The Natural Rhythm of the Sabbath

Ever since the first Sabbath, the cycle of nature has beat to the rhythm of God's great heart of love.

The Cycle Begins. The first Sabbath marked the completion of a divine theme in the eternal symphony of God's love. The weekly cycle has no other known origin except the one provided by the Genesis story. When the Lord finished His perfect masterpiece, when He had arranged the mountains, lakes, rivers, hills, and plains over the earth and populated them | with birds, fish, animals, and mankind, He rested. He didn't rest because He was tired but in order to review with mankind the work of His hands a work which He had performed for Adam and Eve and for each of us. He set aside the seventh day of Creation, and every seventh day thereafter, as a memorial of the great work just completed. "God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside His own interests and pursuits for one day of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate the works of God.... God designs that the Sabbath shall direct the minds of men to the contemplation of His created works. Nature speaks to their senses, declaring that there is a living God, the Creator the Supreme Ruler of all" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48). "Since the Sabbath is the memorial of creative power, it is the day above all others when we should acquaint ourselves with God through His works. In the minds of the children the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural things" (Education, p. 251).

Garments of Holiness. A covering of light surrounded Adam and Eve, and we are told that this light illuminated nature in ways that enabled the holy pair to see things that we cannot see today with the unaided eye. It provided Adam and Eve with insights into the character of God. It was a very special light that we know very little about. We do know that when Adam and Eve sinned, the light left them. "But when they yielded to the tempter, the light departed from them. In losing the garments of holiness, they lost the light that had illuminated nature. No longer could they read it aright. So today man cannot of himself read aright the teaching of nature" (Ministry of Healing, p. 462). Notice that the statement reads, "Today man cannot of himself read aright the teaching of nature." Note also that the lost covering of light is referred to as the garments of holiness.

The simple truth is that as a result of sin we do not have this wonderful illuminating covering. Are we left, then, with no way of rightly interpreting nature now that the light is lost? No, we are not. God has restored the lost light in another fashion. As the Psalmist says, referring to God's revelation of Himself, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Ps 119:105). Ellen White also comments on this thought: "Upon every page of the great volume of His created works may still be traced His handwriting. Nature still speaks of her Creator. Yet these revelations are partial and imperfect. And in our fallen state, with weakened powers and restricted vision, we are incapable of interpreting aright. We need the fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in His written word" (Education, p. 17).

The eternal Light of God's Word becomes our guide in understanding the things of nature. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1, 3, 4). Here we see that the Creator, the one true God, who made everything, is also the Light for mankind. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). Ellen White uses a beautiful metaphor to underline this point: "As the sunbeams penetrate to the remotest corners of the earth, so does the light of the Sun of Righteousness shine upon every soul" (The Desire of Ages, P. 464).

We are left with the obvious conclusion that if Jesus is the Word, the Light of the world, then it is only He who can provide the correct interpretation of the book of nature. In fact, "Only in the light that shines from Calvary can nature's teaching be read aright" (Education, p. 101). God has restored the lost light of the Garden in the person of His own Son.

Jesus told the people gathered on that Judean mountainside that His robe of righteousness was as readily available as the beauty of the lilies.

Consider the Lilies. Remember the parable of the lilies that Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount? It was early morning. Jesus and the multitude were seated on the mount. Rays of the sun shone on the beautiful golden dome of the temple, and the whole countryside was illuminated by the light of the dawn. As usual, Jesus looked around for something in nature to use as an illustration of the truth that He wanted to present. His eyes fell on the flowers, and He said, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow" (Matt 6:28).

