Exodus 31:12  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
13  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; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
14  Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16  Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17  It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
18  And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

There is much confusion regarding the sabbath. The Seventh Day Adventists believe that the sabbath is the most important of the Ten Commandments. Mary Ellen White is credited as the first prominent leader of this false religion. Prior to her being involved with it, it was actually a Baptist who misunderstood the Scriptures and began to teach the wrong view of the sabbath. He later left that false teaching, but he had influenced Mrs. White and a few others to continue the false teaching. There is confusion among some as to whether Seventh Day Adventism is a Christian group or not. Those who take the Bible as their authority know that it is a cult. It’s salvation is by works, not by grace through faith.
We know from Exodus 20 that the keeping of the sabbath was one of the Ten Commandments. We know that the nation of Israel was required to keep the sabbath in a special way. In our text, we read that the sabbaths (plural) were to be kept by the nation of Israel. God reminded Moses that the sabbaths were a sign between God and the children of Israel throughout their generations. It was one of the ways that God would show them that He is the LORD and that He is the One Who sanctifies them.
The Hebrew word translated as “sanctify” here means to consecrate, to set apart. We have noted many times already that the nation of Israel was to be different than all the other nations. They were to live in accordance with God’s will and He would bless them abundantly. The other nations were to see how Israel prospered in all ways. As they would see that, it was to be used to increase their curiosity regarding the nation of Israel. God gave Israel priests and prophets who were to declare the Truth. As they would faithfully do their work, people from other nations would recognize the importance of trusting in the true God, rather than their pagan deities.
There was no earthly reason for Israel to prosper more than the other nations. The difference was to be clearly identified as the hand of God at work in them. God is still proving Himself to be strong on behalf of the nation of Israel. There is no earthly explanation for them being able to prosper in that small piece of ground they are in right now. There is no earthly reason for them to be able to defend themselves there. Sadly, Israel is depending on other nations like the U.S. to defend themselves. That dependance is very costly for them as a nation. The twenty point deal that Mr. Trump is trying to enact in the Middle East right now is not for Israel’s benefit. Mr. Trump is a lost man and he does not understand the purpose of the nation of Israel. He enlisted his son-in-law, Jared Kushner to work on that twenty point deal. Mr. Kushner is a lost Jew who does not know the Lord. His interest is economics. Like his father-in-law, money is the most important thing in life. Israel is under pressure because they do not want to submit to God. They will continue to struggle until they repent. Sadly, that will not happen until the end of the Tribulation.
In our text, God commanded the children of Israel to keep the sabbath because it was holy unto them. This was a serious matter. Any Jew that would not keep the sabbath according to God’s command was to be put to death. They were not just to be cut off from the nation. If the Seventh Day Adventists believe they need to keep the sabbath, they should study the law and they would have to make some major changes to their current practices. However, that would not help them because they are a lost group and law keeping has never been the way of salvation and peace.
The children of Israel were to be commanded to work six days of the week and they were to cease from their regular work on the seventh. Again in verse 15 Moses was reminded that those who would ignore God’s commands regarding the sabbath, should be put to death.
In verses 16-17 God again reminded Moses that this law was for the children of Israel. It was a sign between the LORD and the children of Israel. Even now, other nations have tried to attack Israel on the sabbath, because other nations understand that Israel has strict laws regarding that day. God has protected them in this regard. He will not allow the children of Israel to be destroyed as a nation. Many individual Jews have died over the years, due to their rejection of the truth. However, the nation will never be destroyed. That is God’s promise. God cannot lie.
The Arab world is wasting their time and their lives in trying to destroy the Jews. They will never succeed. They are causing much pain and grief for the Jews and for themselves. They do not even value their own lives. They will end up in Hell. There is no paradise with multiple virgins awaiting them. They will regret their paganism for all eternity.
God stated that the seventh day was to be a day of rest and refreshing for the children of Israel. God showed them that He created the heaven and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. He rested, not that He was tired and needed a break. He rested in that He ceased from His creative Work. After that He would sustain that which He already created.
In verse 18 we read that God gave the two tables of testimony unto Moses for the nation of Israel. God wrote the commandments on those two tables of stone with His finger. They were written in stone to demonstrate their permanence. They were never to be broken by the children of Israel.
From Genesis 2 we see that God showed the world, that one day of rest in seven is good for the body and the soul. We can easily get so involved in this life, that we neglect the most important part of life, and that is the health of the soul. We need time to stop our busyness and to listen more intently to what God has to say.
Going to a good local church is very important in our time. There is no substitute for that. The majority of people think they are far too busy and their plans are far too important. They refuse to attend a true local church. Some develop their own philosophies and they think because they believe in a Jesus, that they are good enough. Some try to “spiritualize” God’s commands and thus they dismiss them as something they do not need to keep in a literal sense. Many people will be shocked at death. Jesus warned of this in Matthew 7:

Matthew 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

A true church is one that submits to the authority of God’s Word. It is one that honours God in word and in deed. Taking time to attend a true local church will help to get your mind straightened out. The right way to deal with life is to become quiet before God and let Him speak to your heart. According to God’s will, you cannot do that in your own house on your own. Jesus declared that He would build His church on Himself. A church is a called out assembly. It is a called out assembly that is called out by Him, not by you or me. If we want to know God’s blessing we need to pay attention to what He has to say.
No Jew has ever been saved by law keeping. God demanded that they obey His commands explicitly. God knew then and He knows now that no man can keep His law perfectly. Those who want to claim they will get to heaven by law keeping, have to admit they cannot keep the law as God gave it. Those who insist they will get to heaven by grace, must understand that salvation is by grace through faith. That faith is defined in Jude 1:3 as the “faith once delivered unto the saints”. It is not my revised views of that faith nor is it based on your revised views of that faith. If we submit to God’s faith, then we will seek to do as He commands. He will forgive those who are saved and seeking to honour Him. He knows we cannot obey Him explicitly. He still requires that and that is why He provides the way for those who are saved to be forgiven. I John 1:9 tells us how we do that after we are saved.
God has not changed His mind. He is holy, and those who are His children need to be holy. Jesus Christ came into this world to provide the only way for us to be made holy. That is through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor Bartel