[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DOES AMOS SUGGEST THAT SOMEDAY THE SABBATH WILL COME TO AN END?

[Shelly Duffy]

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DOES AMOS SUGGEST THAT SOMEDAY THE SABBATH WILL COME TO AN END?
October 19, 2021 

Average reading time is about 4 and a half minutes


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Strange as it might seem, this text has been quoted to “prove” that the Sabbath was to come to an end. But the context makes clear that Amos was condemning hypocritical Israelites who wished for the Sabbath hours to quickly end so they could return to their dishonest business dealings. It was a classic example of apostates resenting the time claimed by God for worship; they longed for the sun to set that they might be released from the “yoke” of a Sabbath they did not spiritually respect. 

The “new moon” here refers to the first day of the month, when business was suspended and sacrifices were offered (1 Samuel 20:5, 24; Numbers 28:11; 2 Kings 4:23). These rebellious Israelites were always glad to see that day end because they had no pleasure for the worship prescribed. 

Some have made it seem that it is God who is asking the question, “When will the New Moon be past … and the Sabbath?” It is not God; rather, it is the corrupt cheaters who inquire. Those who make this false application claim that God answers His own question in verse 9, where He tells when the Sabbath will come to an end. They apply verse 9 to the darkness that occurred during the crucifixion of Jesus and mistakenly claim that the Ten Commandments were finished at that time. 

Actually, verse 9 has reference to the signs of a final judgment that will come on the earth, when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give her light. Isaiah spoke of the same event (Isaiah 13:10), as did Jesus (Matthew 24:29) and John the Revelator (Revelation 6:12). It is nowhere connected to the death of Christ or the abolishing of the law of God. 



KEY BIBLE TEXTS 
"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?"
Amos 8:5



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Shelley Duffy