Remember the garments of holiness that Adam and Eve lost? "Look at the lilies all around you," Jesus said. "Think about how they grow. They're more beautifully clothed than a king, and they have done nothing but receive God's rain, sunshine, and nutrients to obtain this beauty." That's the way it is with garments of holiness, the righteousness of Jesus---the white raiment that we are counseled to obtain (see Rev 3:18) so that the shame of our spiritual nakedness can be covered. The divine Revelator is reminding us that the garments of holiness were lost and that we must obtain replacements through Jesus. Jesus told the people gathered on that Judean mountainside that His robe of righteousness was as readily available as the beauty of the lilies. What an illustration! It was food for thought throughout the lives of His listeners, and it still presents us with profound truth. It is just this kind of God-designed truth that we should gain from the study of His two books.

"On the lily's petals, God has written a message for you, written in language that your heart can read only as it unlearns the lessons of distrust and selfishness and corroding care" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 96). "The shrubs and flowers, with their varied tints, are God's ministers, carrying the mind up from nature to nature's God" (Review and Herald, Oct. 11, 1887).

"When men and women cease trying to counterwork the purposes of Divinity, when they place themselves under the discipline of grace, they will see that they have a work to do in becoming conversant with plant and animal life" (The Youth's Instructor, Sept. 14, 1899). In Jesus, we are able to commune with nature once more.

As a Boy Jesus Studied Nature. Perhaps the strongest evidence of the value of studying God's other book comes from the early life of Jesus. The Desire of Ages says, "From His earliest years Jesus was possessed of one purpose; He lived to bless others. For this He found resources in nature; new ideas of ways and means flashed into His mind as He studied plant life and animal life" (p. 70). Jesus discovered new ways to bless others as He studied nature. Ideas "flashed" into His young mind as He observed the plants and animals. Continuing on, The Desire of Ages, page 70, adds that "heavenly beings were His attendants, and the culture of holy thoughts and communings was His. From the first dawning of intelligence He was constantly growing in spiritual grace and knowledge of truth. Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did."

Remember that new ideas of ways and means to bless others flashed into Jesus' mind as He studied plant and animal life as a child. And heavenly beings were His attendants, teacher's aides, if you please. What is more, we and our children can have access to the same divine sources of insight. "As the works of God are studied, the Holy Spirit flashes conviction into the mind" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 24). "As we study His works, angels from heaven will be by our side to enlighten our minds and guard them from Satan's deceptions" (Counsels to Teachers, p. 457).

If we believe these statements, why aren't we doing more to introduce our young people to the Creator through the study of nature? If we do introduce them, we have the Lord's promise that the Holy Spirit will flash conviction into our minds and into the minds of our young people. We have His promise that angels from heaven will be by our side and their sides, enlightening minds and guarding against Satan's deceptions.

God's Word is a Two-volume Set. In a metaphorical sense, God is by necessity the author of two books the Book of Nature and the Bible. God's first book was the Book of Nature, spoken into existence by His Word (Ps 33:6, 9) during the six days of Creation. It is a book of laws---the laws that govern how the galaxies spin in perfect order in outer space and how matter and energy perform in inner space. And it is a book about love---the combined force of all of God's laws. The Creator's second book, the Bible, was written over a period of hundreds of years by His servants the prophets as they were impressed by Him (2 Pet 1:21). The Bible, too, is a book about laws, laws that God wrote on tables of stone and has promised to write on the tablets of our hearts. The Bible is also a book about love, the greatest lovestory every told. Both books bear the signature of the Creator, and both books are worthy of our thoughtful and prayerful study.

The only textbook that Adam and Eve had in the Eden Sabbath school was the Created Word---the Book of Nature. The Master Himself taught them to read on its pages marvelous illustrations of His own character. They learned of His matchless love and His eternal justice. They needed no other text.

The Book of Nature was God's first book. But because of sin, the Book of Nature is now often referred to as His second book.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the opportunity to study the original version of God's Word. For many years the altered but still beautiful lesson-book of nature was the only source of study for mankind, and its original lessons were handed down from generation to generation, from Adam to Lamech (Noah's father); from Lamech to Shem; from Shem to Abraham and Isaac and possibly also to Jacob, for Shem lived until Jacob was ten years old; and certainly from Abraham and Isaac to Jacob, who later lived with his family in Egypt before the days of slavery.

