Exodus 31:15Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

34:5), Joshua performed circumcision by crossing the Jordan (Hab. 5:3), and those who receive the blessed inheritance, in accordance with these divine reasons, offer God a bountiful harvest. The Sabbath signifies the tranquility of the rational soul, which, through spiritual diligence, has completely erased the marks of sin. The Sabbath also represents the liberation of the rational soul, which, through spiritual contemplation, subdues its carnal inclinations. The ultimate Sabbath embodies the spiritual rest of the rational soul, leading the mind beyond all divine truths present in creation, entirely uniting it with God in fervent love, and through mystical theology achieving profound stillness in God. Circumcision denotes the shedding of the passionate desire for worldly existence from the soul. The circumcision of the circumcision signifies the thorough rejection of the natural inclinations of the soul toward created beings. Harvest signifies the gathering and understanding by the rational soul, in accordance with virtue and the essence of existence, of the spiritual truths of creation. Harvest also refers to the recognition of God, which is not readily attainable by everyone, unfolding unknowingly within the mind after deep contemplation of perceivable beings; this understanding is rightly offered to God by those who honor the Creator with dignity and reverence, glorifying Him through both visible and invisible creation. Additionally, there exists a more spiritual harvest, said to originate from God; there is also a deeper circumcision; and finally, there is a more concealed Sabbath, during which God ceased from His works. This aligns with the scripture, The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few (Lk. 10:2); the circumcision of the heart, which is of the spirit (Rom. 2:29); and God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on that day He rested from all His works, which God created (Gen. 2:3). The harvest of God represents the full abiding presence of worthy individuals within Him, anticipated at the culmination of all things. The heart's circumcision is, in spirit, the total cessation of the mind's natural actions and sensory inclinations, redirected toward the intellect and the material. This cessation occurs through the presence of the Holy Spirit, who transforms both body and soul entirely into a more divine essence. God's Sabbath signifies the ultimate return of all beings to Him, during which God rests from His natural energy directed toward creation, ceasing His divine action, which occurs in an ineffable manner. It is also conceivable that God rests from the natural energies within each creature, which cause their ordinary movement, at the moment when each being, receiving Divine energy appropriate to it, determines its own natural energy in relation to God. Those devoted to their faith should ponder which of His creations God intended to bring into existence and which were not initiated by Him. If He rested from the works He commenced, it is evident that He did not rest from those works which He did not start. Therefore, the creations of God that began to exist in time are all contiguous beings, like the various essences of existence, as their being is preceded by non-being. God existed when the co-eternal beings were not yet present. On the other hand, those beings of God whose existence did not arise in time are perhaps the entities which allow themselves to be co-eternalized; they are co-eternalized by grace alongside co-eternal beings. Examples include goodness and everything encompassed within that concept, along with all life, immortality, simplicity, immutability, infinity, and that which is observed in God's proximity - they too are God's creations and did not begin to exist in time. For virtue and all aforementioned concepts have never been preceded by non-existence, even though the beings adjacent to them began to exist in time. All virtue is without beginning, as time does not precede it, since it has the singular God as its eternal origin. God exists in infinite distinction from all beings, both those contiguous and capable of being contiguous. Indeed, whatever can be said to possess the essence of being is a creation of God, whether it began in time or not; and certain begotten powers, which explicitly declare God’s presence in all things, have been introduced into creation by grace. All that is immortal and immortality itself, all living beings and life itself, all saints and holiness, all virtuous entities and virtue, all that is good and goodness itself, as well as all existence and existence itself - all are creations of God. However, some of these began to exist in time, for God existed prior to their being; while others did not commence existence in time, for without virtue, goodness, holiness, and immortality, God would not be. Those who are created in time are what they are and are named as such due to their communion with those who do not begin to exist in time. God is the Creator of all life, immortality, holiness, and virtue, transcending the very essence of all things known and articulated. According to Scripture, the sixth day concludes the creation of temporal beings; the seventh day restricts the movement associated with time; and the eighth day unveils the method of divine governance that exists beyond nature and time. The individual who observes the sixth day merely according to the law, evades the oppression of passions burdening the soul and, remaining unaffected, crosses the sea into the wilderness - such a person celebrates the Sabbath through a singular stillness of passions. In contrast, the one who crosses the Jordan, transcending even the mere state of passive inaction, becomes an heir to the virtues. Those who observe the sixth day in line with the Gospel, first extinguishing the initial stirrings of sin, achieve a state of passionlessness free from all corruption through the virtues; they maintain the Sabbath in their thoughts, keeping their imagination pure from passions. The one who crosses the Jordan is elevated into the realm of understanding, wherein the mind, mystically structured by the world as a sacred temple, becomes in the Spirit the dwelling of God.

