What is the Sabbath all about? Can we benefit from it today? What role will it play in the future? Is breaking the Sabbath really that bad?
The Sabbath was a time of rest from work but there is more to it as we will see.
Exodus 20:8-11… “Remembering the sabbath day to hold it sacred, you are to render service, and you must do all your work six days. But the seventh day is a sabbath to Jehovah your God. You must not do any work, you nor your son nor your daughter, your slave man nor your slave girl nor your domestic animal nor your alien resident who is inside your gates. For in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day. That is why Jehovah blessed the sabbath day and proceeded to make it sacred.
God said we should keep the Sabbath Holy and render service to him. God himself blessed the Sabbath for it was created as a time of rest, no work was to be done on that day. It was a time of reflection, heartfelt and sincere meditation, a complete rest from our labor.
Exodus 31:13-17… As for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Especially my sabbaths YOU are to keep, for it is a sign between me and YOU during YOUR generations that YOU may know that I Jehovah am sanctifying YOU. And YOU must keep the sabbath, for it is something holy to YOU. A profaner of it will positively be put to death. In case there is anyone doing work on it, then that soul must be cut off from the midst of his people. Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest. It is something holy to Jehovah. Anyone doing work on the sabbath day will positively be put to death. And the sons of Israel must keep the sabbath, so as to carry out the sabbath during their generations. It is a covenant to time indefinite. Between me and the sons of Israel it is a sign to time indefinite, because in six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth and on the seventh day he rested and proceeded to refresh himself.’”
The Sabbath was designed to set God’s people apart from all the rest of mankind as the sons of Israel. It was a covenant of antiquity, it was to endure a long time, it springs from a great age of a former time, and even God himself became refreshed by his rest.
The Lord’s Guarantee
Is the Sabbath only for the Jewish people?
Isaiah 56:1-8… This is what Jehovah has said: “Keep justice, YOU people, and do what is righteous. For my salvation is at hand to come in, and my righteousness to be revealed. Happy is the mortal man that does this, and the son of mankind that lays hold of it, keeping the sabbath in order not to profane it, and keeping his hand in order not to do any kind of badness. And let not the foreigner that has joined himself to Jehovah say, without doubt Jehovah will divide me off from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, Look! I am a dry tree. For this is what Jehovah has said to the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths and that have chosen what I have delighted in and that are laying hold of my covenant: “I will even give to them in my house and within my walls a monument and a name, something better than sons and daughters. A name to time indefinite I shall give them, one that will not be cut off. “And the foreigners that have joined themselves to Jehovah to minister to him and to love the name of Jehovah, in order to become servants to him, all those keeping the sabbath in order not to profane it and laying hold of my covenant, I will also bring them to my holy mountain and make them rejoice inside my house of prayer. Their whole burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be for acceptance upon my altar. For my own house will be called even a house of prayer for all the peoples.” The utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, who is collecting together the dispersed ones of Israel, is: “I shall collect together to him others besides those already collected together of his.”
All who have laid hold of the covenant by keeping the Sabbath have identify themselves as servants of Jehovah. There was to be a rejoicing to those who would be brought into God’s house of prayer. There was a collecting together for all, even for the dispersed ones. What is God’s purpose with respects to his worship at the house of prayer and the Sabbath?
God’s Purpose
Is the Sabbath relevant for today and should we be observing it? What was the purpose for the Sabbath? Was the Sabbath realty a time to afflict our souls?
Isaiah 58:1-5… Call out full-throated; do not hold back. Raise your voice just like a horn, and tell my people their revolt, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day it was I whom they kept seeking, and it was in the knowledge of my ways that they would express delight, like a nation that carried on righteousness itself and that had not left the very justice of their God, in that they kept asking me for righteous judgments, drawing near to God in whom they had delight, For what reason did we fast and you did not see, and did we afflict our soul and you would take no note? Indeed, YOU people were finding delight in the very day of YOUR fasting, when there were all YOUR toilers that YOU kept driving to work. Indeed for quarreling and struggle YOU would fast, and for striking with the fist of wickedness. Did YOU not keep fasting as in the day for making YOUR voice to be heard in the height? Should the fast that I choose to become like this, as a day for earthling man to afflict his soul? For bowing down his head just like a rush, and that he should spread out mere sackcloth and ashes as his couch? Is it this that you call a fast and a day acceptable to Jehovah?
The nation of Israel had the wrong idea and concept when it came to the sabbath, and it’s fasts. They begin to view it as if that were a day, they should afflict themselves on all the sabbaths as if it were something that God wanted. In their enslavement they would afflict their souls and on the day of the Sabbath also. Then they had really missed the purpose of the Sabbath. Only on the day of Atonement was there to be an afflicting of your souls. The Sabbath was to be something Holy; it was a sign of the covenant and a day of rest; God’s purpose was to sanctify the people of God by means of the Sabbath. Take note of what God says he wanted his people to become aware of.
Isaiah 58:6-7… “Is not this the fast that I choose? To loosen the fetters of wickedness, to release the bands of the yoke bar, and to send away the crushed ones free, and that YOU people should tear in two every yoke bar? Is it not the dividing of your bread out to the hungry one, and that you should bring the afflicted, homeless people into your house? That, in case you should see someone naked, you must cover him, and that you should not hide yourself from your own flesh?
The intent of God’s sabbath should have become manifested in these passages of Scriptures. The nation of Israel should have been aware that God did not approve of wickedness and affliction of others in their enslavement, and the crushing of people was not something God was pleased with, nor did he condone it. We should have become aware that sharing with those in need, to be loving even as God shows us love and then for us to act accordingly to all we meet.
God’s Blessings Are to Be Had
What are the blessings for acting in line with divine purpose of the Sabbath?