Over the years, the pages of the original text became drastically marred, and Satan began to perfect his own version of how the book should be interpreted. So it became necessary for God to provide a supplement to His first book. Beginning with Moses, God used faithful servants to record His truth in writings that were collected into the book that we call the Bible.

Today we are blessed with both of God's books, and "while the Bible should hold first place in the education of children and youth, the book of nature is next in importance" (Counsels to Teachers, p. 185). The Book of Nature was God's first book. But because of sin, the Book of Nature is now often referred to as His second book.

"Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the objects that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible the similitudes drawn from nature" (Education, p. 120). "The book of nature and the written word shed light upon each other. They make us acquainted with God by teaching us something of the laws through which He works" (ibid., p. 128). "Many illustrations from nature are used by the Bible writers, and as we observe the things of the natural world, we shall be enabled, under the guiding of the Holy Spirit, more fully to understand the lessons of God's word. It is thus that nature becomes a key to the treasure house of the word" (ibid., p. 120).

Not only does the Word provide light for our understanding of nature, but when the two books are studied together, nature also sheds light on the Word. Notice that I said, when the two are studied together. God's Word is incomplete when it is studied only as the written Word or when it is studied only as the created Word. It has been well said that the Book of Nature contains the pictures of God's Word, while the Bible contains the captions. What a beautiful expression of the way in which these two books go hand in hand! The Book of Nature is a vast collection of illustrations or pictures that God has provided to show what His character and His universe are like. The written Word, the Bible, is the instruction manual that explains what the pictures mean.

All of us are like young children when it comes to understanding God's great truths. We want pictures! Yet even though we have the Creator's pictures and His words, we all too often fail to study the two together. In fact, we often don't think of the two books as having much to do with each other. Children are often encouraged to memorize long passages of Scripture without relating the texts to real life. By the same token, they may be encouraged to memorize many different names of birds, butterflies, and mammals and to make collections of the things of nature without relating them to their creation origins. But by putting the two books together, we can give young people a rich and rewarding study that the Lord can use to capture not only their minds and hearts, but ours as well.

The Natural Purpose of the Sabbath. Because of the distortions of the truth that we see in the natural world today, it is essential that we understand the reason for the Sabbath and give it its rightful place in our lives. When God instituted the Sabbath in Eden, it was for a very definite purpose. "The importance of the Sabbath as a memorial of creation is that it keeps ever present the true reason why worship is due to God---because He is the Creator, and we are His creatures. The Sabbath therefore lies at the very foundation of divine worship, for it teaches this great truth in the most impressive manner, and no other institution does this" (The Great Controversy, p. 437).

Is it any wonder that Satan determined to destroy the Sabbath? He brought in counterfeit after counterfeit aimed directly at disrupting the allegiance that should be given to God as Creator of heaven and earth. One of the earliest and most prominent false gods of the Old Testament was the sun-god Baal. Those who worshiped Baal believed that the sun gave life and sustained them. The physical idolatry of sun worship was replaced in the early days of the Christian era by symbolic worship on a day dedicated to the sun, again taking the worshiper's mind away from God as our Creator.

The Sabbath was provided for mankind as a safeguard against self-exaltation of human wisdom over the divine. "Had the Sabbath been universally kept, man's thoughts and affections would have been led to the Creator as the object of reverence and worship, and there would never have been an idolater, an atheist, or an infidel" (ibid., p. 438). "Christ sharply reproved the men of His time because they had not learned from nature the spiritual lessons which they might have learned. All things, animate and inanimate, express to man the knowledge of God” (Testimonies for the Church, 4:580).

The Gospel, Creation, and the Sabbath. One of Christ's parting commands was, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" (Matt 28:19-20). This has often

been called the Great Commission. Earlier, Jesus had told His disciples that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt 24:14).

