There Remains a Sabbath Rest for the People of God: A Biblical, Theological, & Historical Defense of Sabbath Rest as a Creation Ordinance

by Jon Lee

This book contains a defense of the idea that God’s rest on Day 7 of the creation week is instructive for people today. More technically, this book argues for the propriety of weekly Sabbath rest. This means that the normal pattern to be followed by humanity is a week, consisting of seven 24-hour days, six of which are spent in work while the other day is devoted to rest. Theologians would use the language of God’s rest being a “creation ordinance,” which is a term that many theologians use, but none have defined.

To aid the discussion, this book defines a creation ordinance as a normative, but not uniformly observed, general pattern the exceptions to which must fulfill and contribute to the pattern’s fulfillment; moreover, the pattern must be confirmed, not negated or abrogated, by later biblical revelation.

After discussing methodological and hermeneutical presuppositions, the heart of the book begins in chapter 3 with biblical-theological analysis of Genesis 2, noting that God’s rest is the consummation of God’s creative work, God’s enthronement in his cosmic temple, and his consecration of the creation unto him. God’s rest ought to be imitated by mankind for several God’s intention behind the pattern, Mosaic authorship of Genesis, and the fourth commandment in the decalogue explicitly cites God’s rest in Genesis 2. Later, a detailed analysis is provided of the sabbath commandment in the old covenant. The sabbath ordinance takes on supplemental ceremonial importance under the Mosaic law.

Then, the book moves into the New Testament analysis, where Jesus is shown to be the giver of rest. Being the fulfillment to which all the Old Testament types were pointing, Jesus brings salvific rest through his perfect atonement. However, the fullness of Christ’s redemptive work will not be tasted until the eschaton, so the weekly sabbath pattern retains its typological value for new covenant believers.

The book concludes with a survey of significant historical events/theologians who contributed to the sabbath debate, followed by ecclesiological and personal implications of sabbath rest being seen as a creation ordinance.

314 pages, Paperback

Published May 6, 2024

Reviews

[Jeremy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated that Lee's argument is based on the Sabbath being a creation ordinance because it can fit with several views of the Law or continuity v discontinuity. The chapters on the history of Christian thought on the Sabbath and his practical advice on observing the Sabbath were especially helpful.

[Will Cunningham-Batt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a published dissertation arguing for a Reformed Baptist perspective of the Sabbath as a creation ordinance. It draw together a lot of helpful information and theological reflection from others. However, it lacked engagement with other covenantal viewpoints and did not provide close exegesis of the biblical texts, especially Genesis 2. The final chapter on what observing the Lord’s Day should look like was thought provoking, although I remain unconvinced of the author’s position myself.

[Paul Shireman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall the book was decent. I had more points of agreement than I expected. I do believe that the argument for a weekly Sabbath rest is to be grounded in the fact that it is a creational ordinance, as well as a type or foretaste of the eschatological rest to come. That being said, I would not have made the choice to quote works from women that are giving instruction on doctrine and biblical exegesis, especially one that claims to be a reverend, lesbian, and is seemingly active in the LGBT movement (Judith Hoch Wray). It’s a bit unusual for conservative Christian works such as these.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dense text that was not suited for audio book form. Three insights that I will be thinking about Sabbath are

1. Sabbath observance takes faith to trust the abundance of God.
2. Sabbath observance is like using a tower to observe God's work in your life and week.
3. Divided up the different deeds that are acceptable for Sabbath into 3 categories.
a. Deeds of piety = worship
b. Deeds of mercy = service to others
c. Deeds of necessity = life saving/ community needs like doctors, pharmacists, firefighters, etc.