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Designated Holiday (Holy Day)
The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.
The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.
In Germany, people honored the pagan god Oden during the mid-winter holiday. Germans were terrified of Oden, as they believed he made nocturnal flights through the sky to observe his people, and then decide who would prosper or perish. Because of his presence, many people chose to stay inside.
In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. For a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.
Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.
In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday.
Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth (a fact Puritans later pointed out in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration). Although some evidence suggests that his birth may have occurred in the spring (why would shepherds be herding in the middle of winter?), Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia. Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.
By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.
In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.
The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.
After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.
It wasn't until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia. But what about the 1800s peaked American interest in the holiday?
The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. In 1828, the New York city council instituted the city's first police force in response to a Christmas riot. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.
In 1819, best-selling author Washington Irving wrote The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent., a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas in an English manor house.
The sketches feature a squire who invited the peasants into his home for the holiday. In contrast to the problems faced in American society, the two groups mingled effortlessly. In Irving's mind, Christmas should be a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday bringing groups together across lines of wealth or social status. Irving's fictitious celebrants enjoyed "ancient customs," including the crowning of a Lord of Misrule. Irving's book, however, was not based on any holiday celebration he had attended—in fact, many historians say that Irving's account actually "invented" tradition by implying that it described the true customs of the season.
Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story's message—the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind—struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.
The family was also becoming less disciplined and more sensitive to the emotional needs of children during the early 1800s. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention—and gifts—on their children without appearing to "spoil" them.
As Americans began to embrace Christmas as a perfect family holiday, old customs were unearthed. People looked toward recent immigrants and Catholic and Episcopalian churches to see how the day should be celebrated. In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving.
Although most families quickly bought into the idea that they were celebrating Christmas how it had been done for centuries, Americans had really re-invented a holiday to fill the cultural needs of a growing nation.
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father by providing them with a dowry so that they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas's popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.
"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
The First Labor Day
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.
In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/thanksgiving/main.html (Video Clip)
Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 under the Spanish flag from Palos, harbor in Spain with three ships the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. Problems with the Nina and the Pinta necessitated a one month delay in the Canary Islands. He set sail again on September 3, 1492 and thirty-three days later at 2:00 a.m. on October 12, 1492, Rodrigo de Triana, a seaman aboard the Pinta, spotted land.
It is a time for the nation to remember the injustices that Dr. King fought. A time to remember his fight for the freedom, equality, and dignity of all races and peoples. A time to remember the message of change through nonviolence
Memorial Day originated in 1868, when Union General John A. Logan designated a day in which the graves of Civil War soldiers would be decorated.
Known as Decoration Day, the holiday was changed to Memorial Day within twenty years, becoming a holiday dedicated to the memory of all war dead. It became a federal holiday in 1971, and is now observed on the last Monday in May.
There is also a Confederate Memorial Day, which is celebrated on various days in spring in some of the southern states.
In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation's highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe).
11/11/11
These memorial services all took place on November 11, the anniversary of the end of World War I at 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month), which became known as Armistice Day.
Armistice Day Becomes Veterans Day
Armistice Day officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.
In 1968, new legislation changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.
Fourth of July, Independence Day,or July Fourth,U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. It has been the most important patriotic holiday ever since. Traditionally it has been celebrated with the firing of guns and fireworks, parades, open-air meetings, and patriotic speeches. Today local ordinances prevent much of the former display of fireworks and use of firearms.
Christians celebrate Easter to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some trappings of modern Easter celebrations, however, pre-date Christianity and have ancient pagan roots.
Ancient Fertility Goddess
Easter takes its name from Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility. The Phoenicians knew her as Astarte, sister and consort of Baal, a God worshipped in much of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Some of the ancient Hebrews also worshipped Baal.
Astarte spread through Europe, becoming Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, fertility, and the rising sun. The Old English word for Easter, "Eastre" refers to Ostara.
Around the second century A.D., Christian missionaries seeking to convert the tribes of northern Europe realized that the time of the crucifixion of Jesus roughly coincided with the Teutonic springtime celebrations, which emphasized the triumph of life over death. Christian Easter gradually absorbed the traditional symbols.
Eggs and Rabbits Have Long Legacies
The egg and the rabbit, two of Easter's most common symbols, also have ancient associations with spring.
Eggs symbolize birth and fertility in many cultures. Ancient Egyptians and the Persians colored eggs to give as gifts during their spring festival.
The legends of ancient Egypt connect the hare, which comes out at night to feed, with the moon. Rabbits have remained fertility symbols in other, later cultures.
According to Anglo-Saxon myth Ostara, wanting to delight some children one day, turned her pet bird into a rabbit. The rabbit proceeded to lay brightly colored eggs, which Ostara gave to the children.
Easter Egg Hunts
In ancient Europe, eggs of different colors were taken from the nests of various birds and used to make talismans. The eggs were often ritually eaten. The search through the woods for eggs gradually evolved into the Easter egg hunt, while painted eggs eventually replaced wild birds' eggs. Easter baskets were probably originally intended to resemble birds' nests.
