Special Time, a look at the Sabbath


People usually view the Sabbath as a burden.    A day full or rules and regulations.  An obstacle to living their lives  comfortably.  It is referred to as the Jewish Sabbath in order to keep  it detached from their "non-jewish" lives.

Well the truth is much different, the Sabbath is a gift which our loving  and all-knowing Creator made for us to enjoy.

Genesis 2:2-3
And on the seventh day Elohim ended His work which He had done, and He rested  on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.  Then Elohim  blessed the seventh day and made it [special], because in it He rested from  all His work which Elohim had created and made.

Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it [special].  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your Elohim. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  For in six days Elohim made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day and made it [special].

Mark 2:27-28
And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  So then the Son of man is Sovereign of the Sabbath also

So the Sabbath was created for man.  Are all days Sabbaths?  Clearly not, only the seventh day is a Sabbath.  (Actually there are seven annual Sabbaths which may or may not fall on the seventh day of the week, but that is a different study).  Calling all days “Sabbaths” is twisting the word of Yahweh in order to follow our own paths.  Scripture warns against human reasoning and following our own paths.

Isaiah 55:7-9
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let  him return to Yahweh, and He will have mercy on him; and to our Elohim, for  He will abundantly pardon.  "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways," says Yahweh.  "For as the heavens are higher  than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than  your thoughts.

Matthew 7:13-14
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that  leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The seven day cycle was "set" in creation and has continued through time. Yahweh worked 6 days and rested on the seventh day. After the children of Israel left Egypt (Mitsrayim) they received manna to eat for six days out of every week. On the sixth day, they received a double portion, on the Sabbath day they did not receive any. For 40 years while the children of Israel were in the wilderness this "six day - one day" pattern continued, This seven day cycle remains today, we don't have to re-calculate the Sabbath day every month, we just continue on the 7 Day Cycle which Yahweh created.

Exodus 16:14-30
And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: 'Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.'" And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. And Moses said, "Let no one leave any of it till morning." Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. So they gathered it every morning, every man according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted. And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. Then he said to them, "This is what Yahweh has said: 'Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.'" So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. Then Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh; today you will not find it in the field. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there will be none." Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? "See! For Yahweh has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.

The Sabbath Day was created for us to rest from our physical work and to rejoice in Yahweh.

Isaiah 58:13-14
"If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on  My [special] day, And call the Sabbath a delight , The [special] day of Yahweh  honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your  own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself  in Yahweh; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And  feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of Yahweh has spoken."

The Sabbath Day is also a sign between Yahweh and  His people.

Exodus 31:13-17
"Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations , that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you.  'You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is [special] to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.  'Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, [special] to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.  'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.  'It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"

Ezekiel 20:12-20
“Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.  "Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, `which, if a man does, he shall live by them'; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.  "But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out.  "So I also raised My hand in an oath to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, `flowing with milk and honey,' the glory of all lands, "because they despised My judgments and did not walk in My statutes, but profaned My Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.  "Nevertheless My eye spared them from destruction. I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.  "But I said to their children in the wilderness, `Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.  `I am Yahweh your Elohim: Walk in My statutes, guard My judgments, and do them; `hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your Elohim.'

The Sabbath is not only for the children of Israel, but for ALL who choose to follow Yahweh.

Isaiah 56:2-7
Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."  Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to Yahweh Speak, saying, "Yahweh has utterly separated me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree."  For thus says Yahweh: "To the eunuchs who guard My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off.  "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to Yahweh, to serve Him, And to love the name of Yahweh, to be His servants--Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant-- Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations."

Acts 13:14-15
But going through from Perga, they came to Antioch-Pisidia, and going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they sat down.  And after the reading of the Law, and of the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent to them, saying, Men, brothers, if there is a word of exhortation to the people, speak.

Acts 13:42
But the Jews having gone out of the synagogue, the [men of other nations] begged that these words be spoken to them on the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:44
And the following Sabbath, almost all the city [Antioch] was gathered to hear the Word of Yahweh.

Acts 18:4
And he reasoned in the synagogue on every Sabbath persuading both Jews and Greeks.

The Sabbath Day is a New Covenant Institution which Yahshua our Savior kept as an example for us today.  The followers of Yahshua also kept the Sabbath in obedience to Yahweh.

Hebrews 4:9-10
So, then, there remains a Sabbath rest to the people of Yahweh.  For he entering into His rest, he himself also rested from His works, as Yahweh had rested from His own.

Matthew 12:8
For the Son of man is also Sovereign of the Sabbath.

Mark 1:21
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He [Yahshua] entered the synagogue and taught.

Luke 4:16
And He [Yahshua] came to Nazareth where He was brought up. And as was His custom, He went in on the Sabbath day, into the synagogue, and He stood up to read.

Luke 23:56
And returning, they prepared spices and ointment. And indeed they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.

Acts 16:13
And on the Sabbath day, we went outside the city beside a river, where it was customary for prayer to be made. And sitting down, we spoke to the women who came together there.

Acts 17:2
And according to Paul's custom, he went in to them and reasoned with them from the Scriptures on three Sabbaths,

In summation, the Sabbath Day was created by Yahweh as a special day where His people could rest from their labors and worship Him. It is a day where Yahweh's people set themselves apart from Satan's world where everyone is rushing madly toward their own lusts. The Sabbath is a gift and a blessing. Satan would like mankind to view the Sabbath as a burden and an obstacle, but truly the Sabbath is a delight.




Copyright ©2002-2007 North Texas Fellowship in YHWH, Celina, TX