Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were hungry, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him;
4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
One of the reasons why we took so long to declare some of our personal testimonies is because if some persons are strictly into the letter of the law, some might have had occasion to stumble, and therefore, the truth about the letter, and the spirit of the law must now be made plain.
All of the instructions, commands and laws God has given us are to be carefully kept and observed, with some leeway being given for instances where God may choose to do things differently. Obeying God is not only a strict adherence to the letter of the law, it also includes us being willing to be led by His Spirit, in instances where He may depart from the script.
When God gave His law on Mount Sinai, He spoke it first, before writing it on tables of stone. That order of speaking first and writing later is important for us to understand because His voice could override that which is written, if He so chooses.
This is the reason why in many instances we would read in the scriptures where Christ would say: You have heard that it had been said by them of old, but I say unto you. In other words, there would be times when a understanding of what true obedience entails, must be made plain.
Very little is heard about this aspect of obedience, yet it must be clearly understood by all who would be preparing and looking forward to the latter rain. There are times when God may give an instruction for a specific circumstance, which may not fully be in line with the letter, as far as finite minds go.
Yet, if it is ascertained that it is God who is speaking, we must be ready and willing to obey. Under normal circumstances, a Christian is to abide by the laws of the land in which he or she dwells, for it is God who allows rulers to reign, and His people are to render to all their dues. That is what the “letter” of the law says. Let’s read:
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
However, that is not the end of the issue, for God is able to override Caesar if He so chooses, in order to get His will accomplished. Persons are never to take it upon themselves to deviate from His instructions, but if God commands a deviation, folks should obey wherever He so leads.
A very strict interpretation of the letter of the law has the potential to place persons into an iron-clad straight jacket, in which it can become very difficult for even God to work with. Even though we must at all times reverence and practice the principles in the law, we must be careful to leave some wiggle room so that God could do His thing, whenever He has to.
In our first passage, some of the religious leaders of the Jews, openly complained to Christ, that some of His disciples were doing that which was not lawful to be done on the Sabbath day, and if we were to judge from a strictly legal perspective, they might’ve been right.
In the Old Testament when the Hebrew people were sojourning through the desert, they were instructed not to go out and gather Manna on the Sabbath day. Some apparently went out, and their actions drew a swift rebuke from God, for they were commanded to rest from all such activities over the sacred hours. Let’s read:
Exodus 16: 25 And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the Lord: today ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day to gather, and they found none.
28 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
But this confrontation between Christ, and persons who were strictly into the letter of the law, was not the first, nor was it the last. In fact, throughout His entire sojourn on earth, Jesus had to deal with this issue of the letter versus the spirit, and at times the explanations He gave left individuals furious. Let’s read:
Luke 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
Matthew 15:1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
Mark 2: 18 And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast not?
John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
And the list of supposed infractions goes on and on and on. Now it is true that in our day, the pendulum has now swung in a completely opposite direction, because the laws of God have been thrown out in large part by persons who erroneously believe that they were nailed to the cross.
Even though this belief has caused some persons to inadvertently or deliberately violate the letter, and the Remnant people of God are called to correct it, yet in the presentation of the gospel, persons must be careful to leave some wiggle room for The Spirit of God to do His work, for God does not always follow the script, as we know it.
For instance, after the great disappointment where many persons were preaching, and expecting Jesus to come in the 1800s, William Miller was afterward presented with present truth, pertaining to Sabbath keeping, and the validity of all the commandments of God.
His mind was then adversely affected by his fellow ministers, and brethren who had encouraged him to reject this truth. This went on for a while until Miller himself lifted his voice against Sabbath keeping. Yet, Miller will be saved in God’s kingdom, even though his rejection of sacred truth is off script, as far as the finite mind goes. Let’s read:
[E.W. pp 303] At the time of the disappointment on October 22, 1844, Miller was worn and ill. He had depended largely on his younger associates who stood with him in proclaiming the Advent message. They led him to reject the Sabbath truth as it came to his attention soon after the Disappointment.
[E.W. pp 258] I saw that William Miller erred as he was soon to enter the heavenly Canaan, in suffering his influence to go against the truth. Others led him to this; others must account for it. But angels watch the precious dust of this servant of God, and he will come forth at the sound of the last trump.
It was the letter of the law that some of the scribes were apparently referring to when they asked Peter whether Christ paid the temple tax. The truth of the matter is that the priests were exempt from such a requirement, but the religious leaders being blinded by zealousness for the letter, overlooked the fact that Christ was indeed greater than any earthly priest who had ever lived.
Again, it was the letter of the law that was appealed to, when the woman was caught in adultery, in the very act, as they stated, and the matter was brought to Jesus for redress. How on earth folks could catch only one person in adultery is a mystery beyond our fathoming since it would take at least two persons, in order to commit adultery. However, they pointed to the letter of the law which required such to be stoned.
Therefore, in order to lay a proper foundation for the study, we must first seek to understand Christ’s relation to the law. God is the great Law-giver, He is The one who makes not only spiritual law, but also physical law, and therefore, God is not restricted to law as created beings are, but instead, is above all law.
Hence the reason why in certain circumstances, He could instruct His people to do things, which might otherwise be unlawful according to the letter. When the Hebrews were about to leave Egyptian bondage, God told them to “Borrow” jewels of gold and silver from their neighbors.
When God instructed Joshua and his men to march around Jericho for seven days, they doing so would of necessity include a Sabbath day, whichever day of the week one may have started on.
