Excuse XIX
Nehemiah Never Prohibited It
Question:
Wasn’t Nehemiah’s issue with the nobles of Judah solely over making the entire Sabbath a market day?
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Virtually every advocate of dining out on the Sabbath has a slant on Nehemiah’s prohibition against buying and selling on holy time (Neh. 10:31). Most church leaders claim that this great servant only condemned spending the entire day profaning the fourth commandment, not just an hour or two enjoying a meal prepared by paid Sabbath-breakers. In other words, according to them this sin is a matter of degrees, and in their view, anything as minor as dining out in a commercial restaurant is not worthy of being considered a violation of God’s law. Here is how the doctrinal committee of a prominent COG begins to express this argument.
There is a huge difference between opening up a market or going to market on the Sabbath day and eating a meal in a restaurant.
Responding to the “Huge Difference” Theory
There is also a huge difference between working all day on the Sabbath in a coal mine and working two short hours as a part-time receptionist in an air conditioned office. But does this difference mean that one of these behaviors is not violating the fourth commandment? Furthermore, there is a huge difference between being a bank robber and being a pick pocket, but which of its practitioners is not a thief?
What these church leaders are doing is nothing more than a desperate attempt to manufacture an artificial line between the sin they wish to commit and the sin of others. This is done to deflect attention away from their own transgression. It is also a form of denial. Sadly, this approach goes totally contrary to God’s word which cautions believers from comparing themselves to others (2 Cor. 10:12). The fact that some sins may appear more severe does not mitigate anything.
Additionally, this COG attempts to masquerade their profaning of the Sabbath by referring to it as simply “eating a meal” at a restaurant. What they subtly fail to acknowledge is that they are the ones seeking out Sabbath-breakers and paying them to prepare that meal. They take this approach because they want you to believe this debate is only about eating—which God’s law permits, as opposed to soliciting the Sabbath labor of unbelievers (strangers) which He forbids (Ex. 20:10).
Some Honest Perspective
The great tragedy in this argument is that these self professed Sabbath-keepers refuse to acknowledge what God thinks of the work that takes place every Sabbath in the restaurants they patronize. Additionally, they fail to concede the obvious. There is not one chance in a trillion that Nehemiah would have allowed one restaurant to remain open on God’s Sabbath. Furthermore, there is not one chance in a trillion that he would have allowed God’s people to buy their goods. Despite this fact, these COG leaders continue to argue that God is only opposed to profaning the entire day not just a small portion of it. They justify this thinking by concocting their own version of what was taking place in Jerusalem at that time. Suffice it to say the labor was intense. However, according to them, there wasn’t a restaurant to be seen anywhere. Therefore, God is silent on the subject of restaurants. Here is how they put it.
Nehemiah saw people treading grapes on the Sabbath—working in clear violation of the Sabbath command (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). They were loading up their produce and bringing it into Jerusalem to sell. They had again made the Sabbath a market day. All of these activities mentioned here (Nehemiah 13:15-17) dealt with a market day. This is not a restaurant nor does it have anything to do with eating a meal. It was a market day! Notice the items mentioned here: wine, sheaves, grapes, figs, provisions (corn and other items of sustenance), fish and “all kinds of goods.”
A Striking Resemblance
Here, these leaders want you to believe that God saw the issue of profaning the Sabbath as limited in scope. It was about markets, nothing more. But is this true? Contrary to what these men claim, what took place in Nehemiah’s time has a striking resemblance to what takes place in a restaurant today. Every Sabbath these dining establishments rely on the delivery of the products they sell. Bakery trucks deliver breads and pastries. Produce trucks deliver fresh fruits and vegetables. Beverage trucks deliver a variety of drinks and spirits. Meat trucks provide significant amounts of beef, poultry and seafood products. Some fine bistros even have their linens (tablecloths and napkins) delivered.
Despite this fact, these church thinkers cling to the notion that God is only opposed to His people setting up supermarkets on the Sabbath, not setting up restaurants. Notice how they continue their point.
The prohibition was against setting up a market on the Sabbath or a Holy Day. There is no mention of eating or not eating on the Sabbath. The Jews had made the Sabbath a secular day in which it was acceptable to go to market.
The claim by these men that there is no mention of eating on the Sabbath is wishful thinking, not a Biblical fact. The word “victuals” used in Nehemiah’s indictment comes from the Hebrew word tsayid. This word means, “game,” “lunch,” or that which is “taken in hunting.” This being the case, Nehemiah was excoriating the Jews for buying FOOD on the Sabbath. This COG may assert that it would have been great amounts of food, but that is pure speculation, not to mention totally irrelevant.
An All Encompassing Command
Although these ministers want to make this issue about the amount of time spent engaging in profane activities on the Sabbath, this was clearly not what concerned Nehemiah. Nowhere does this true and faithful servant 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 some of God’s people may have spent several hours 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.
Furthermore, this COG conveniently omits that Nehemiah forbade the Jews from buying ANYTHING on holy time (Ne. 10:31). NOT ONE THING! This is because doing business on the Sabbath was, and is, an act of desecrating the holy, regardless of the degree. God's command is simple and direct. He doesn’t want His people to touch any part of this sin. Here is how Nehemiah put it.