Forbidden Eggs
In Medieval Europe, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Therefore they were a prized Easter gift for children and servants.
Eggs were painted bright colors to resemble the sun and springtime. Often, the colors and patterns had romantic symbolism, and lovers exchanged eggs as they send Valentine's Day cards today.
Different Traditions
Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and in Greece, painted eggs bright red to resemble the blood of Christ. Hollow eggs (created by piercing the shell with a needle and blowing out the contents) were decorated with pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious figures in Armenia.
Germans gave green eggs as gifts on Holy Thursday. They also hung hollow eggs on trees. Austrians placed tiny plants around the egg and then boiled them. When the plants were removed, white patterns were created.
Artistic Creations
The most elaborate Easter egg traditions appear to have emerged in Eastern Europe. In Poland and Ukraine, eggs were often painted silver and gold. Pysanky (to design or write) eggs were created by carefully applying wax in patterns to an egg. The egg was then dyed, wax would be reapplied in spots to preserve that color, and the egg was boiled again in other shades. The result was a multi-color stripped or patterned egg.
Cards and Chocolate
Easter cards arrived in Victorian England, when a stationer added a greeting to a drawing of a rabbit. The cards proved popular.
The Germans probably began making chocolate bunnies and eggs. Immigrants took the custom to Pennsylvania. As Easter celebrations became more common after the Civil War, the custom of chocolate eggs took hold.
Easter Parades
After their baptisms, early Christians wore white robes all through Easter week to indicate their new lives. Those had already been baptized wore new clothes instead to symbolize their sharing a new life with Christ.
In Medieval Europe, churchgoers would take a walk after Easter Mass, led by a crucifix of the Easter candle. Today these walks endure as Easter Parades. People show off their spring finery, including lovely bonnets decorated for spring.
Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Q. 115. Which is the fourth
commandment?
A. The fourth commandment is, Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy
work; but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt
not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy
maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and
rested in the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath-day and
hallowed it.[621].
Q. 116. What is required in the
fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment requireth
of all men the sanctifying or keeping holy to God such set times as he hath
appointed in his Word, expressly one whole day in seven; which was the seventh
from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, and the first
day of the week ever since, and so to continue to the end of the world; which
is the Christian sabbath,[622]
and in the New Testament called The Lord’s day.[623]
Q. 117. How is the sabbath or the
Lord’s day to be sanctified?
A. The sabbath or Lord’s day is to
be sanctified by an holy resting all the day,[624]
not only from such works as are at all times sinful, but even from such worldly
employments and recreations as are on other days lawful;[625]
and making it our delight to spend the whole time (except so much of it as is
to be taken up in works of necessity and mercy[626])
in the public and private exercises of God’s worship:[627]
and, to that end, we are to prepare our hearts, and with such foresight,
diligence, and moderation, to dispose and seasonably dispatch our worldly
business, that we may be the more free and fit for the duties of that day.[628]
Q. 118. Why is the charge of
keeping the sabbath more specially directed to governors of families, and other
superiors?
A. The charge of keeping the
sabbath is more specially directed to governors of families, and other
superiors, because they are bound not only to keep it themselves, but to see
that it be observed by all those that are under their charge; and because they
are prone ofttimes to hinder them by employments of their own.[629]
Q. 119. What are the sins forbidden
in the fourth commandment?
A. The sins forbidden in the fourth
commandment are, all omissions of the duties required,[630]
all careless, negligent, and unprofitable performing of them, and being weary
of them;[631]
all profaning the day by idleness, and doing that which is in itself sinful;[632]
and by all needless works, words, and thoughts, about our worldly employments
and recreations.[633]
Q. 120. What are the reasons
annexed to the fourth commandment, the more to enforce it?
A. The reasons annexed to the
fourth commandment, the more to enforce it, are taken from the equity of it,
God allowing us six days of seven for our own affairs, and reserving but one
for himself in these words, Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:[634]
from God’s challenging a special propriety in that day, The seventh day is
the sabbath of the Lord thy God:[635]
from the example of God, who in six days made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: and from that blessing
which God put upon that day, not only in sanctifying it to be a day for his
service, but in ordaining it to be a means of blessing to us in our sanctifying
it; Wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.[636]
Q. 121. Why is the word Remember
set in the beginning of the fourth commandment?
A. The word Remember is set
in the beginning of the fourth commandment,[637]
partly, because of the great benefit of remembering it, we being thereby helped
in our preparation to keep it,[638]
and, in keeping it, better to keep all the rest of the commandments,[639]
and to continue a thankful remembrance of the two great benefits of creation
and redemption, which contain a short abridgment of religion;[640]
and partly, because we are very ready to forget it,[641]
for that there is less light of nature for it,[642]
and yet it restraineth our natural liberty in things at other times lawful;[643]
that it cometh but once in seven days, and many worldly businesses come
between, and too often take off our minds from thinking of it, either to
prepare for it, or to sanctify it;[644]
and that Satan with his instruments labours much to blot out the glory, and
even the memory of it, to bring in all irreligion and impiety.[645]
[621]
Exodus 20:8-11. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of
the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the
sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD
blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
[622]
Deuteronomy 5:12-14. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD
thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do
any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy
maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy
stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may
rest as well as thou. Genesis 2:2-3. And on the seventh day God ended
his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work
which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 1
Corinthians 16:1-2. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have
given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of
the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,
that there be no gatherings when I come. Matthew 5:17-18. Think not that
I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Isaiah
56:2, 4, 6-7. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that
layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his
hand from doing any evil.... For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep
my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant....
Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him,
and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth
the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I
bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their
burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for
mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
[623]
Revelation 1:10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind
me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
[624]
Exodus 20:8, 10. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.... But the
seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
[625]
Exodus 16:25-28. And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a
sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye
shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there
shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on
the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto
Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? Nehemiah
13:15-22. 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. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What
evil thing is this that ye 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 ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. And it came
to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath,
I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be
opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that
there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and
sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I
testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye
do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on
the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves,
and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day.
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the
greatness of thy mercy. Jeremiah 17:21-22. Thus saith the LORD; Take
heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by
the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the
sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I
commanded your fathers.
[626]
Matthew 12:1-13. At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the
corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn,
and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, etc.
[627]
Isaiah 58:13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing
thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the
LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding
thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words. Luke 4:16. And he came
to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into
the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Acts 20:7.
And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued
his speech until midnight. 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Now concerning the
collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia,
even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him
in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Psalm
92 (title: A psalm or song for the sabbath-day). Isaiah 66:23.
And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. Leviticus
23:3. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of
rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of
the LORD in all your dwellings.
[628]
Exodus 20:8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Luke 23:54,
56. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.... And they
returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day
according to the commandment. Exodus 16:22, 25-26, 29. And it came to
pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for
one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.... And
Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye
shall not find it in the field. Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh
day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.... See, for that the LORD
hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread
of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on
the seventh day. Nehemiah 13:19. And it came to pass, that when the
gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the
gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the
sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no
burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
[629]
Exodus 20:10. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in
it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is
within thy gates. Joshua 24:15. And if it seem evil unto you to serve
the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your
fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
LORD. Nehemiah 13:15, 17. 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.... Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto
them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Jeremiah
17:20-22. And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of
Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by
these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden
on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry
forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work,
but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. Exodus 23:12.
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that
thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger,
may be refreshed.
[630]
Ezekiel 22:26. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine
holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither
have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid
their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
[631]
Acts 20:7, 9. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the
morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.... And there sat in a window a
certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul
was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft,
and was taken up dead. Ezekiel 33:30-32. Also, thou son of man, the
children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the
doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother,
saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the
LORD. And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as
my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their
mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. And,
lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice,
and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them
not. Amos 8:5. Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell
corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and
the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? Malachi 1:13.
Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith
the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the
sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the
LORD.
[632]
Ezekiel 23:38. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled
my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.
[633]
Jeremiah 17:24, 27. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken
unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city
on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein.... But
if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a
burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then
will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of
Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Isaiah 58:13. If thou turn away
thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the
sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not
doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own
words.
[634]
Exodus 20:9. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work.
[635]
Exodus 20:10. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in
it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is
within thy gates.
[636]
Exodus 20:11. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea,
and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed
the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
[637]
Exodus 20:8. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
[638]
Exodus 16:23. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath
said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which
ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth
over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. Luke 23:54, 56. And
that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.... And they returned,
and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the
commandment. Mark 15:42. And now when the even was come, because it was
the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath. Nehemiah 13:19.
And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before
the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they
should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at
the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
[639]
Psalm 92 (title: A psalm or song for the sabbath-day)7 compared
with vv. 13-14: Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish
in the courts of our God. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they
shall be fat and flourishing. Ezekiel 20:12, 19-20. Moreover also I gave
them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I
am the LORD that sanctify them.... I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes,
and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a
sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.
[640]
Genesis 2:2-3. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had
made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And
God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had
rested from all his work which God created and made. Psalm 118:22, 24.
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner....
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Acts
4:10-11. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by
the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from
the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the
stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the
corner. Revelation 1:10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and
heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
[641]
Ezekiel 22:26. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine
holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither
have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid
their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
[642]
Nehemiah 9:14. And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and
commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy
servant.
[643]
Exodus 34:21. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou
shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
[644]
Deuteronomy 5:14-15. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy
God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor
thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of
thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and
thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. And remember that thou wast a servant
in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through
a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded
thee to keep the sabbath day. Amos 8:5. Saying, When will the new moon
be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat,
making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by
deceit?
[645]
Lamentations 1:7. Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and
of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old, when
her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and none did help her: the
adversaries saw her, and did mock at her sabbaths. Jeremiah 17:21-23.
Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath
day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden
out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye
the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither
inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor
receive instruction. Nehemiah 13:15-22. 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. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said
unto them, What evil thing is this that ye 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 ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath.
And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before
the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they
should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at
the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the
merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or
twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about
the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came
they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should
cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify
the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me
according to the greatness of thy mercy.