The Sabbath law was only for the Jews

A lot of people see the Seventh-Day Adventist church buildings with their full parking lots on Saturday and wonder why they have chosen to meet at an unusual time. They do so because they believe that the Sabbath laws are still binding for them. But are they?

The Sabbath law of the Old Testament was a sign between God and Israel, commemorating His bringing them out of Egyptian slavery, meaning it was specifically given to Israel, those whose ancestors had come out of Egypt. The Gentiles were never required to keep it. The following Bible passages will show it was for only Israel:

Exodus 31:13, 16-17: “Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations … Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, … It is a sign between me and the children of Israel.”

Ezekiel 20:10, 12: “Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness … Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.”

Deuteronomy 5:15: “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”

The Gentiles back then were no more obligated to keep the Sabbath (or any part of the law of Moses) than we are obligated to build an ark today. No one today is under obligation to keep any part of the Old Testament law (Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14-15).

Kyle Campbell