In ten short chapters, Haldane gives a concise scriptural argument for both the continuation of Sabbath command and the change of the specific day of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first/eighth. Writing just prior to the rise of the Dispensational views, Haldane’s arguments are nevertheless quite relevant to today. He shows that the Sabbath predates “the Jewish dispensation,” going all the way back to the creation week. He argues that the prophets foreshadowed both the continuation of the Sabbath after the coming of Messiah and the change from the end of the week to the beginning. Though he does not address every specific argument put forth today against the continuing Sabbath, he still manages to answer the gist of the modern argument and to show that the current anti-sabitarian position is based on a faulty reading of Scripture.

The book’s biggest shortcoming is its lack of a discussion of what it means to observe the Sabbath. Though it was not Haldane’s purpose to address this, for the modern reader, the question of what biblical Sabbath observance looks like is a difficult one to answer. Haldane seems to hold to a fairly strict Sabbatarian position but he never specifically addresses it. Nevertheless, he does, in passing, address one view that holds the obligation of Sabbath rest is fulfilled in Sunday worship service attendance and then the rest of the day is ours to do with as we please; Haldane points out that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, not the Lord’s morning or afternoon.

This little book is an excellent resource because it manages to pack so much into such a short space. I will likely purchase more copies to give away and will certainly revisit the book later.