Exodus 5: 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. 4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. 5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
This passage of scripture shows beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Sabbath was kept in Egypt by the children of Israel, long before the ten commandments were written and given to them on Mount Sinai. The Sabbath had been existence from the creation of the world and was handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation in the families of the righteous, and therefore, the argument that the sabbath and the ten commandments became known only after Sinai cannot hold any water. Even the Atheistic pharaoh acknowledged that the people were resting from their burdens as the Lord had commanded them through Moses.
Just because the commandments of God were handed down by word of mouth for hundreds of years does not mean that they had no weight back then, for the Bible records the experiences of Abraham in observing God's laws, just as though they had been written. It is not necessary for us to read a law in order for it to be valid, for in our own experiences as citizens of a law-abiding country, we often find ourselves obeying orders from those in authority, without any such laws ever being read.
For instance, most of us have never ever seen the laws pertaining to the screening of airline passengers as they pass through security gates, and we willingly submit to even intrusive searches, just because we have heard of these requirements on the news or other media. What CNN and Fox news do is the same as what Abraham did, they hand down information on laws and statutes, given by the United States government by word of mouth, and we all humbly obey. The same process and method holds true as it pertains to the Sabbath and the other nine commandments. Let's read:
Genesis 26:2 And the Lord appeared unto him, and said" .... 3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee" ...... 4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven" ........... 5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
The Sabbath was given for the benefit of all men, of all races and creeds, and even pharaoh and the Egyptians had ample opportunity to come to a knowledge of the true God through the laws He had given. Moses had instructed the Hebrews to keep the Sabbath day holy in their preparation to exit the land of their sojourn, for the important component of obedience to any known law of God is essential to Him engaging His supernatural power in delivering us from any difficult or dangerous situation. We are held responsible for what we have opportunity to know, therefore the Hebrews were required to comply with what they knew, even though it would place them in very straightened circumstances.
Just before Christ puts in His appearing, as we are about to be delivered from bondage like the Hebrews, we would like them be required to "Rest from our burdens" over the Sabbath hours, in order for the omnipotent power of God to be engaged in our deliverance. That's why the bible teaches us that the most important component to our faith in God during these turbulent days of earth's history, is obedience to all that we know to be right. This sacred truth is reiterated and confirmed in the last book of the bible that all may know the way of escape from the tyrannical rule of the beast. Let's read:
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
May we ever be found walking in the advancing light of God's knowledge and glory, so that when our time for emancipation comes along, we may be able to shout, free at last, thank God we're free at last. "Good night" and God bless!