The Sabbath-Breaker and His Doom
Numbers 15:32-36
And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks on the sabbath day.…


I. THE SIN.

1. The transgression of a moral law, which was enforced by the most solemn commands and by the severest penalty.

2. The transgression of this law wilfully.

II. THE ARREST. The offender was seized in the act of transgression, and taken before the judicial authorities.

III. THE CONSULTATION. The direction of the Lord is sought as to the mode by which the sentence of death is to be executed upon him.

IV. THE SENTENCE. This was determined by the Lord. The transgressor must be put to death (Exodus 31:14, 15); he must be put to death by stoning (ver. 35).

V. THE EXECUTION. "And all the congregation brought him without," &c. (ver. 36). The people were the executioners. This would increase the force of the warning which the event gave to the nation.Conclusion:

1. The moral element in the law of the Sabbath is of perpetual obligation. We still rest for body and mind; we still need worship for the spirit.

2. The neglecters of religious duties and privileges will do well to take warning. If any man fails to observe religiously the Lord's day, he does so at his own loss and peril.

(W. Jones.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

WEB: While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.




The Law of the Sabbath: a Solemn Vindication
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