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There is much debate on how to keep the weekly Sabbath holy. Many have deviated from God’s instructions as given to Moses after the exodus out of Egypt. Could you be one of them? Let us look at this life or death matter clearly and openly in order to rightly divide God’s Word in a humble and teachable manner as we know our hearts are deceptively wicked and want to do things our own way (Jeremiah 17:9). Please put aside all the debates about kindling fires in your homes, whether a fire should be lit by using electricity, switching on air conditioning to heat — or cool for that matter, whether we can use gas, water, or anything that is supplied to our homes in these modern day times, what constitutes work and what does not on the Sabbath day, or whether we can leave our homes by driving our cars, use lifts or elevators, or even whether we should prepare for the Sabbath during the week or whether we should be doing it all on the Preparation Day.
This article is about one issue and one issue only. Does God say we can cook on the Sabbath or not? He has left us with very clear directives and it is astounding to know that many cannot see these clearly but have somehow muddied the topic with other scriptures which talk about cooking instructions that apply to specific Feast days and not to the Sabbath (Exodus 12:16). People think that they are doing a good thing by using scripture to interpret scripture, which is definitely fine in and of itself when applied correctly, but if used incorrectly, they are not able to see that they have deviated off the topic, thereby not rightly dividing the Word of God (2 Timothy 2:15).
Then we have the argument some like to use regarding being Pharisaical — remember what Jesus said...to do what they (the Pharisees) say but not what they do (Matthew 23:2-5). Jesus condemned them because they were full of hypocrisy. The word Pharisee instantly gives us a picture of someone who added burdens to the Sabbath rather than keeping it intact just as God had designed and intended this 24 hour period to be. They misused their power in teaching others and wanted to look over-zealous and devout but many Pharisees fell into the trap of hypocrisy set by the devil. However, there was one man named Gamaliel who was a Pharisee with a solid reputation who instructed Paul in the law (Saul Of Tarsus) before his dramatic conversion. We can read in Acts 5:34-39 a little more concerning the wisdom he had in helping the apostles. There is nothing hypocritical in keeping the Sabbath as we should, unless we know what is right and do not do this.
I always thought that the devil was cunningly sneaky, but this involves a whole new and sinister level of wicked deception — because if he can get you to break the Sabbath Day by doing something so routine and commonplace such as cooking, he will do his utmost to trick you to sin, the more subtle the better. Breaking the Sabbath is a big deal if done knowingly for then there is no excuse. Then there are those rare occasions such as the principle of the ‘ox in the ditch’ (Luke 14:5; Matthew 12:11). God lovingly set this up because He knew we would have emergency situations now and again to attend to on the Sabbath but this in no way relates to cooking. However it is prudent to add that we should not be responsible for placing the ox in the ditch the day before in order to remove the ox on the Sabbath...in other words prepare all week if you need 6 days to prepare, or prepare the day before as the Israelites did.
Another way brethren have stumbled in this matter is to say that we need to use principles when God does not precisely refer to the topic one is having issue with or is needing direction in. The plain truth is, God does say exactly what we can and cannot do in this matter of cooking on the Sabbath Day therefore the argument of principles does not apply in this instance. After realising that there is a great divide with many wildly fluctuating ideas associated with cooking and eating out on the Sabbath Day, to the point where it is actually quite unstable, genuine desire to help others see exactly what God says has been the inspiration behind writing this article. It seems evident that many just do not know, or have put erroneous things in place — impediments — to get around God’s instructions. Sadly, that is how easily we can be deceived.
The first and fourth commandments of putting God first even before ourselves and others, and to keep the Sabbath Day holy and a delight according to His instructions, is loving God — not what we may want to do, or feel like doing, even if we desire to cook in order to have delight on the Sabbath. Our delight should be in pleasing our Father to gain understanding what this constitutes. Must we have hot food in order to ensure the Sabbath is a delight? The Israelites consumed what they had gathered the day before, which was baked and boiled the day before, in order to partake of on the Sabbath. There was no gathering of food nor any cooking of this food on the Sabbath because God told them not to do it. God provided manna from heaven for His people and there was enough for everyone (Exodus 16:4-5). They had to go out the day before the Sabbath to gather twice as much for two days — this included the Sabbath day. Those that disobeyed this law lost their life. Do you want to lose your spiritual life in this way too? Surely not. This subject is really worth studying in-depth to make sure you are crystal clear with God’s instructions. Humans have a way of complicating things. We should be keeping it simple - don’t gather or cook on the Sabbath. God makes it simple if we notice what He says with eyes that see.
