Have you ever wondered how the children of Israel could have marched around the walls of Jericho without marching on the Sabbath? Maybe you have thought that it was simply allowed by YHWH, and is a case of exemption in battle. Whatever you have previously understood concerning this colossal event, there is something that is pertinent to consider. Let me point out that those who believe the Sabbath to be on a continuous seven-day count without interruption have to admit that Israel marched around the city of Jericho on the weekly Sabbath day. This is seen in the book of Joshua 6:2-4.
2And YHWH said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. 3And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. 4And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
Seeing that the march was commanded by YHWH to last for seven consecutive days, a weekly Sabbath would definitely fall within the period of the seven-day march; at least for those who hold to a continuous seven-day count, not anchored in any way by nature. Upon realizing this, we should notice what YHWH has revealed to us, in His holy Word, concerning travel on the weekly Sabbath day. Is travel allowed on the Sabbath, or does YHWH explicitly condemn travel on the Sabbath?
In Exodus 16, we find the account of the giving of the manna by YHWH to the children of Israel. He makes it known to them (in verses 4-5 of this account) that they will be receiving manna for six straight days, but on the seventh day, they will find none. On the sixth day of this particular week, YHWH commands them to bake that which they will, and seethe that which they will (vs. 23). Food preparation is also found in verse 5 of the chapter. We then find that immediately after YHWH instructs Israel concerning there being no manna on the Sabbath that the Israelites would not listen.
27And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. (Exodus 16:27)
Upon the children of Israel s venture YHWH was very displeased. We see this in His statements to Moses in Exodus 16:28-29.
28And YHWH said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29See, for that YHWH 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.
YHWH here specifically condemns their traveling on the Sabbath. This was merely traveling a short space to gather manna, much less instigating an attack through a battle march. Obviously, YHWH does desire us to travel to our places of worship on Sabbath, but something unnecessary, such as gathering manna or traveling for our own personal edification is something altogether different.
We also see that limited travel on the Sabbath was understood by the believers of the 1st century A.D. This can be seen in the book of Acts 1:12.
12Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day s journey.
Here we see that there was a specific distance that was considered a Sabbath day s journey. The King James Study Bible in a footnote on Acts 1:12 states, A Sabbath day s journey was the distance a Jew was allowed to travel on the Sabbath (about 2/3 mile). Smith s Bible Dictionary has somewhat to add on the passage in Acts as well.
&The Sabbath day s journey of 2000 cubits, Acts 1:12, is peculiar to the New Testament, and arose from a rabbinical restriction. It was founded on a universal application of the prohibition given by Moses for a special occasion: Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. Ex. 16:29. An exception was allowed for the purpose of worshipping at the tabernacle & [11]
Although Mr. Smith s opinion leans toward this being an application by man, I think we can see from the passage in Exodus 16:29 that no unnecessary travel was to be done on the Sabbath. Acts 1:12 simply shows us that this is what was understood by Israelites living in the 1st century A.D
So, did YHWH command a battle attack consisting of a march to take place on the Sabbath? Well, once again, for those insisting on a continual unbroken seven-day count for the Sabbath, the answer would have to be yes. Moreover, I am sure one could give a few answers to why YHWH seemed to allow this to take place. However, is there any possibility that YHWH did not command a march to take place on the Sabbath? Yes, there certainly is. According to the teaching that claims the Sabbath to be fixed in the heavens according to the moon and its phases, a Sabbath falls out to be on the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of each lunation. The reason being is that the day of the new moon is not counted as one of the six working days (Ezekiel 46:1-3) thus the Sabbath count stops once each month at the day of the new moon. If the march of Jericho started on the day of the new moon then it would have ended on the 7th day of that month! This would allow Israel to not have to travel on the Sabbath! However, we do face a dilemma; the book of Joshua does not give us any conclusive evidence that the march began on the new moon. This is why I would now like to direct your attention to what is known as the book of Jasher.
The book of Jasher is mentioned twice in the Holy Scriptures, and was considered as an honorable source for historical information. This is seen by noticing the context in which it was mentioned.
