Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 4
He notes the first explicit use of “Sabbath” appears in Exodus 16 (manna) *before* Sinai, and says there’s “no record” of patriarchs keeping Sabbath, though Abraham and Job “kept commandments.” What assumptions about early faithfulness and God’s expectations does this expose, and how should Christians handle commands that seem important later but are not clearly practiced earlier?
Another way to ask: He says the first clear mention of “Sabbath” is before Sinai, and there’s no clear record of the patriarchs keeping it even though they obeyed God. What does that show about what we assume God expected early on, and how should Christians handle commands that show up clearly later but not earlier?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker exposes that we often assume later commands must have been practiced the same way from the beginning, even when Scripture doesn’t record it. His point is that God clearly introduced Sabbath obligations to Israel in Exodus 16 before Sinai, while admitting Scripture gives “no record” of patriarchal Sabbath-keeping—so Christians should be careful about claiming certainty where the text is silent.
- He asks where “Sabbath” first appears and answers: “Exodus 16,” connected to manna instructions.
- He stresses timing: this happened “before Exodus 19 and 20…Before they got to Mount Sinai.”
- He asks directly: “Is there any evidence of Sabbath keeping before Exodus…?…There’s no record of it.”
- Yet he notes Abraham and Job: each is said to keep God’s “commandments and statutes,” but adds, “What commandments did they have? We don’t know for sure.”
- He also mentions Noah knowing “clean and unclean,” showing some commands were known before Sinai.