THE ADVENT TRUTH

Many claim the Sabbath wasn’t commanded before Mount Sinai because they don’t see the word “Sabbath” in Genesis. But silence isn’t proof of absence. Genesis never says people didn’t keep the Sabbath—just like it never explicitly says, “Do not worship idols,” yet Abraham clearly followed God’s commandments (Genesis 26:5).

From the very beginning, God sanctified the seventh day:

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work” (Genesis 2:3).
The Hebrew word for sanctified (qadash) means to set apart for holy use. There’s no hint this was temporary or just for Israel. Just like marriage was instituted in Eden for all humanity, so was the Sabbath.

Consider this: sin existed before Sinai. Cain was warned about sin (Genesis 4:7). Joseph called adultery a sin (Genesis 39:9). 1 John 3:4 says sin is breaking God’s law. That means the law—including the Sabbath—was already in effect. Abraham didn’t invent obedience; God says he kept His “commandments, statutes, and laws” (Genesis 26:5).

When God gave manna in Exodus 16, before Sinai, He said, “How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?” (v. 28). The Sabbath was already known; Sinai didn’t create it, it simply revealed it to a nation that had forgotten.

Jesus Himself confirmed this:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
The Greek word for man is anthropos—meaning all humanity, not just Jews. The Sabbath was made for Adam, Eve, and everyone after them.

The argument that Genesis “doesn’t mention Sabbath-keeping” is like saying a marriage vow stops being binding if you don’t talk about it every day. Its absence in the text doesn’t erase its existence.

The truth is, nothing in Genesis even remotely suggests the Sabbath wasn’t binding. Instead, it’s part of God’s original design—a weekly reminder that He is our Creator and Redeemer. From Eden to eternity, the seventh-day Sabbath stands as His seal of love and authority (Isaiah 66:22-23).