13And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. (Joshua 10:13)
18(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) (2 Samuel 1:18)
If you will, notice that in both instances there is an event or a practice mentioned and then the author of each particular book tells and gives the reader confidence that what they are writing is true by referring to the book of Jasher, known in Hebrew as the book of the righteous or upright. [12]
Knowing that the authors of inspired Scripture gave reference to the book of Jasher to further confirm certain happenings or events, I would, at this time, like to make the statement that the Israelites began their march around Jericho on the new moon, for, is it not written in the book of Jasher?
And it was in the second month, on the first day of the month, that the Lord said to Joshua, Rise up, behold I have given Jericho into thy hand with all the people thereof; and all your fighting men shall go round the city, once each day, thus shall you do for six days. (Jasher 88:14)
According to the book of Jasher, we have the march commencing on the first day of the month, placing the seventh day of the march on the 7th day of the month, which would have been preparation day for the weekly Sabbath on the 8th day of the month. This understanding does not force YHWH to instigate a battle attack on the Sabbath day.
Many Saturday sabbatarians, in opposition to the points I have just made, point us to the exodus of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt. They state that lunar sabbatarians have no choice but to have the Israelites leaving Egypt on a Sabbath, seeing that the children of Israel did leave Rameses on the 15th day of the first month, per Numbers 33:3. They reason that if we are so adamant concerning the Israelites traveling around the city of Jericho, the same could be stated in opposition to our position that causes the Israelites to also journey on the Sabbath. Is this sound reasoning on behalf of Saturday sabbatarians?
A mistake is made by Saturday sabbatarians in their reckoning both accounts to be the same scenario. There is a profound difference in the two accounts; in that the event in Joshua is one, which is a traveling for an offensive battle attack, the other at the exodus is one of liberation from the harsh bondage of the Egyptians taskmasters. The Bible makes it very clear in Psalms 81:3-6 that the Israelites deliverance was a deliverance from bondage and slavery when the psalmist states, Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast-day. for it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the Elohim of Jacob. He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard a language that I knew not. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were freed from the basket. ASV Clearly, Israel was removed from their burdens at the beginning of the exodus. Had Israel not been delivered from Rameses on the 15th day of Aviv, they would have continued to be in the hands of the Egyptian taskmasters, and eventually they would have been making more and more bricks for the treasure cities of the Pharaoh. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: is it permissible for a person or persons to be liberated or set loose from a bond on the Sabbath day, or does the fact concerning the Israelites leaving Rameses on the 15th disprove lunar Sabbaths, along with disproving our evidence against Saturday sabbatarians in the example of the Jericho march? The answer can be found in the book of Luke 13:10-16.
10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12And when Yeshua saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified [the] Mighty One. 14And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Yeshua had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. 15The Master then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?
Here, the very Son of YHWH gives us the answer as to whether or not it is lawful to be loosed from a bond on the Sabbath day. The answer is definitely in the affirmative, and thus we can necessarily conclude that the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt on the 15th Aviv was not only lawful, but also quite fitting, being a Sabbath loosening.
There are those, however, who continue to insist that the Jericho march in no way lessens the credibility of the Saturday Sabbath. They insist by pointing out that the march around the city of Jericho was one that was less than a Sabbath day s journey. If you will recall, earlier in this section we mentioned a footnote in the King James Study Bible, which informed us that a Sabbath day s journey was approximately 2/3 of a mile; this would equal a distance of approximately 3,520 feet. Was the distance or the perimeter around the city of Jericho a mere 3,520 feet? Perhaps this is true. Commentators do indicate that the city must not have been very large, seeing that the Israelites were to march around the city seven times on the seventh day. However, if the city was in fact under a mere mile s length does this change anything said thus far? No, it does not. The issue is not how long a Sabbath day s journey is or how long the distance around the city of Jericho was, the issue is that YHWH initiated an offensive battle attack on the people of this city for seven consecutive days. This is in stark contrast to YHWH allowing the Israelites to be loosed from their bondage on the Sabbath day.
One thing is, lunar sabbatarians are not faced with having to understand why YHWH had Israel s army act offensively on the Sabbath, whereas Saturday sabbatarians have no choice but to believe that this is what YHWH did, and then they must give an explanation as to why this took place. Those who observe the lunar Sabbath can say that YHWH did not have to command Israel to act offensively on the Sabbath, for this Sabbath reckoning does not make YHWH do such a thing. Selah.
Brother Arnold