What Was Moses Thinking?

Ex 20:11 "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it."

Ex 31:17 "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed"

I suspect that Moses' writings are internally consistent, for he was not a foolish man. He had Genesis 1 in mind when he wrote Exodus 20 and Exodus 31.

Of course, Christians are not to keep the Jewish sabbath of the 7th day, which was a sign of God's covenant with Israel by Moses [See Heb. 7:14 and others], but it was a "day" they kept, not an indeterminate age or mental concept. It is a very dangerous thing to use scientific "consensus," which is always changing, to correct the Scriptures, which cannot be broken [John 10:35].

It is not a fatal error to misread a passage of Scripture, for many wise and godly men have been foolish here and there, but error may reveal a faulty hermeneutic or a faulty application of a good hermeneutic. Misunderstanding Scripture is not the same as unbelief, but it is certainly a heavy burden, resting on the shoulders of those who think that "day" mean "age" or "literary device" to prove their point.

A more important point is to ask "What was God thinking?" when He had Moses write those words. God does think, you know. Jesus also warned us of the importance of Moses' writings:

John 5:46 "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?"