The Sabbath

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The Sabbath
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What is the Sabbath?

• Hebrew shabbathown translated as Sabbath
  means rest.
• Israel were commended to keep the Sabbath as a
  holy day
• Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
  but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD
  your God. In it you shall do no work you, nor
  your son, nor your daughter, nor your male
  servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox,
  nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your
  stranger who is within your gates, that your male
  servant and your female servant may rest as well
  as you. Deut 513-14

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What is the Sabbath?

• The purpose of the Sabbath was not merely for
  having a rest, but as a time set aside to seek
  God. The Law said Remember the Sabbath day, to
  keep it holy. Exod 208
• Why?

For in six days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and
rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD
blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Exodus
2011
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What is the Sabbath?

• The penalty for breaking the Sabbath day was
  severe
• Now while the children of Israel were in the
  wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on
  the Sabbath day Then the LORD said to Moses,
  "The man must surely be put to death all the
  congregation shall stone him with stones outside
  the camp. So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all
  the congregation brought him outside the camp and
  stoned him with stones, and he died. Numbers
  1532-36

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What is the Sabbath?

• The concept of the Sabbath day did not exist
  prior to the time of Moses.
• The Sabbath commandment was part of the Law of
  Moses and applied to Israel.
• The Jewish Calendar began when the people left
  Egypt This month shall be your beginning of
  months it shall be the first month of the year
  to you. Exod 122

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The Significance of the Sabbath

• The sincere Israelite would not merely follow the
  letter of the law, but the spirit of the law.
  They would perceive the spiritual lessons behind
  the outward observance.
• The concept of a holy day of rest signified
  striving to rest from sin. Devoting oneself to
  God.
• Such wholehearted devotion was an ideal not fully
  unattainable, because of sin.

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The Significance of the Sabbath

• The Sabbath rest and sacrifice of a Lamb
  prescribed under the Law pointed towards one
  through whom the true rest could be attained.
• God spoke of the ideal saying

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day, if
you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORDs
holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not
going your own way and not doing as you please or
speaking idle words, then you will find your joy
in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the
heights of the land and to feast on the
inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of
the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 5813-14 (NIV)
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The Significance of the Sabbath

• The Priests were exempt from keeping of the
  Sabbath, indeed their work increased.
• And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first
  year, without blemish, and twotenths of an ephah
  of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with
  oil, with its drink offeringthis is the burnt
  offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular
  burnt offering with its drink offering. Numbers
  289-10

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The Significance of the Sabbath

• Jesus commented have you not read in the law
  that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple
  profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Matthew
  125
• For the Priests the Sabbath was no more holy than
  any other day. For them all days were equally
  holy.

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The Significance of the Sabbath

• The law of circumcision (which originated from
  Abraham) had precedence over the Law regarding
  the Sabbath
• Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that
  it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you
  circumcise a man on the Sabbath. "If a man
  receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the
  law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry
  with Me because I made a man completely well on
  the Sabbath? John 722-23

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• Is the law given to the nation of Israel through
  Moses, binding on the followers of Christ today?
  Paul writes

But now we have been delivered from the law,
having died to what we were held by, so that we
should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not
in the oldness of the letter. Romans 76
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Lessons from the Sabbath

• God made two covenants with men
• The first covenant was made with Abraham
• God promised that from Abraham would come a
  nation through whom His purpose would be
  channeled. From Abrahams descendants would come
  a saviour through whom sin can be forgiven.
  Genesis 12.2,3 15.5,6

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• The second covenant was embodied in the Law of
  Moses. (Exodus 19.3-8)
• The ritual and offerings of the Law were aimed at
  being a constant reminder about the redemption
  that would be achieved through the Saviour who
  would come - the one foreshadowed by the covenant
  with Abraham.

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• Mosaic covenant was temporary, with the aim of
  preparing those under it, for the fulfilling of
  the covenant with Abraham

What purpose then does the law serve? It was
added because of transgressions, till the Seed
should come to whom the promise was made.
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to
Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But
after faith has come, we are no longer under a
tutor. Galatians 319-25
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Lessons from the Sabbath

• The Sabbath was on the seventh day, which for us
  is a Saturday.
• Jesus commanded his disciples to meet together
  and remember him. (1Corinthians 1123-26) In
  obedience to this they met on the first day of
  the week.
• Now on the first day of the week, when the
  disciples came together to break bread, Paul,
  ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and
  continued his message until midnight. Acts 207
• On the first day of the week let each one of you
  lay something aside, storing up as he may
  prosper 1Corinthians 162

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• The true keeping of the sabbath was not merely
  rest from labour, but a forsaking of one's own
  ways, one's own thoughts, one's own desires and
  involved a dedication of the time to honouring
  Yahweh by word and action.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was You
shall love the LORD your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your strength, and
with all your mind Luke 1027
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Lessons from the Sabbath

• This is the spiritual significance of the
  Sabbath. How often should the follower of Christ
  seek God?
• On one day each week?
• On Saturday or Sunday only?
• No, every day of their lives!

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• The Law of Moses illustrated the reality of sin
  and mans inability to overcome sin.
• When Jesus Christ came the law was changed, Jesus
  was the reality of the law.
• Through belief and faith in Christ a man could be
  delivered from sin and death. (Gal 313)
• Those who are truly in Christ will fulfil the
  law in its fullest spiritual sense day by day.

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Lessons from the Sabbath

• The Sabbath was on the seventh day, which for us
  is a Saturday.
• The Sabbath was an object lesson, it pointed
  forward to a greater day of rest to come.

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or
regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,
which are a shadow of things to come, but the
substance is of Christ. Colossians 216,17
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Lessons from the Sabbath
The invitation from Jesus is
Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 1128
Our response to this gracious invitation?

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest,
lest anyone fall according to the same example of
disobedience. Hebrews 49-11
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Lessons from the Sabbath

• Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to
  make your call and election sure 2Peter 210
• Yahweh has ordained 6,000 years of human toil,
  followed by 1,000 years of rest in the coming
  Millennium.
• During this time Jesus will rule the world in
  righteousness.
• The period of 6,000 years allotted for mans rule
  is almost completed. The end of (mans) time is
  almost upon us.

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All the earth shall be filled with the glory of
the LORD
NOW is the time to labour to enter into the rest
God that has promised!