Isaiah 58:8-10… “In that case your light would break forth just like the dawn; and speedily would recuperation spring up for you. And before you your righteousness would certainly walk; the very glory of Jehovah would be your rear guard. In that case you would call, and Jehovah himself would answer; you would cry for help, and he would say, ‘Here I am! If you will remove from your midst the yoke bar, the poking out of the finger and the speaking of what is hurtful; and you will grant to the hungry one your own (soulful desire), and you will satisfy the soul that is being afflicted, your light also will certainly flash up even in the darkness, and your gloom will be like midday.
There would be a blessing for acting and being the light of God, walking in his righteousness and having a true relationship with Him, that would be something really meaningful for us.
But some may want to argue that this is not about the Sabbath. Take note that we have been following the progression of God’s thoughts in line with the context of the Scriptures. Notice what he says in the following Scripture of Isaiah 58:13 as regards to the blessings, if we will just what?
Isaiah 58:11-14… And Jehovah will be bound to lead you constantly and to satisfy your soul even in a scorched land, and he will invigorate your very bones; and you must become like a well-watered garden, and like the source of water, the waters of which do not lie. And at your instance men will certainly build up the places devastated a long time; you will raise up even the foundations of continuous generations. And you will actually be called the repairer of the gap, the restorer of roadways by which to dwell. “If in view of the sabbath you will turn back your foot as regards doing your own delights on my holy day, and will actually call the sabbath an exquisite delight, a Holy day of Jehovah, one being glorified, and will actually glorify it rather than doing your own ways, rather than finding what delights you and speaking a word; you will in that case find your exquisite delight in Jehovah, and I will make you ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will cause you to eat from the hereditary possession of Jacob your forefather, for the mouth of Jehovah itself has spoken it.
God is pointing out something when he says, “in view of the Sabbath”. What is the point that he is making? Is it not this, that if you will change your attitude, and stop doing what you want to do and start treating the Sabbath as it was designed, as something Holy and as a day to draw near to God, a day to understand his thoughts and his purposes. What more blessings will we have as we read on?
What are some of the blessings that will come to mankind who observe the Sabbath? God said you will be made to ride upon the high places, and you will eat from the inheritance of Jacob. So, what does this passage of Scripture of verse 14 mean to you?
The Future Sabbath’s
Has the Sabbath celebration changed over the years? Will the Sabbath be something for the future for us to celebrate?
The Sabbath has changed from the days when God gave it to Moses when he would provide bread for them. So, it really should not surprise us that God has talked about a future Sabbath that will be celebrated. What will the future Sabbath look like according to God and how will it be celebrated and when will it be instituted?
Isaiah 66:22-24… “For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making are standing before me,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “so the offspring of YOU people and the name of YOU people will keep standing. And it will certainly occur that from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath all flesh will come in to bow down before me,” Jehovah has said. “And they will actually go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that were transgressing against me; for the very worms upon them will not die and their fire itself will not be extinguished, and they must become something repulsive to all flesh.”
Did you notice that God talks about a time when he is making a new earth and again, he talks about looking at the carcasses of people who were transgressing against him. Where he speaks of worms that do not die and a fire that will never be put out, this indeed is an indication of the time that has not yet come. For these reasons we can identify that in the future time the celebration of the new moon and of the celebration of the Sabbath will continue into the future.
Ezekiel 46:1-3… This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘As regards the gate of the inner courtyard that is facing east, it should continue shut for the six workdays, and on the sabbath day it should be opened, and on the day of the new moon it should be opened. And the chieftain must come in by the way of the porch of the gate, from outside, and stand by the doorpost of the gate; and the priests must render up his whole burnt offering and his communion sacrifices, and he must bow down upon the threshold of the gate, and he must go out, but the gate itself should not be shut until the evening. And the people of the land must bow down at the entrance of that gate on the sabbaths and on the new moons, before Jehovah.
This description of the Sabbath being celebrated by Ezekiel should be of extra interest to all lovers of God’s word. We know this description by Ezekiel has to do with the new Jerusalem and it has yet to be revealed to mankind. It should be obvious that there is no mention of an altar that sacrifices that are to be offered upon in this description.
Matter of fact there was never a time that a sacrifice was to be rendered up during a Sabbath except for the Seasonal Festivals as Leviticus 23 points out. There is also no description of the high priest here. The only one offering a sacrifice and the eating a communion meal is by a chieftain only. Take note it is in the observance, and in the company of those who are present with him. There is to be no entry into the new Jerusalem but only into the gateway they come, only into the entrance way do they come to worship God.
After consideration of this scriptural passage, it is obvious that there are to be future celebrations of the new moon and of the Sabbath.
For more information on the relationship between the new moon, the sabbaths and the festivals of God follow the hyperlink to: Observance of the New Moon.
Hold Fast
God himself has established the Sabbath, and it is for all to observe, it is just as reverent today as it was back then. If you want to be blessed by God you will observe the one thing he’s asking, to rest after six days of work, to treat the day of rest with respect as it is Holy, it is a covenant to last forever even as the last Scripture that we just read says. God uses this day to bless obedient mankind, and to refresh their spirit.
See what the apostle Paul says about the sabbath:
Hebrews 4:9 … So there remains a sabbath resting for the people of God.
Colossians 2:16-17… Therefore let no man judge YOU in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.
If these things are a shadow that means, there is substance to this observance they are to become the reality of the future. If this is true, then the Festivals and God’s appointed time and Calander should be something we need to look into and study. After all God has punished the breakers of the Sabbath, Sabbatical Years and Jubilee’s in the past. So, let us hold fast to God’s Appointed Times!
Amen, come Lord Jesus in the name of Yahweh – YHWH.
Writingwithlogos.com