The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day

by Sigve K. Tonstad

Publisher:

Andrews University Press

, 2009

Overview

In The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day, Sigve K. Tonstad recovers the profound and foundational understanding of God that can be experienced in the seventh day. He shows that Scripture has consistently asserted that the Sabbath of Creation is the Sabbath of the whole story of how God makes right what has gone wrong in the world. Tonstad argues that the seventh day is the symbol of God’s faithfulness precisely when God’s presence seems to be in doubt. He demonstrates how God, through the seventh day, seeks the benefit of all creation. Inevitably, this leads to an investigation of how this universal symbol became obscured.

This sweeping work of biblical theology and historical analysis traces the seventh day as it is woven throughout Scripture and the history of Christianity. Its 27 chapters consider, among other things, the relationship of the seventh day to freedom, to social conscience, to the “greatest commandment,” and to the enigmatic “rest that remains.” Tonstad engages the move away from the seventh day in early Christian history, the mindset in medieval Christianity, and the sobering long-term implications leading all the way to the Holocaust and the ecological crises in our time.

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Key Features

• Offers a thorough text from which both scholar and laity can benefit
• Combines biblical exegesis and historical scholarship
• Surveys the entire canon on the topic of the Sabbath

Contents

• Part One: Introducing the Seventh Day
• Part Two: The Seventh Day in the Old Testament
  • The Meanings of the Beginning
  • Paradise Lost
  • Imitation of God
  • The Seventh Day and Freedom
  • A Reluctant Imperative
  • The Strength of Time
  • The Social Conscience of the Seventh Day
  • The Prophetic Stake in the Sabbath
  • Crossroad and Countdown
• Part Three: The Seventh Day in the New Testament
  • The Sabbath and the Healing Ministry of Jesus
  • The Sabbath and the Greatest Commandment
  • Paul and the Crisis in Galatia
  • The Riddle of “Sabbaths” in Colossians
  • The Rest That Remains
• Part Four: Loss and Retrieval: The Seventh Day in the Post-Biblical Era
  • From Sabbath to Sunday
  • Irreconcilable Differences
  • Creation Disaffirmed
  • Lord of Less
  • A Friendly Witness
  • From Creation Time to Clock Time
  • The Lost Voice of the Earth
  • Creation and the New Creation
  • The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day
  • The Sabbath and the Imperial Ideal
  • Confrontation of Signs
  • The Spirit of the Seventh Day

Top Highlights

“Reading this literally, ‘turning back’ for a Gentile would not mean to turn to Judaism, and the practices to which they would then be turning could not be Jewish calendrical elements.” (Page 231)

“The end-orientation of the Sabbath vision in Isaiah can therefore not be emphasized too strongly.” (Page 148)

“God is the primary subject of the seventh day. Just like the Dead Sea Scrolls, preserved for millennia in ancient pottery, the content of the jar must command more attention than the vessel that contains it. When we speak of the lost meaning of the seventh day, therefore, we are speaking of meaning that has been lost concerning God. The seventh day draws attention to a subject more important than itself.” (Page 2)

“But the journey also begins with the assurance that the travelers will not make the trip alone. We know this because the seventh day has etched God’s presence into human reality. Exclusion from the Garden does not mean the absence of God. It is not an exaggeration to say that the seventh day, while not denying that human beings will return to dust, also holds out the hope that human beings will return from dust.” (Pages 58–59)

“When God ceases the work of creating, hallowing the seventh day, we see God coming into an enduring relationship with Creation. ‘By resting on the seventh day, God is thereby shown to have entered into the time of the created order,’ says Fretheim.” (Page 32)

Praise for the Print Edition

This will be a classic! Truly a magnum opus on the Sabbath, it is this generation’s most complete and insightful work on the topic. Not only does it satisfy the academic theologian with its fresh perspectives, but it also creatively shares practical gems that will inspire a lay believer.

—Lawrence T. Geraty, president emeritus, La Sierra University

Usually I have trouble reading for a long period such massive tomes as this, but Tonstad’s writing is so stimulating that I couldn’t put the book down! Tonstad is a master of both biblical exegesis and historical scholarship. I heartily recommend this book to all who love God and the Sabbath day and to all who yearn to grow in that love.

—Marva J. Dawn, teaching fellow of spiritual theology, Regent College

Sigve Tonstad’s wide-ranging study of biblical teaching about the Sabbath offers fresh, provocative readings of texts from across the entirety of the canon, while constantly engaging the best recent scholarship. The result is a luminous, deeply encouraging book that beckons readers to understand the seventh day as a celebration of God’s gracious work of creation and God’s faithful intent to restore and heal all that is broken.

—Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, Divinity School, Duke University

Sigve Tonstad combines careful biblical theology with an insightful unfolding of history to reveal the story behind the story, well informed by a broad range of critical literature. All this is achieved with a literary finesse that makes it a delight to read despite the rigor of much of the theological discourse. Every pastor and theologian should read this book. It will transform the thinking on a matter of immense biblical significance.

—Edwin Reynolds, professor of New Testament and Greek, Southern Adventist University (SDA)

This book is a broad and serious treatment of the Sabbath, a central biblical theme. Instead of dealing with criticisms often leveled against the Sabbath, Sigve K. Tonstad effectively develops biblical and theological teachings of the Sabbath. In addition to dealing with themes readers expect, the author also explores themes usually not addressed. This book deserves a careful reading.

—Nikolaus Satelmajer, editor, Ministry International Journal for Pastors

Product Details

• Title: The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day
• Author: Sigve K. Tonstad
• Publisher: Andrews University Press
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 589
• Christian Group: Seventh-day Adventist
• Resource Type: Theology
• Topic: Sabbath

About Sigve K. Tonstad

Sigve K. Tonstad, originally from Norway, is assistant professor of religion and associate professor of medicine at Loma Linda University in California. He is author of Saving God’s Reputation (T&T Clark, 2006) along with three other books as well as numerous articles which have appeared in both scholarly and non-scholarly journals.