Exodus 20:8 - Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
This is quoting from the Ten
Commandments which Yahweh gave at Sinai
Sadly, the one commandment out of the
Ten that we are told to "remember".. is the one that is most
often forgotten by those who claim to be believers in the bible.
We are told to Remember the Sabbath.
What is the Sabbath?
Let's continue reading:
Exodus 20:9 - Six days
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10
- But the seventh day is the sabbath of YAHWEH thy Elohim: 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: 11
- For in six days YAHWEH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YAHWEH blessed the
sabbath day, and hallowed it.
So the Sabbath is something
considered to be important enough to Yahweh---that He kept it Himself.
It was, in fact, the last act He did
as part of Creation.
Today, there is no shortage of
excuses as to why people don't want to keep it as Yahweh did
Many claim that the Sabbath day has
actually been changed to the first day of the week
The excuse that is commonly used to
change the Sabbath to the first day of the week is: The Messiah rose on
the first day of the week, so we keep that day instead
But to this I must ask, Rest &
worship Him on the first day, then work six days? Where is this in
scripture?
The truth is, there is no scripture
anywhere in the bible to support such a statement, but it is simply a
justification to continue in the status quo, which was established by
post-apostolic christians and later validated/enforced by the Catholic
church.
If we are going to come up with
extra-biblical allegories to support our day of worship/rest, wouldn't
it make more sense that we rest when He rested (when He was in the
grave) and we rise to work again as the Savior did ("I go and
prepare a place for you", John 14:2-3)?
But we really don't need to come up
with an allegory to support the day of worship & rest. We can simply
look to the Ten Commandments to find the answer.
The truth is that we could search
from Genesis to Revelation and not find a single verse that institutes a
new day of worship. If it was changed, surely we would expect to find
clear authorization somewhere in scripture. But it is nowhere to be
found. Therefore, by what authority has it been changed? Ask any
Catholic priest and they will tell you.
During the Council of Trent in 1545,
I recently read that the Pope was almost ready to "set aside
tradition altogether and make the Scriptures the sole standard of
appeal"
But then the Archbishop of Reggio
turned the Counsil against the Reformation by saying, "The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only: they profess to
hold the Scriptures alone as the standard of faith. They justify their
revolt by the plea that the Chrurch has apostatized from the written
word and follows tradition. Now the Protestant's claim that they stand
upon the written word alone is not true"
Why was it not true?
"IF they truly hold the
scriptures alone as the standard, they would be observing the Sabbath
the seventh day as it is enjoined in the Scripture throughout. Yet they
not onlyh reject the observance of the Sabbath as enjoined in the
written word, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of
Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the (Catholic)
church!"
At this argument, the council
unanimously condemned Protestantism and the entire Reformation!
But the Protestants weren't willing
to let go of that much tradition.. and this remains until this day
In the "New Testament", the
first day of the week is always translated "first day of the
week" and the seventh day of the week is always called "the
Sabbath"
Acts 13:42 - And when
the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that
these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
Acts 15:21 - For Moses
of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the
synagogues every sabbath day.
Acts 16:16 - And it
came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a
spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by
soothsaying:
Acts 16:13 - And on
the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was
wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which
resorted thither.
Acts 17:2 - And Paul,
as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned
with them out of the scriptures,
Acts 18:4 - And he
reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and
the Greeks.
So it is very clear which day is the
Sabbath. It is not "Sunday", or the first day of the week
But is it necessary to keep the
Sabbath?
We are told in the Ten Commandments
to "Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy". Notice that we are
to "keep" it holy. It is already a holy day because it was
sanctified at creation according to Genesis 2:3.
Genesis 2:3 - And
Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it
he had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made.
We are simply told to keep it holy
the way our Creator did. He kept it holy by resting on that day.
We are
told that six days we work but on the seventh day we rest. It's that
simple.
Now if we want to keep holy another
day, we are wasting our time because there is no other day of the week
that is holy to begin with. You will not find any scripture declaring
the holiness of the first day of the week. Man thought he could do
better by keeping another day holy, but in doing so he profanes the day
that actually is holy.
Some time ago, many people were upset
that the Ten Commandments were removed out of a courtroom in Alabama.
But if we believe in keeping the Ten
Commandments then we must, of necessity, also believe in keeping the
Sabbath. We cannot say out of one side of our mouth that we believe in
keeping the
Ten Commandments and out of the other side of our mouth say
that we believe the Sabbath has been changed or abolished. This would be
double talk.
Is the 7th day for Jews and the 1st
day for Gentiles? We discussed this at length a couple of weeks ago
There is no evidence in scripture
that the Heavenly Father wanted to separate the Jews and Gentiles within
the body of Messiah. In fact, the Messiah was to do just the opposite
Galatians 3:28 - There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in the Messiah Yahushua.