God's special gospel messages for the end time are given in Revelation 14, beginning with the message of the first of three angels. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,... saying with a loud voice,... worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters" (Rev 14:6-7).

Notice that the angel specifically identifies the God to whom worship and honor are due as the God who made the heavens and earth and the sea and the fountains of waters. Throughout history mankind has worshiped other gods, so it is significant that God, through His prophets, has consistently identified Himself as the One who made the heavens and the earth.

It was God's purpose that the weekly cycle be a constant reminder of the only true God.

The Lord instructed Jeremiah to make the following announcement to the heathen of his time: "Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens" (Jer 10:11). In the New Testament, Paul and Barnabas were faced with a similar situation in the cities of Derbe and Lycaonia, where the people responded to Paul's healing power by saying, "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men" (Acts 14:11). Paul and Barnabas cried out in dismay, "Sirs, why do ye these things? We are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein" (Acts 14:15).

Throughout the Bible, the one true God is identified as the God who made everything. Now at the end of time, God's chosen people are to be those who first recognize the true God and worship only Him as Lord of their lives. Their recognition is still to be based, as always, on complete faith in the Creator of all things. The third angel of Revelation 14 identifies a remnant people on earth who "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus" (Rev 14:12). This leads us directly back to the eternal rhythm of the Sabbath. It was God's purpose that the weekly cycle be a constant reminder of the only true God. "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" (Ex 20:11).

What are we told will be the final testing issue for God's people on earth? The Sabbath. And for the same reason as always before, namely, that it is the one institution that identifies the one true God, the one who made the heavens and the earth, including mankind. It is a weekly witness to God's creative power.

Translating Sabbath Sanctity into Appropriate Activity. We all know that the Sabbath is special and that proper observance of the day represents acknowledgement of God's eternal authority, His royal seal. But do we know why? Do we tell our children why there is a Sabbath? Do we tell our children what they can do on the Sabbath---things that are fun, challenging, and interesting to them? Or do we tell them only what they cannot do?

"All who love God should do what they can to make the Sabbath a delight, holy and honorable. They cannot do this by seeking their own pleasure in sinful, forbidden amusements. Yet they can do much to exalt the Sabbath in their families and make it the most interesting day of the week. We should devote time to interesting our children.... We can walk out with them in the open air; we can sit with them in the groves and in the bright sunshine, and give their restless minds something to feed upon by conversing with them upon the works of God, and can inspire them with love and reverence by calling their attention to the beautiful objects in nature. The Sabbath should be made so interesting to our families that its weekly return will be hailed with joy" (Testimonies, 2:584-585).

Nature study is inextricably tied to the observance of the Sabbath. Rightly used, the Book of Nature holds the answer to the challenges of Sabbath observance among the young.

"In the minds of the children, the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural things."

"Since the Sabbath is the memorial of creative power, it is the day above all others when we should acquaint ourselves with God through His works. In the minds of the children, the very thought of the Sabbath should be bound up with the beauty of natural things" (Education, p. 251). "The Sabbath bids us behold in His created works the glory of the Creator. And it was because He desired us to do this that Jesus bound up His precious lessons with the beauty of natural things"(Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 25-26). "The Sabbath, ever pointing to Him who made them all, bids men open the great book of nature and trace therein the wisdom, the power, and the love of the Creator" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 48).

How many of our children think first of the beauty of their natural surroundings when they think of the Sabbath? How many think about what they can and cannot do? How many focus on what they're going to be able to get done before the sun goes down on Friday and what's going to happen Saturday night after the sun goes down?

