T

he common complaint against the Torah, by otherwise well-meaning evangelicals, is that believers are no longer "under the Sinai covenant" which of course raises many questions for the ardent student of the Word.

What do they mean by the word "under"? Are we "under" any instructions from God, and if so, which ones? Or course when someone brings up the "which ones" argument, you should immediately know the outcome of the conversation. To such a person, the problem is not the God-given revelation of right and wrong (i.e., the commandments), their problem is what they perceive as the "Jewish" ones. Hint: there is no such thing as "Jewish commandments," and anyone claiming such is directly (and possibly intentionally) contradicting numerous passages in Scripture.

What is meant by "Sinai Covenant"? Is this to be differentiated from the covenant that follows the Sin of the Golden Calf? Or the covenant made on the plains of Moab (from which we get the name "Deuteronomy" [second law])? Clearly, this kind of theology may be deeply invested, but it is not well-thought out. It is no small matter to convince such folks that defining the "Sinai Covenant" as the "Old Covenant" is simply a theological machination.

But a bigger problem for the whole argument about being "under the Sinai covenant" is this: what about the Sabbath? The Sabbath is only reiterated in the Ten Words uttered at Sinai; but that is not where it is first found. It is of course found first in Genesis 2:2. As all Sabbath-keepers know, the Sabbath first relates to Yehovah's work of creation. But the first commandments associated with Sabbath-keeping are given in Exodus 16, where the Sabbath is connected to the daily provision of manna.

So they gathered it [manna] every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, "This is what Yehovah has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to Yehovah. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'"
Exodus 16:21-23

It seems pretty simple. It is a sad thing that this lesson is lost on so many who claim to know Messiah. Incidentally, this passage shows clearly that merely "having services on Saturday" is not "keeping the Sabbath." Weeks before the revelation at Sinai, Yehovah gave us a very simple commandment. But we failed and continue to fail to listen.

Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And Yehovah said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For Yehovah has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."
Exodus 16:27-29

Today, we are no better. It seems only the most observant think twice about this clear teaching. Thankfully, there are a few who simply obey every word the Yehovah speaks.

So the people rested on the seventh day.
Exodus 16:30

Why did He reveal the Sabbath before His commandments? Beloved, He tells us that is connected to His daily provision, and it is connected to all of the rest of His commandments.

Then Yehovah said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not."
Exodus 16:4

No, the Sabbath was not given at Sinai. The Sabbath was given distinctly before the Sinai revelation, thus silencing the antinomian critic of the Torah. But the real "test" of the Sabbath is this: trusting and obeying Him day by day. It is thus no wonder that for those that turned away from the commandments of Yehovah, the first to be jettisoned was... the Sabbath. They failed the test.

Let us be diligent in truly keeping the Sabbath.