29 - And if you are the
Messiah's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise.
Note that it is the Gentiles who are
joining to Abraham's seed and not the other way around. We are all one
in Messiah. We aren't supposed to be meeting on different days with one
day for Jews and another for Gentiles
We cannot distance ourselves from the
Sabbath because the old covenant was with Israel and then embrace the
terms of the New Covenant because the New covenant is also with Israel,
not Gentiles.
Gentiles become Israel (Abraham's
seed) through the Messiah according to Galatians 3:29. Even in the Old
Covenant, the Sabbath was for Gentiles as well
Exodus 12:49 - One law
shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that
sojourneth among you.
Not two laws, one law. Yahweh
doesn't hold a double standard because He is not a respecter of persons!
Isaiah 56:6 - Also the
sons of the stranger, that join themselves to YAHWEH, to serve him,
and to love the name of YAHWEH, to be his servants, every one that
keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
7 - Even them will I
bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer:
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine
altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all
people.
So it was intended to be kept by all,
Jew and Gentile alike
Now one of the most common excuses to
disobey Yahweh's commandment to keep the Sabbath is that "it is the
one commandment out of the Ten that isn't repeated in the New
Testament"
Actually this is not true, for the
New Testament never repeats the commandment "Do not take the name
of Yahweh in vain"
Either way, Yahushua and the Apostles
didn't need to go around telling people to keep the Sabbath. It was the
way of life in those days!
There are a number of things that are
not repeated in the NT, but are still observed by mainstream Christians
today.
For instance, there is no
commandment in the New Testament forbidding a woman to wear a man's
garment. There is no commandment forbidding bestiality, tatoos, being
cruel to animals, taking interest from brethren, taking bribes, etc.
There is no commandment in the NT
that says a person should take 10% of their income and give it to the
church, but don't you dare say that is done away with!
Brethren, there are a host of
excuses as to why people don't want to do what Yahweh says. Let's not
fall prey to any of them, but rather reprove the unfruitful works of
darkness.
Another popular one of late is the
doctrine that the Messiah is our Sabbath now.. and we rest in Him
Exodus 20:8 - Remember
the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exodus 20:9 - Six days
shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exodus 20:10 - But the
seventh day is the sabbath of YAHWEH thy Elohim: 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:
Let's look at the logic behind this
excuse a moment..
They say that we "rest
every day now.. in Messiah". But notice that it says in this
commandment "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work".
It never says "7 days shalt thou rest". It is a very plain and
easy to understand commandment, is it not?
We all know that we need to work for
a living. And we all know that if we tried to work every single day, our
bodies would be exhausted and unhealthy
The above commandment even says that
our animals need rest too.
Suppose you were a farmer living in
the early 1900's. Could you claim that your animals were keeping the
Sabbath by "resting in Messiah" while you had them plowing
your fields?
Neither can anyone claim to be
keeping the Sabbath by "resting in Messiah" when they go to
work on that day.
It is true that Messiah gives us rest
in the age to come, and that we will rest in Him after man's 6000 years
of work on this earth
But just because there is a spiritual
representation of a clear command of scripture, it does not mean we are
free to disobey what the commandment clearly says.
We were clearly commanded to be
baptized, yet we all know it has a spiritual meaning that is very
important. Did the apostles just "spiritualize" the
commandment and say "Yeah, He said to be baptized in water but you
can keep that commandment just by receiving Messiah and living a changed
life". No, they baptized in water numerous times.
The truth is, we cannot
"spiritually" keep a commandment while breaking it physically!
For instance, you cannot break
the commandment which says "thou shalt not commit adultery"
and then claim you are keeping it spiritually.
Numerous times Yahweh refers to
idolatry as a form of spiritual adultery. Could one go out and
physically commit adultery on his wife and claim he never broke the
commandment because he didn't commit idolatry, or claim he didn't lust
after her in his heart?
Of course not. Neither can you
physically work on the Sabbath and claim you never broke it because you
"rested in Christ".
This excuse reminds me of
Yahushua's parable when He said:
Matthew 21:28 - But
what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first,
and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29
- He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and
went. 30 - And he
came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go,
sir: and went not 31 - Whether of them twain did the will of his
father? They say unto him, The first. Yahushua saith unto them, Verily
I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom
of YAHWEH before you.
Yahweh said that we are keep the
Sabbath by resting from our physical labors on the 7th day of the week.
Many claim "I do, sir" by
"resting in Messiah", but then they don't really do what the
Father said to do!