We are no longer regarded as children of Abraham but as children of Christ our Lord through holy baptism, the same baptism that He received, which washes away original sin. The one who instructed you against slaughtering animals during the week or consuming that meat did not do so in accordance with Holy Scripture, but rather out of his own invention. The holy Apostle Paul states, “Whosoever shall preach to you more than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” It is neither prohibited nor sinful to slaughter livestock during the week. If we were to adopt the practice of sacrificing on the Sabbath and dining throughout the week, we would unmistakably be reverting to a Judaic practice.

The book of the Prophet Jeremiah presents a serious warning from God regarding transgressions against the feast, though it seems the offenses were not viewed as overly severe. ‘If you will not hearken unto me to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear burdens, and not to enter in by the gates of Jerusalem with burdens on the Sabbath day: then I will kindle fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem, and shall not be quenched’ (Jeremiah 17:27). It is well-known how precisely this warning was executed by the Babylonians. Another account of voluntary rigor in observing the Sabbath is found during the time of the Maccabees. As Antiochus persecuted the Jews to compel them into paganism, many retreated into the wilderness. The Gentiles recognized that attacking them on the Sabbath, a day of rest according to the law, would be advantageous. Thus, the zealous ones of faith faced an unanticipated dilemma: ‘Is it right to fight on the Sabbath?’ They responded, ‘Let us all die in our simplicity’ (1 Macc. 2:37), resulting in about a thousand men being slain without defending themselves. This incident taught the Maccabees that the Gentiles were intent on eradicating piety; consequently, it became customary to defend against invaders even on the Sabbath. After examining these reflections, let anyone who wishes ponder the strictness of the ancient command concerning the Lord's Day: for me, its significance and authority stand out even more. While others might criticize the audacity of some who fulfilled its requirements, doesn’t their reverence and self-sacrifice towards the law deserve our respect? If one wishes to claim a more profound understanding of the law than the ancients, as is fitting in Christianity, let us not overlook the evidence of this claim. The true manifestations of a deeper grasp of the spiritual law are depicted in the greatest deeds and virtues. Should Christians, as children of gracious freedom, harbor less concern than the servants of the law in honoring the Lord's Day, simply because there is no current threat of stoning for such conduct? Is it fitting, on a Sunday morning—the predominantly holy day—to decline attending the house of God in favor of crowding into the marketplace, filling it with noise rather than with prayer and rest? While civil law permits necessary transactions on Sunday, we should appreciate this leniency; yet, even in this regard, less is better. To engage in buying and selling on the Sabbath, when it could wait until the workweek, driven solely by self-interest, is it commendable? Are not six days enough for such commerce? Must we impose these activities upon the seventh day, thus tainting both the purchases and the sales with sin against the commandment that sanctified this day?

Gerlach translates it as, "Soll ausgerottet werden von seinem Folke." Verse 14 conveys two messages: one pertaining to the violation of the Sabbath, which declares, "he shall be put to death," and the other concerning those who engage in commerce on that day, whose souls "shall be alienated from the midst of their people." Western interpreters have often asserted that this second phrase does not imply an immediate death sentence, but rather a removal of all civil and social privileges, denying them assistance, akin to deprivation of heat and water in ancient Rome. Many still interpret this in light of 1 Corinthians 11:30. The 15th chapter of Numbers indicates that a person who was apprehended for gathering wood on the Sabbath was detained "until judgment." It likely became evident through this judgment and the surrounding inquiry that the individual’s actions stemmed not from necessity but from a blatant disregard and contempt for the law. After violating the Sabbath, he was sentenced to death.