The Sabbath in the Old Testament: Building a Sanctuary in Time

Transcription

1 The Sabbath in the Old Testament: Building a Sanctuary in Time Please remember that the participant guide includes more information and topics than can be covered in a normal 45- minute Sunday School class. Please review the lesson and pick which sections you would like your class to focus on. Welcome & Prayer Allow class to gather and have fellowship By 9:55am, convene everyone for general announcements and attendance Remind everyone about the First in Focus series and how it works. For instance: o First in Focus is a special six- week Sunday School series designed to generate church- wide conversations around important topics in Christian faith and theology. In weeks 1 and 4, all participants gather for a lecture in Fifield Hall. In weeks 2-3 and 5-6, participants meet in their individual Sunday School classes to explore the topic further with the help of a curriculum. o This is week 2 and in it we ll be exploring how the notion of the Sabbath is developed and discussed in the Old Testament. Begin in prayer Introduction Handout this week s curriculum Read, or have someone else in the class read, the Introduction and the Lesson at a Glance sections printed in the curriculum: o The Introduction offers a brief overview of the role and important of Sabbath in the OT. o The Lesson at a Glance offers an outline of the lesson; you might signal to the class which sections you will be focusing on; participants can explore the sections not covered in Sunday School on their own and as a follow up to the lesson. Pose the conversation starter question to the class. o You could have an open discussion or you could ask participants to turn to someone beside them and discuss this question in pairs before reporting back to the group. Sabbath and Creation Background: All of all the 10 commandments, the one about Sabbath varies the most between the Exodus version of the Decalogue (Exod 20:8-11) and the Deuteronomy version of the Decalogue (Deut 5:12-15). In the Exodus version, Sabbath is rooted in God s example in creation. 1

2 Read Exod 20:8-11 and Gen 2:1-3 along with the accompanying questions o In the creation story, we find the striking image of a God who rests. In Exod 3:17, it is added that on the seventh day God was refreshed, a term related to the Hebrew word for soul (i.e., God was re- souled on the seventh day). In keeping the Sabbath, we imitate a God who rests and is refreshed o The notion of the image of God is often understood as referring to humanity s ability to think, reason, make moral judgments, and/or bear witness to God s rule. While all of these are possible, according to Exod 20:8-11 the chief way we reflect God s image is through our willingness to keep Sabbath. This section makes two points about the connection between the Sabbath and creation, and for each point, a question is posed. o Point 1: the seventh day is the first thing God declares to be holy. Abraham Heschel contends that one of the primary innovations of Judaism is its understanding of holiness as a characteristic of time, not just places and people. It is important also to note that other than God, nothing is described as being inherently holy in the OT, including time. The Sabbath commandment in the Exodus account emphasizes the responsibility humans have to keep the Sabbath holy. The verb used in Hebrew is oftentimes translated as to sanctify, meaning to set something apart as holy. o Point 2: the Sabbath is not only defined in terms of the absence of work but also the creation of menuha The Greek translation of the OT, called the Septuagint, resolves the paradox of Gen 2:2 in a different way than the rabbis. Namely, the Septuagint changes the word seventh at the beginning of v. 2 to sixth to bring this verse in harmony with Gen 2:1. You might reference the fact that in Puritan Christianity, Sabbath was primarily defined in terms of what should not be done. These ideas were codified into a series of regulations known as the Blue Laws. The rabbis idea of God creating menuha on the Sabbath should radically change how we think about what Sabbath entails. Sabbath and Exodus Background: There are three main differences between the Sabbath commandment in the Exodus and Deuteronomy versions of the Decalogue. o The basic command: remember (Exod 20:8) vs. observe (Deut 5:12). However, in Hebrew these words can function as near synonyms and so the difference is not all that significant. o The motivation for Sabbath keeping in Exodus is tied to God s activity in creation while in Deuteronomy it is tied to God s liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. 2

