Yes, God instituted the seventh-day rest at creation, before the Law was ever given.
In Genesis, God rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it. Les Feldick teaches that the Sabbath was given to Israel long before the Law and was later incorporated into it. The Sabbath was never a day of sacrifice, but a day of total rest.
Genesis 2:2-3 — God's rest on the seventh day after creation is the original establishment of the Sabbath before any law.
Exodus 20:8-10 — The Law later incorporated the already-existing Sabbath into the Ten Commandments.
In Genesis 2:2, the Bible says, "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." Verse 3 adds, "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." This happened at the end of creation, centuries before the Law was given at Sinai. When the Law finally did come, it told Israel, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8), pointing back to a rest that God had already set apart.
Les Feldick points to the creation account as the reason the Sabbath existed before the Law. In Genesis, after six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day and blessed and sanctified it. This made the seventh day special before any law code existed. Les also clarifies that the Sabbath was specifically given to the nation of Israel and that it was already in place "long before the Law." When the Law came, the Sabbath was incorporated into it. He notes that there was no written do's and don'ts from Genesis 1 until Exodus 20, so the Sabbath was not a written requirement until Sinai. Finally, Les teaches that the Sabbath was a day of total rest and inactivity, not a day of sacrifice. He also insists that the Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with the believer today and that calling Sunday the Sabbath is incorrect.
After six days of creation, God ended His work on the seventh day and rested. Scripture says God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, setting it apart. This took place long before the Law and forms the biblical basis for the Sabbath.
Les Feldick emphasizes that from Genesis 1 until Exodus 20 there was no written do's and don'ts from God and no organized system of worship. For the early centuries of human history, man simply had right and wrong on his conscience. This means the Sabbath was never a written statute until the Law incorporated it.
Les places the Sabbath command among the first five commandments, which deal with man's relationship to God. He notes that Exodus 20:10 says, "The seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God," making the Sabbath first of all a matter of honoring God.
Les teaches that the Sabbath was strictly the seventh day as a day of total rest and total inactivity. It was never a day of sacrifices. This matches its creation origin, where God rested from His work. The rest that God built into creation was the pattern for the Sabbath.
Les answers clearly: the Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with the believer today. It was given to the nation of Israel, and it is incorrect to call Sunday the Sabbath. The creation rest established the pattern, but the Sabbath commandment itself was for Israel.
Manna from Heaven & The Sabbath: Law vs. Grace Explained
congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Zin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month. Now you want to remember they left Egypt in April, and so now this is May. Now also remember that in that area of the world, in that part of the desert, it's getting hot, and they're going to be needing water.
Placement of the Sabbath Command
Les groups the Sabbath command with the first five commandments because the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
Pre-Law Sabbath and Its Purpose
Les says the Sabbath was given to Israel before the Law, was later incorporated into it, was a day of total rest, and is not for the believer today.
Creation Rest and Sanctified Seventh Day
God rested on the seventh day after creation and blessed and sanctified that day, providing the original pattern for the Sabbath.
Not Under Law but Under Grace — What Romans 6:14 Really Means
And there was no hanky-panky under the law because it was demanding and it was severe to the extremes. You know the illustration I would like to give? If someone under the law, before they of course degenerated it, but when they were under the true law of Moses, if they picked up sticks on the Sabbath day, what was the result? Death, see? No ifs, ands, buts. They were out of there.
Conscience Before Written Law
Les observes that for early centuries there was no written law, so the Sabbath could not have originated as a written statute.
Why God Chose Abraham: Israel's Purpose Finally Explained
So here we have something that's never happened before, that God tells the nation of Israel that He's going to give them the Law, He's going to give them the priesthood, He's going to give them the whole system of sacrificial worship, and for what purpose? To make them aware of God's holiness, to make them aware of His sovereignty, and to make them aware that God is preparing them for a future rol…
No Written Law Until Sinai
Les states there were no written do's and don'ts from Genesis 1 to Exodus 20, confirming the Sabbath existed before the Law.
Genesis 2:2: And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Shows God completed and rested from creation on the seventh day, establishing the original Sabbath rest.
Genesis 2:3: And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
God blessed and sanctified the seventh day, marking it as special before the Law.
Exodus 20:8: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
The later law calls Israel to remember the already-existing Sabbath day.
Exodus 20:10: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Identifies the seventh day as the sabbath of the LORD, showing the foundation for the commandment.
God blessed and sanctified the seventh day after finishing creation, so the pattern of six days of work and one day of rest existed before the Law. Les Feldick says the Sabbath was given to Israel long before the Law and was later incorporated into it.
According to Les Feldick, the Sabbath has absolutely nothing to do with the believer today. It was the seventh day, given to the nation of Israel, and it is incorrect to call Sunday the Sabbath.
No. Les Feldick says there was no way the seventh-day Sabbath was ever a day of sacrifices. It was a day of total rest and total inactivity.
Watch the Teaching: Manna from Heaven & The Sabbath: Law vs. Grace Explained