Part VII
T he following is the seventh of nine arguments advanced by David C. Pack of the Restored Church of God when refuting A Sabbath Test. Each argument is responded to by Blow the Trumpet.
Argument VII:
Nehemiah Would Have Bought It
In his essay, Mr. Pack claims that Nehemiah’s prohibition against buying and selling on the Sabbath has nothing to do with going to restaurants. In his attempt to justify this practice he offers the following:
A growing number of people equate dining out on the Sabbath with ancient Judah buying and selling on the Sabbath. They point to the account of Nehemiah, who confronted and drove off nomadic merchants who sold their foods and wares on the seventh day. They conclude that exchanging money for a restaurant meal during the Sabbath is no different than how the Jews violated the Sabbath in Nehemiah’s day.
Yet, there is a significant difference between these two situations!
Nehemiah was the governor of Judea when the wall and the second temple were being constructed, following the Babylonian captivity. Like Ezra, his contemporary, he was zealously determined to reform certain trends that had developed among the Jews in and around Jerusalem.
The issue of their Sabbath-breaking was spelled out in Nehemiah 13:15-16: “In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.”
As governor, it was incumbent upon Nehemiah that he did not allow an open market to develop on the Sabbath. The next two verses show the measures he took: “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet you bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath” (vs. 17-18). Breaking the Sabbath was one of the main reasons that God sent the Israelites into captivity.
Nehemiah commanded that Jerusalem’s gate be shut at the beginning of each Sabbath, and that it not re-open until that day had passed (vs. 19). Despite this, the more persistent merchants camped outside the city walls, and only left after being threatened (vs. 19-21). This was but one of the many problems Nehemiah faced during this volatile period in Judah’s history.
Buying from an open-air market during Nehemiah’s time would more accurately be equivalent to shopping at an open farmers market or perhaps a super market today. In a restaurant, one buys a meal that is consumed at that time—which is not the same as shopping for food and taking it home to be eaten later. Dining out at restaurants, as opposed to shopping in volume for the next day’s meals, is comparable to Christ and His disciples gleaning corn to be eaten on the Sabbath, as opposed to gleaning enough for tomorrow’s meals.
Just as the Pharisees could not discern the difference and, as a result, condemned any and all gleaning done on the Sabbath, critics of today condemn dining out on the Sabbath altogether.
Becoming obsessed with such “yardstick Christianity” can lead to debate such as whether it is permissible to operate a light switch during the Sabbath, using Exodus 35:3—as do Orthodox Jews—altogether missing the spiritual intent of observing the seventh day of the week!
Our Response:
Here Mr. Pack argues that because God, through Nehemiah, rebuked the nobles of Judah for doing their weekly shopping on the Sabbath, He would have permitted them to do their daily shopping that day. Therefore, today Mr. Pack can go outside God’s spiritual camp and dine at a fine restaurant so that he can enhance his appreciation of God’s Sabbath. Furthermore, he believes he can do so with God’s blessing! This despite the fact that when God first introduced the Israelites to His Sabbath, He specifically prohibited them from attempting to gather any food for the Sabbath.
Mr. Pack anchors this particular argument on the belief that God was condemning the degree of this act, not the act itself. In other words, you can buy food on the Sabbath, but only what you need for that day. The problem with is argument is that there is absolutely no scriptural evidence for this conclusion and the authors of A Sabbath Test accurately bring this out.
Some leaders in God’s church today contend that Nehemiah’s indictment of buying and selling on the Sabbath was limited to the scope of purchases being made. According to their reasoning, the Jews in Jerusalem were going into the open market for the entire day and purchasing provisions for their homes. These provisions would last for several days and even longer in many cases. This would be tantamount to buying several hundred dollars worth of groceries today as well as performing other errands. As a result, the entire day was spent in activities totally unrelated to the Sabbath. The assumption here is that it is acceptable with God if only an hour or two are spent in activities totally unrelated to the Sabbath.
These leaders argue that Nehemiah would never have addressed this issue if God’s people invested a more abbreviated period of time doing family errands or some other activity. Furthermore, they contend that sharing a meal with brethren at a restaurant does not distract God’s people from the Sabbath, it actually keeps them connected to this day.
However, this reasoning represents a massive leap in logic. Nowhere does Nehemiah mention the length of this activity (buying and selling) as an issue, but rather the activity itself. Notice that Nehemiah was not attempting to restrict this practice, he was attempting to eliminate it altogether. It is true that God’s people may have spent the entire day purchasing goods and services, but that ignores a bigger question: why were they there at all? Nehemiah’s remedy was designed to address the latter.
Notice what Nehemiah did because of Judah’s sin regarding the Sabbath. He not only locked the vendors out of the city, he also locked God’s people inside the gates. Is it possible that with this bold move Nehemiah was enforcing God’s command that His people were not to go out of their place on the Sabbath—even if it was to procure food? The authors of a Sabbath Test then asked a critical question:
The big question God’s people should ask themselves is this: Why would God allow His people to procure ANY food on His Sabbath when He actually prohibited the children of Israel from doing such a thing when they wandered in the Sinai desert (Ex. 16:16-25)? (A Sabbath Test pp 135-136)
Earlier in the book, the Authors of A Sabbath Test offer some important perspective on the practice of dining out on the Sabbath today and the action Nehemiah took so very long ago.
Today it would be impossible to do what Nehemiah did during Judah’s captivity. God’s people do not have that kind of power or influence. Therefore, they couldn’t possibly lock up restaurants to prevent believers from buying food on the Sabbath. However, God’s people can do something else. They can lock the vendors out of their lives on God’s day. Regrettably, many, including their leaders, don’t. (A Sabbath Test p. 55)
Argument VIII
A Little Pleasure on the Sabbath?
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