The way to look at this important topic is to realise that God’s people truly want to do the right thing because they love God. But they must remember to love God before they love others and self. Putting other people first and then justifying what they do by cooking food for others on the Sabbath as an act of kindness or goodness, is not what God says to do. Somehow they have allowed themselves to fall into a trap set by the devil. He will use our strengths — loving others — and our weaknesses — to eat freshly cooked hot foods just like we do on any other day of the week to cause us to sin. We don’t want to miss out do we? The fact is you don’t need to miss out, and there is a way to do all things in order, just not how we determine these to be so, but how God lovingly tells us in His Word. Then there is the matter of others who have had less than ideal experiences coming out of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) and continue to carry this heavy baggage whether they realise this or not. It’s very evident to others who have been called out of the world after 1995. These accounts are sadly tragic for those who have left the faith and returned back into the world living like they once did in keeping pagan traditions and forgetting God’s holy days.
Now let us begin to rightly divide God’s Word firstly through sincere prayer before we go to His Word in our Bibles. May I suggest we look at the New King James or King James version as these were inspired by God. Many versions take liberties with God’s Word and are not helpful whereby the true meaning is covered over or lost, and we do not want to be deceived. The New International Version has many flaws, omissions, errors, and twisting of scripture, but seems to be gaining popularity, especially with those having English as a second language as they advise that scripture is easier to understand for them. Reminds me of people wanting to see and hear what they want to see and hear down through the ages rejecting the prophet’s admonitions. Beware of translations such as these.
The Lesson of the Manna - Our Sabbath Day Test
Here is wisdom...Exodus 16:23-26 says “Then he [Moses] said to them, ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’” So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, ‘Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none’”.
This scripture clearly shows Moses telling God’s people, the Israelites, to cook by baking and boiling whatever they decided to gather the day before the Sabbath which would be enough for their needs for two days — the day known as the Preparation Day, as well as the following day, which was the Sabbath. Moses did not tell them to gather the manna or cook it on the Sabbath because this was breaking the Sabbath — a sin against God (Exodus 16:27-28). Moses was trying to teach the people to listen carefully to God’s instructions, to pay particular attention so that they would not deviate or transgress God’s law in any way from these specific rules as there would be consequences otherwise. As it was, some did deviate and the manna bred worms and stank (Exodus 16:20). Human nature once again, trying to ensure they had plenty so they could take it easy during the week when they should be working and gathering. God’s sense of humour is so perfectly wonderful! What did He do? The manna melted in the heat of the day (probably by noon) as written in Exodus 16:21 yet notice that they could apply heat through boiling or baking and it did not melt.
God says He is testing us in Exodus 16:4-6 “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day [Friday or Preparation Day] that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily’”. Can you see that we should gather what we need to eat on the Sabbath prior to the Sabbath so that we can prepare the food beforehand? That is what the day before the Sabbath is to be used for...gathering/obtaining/purchasing and then cooking by baking or boiling the food through application of heat so it is cooked. Warming up food on the Sabbath by microwaving it or zapping it for a couple of minutes or so is not cooking as the food is already cooked. Crock pots or slow cookers are great to use too if the food has finished cooking before the Sabbath. Whether we eat it cold or hot is up to us. As long as we get it or buy it before the Sabbath, prepare it and cook it to have it ready for the Sabbath, then we are following and obeying what God tells us to do.
God provides total clarity on this issue. He wants us to rest, be free of any usual activities that we do the rest of the week and to set aside the Sabbath, just one 24 hour period where we are completely free to worship Him without thinking about cooking, cleaning, or working. Have you noticed how much time you have on your hands if there is no preparation or cooking of food? More time to use wisely in having time with God undistracted. We are accountable and we are being judged now on whether we are keeping all 10 commandments, including the Sabbath. Will you pass this test? Will you do as God says? Or will you continue to oppose His law by breaking the Sabbath. Now that you know the Sabbath is set aside and is a test for each and every one of us, we should choose to be obedient and shop during the week with the Sabbath in mind and then cook our food the day before. If we only want something simple like a salad or a sandwich, we can then easily prepare this the day before.
God deserves our complete attention, our focus, our dedication, our obedience in order to take the Sabbath seriously with a healthy fear which is full of respect and awe for our Father. Proverbs 3:5-6. Let me leave you with the following scripture in which Isaiah was inspired to write all those thousands of years ago...
Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”