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Then the 7th day . . . . . rest.
This sevenfold character lies behind the whole purpose of the ages, and Peter's
comment: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day" (II Pet. iii. 8) suggests that the whole range of time, from the Adamic creation until
and including Millennium, will be a series of seven days, each measuring one thousand
years. The feasts of Israel, specified in Lev. xxiii., fill up the interval between Creation
and Millennium, and foreshadow the purpose of the ages.
We find the following use of "seven" in the scriptures that deal with Israel:--
Seven DAYS.--"The seventh day is a sabbath of rest" (Lev. xxiii. 3).
Seven WEEKS.--"Seven sabbaths shall be complete" (Lev. xxiii. 15).
Seven MONTHS.--"In the seventh month" (Lev. xxiii. 24).
So far as feasts are concerned the year ends here.
Seven YEARS.--"The seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest" (Lev. xxv. 4).
Seven times seven YEARS.--"It shall be a Jubilee unto you" (Lev. xxv. 8-13).
Seventy times seven YEARS.--"Seventy weeks are determined" (Dan. ix. 24).
Seven TIMES.--"I will chasten you seven times" (Dan. iv. 16).
Israel's chastisement the same length of time as Gentile madness.
Here we have a progressive series of seven features, showing that the weekly sabbath
was one of a series of ordinances enjoined upon this people.
The sign and the covenant.
Just as blood of the passover lamb (Exod. xii. 13), the unleavened bread (xiii. 9), and
the redemption of the firstborn (xiii. 13) were "signs" or "tokens", so the sabbath was a
special "sign" to Israel of their separation unto the Lord from all other nations. This
sanctification is expressed in Lev. xx. 24-26:--
"I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. Ye shall
therefore put a difference between clean beasts and unclean . . . . . ye shall be holy unto
Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be
mine."
The scruples discussed in Rom. xiv. as to "days" and "meats" arose out of the
relationship of such things to Israel's exclusive position.
The observation of the sabbath was given for an "age-abiding covenant", but it is well
to notice that in Exod. xxxi. both the "sign" and the "covenant" are restricted to Israel:--
"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath . . . . . an age-abiding
covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for the age"
(Exod. xxxi. 16, 17).
There can be no intrusion of others into this covenant. It belongs to Israel, and to
those who, by becoming proselytes, are reckoned with Israel. The breaking of the