabbath day. And they have held this view even though they were Sunday keepers. But, in all honesty, what else could they do but hold this view? So let us examine the facts.
1. What is the nature of the book of Genesis? It is, from beginning to end, a book of history. It sets forth a brief narrative, in chronological order, of events from creation through Joseph’s death. Therefore, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, we should consider the various parts of it, the accounts of what men said and did, and the accounts of what God said and did, as historical incidents occurring at the time indicated in the narrative. The account of God’s resting on the seventh day of creation week and blessing and sanctifying it fits as naturally into the historical sequence as do any other incidents mentioned in Genesis. There is nothing in the context to suggest differently.
2. The fact that the book of Genesis was written some 2500 years after creation has no bearing on the matter whatever. All books of history are written after the events described. And obviously, any history book that essayed to record 2500 years of history would have to be written at least that long after the first year’s events. To say that a history writer projected back into the year one an event occurring in the year 2500 or thereabouts is to make a statement that could be believed only if we were ready to charge the author with fraud and deception. We are not prepared to do that with Moses.
3. But note the point at which the objector claims the record ceases to be historical and becomes a throwback from an incident that occurred 2500 years later. He carries the narrative through the creation week, including God’s resting on the seventh day from all His work (See Genesis 2:2). At this point, the objector declares, the break comes, and the immediately following words are a throwback: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Verse 3.
Now, why should God rest? Not because He was weary. His resting, which Moses faithfully records, must have had a meaning. The next verse reveals the meaning. The resting was the reason for the blessing. He blessed and sanctified the seventh day “because that in it He had rested from all his work.” Verse 3. And what reason is there for contending that God rested on the seventh day of creation week to provide the occasion for blessing it and then waited 2500 years to pronounce the blessing? None whatsoever.
4. Let us note the instances of blessing that are recorded in the creation narrative:
| THE EVENT | THE BLESSING |
| Fifth Day: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly… and fowl that may fly above the earth…” Genesis 1:20 | Fifth Day: “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply.” Genesis 1:22 |
| Sixth Day: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature… Let us make man in our image.” Genesis 1:24-26 | Sixth Day: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…“ Genesis 1:28 |
| Seventh Day: “And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” Genesis 2:2 | Seventh Day: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” Genesis 2:3 |
The objector is willing to agree that the blessings upon the acts of the fifth and sixth days follow immediately the incidents described. However, parallel literary construction and the complete absence of any suggestion of a break in narration require him to agree that the blessing of the seventh day follows immediately upon the incident of God’s resting on that day.
5. Note also the parallel constructions, so far as tense is concerned, found in the fourth commandment itself (See Exodus 20:11). Here, the Lord is speaking to Israel:
a. “In six days the Lord made heaven and earth.”
b. “And rested the seventh day.”
c. “Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
Note the four verbs, all in the past tense: “made,” “rested,” “blessed,” and “hallowed.”
This consistent past tense gives maximum force to the word “remember,” which introduces this commandment. The apparent meaning of the verb “remember” is to call to mind a past event or experience of some kind. Thus, Israel was commanded to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” and why? Because God was NOW going to bless it? No, but because God HAD blessed it.
With these facts before you, dear reader, you should have no difficulty deciding the truth in question.