The Hebrews were all commanded to celebrate the Passover, as a memorial of God’s great deliverance from Egyptian bondage, yet when God commanded Elijah to hide at the brook Cherith, there’s no record that the prophet was required to, or did so, for at least three years.
When Saul was commanded to take out Amalek, he did what might seem to some as the humane thing, in sparing that which he felt was good, and getting rid of all that was refuse. The only problem is that it was not what God told him to do in this instance.
Again, in another instance, a certain prophet by the name of Hosea is commanded by God to go marry a prostitute something that none of us as men should ever presume to do. Yet, when the command came from God Hosea was obligated to render obedience.
David and his men were given the Shew-bread to eat, something which under normal circumstances could have resulted in very severe consequences. In that instance God overrode that which is written in order for His purposes to be fulfilled.
Again, David was granted multiple wives by God, in violation of the seventh commandment, as far as we mortals go. Thus, folks are always to render a willing obedience to God’s written word, but if in some rare instances He chooses to override it, then, in His own capacity as God He can absolutely do so. Let’s read:
2nd Samuel 12: 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
Again, the letter of the law states that prophets and priests ordained by God are to be greatly respected. In fact, it was the violation of this instruction which resulted in Miriam contracting leprosy, because of her complaining and murmuring against Moses. Let’s read:
Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he married an Ethiopian woman.
4 And the Lord spoke suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.
6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.
Yet, in another specific instance, The Spirit of God commands a certain individual to slap one of God’s prophets in the face, an act that could potentially be fatal for anyone who presumed to do so on their own.
But in this instance, God is the One who had given that command, thereby overriding any previous instruction on this matter in this particular instance. What is worthy of note is that the man in question did not choose to obey that strange command, for it most likely went against his grain, and thus, by him following the strict letter of the law he was found to be disobedient. In this specific instance, doing that which would be otherwise unlawful would actually be the right thing to do, in obedience to the command of God. Let’s read:
1st Kings 20:35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
Therefore, even though as Christians we are under a God-given mandate to keep all His laws, commands, and instructions, there might be specific instances where The Spirit might see it fit to deviate from the script. We are not to be annoyed by this fact, for as many as are led by The Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God.
Especially will this be the case when the outpouring of the latter rain begins to pick up steam. There may be deviations from known scripts that we have now become accustomed to, which the Spirit of God may see fit to scrap very much the same way in which He scrapped the rite of circumcision, after the day of Pentecost. Let’s read:
[Test Vol. 4 pp 123] The Son of God came voluntarily to accomplish the work of atonement. There was no obligatory yoke upon Him, for He was independent and above all law.
Thus, in addressing the issue of Sabbath breaking, as per the complaint of those religious leaders regarding Jesus’ disciples plucking ears of corn over the sacred hours, the time had come for Jesus to clarify the bigger issue that is, if He had no problem with what they were doing, then it was right, whatever might be written in the letter of the law.
[The Desire of Ages pp 285] The disciples, in doing the work of Christ, were engaged in God's service, and that which was necessary for the accomplishment of this work it was right to do on the Sabbath day. Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service of God is first of all.
The object of God's work in this world is the redemption of man; therefore, that which is necessary to be done on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself “Lord of the Sabbath”—One above all question and above all law.
Here we go again, as it pertains to what is included in obeying God in entirety. Both the law of God and the law of Caesar forbade the taking of any innocent life, and Abraham, as a follower of God must, under normal circumstances, acquiesce.
But if the God of heaven commands him differently Abraham is to obey God first, instead of Caesar, and that which might be written in the letter of the law. Let’s read:
Genesis 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 148] Satan was at hand to suggest that he must be deceived, for the divine law commands, “Thou shalt not kill,” and God would not require what He had once forbidden.
The rest is history, because God Himself, in speaking of the obedience rendered by Abraham, declared in no uncertain terms that Abraham kept His statutes and laws, as well as obeyed His voice, which in that particular instance, overrode the letter. As we read the following, let us pay very close attention to the order of priority. Let’s read:
Genesis 26: 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Question: Why is it of critical importance for us to understand this aspect of obedience, where God may instruct something that may not seem to line up squarely with what is written?
Answer: Because the outpouring of the latter rain will produce many instances that may go off script, and if at that time we are found rigidly tethered to that which is written, some may stumble at God’s instructions, when He utters His voice. Let’s read:
[Last Day Events pp 197] God has jewels in all the churches, and it is not for us to make sweeping denunciation of the professed religious world. These persons have not had the special testing truths for these last days presented to them under circumstances that brought conviction to heart and mind; therefore, they have not, by rejecting light, severed their connection with God.
Among the Catholics there are many who are most conscientious Christians and who walk in all the light that shines upon them, and God will work in their behalf.
[Last Day Events pp 206] The Spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings and, casting off all man's machinery, his binding rules and cautious methods, they will declare the truth with the might of the Spirit's power.
Deuteronomy 4: 29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice.
Joel 2: 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war, and they shall march everyone on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
1st Kings 17:2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
1st Kings 18:1 And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
Under normal circumstances this command would be the equivalent of Elijah committing suicide, yet it is God who is speaking, and His servants must be in listening mode, being ready to run and obey where ever God might lead the way.
In all of our interactions with our fellowmen, as it pertains to the carrying out of the great commission given us by Christ, let Christians be careful to follow the written script, but not so rigidly that God cannot speak to us, for when He begins to roll through the earth, He may, like after the day of Pentecost ask His soldiers to do some very unorthodox things.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that will enable us to tow the line evenly, between that which is written, and that which may be spoken. Let’s read:
Joel 2:11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executes his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
God Bless!