Enjoying the study of nature on the Sabbath does not come automatically to young people. We should start early in the lives of children to introduce them to the advantages and delights of nature study. We can't expect that as teenagers they will suddenly agree that nature is interesting just because we say so. In fact, our saying so may become the very reason for them to assume that it isn't interesting! Whatever we do must be interesting and exciting to them. Getting them interested is a challenge, of course, but the challenge is made easier by starting as early as possible to introduce the excitement and mysteries of nature to children. Unfortunately, a tendency exists to portray nature study as something only for little children and old people. What a mistake! The thrill of the out-of-doors is well known to youth, but outdoor adventures are often not seen as nature-related.

The chapter entitled, "How Shall We Keep the Sabbath?" which begins on page 582 of the second volume of the Testimonies, is well worth reading. "In order to keep the Sabbath holy, it is not necessary that we enclose ourselves in walls, shut away from the beautiful scenes of nature and from the free, invigorating air of heaven…..But the mind cannot be refreshed, enlivened, and elevated by being confined nearly all the Sabbath hours within walls, listening to long sermons and tedious, formal prayers" (p. 583).

We should start early in the lives of children to introduce them to the advantages and delights of nature study.

Children are by nature very active. If they have not been spoiled by a life of inactivity and the false excitement of being passively entertained, they will require active, sometimes rigorous, pursuits to keep their young minds and bodies healthy, especially after spending several hours in church services. There is nothing wrong with expending this energy on Sabbath as long as it is properly channeled and doing so requires adult participation and supervision. "During a portion of the [Sabbath] day, all should have an opportunity to be out of doors. How can children receive a more correct knowledge of God, and their minds be better impressed, than in spending a portion of their time out of doors, not in play, but in company with their parents?" (ibid.)

The phrase "not in play" is troublesome to those who equate the term with enjoyment. It is a statement that is roughly equivalent to "thine own pleasure" in Isaiah 58:13. As do many adults, children left to their own devices often invent their own activities, which, while appropriate for the rest of the week, are not directed toward the themes that should characterize behavior on the Sabbath. Some people tend to assume that it is not appropriate to enjoy the Sabbath; such individuals are uncomfortable using the word "fun" to describe a Sabbath activity. (I'm reminded of the Sabbath school superintendent I once worked with who said of a youth group who for the first time in their lives had discovered the social delight of group Bible study, "If they are enjoying it, it can't be right.") Remember that the same text counsels us to call the Sabbath a "delight."

"The Sabbath bids us behold in His created works the glory of the Creator. And it was because He desired us to do this that Jesus bound up His precious lessons with the beauty of natural things. On the holy rest day above all other days, we should study the messages that God has written for us in nature. We should study the Saviour's parables where He spoke them in the fields and groves, under the open sky, among the grass and flowers. As we come close to the heart of nature, Christ makes His presence real to us, and speaks to our hearts of His peace and love" (Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 25-26).

The Cycle is Forever. The Sabbath is about God. It is about the power of God. It is about the law of God. And it is about the love of God. Everything in the universe illustrates the power of God's law of love. All nature beats to the rhythm of God's great heart. God gave us a cycle of worship that revolves around the grand theme of Creation. It is a rhythm that has beat out its tempo every seventh day since that first Sabbath in Eden.

The Sabbath was given to us as a special opportunity to become acquainted with the Word of God, to get to know the Creator through His works, to better understand the character of God through study of His Word the Word that "was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). There is an eternal certainty about the Sabbath, because it is established by the Creator in both natural and spiritual law.

At a critical point in the history of mankind, God wrote the rhythm in stone, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex 20:8). By

observing the Sabbath day in holy worship, we come into harmony with the everlasting rhythm of God's infinite power---the perfect harmony of His law of love that will govern the universe forever. "So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will be honored by all beneath the sun. 'From one Sabbath to another' the inhabitants of the glorified new earth shall go up 'to worship before Me, saith the Lord.' Isaiah 66:23" (The Desire of Ages, p. 283).

In the Eden of a new earth, the Creator will restore the garments of light, and again we shall be able to explore the wonders of God's First Book as Adam and Eve did in the beginning. "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev 22:5).

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 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 (Neh 13:19, 22.)