OT and New Testament Sabbath (3)

Monday, October 12, 2009

What does God consider work on the Sabbath day? In Numbers 15:32-36, it reads, While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the Lord said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses. On the Sabbath day, a man was gathering wood and as a result God told the Israelites to stone him to death. If we think about the situation, the man may have been gathering wood to cook for his family or to start a fire in order to keep warm. However, God deemed it as work and the result was death. How difficult and strict was it to keep from doing any work? But because God said, it was necessary to follow. Not only could you not work on the Sabbath but there was another regulation in keeping the Sabbath.
In Numbers 28: 9-10, it reads, On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and grain offering of two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil. This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
They were to bring two perfect lambs every Sabbath. In mathematical terms, 2 lambs every Sabbath multiplied by 52 weeks or Sabbaths in a year is 104 perfect one year lambs a year. How difficult! Not only did the lambs have to be without blemish but they also needed to be one year old and brought every Sabbath. We understand to this point that they couldn't do any work or be put to death and also two perfect year old lambs were to be brought every Sabbath. There was another offering....

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