[424] Mark 2:19, 20.
[425] Mark 2:21, 22.
[426] See "The Great Apostasy" 7:5.
[427] Luke 5:1-11; compare Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20.
[428] [Note 4], end of chapter.
CHAPTER 15.
LORD OF THE SABBATH.
THE SABBATH DISTINCTIVELY SACRED TO ISRAEL.
The observance of the Sabbath as a holy day was prominent among the Lord's requirements of His people, Israel, from a very early period in their history as a nation. Indeed, the keeping of the Sabbath as a day of surcease from ordinary toil was a national characteristic, by which the Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples, and rightly so, for the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant between the chosen people and their God. The sanctity of the Sabbath had been prefigured in the account of the creation, antedating the placing of man upon the earth, as shown by the fact that God rested after the six periods or days of creative work, and blessed the seventh day and hallowed it.[430] In the course of Israel's exodus, the seventh day was set apart as one of rest, upon which it was not allowed to bake, seethe, or otherwise cook food. A double supply of manna had to be gathered on the sixth day, while on other days the laying-by of a surplus of this daily bread sent from heaven was expressly forbidden. The Lord observed the sacredness of the holy day by giving no manna thereon.[431]