National Sunday Law

[Zachary]

This actually doesn't address anything that the bible verses I posted says.

The Sabbath laws could have been a protection for slaves, when such existed, and also be a permanent sign between Israel and the Lord that He created the world in 7 days.

But I do think for this reason God enforced it. God rested on the seventh day. And so did he command Israel to rest and that no "servile" work was done. Why would they include servile?
I agree that it is both. Well said.

[Fenris]

But I do think for this reason God enforced it.

God didn't "enforce" the Sabbath laws, He commanded them. God tells us why, why are you tampering with the literal word of God?

God rested on the seventh day. And so did he command Israel to rest and that no "servile" work was done. Why would they include servile?

That quote comes from the KJV translation of Lev 23:25. So first of all, it's not talking about the weekly Sabbath. It's talking about the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. "In the seventh month, on the first of the month...". Second of all, the word "servile" was added by the translators. The Hebrew simply reads "You shall not perform any work of labor".

[Zachary]

But I do think for this reason God enforced it.

God didn't "enforce" the Sabbath laws, He commanded them. God tells us why, why are you tampering with the literal word of God?

God rested on the seventh day. And so did he command Israel to rest and that no "servile" work was done. Why would they include servile?

That quote comes from the KJV translation of Lev 23:25. So first of all, it's not talking about the weekly Sabbath. It's talking about the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. "In the seventh month, on the first of the month...". Second of all, the word "servile" was added by the translators. The Hebrew simply reads "You shall not perform any work of labor".

For Israel, God commanded that they enforce those laws. it was not Israel that enforced those laws upon themselves. The point was that they keep the Sabbath and all of his statutes that was put forth to them. They were supposed to keep cattle and sheep for the offerings at different times. To keep them in the right way.
God did enforce those things through his prophets Moses and the Levites. They did not do it themselves they never did. As soon as they could they found reason not to do it.

[Zachary]

Second of all, the word "servile" was added by the translators. The Hebrew simply reads "You shall not perform any work of labor".

Well then. I'm glad you came forth with it. I'll keep that in mind for next Saturday. But can you expound further? So, what about grocery shopping or taking a stroll. Let me know.

[Fenris]

For Israel, God commanded that they enforce those laws. it was not Israel that enforced those laws upon themselves. The point was that they keep the Sabbath and all of his statutes that was put forth to them. They were supposed to keep cattle and sheep for the offerings at different times. To keep them in the right way.
God did enforce those things through his prophets Moses and the Levites. They did not do it themselves they never did. As soon as they could they found reason not to do it.

You're all over the place here.

[Fenris]

Well then. I'm glad you came forth with it. I'll keep that in mind for next Saturday.

The verse in question wasn't talking about next saturday. It's talking about the holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Two verses prior: "In the seventh month, on the first of the month..."

But can you expound further? So, what about grocery shopping or taking a stroll. Let me know.

The Sabbath doesn't apply to you. So don't worry about it. "Therefore shall the children of Israel observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant. Between Me and the children of Israel, it is forever a sign that in six days The Lord created the heaven and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and rested." (Exodus 31).

[Fenris]

I can speak on the account of did, meaning I read in the bible when they did at times. And from my perspective on the bible, this was The Lords commandment for them because they kept slaves.

So here's the interesting thing about the bible. Well, a couple of interesting thing.

The first is that it's God's word, and therefore permanent.  Deuteronomy 4:8 says "And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?"

A Jewish commentator (I can't remember which one unfortunately) asks why the inclusion of the superfluous world "today" at the end of the sentence. And he takes it to mean that any times we read from the bible, we should consider it as if it was given to us "today", not something old and musty from thousands of years ago.

My second point is that the commands that God gave us can have multiple, competing reasons, that are all simultaneously correct. For example let's talk about the command in Deuteronomy 22:

Should a bird's nest appear before you on the way, on any tree or on the earth, chicks or eggs, and the mother resting on the chicks or the eggs: You shall not take the mother with the offspring. You shall send away the mother, and take the offspring for yourself, so that it be good for you, and your days be long.

The commentators analyze why God gave this command.

Maimonides (1135-1204) takes the obvious approach: because a mother bird feels pain, and we should diminish that pain by chasing the mother bird away before taking her eggs.

Nachmanides (1194-1270) takes a different approach. Noting that the purpose of God's commands is to sanctify and uplift the doer, he says that the mother bird's pain is really secondary; the primary purpose of the act is to make the attribute of mercy part of the person who does the chasing away.

The Maharal (1524-1609) takes a different tack entirely. He puts aside the mother bird's pain and the elevation of the chaser. He says the primary reason is that when we follow one of God's commands, we create metaphysical empires beyond human capacity to comprehend.

And the best part is that all these answers can be both true and correct.