3 o The Deuteronomy version provides a second motivation not present in the Exodus version so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you (Deut 5:14b). Read Deut 5:12-15 along with the accompanying questions o When the Exodus and Deuteronomy versions of the Decalogue are read together, one notices that Sabbath keeping is tied to what are arguably the two central stories in all of the OT: the creation and the exodus o This implies that the Sabbath is a universal principle meant for all of creation even as it is also a practice related to God s mighty acts on behalf of a specific people. This section makes two points about the connection between the Sabbath and exodus, and for each point, a question is posed. o Point 1: Sabbath keeping is a way to remember God s liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In this sense, the Sabbath is mini- reenactment of the exodus. It is a way we experience and become mindful of God s mighty acts of deliverance on a weekly basis. Sabbath places a boundary around work, thus reminding us that our lives cannot be defined in terms of work alone Many of us are addicted (for lack of a better term) to busyness and work. o 37% of American takes fewer than 7 days off a year only 14% take vacations of two weeks or longer American have, by far, the shortage paid vacations in the world So much for being the land of the free! Point 2: Sabbath keeping involves a command not only for us to put aside our own work but also to unburden others from their work as well. In Deut 5:14b, the Sabbath commandment encompasses the work of our neighbor i.e., your family and those who work for you Note that v. 15b extends the Sabbath principle from neighbor to stranger i.e., the resident alien. The resident alien is a non- Israelite who lives permanently in the land (today we might call them an immigrant) Sabbath and Social Justice Background: The Sabbath commandment in the Decalogue is commented on and applied in other legal material in the Pentateuch, namely the Deuteronomic Code (Deuteronomy 12-26) and the Book of the Covenant (Exod 20:19-23:33). o In all of these cases, the Sabbath s 1- in- 7 principle of rest is the starting point for God s compassion for the oppressed and concern for the poor. Read Deut 15:1-18 along with the accompanying questions. o In Deuteronomy 15, the Sabbath s 1- in- 7 principle of rest is applied to the remission of debts for the working poor (vv. 1-11) as well as the release of Hebrew slaves from their bondage (vv ). 3

4 o You might highlight vv. 9-10, which warns those who might attempt to circumvent the law of remission of debt by not lending money on the 7 th year This section makes three points about the connection between the Sabbath and social justice; a question is posed for the first point and another question is posed for the second two points collectively. If you wish to focus on this section, you may invite the class to read the texts associated with point 2 (Exod 23:9-10) and point 3 (Lev 25:8-24). o Point 1: While the idea of offering remission of debts and release to slaves is not unique to the OT, the biblical understanding of Sabbath regularizes such practices into the rhythms of a calendar That is, the poor and oppressed are not left to wonder if the right king will come along and treat them kindly; rather, remission and release are baked into the very structures of Israel s community life and directly flow out of their commitment to the Sabbath principle. o Point 2: the notion of the Sabbath is also applied to the earth in the form of allowing farming land to lie fallow 1 in 7 years. Note that a land that lies fallow still produces crops; the main point of the land s Sabbath is that the owner of the field does not harvest those crops but allows them to be freely accessed by the poor It is likely the case that the timing of the Sabbath rest for the land varied from farm to farm, meaning that at any given time, a certain amount of land within a community was lying fallow and thus accessible to the poor o Point 3: In Lev 25:8-24, the principle of Sabbath is expanded even more broadly. After seven weeks of years (i.e., 7 x 7 years = 49 years), a Jubilee year is to be kept (i.e., the 50 th year) During this year, someone who had sold their inherited property out of economic distress (perhaps to get out of debt) are allowed to reclaim their land. This ensures that land does not accumulate in the hands of the wealthy; and it also alleviates long- term, systemic poverty by ensuring that at certain intervals, the poor are able to regain access to the land, and thus a means of sustainable (though modest) wealth There is no historical evidence that a Jubilee was actually ever instituted in ancient Israel. However, the ideas behind the Jubilee seem to have been important to OT theology. Sabbath and Covenant Read Exod 31:12-17 along with the accompanying questions. o It is shocking to note that proposed penalty for not keeping Sabbath is death. It is not clear if such a penalty was actually ever instituted, but it does underscore the seriousness with which the ancient Israelites took the Sabbath commandment. o One reason why the Sabbath can be a sign forever is that it can be practiced apart from having access to the temple or a certain land. 4

5 This section makes two points about the connection between the Sabbath and covenant, and for each point, a question is posed. o Point 1: for the ancient Israelites, Sabbath keeping was one of the most enduring and mobile markers of identity keeping Sabbath was not contingent on access to the temple, possession of the land, or the presence of a theocracy. o Point 2: By keeping Sabbath, even non- Israelites and eunuchs are able to fully participate in the worship of God Both foreigners and eunuchs would have had restricted access to parts of the temple and likely were seen as outsiders both socially and religiously 5

6 For Further Study: If you are interested in learning more about the topic of Sabbath in the Old Testament, please consult the following two resources. These are optional and need not be read in order to facilitate this week s study. However, you may wish to make these resources available to members of your class and/or incorporate insights into the written curriculum. Resource 1: Abraham Heschel, The Sabbath: Its Meaning for Modern Man. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Young, Heschel is a prominent Jewish scholar whose book is a classic exploration about the meaning of Sabbath in modern life. Introduces the idea of the Sabbath as a sanctuary in time. This book is quite brief and is available for purchase in the Mustard Seed bookstore. Resource 2: Sabbath. Entry in the Anchor Bible Dictionary. The Anchor Bible Dictionary offers scholarly but accessible introductory essays on a number of important topics in biblical studies. In a separate file, excerpts from the Sabbath entry in ABD are provided. Topics include: a discussion of Sabbath terminology in Hebrew and Greek; Sabbath in the OT; Sabbath in Extrabiblical Texts; and Sabbath in Intertestamental Literature. 6