You see, the Ten Commandments are not
multiple choice!
The fact that they are written in
stone signifies the finality and eternity of all ten of them.
We should be far removed from any
teaching which causes one of the Ten Commandments to be sawed out, cut
out, removed, changed, abolished or set aside in any way.
It is no more acceptable to break the
Sabbath every week by profaning the day He made holy than it is to
commit adultery or murder once a week
If it is, then our Creator didn't
really mean what He said and the push to keep the Ten Commandments today
is simply a joke.
Now some would ask, what do we do on
the Sabbath?
Let me say that those who do not keep
the Sabbath are missing out on a great blessing!
When we have one day out of the week
that we can withdraw ourselves from the world and its influences and
concentrate on keeping the day holy by worshiping Yahweh, praying and
studying the scripture, it truly strengthens our faith and a keeps us
growing spiritually.
Just to give a little example
of how much the Sabbath can do this, allow me to share a example of how
the Sabbath has enriched our spiritual lives.
My family and I almost every Friday
night (6th Day of the week) Keep a type of event called Special Sabbath.
(Just me and my family)
We
get out our best dishes, put on our best clothes and let our
children choose the meal they would like sometimes. We set a place for
our Savior at the table, knowing that He is in the midst of where two or
three are gathered.
Of
course, Yahushua gets the best dishes and placemat. We even use cloth
napkins, and we have a candlelight dinner. During the meal we talk about
the week and the things we gained spiritually.
Then after the meal, my Father,
me and my sister will sometimes play the guitar. Then my father will
bless us.
It
is a very special, very memorable time for all of us. We rejoice and
long for that special time at the end of the week that we can rest from
the cares of this life and focus on what's really important in life.
It
is always a blessing to do exactly what our Heavenly Father asks us to
do and certainly He knows what is best for us.
Some have asked for more specifics on
what is good to do on the Sabbath and what is not good
Some examples of things that are good
to do:
Resting/sleeping, Reading
Scripture, Reading books about Yahweh, Worship, Meeting with brethren,
Listening to His word, Going outside and enjoying Creation, Studying,
Sabbath Games, Memorizing Scripture, Learning about Creation, Special
Sabbath meals, Talking about Yahweh, Doing Yahweh’s pleasure, not our
own, Helping others, Praying, Learning Hebrew and keeping a Holy
Conversation. Or for the children, they can color bible
verses, or play some of the games
on my site (kolayah.com)
Some examples of things that are not
good to do on the Sabbath:
Going to work, Cooking, Cleaning,
Raking Your Yard, Mowing the Lawn, Building Your House, Entertainments,
Buying/Selling, Going to Restaurants, Riding bikes, Playing worldly games, Reading books unrelated to Yahweh, starting fires and fighting or
arguing (unholy conversation).
Suppose for a moment there was a man
who had seven sheep
He commanded his son to sheer all of
the sheep except one very special sheep that he intended to keep
separate from all the others because he had set it apart and bestowed a
special blessing on it.
But then the son then went and
sheered the sheep that the father had set apart and chose to preserve
another sheep instead.
Did this son do the will of His
Father?
I think we know the answer.
Rather than choosing what we think is
best, I encourage everyone to consider doing what He thinks is best.
Proverbs 14:12 - There
is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the
ways of death.
The Father chose to set apart the
seventh day of the week. Ought we not to do the will of our Father and
keep it set apart from the the other days as He said?
The saints are those who do His
commandments and cleave to the faith of Yahushua
Revelation 14:12 -
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the
commandments of YAHWEH and the faith of Yahushua.
Revelation 22:14 -
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the
right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the
city. 15 - But
outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and
idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
The lie that deceived Eve in
the garden, "Hath Yahweh said?"
Yahweh has said for us to keep the
Sabbath day holy. He didn't set it apart at creation and ask us to
remember it, only to tell us later to forget about it or keep another
day!
Matthew 5:19 -
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and
shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Yahushua meant every word He said,
yes?
And He also set an example for us,
that we should walk in His steps
1John 2:3 - Now by
this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4
- He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5
- But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of YAHWEH is perfected in
him. By this we know that we are in Him.
By this we know we are in Him
John 2:6 - He who says
he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
And if Yahushua lives in you...
Bring abundant blessings in your life by following the example of our
Saviour and keeping holy the day that our Father made holy to begin
with.
It is high time that men listen to
the Father and keep holy what He made holy.
Father knows best!
The original is always the best, accept no substitutes.
May Yahweh Bless you all who Read this study.
(This is a study that my Dad made. I edited the parts not in
bold.)
Sabbath Starts every Friday evening, and ends Saturday
evening
