Editor, Commonwealth:
The Sabbath was never a corporate day of worship. It was designated by God as a day of rest.
There is no command for anyone to keep the Sabbath between Adam and Moses. The Sabbath is first found in Exodus 16:23-30. It is the first appearance of the word (Sabbath) and the concept. The resting on the Sabbath was a matter of prohibitions: no gathering of manna (Exodus 16:23-30, no traveling (Exodus 16:29), no kindling of fire (Exodus 35:3), no gathering of wood (Numbers 15:32). Outside the law, other prohibitions were: no burden bearing (Jeremiah 17:21), no trading (Amos 8:5), no marketing (Nehemiah 10:31, 13:15,19).
There’s no mention about the Sabbath being for corporate worship. In the Law of Moses, the Sabbath was a day of rest.
The use of holy convocation is used in conjunction with the priesthood and sacrifices. The corporate idea is for the priests only, and the place of this corporate worship is the tabernacle or temple, and it is for the purpose of sacrifices.
The Sabbath synagogue services found in the New Testament began with the Babylonian Captivity and not the Law of Moses.
David Taylor
Greenwood