And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: (Neh. 10:31)
Regarding Unbelievers
At this point, it is also important to note that those who were selling food on the Sabbath were "non-believers" just like those who work in restaurants today. They were from the city of Tyre.
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. (Neh. 13:16)
These vendors did not know God. They were totally ignorant of His law and His plan for man. However, this “shortcoming” was irrelevant to Nehemiah. To him, ignorance was no excuse. This truth is born out in the action he would take. He expelled every merchant from the city and warned them in the strongest words possible to NEVER come back on the Sabbath or holy day (Neh. 13:17-20).
The example of Nehemiah’s uncompromising love of God’s law is a great lesson for all Christians. This champion of faith boldly confronted those who were complicit in causing God’s people to profane His Sabbath. His remedy was forceful and reflected God’s thinking about engaging in commerce on the day He made HOLY. Furthermore, God not only abhorred this practice then, but His opinion on the subject has not changed to this very day.
Despite all the parsing of words, the real point Nehemiah was clearly making in his indictment was that God’s people should not take part in any commercial business on the Sabbath—nor were they to patronize such businesses on this day. Any other understanding is simply manipulating the scriptures in an attempt to advance one’s personal preferences.
A Commitment to Defiance
These COG thinkers have become so committed to defying God’s law they even trivialize certain aspects of it. Notice their observation regarding Nehemiah’s prohibition against doing business on the Sabbath.
This is the first mention of a prohibition concerning commerce on the Sabbath. Jewish scholars contend that it was the first time the issue of buying and selling on the Sabbath was even addressed.
Jeremiah’s Warning
The claim by these leaders that Nehemiah is the first to mention the trafficking of food and merchandise in Jerusalem on the Sabbath is patently FALSE. When this great champion warned the nobles of Judah about the “evil” they were bringing upon the Jews (Neh. 13:17-18), he was referring to the calamity Jeremiah warned their fathers about nearly 100 years earlier. In that warning Jeremiah quotes God Almighty’s rage at this very SIN. His words should stand as a chilling reminder to all generations that His Sabbath is not a day to trifle with. And it is certainly not a day where profane labor should be sought out and paid for. God even cautioned that obedience in this regard was a matter of life and death. But don't believe us, here are His words.
Tell the kings and all the people of Judah and everyone who lives in Jerusalem and enters these gates, to listen to what I say.
Tell them that if they love their lives, they must not carry any load on the Sabbath; they must not carry anything in through the gates of Jerusalem
or carry anything out of their houses on the Sabbath. They must not work on the Sabbath; they must observe it as a sacred day, as I commanded their ancestors.
"Tell these people that they must obey all my commands. They must not carry any load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath. They must observe the Sabbath as a sacred day and must not do any work at all.
But they must obey me and observe the Sabbath as a sacred day. They must not carry any load through the gates of Jerusalem on that day, for if they do, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. Fire will burn down the palaces of Jerusalem, and no one will be able to put it out." (Jer. 17:20-22, 24, 27 Good News Translation)
A Terrible Price to Pay
Tragically, the leaders of Judah refused to heed God’s word and they would pay dearly for their defiance. For you see, God was not bluffing. And His people would find this out the hard way. Both the scriptures as well as secular history reveal that a powerful Chaldean army would attack Jerusalem and leave it in ruins.
Here is how Jeremiah described its utter destruction and the price it would have to pay for not heeding God’s warning.
Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. (Jer. 52:12-14)
The Result of Defiance: CAPTIVITY
The book of Lamentations bewails what happened to this once great city. Here is how Jeremiah expressed his sorrow at its destruction.
How lonely sits the city that was full of people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer! (Lam. 1:1 New American Standard Version)
God’s people were thrust into captivity because they thought they could trifle with the Sabbath. They did so because like so many today, they would rather embrace their traditions than listen to the truth. They thought they could decide for themselves how the Sabbath could be observed. They thought they could make up their own rules concerning this holy convocation. But in the end all they got was bondage. This was the warning of Nehemiah to his generation. And that warning is being repeated today.
A Final Thought
When God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, He introduced them to His Sabbath. In the sixteenth chapter of Exodus He explains how He planned to nourish them physically. He would do so by providing them with food every day--with the notable exception of the Sabbath. He would not rain down manna on the seventh day because that day was holy.
God then gave His people three specific instructions concerning food on this day. Furthermore, He said that these instructions were given to prove whether His people would obey Him (Ex. 16:4). The three instructions God gave were:
1) Food was not to be acquired on the Sabbath v.5.
2) Food was not to be prepared on the Sabbath v.23.
3) His people were not to leave “their place” on the Sabbath v.29.
In reality, the position advanced by Sabbath-dining advocates contradicts every aspect of God’s command with respect to eating on His day. Consider what they teach. First, they assert that they may acquire their Sabbath meals on the seventh day by purchasing them from Sabbath-breakers. They also assert that Sabbath meals may be prepared for them by chefs who profane this day. Finally, they teach that God's people may go outside their community of faith to procure their food as well as to consume it. It is interesting that the phrase "going out to eat" is used when describing this activity.
It is also interesting to note that Nehemiah not only locked the vendors out of the city, he also locked God’s people inside its 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?
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 out restaurants and prevent them from selling their products 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, actually seek out these Sabbath breakers and purchase the fruit of their sin.
