The Sabbath: Entering Into Rest! What is the significance of the Sabbath and what is the purpose of its observance? 1 The Sabbath is the first of God s Appointed Times! Lev. 23:1-3 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. 3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. (KJV) Feast= Moed = Appointed time Convocaton = mikrah =assembly, dress rehearsal A. We are to remember and rehearse that God completed creation in six days and on the seventh day, He rested. Ge 2:1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (KJV) God not only rested on the seventh day, He was refreshed! Gen. 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. (KJV) The Book of the Revelation of Yeshua tells us that He was slain from the foundation of the world. Re 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (NKJV) Refreshed: #5314 naphash, to breathe Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV) Living Soul: #5315 nephesh, from 5314; a breathing creature When we enter into the rest of the Sabbath, it is as if God breathes into our nostrils once again and we become a living soul. 1 This teaching is taken from Shadows of Messiah in the Torah, Volume 2 by Dan and Brenda Cathcart
We observe the Sabbath to remember and rehearse that God has purposed and even our from the very beginning! We have the promise of eternal life. Opportunity for digging deeper: God blessed the Sabbath seventh day. Look up the word blessed in the Strong s Dictionary and expand on the meaning of blessed. How does God regard the Sabbath? B. The Sabbath shall be for a sign that the LORD is the one who sets us apart! Exodus 31:13 NKJV 13 "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 the LORD who sanctifies you. Exodus 19:5 NKJV 5 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. Every Sabbath, we are reminded that we are to God, that He sets us apart for Him. He wants to meet with us every Sabbath. Leviticus 23:3 KJV 3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. This is a time to encourage one another and share. Hebrews 10:24-25 NKJV 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. When we rest in the Sabbath, we with God and C. The Example of Mary and Martha: Luke 10:38-42 NKJV 38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."
Martha was and Mary was in Yeshua s presence! God instructed the children of Israel to observe a Sabbath before going to work! Ex 35:5 'Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: (NKJV) Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV) It is only after we have entered His rest, His grace and redemption, that we can offer and build. Eph 2:20-22 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (NKJV) Will God find us obedient to walk in His ways? D. Yeshua taught, cast out demons, and healed the sick on the Sabbath. Yeshua chided the Pharisees about their understanding of the Sabbath. Matt. 12:7 If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (NIV) Hos 6:6 For I desire mercy (chesed) and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (NKJV) Ho 6:4 "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness (chesed) is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. (NKJV) Their faithfulness, right conduct, goodness, mercy, and kindness toward God and man were fleeting. Am 5:22-24 Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. 23 Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. 24 But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream. (NKJV)
The practice of justice and righteousness is the proper way to observe the Sabbath. Is 56:1-2 Thus says the LORD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed. 2 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." (NKJV) Yeshua s straightens out the Pharisees about the Sabbath. Mar 2:27-28 And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. 28 "Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." (NKJV) Those who observe His, walk in, and keep, receive an everlasting name and their sacrifices will be accepted. Is 56:4-7 For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5 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. 6 "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants-everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant- 7 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." (NKJV) The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath: He is the higher authority who shows us to observe the Sabbath; living out God s words, in the Sabbath, and doing. Is 58:13-14 "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14 Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; 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 the LORD has spoken." (NKJV) The word delight is the Hebrew word oneg! The word oneg means a luxury, delight, or pleasant. It comes from the word #6026 Anag meaning to be soft, pliable, figuratively to be luxurious or delicate! Ponder this concept of calling the Sabbath a delight.
Call the Sabbath soft or pliable: It into its. Call the Sabbath a luxury: It is a luxury to of the Sabbath. Call the Sabbath delicate: The Sabbath can be easily damaged; it must be treated with and. The word used for doing our pleasure is cephets: It comes from a word meaning to incline to or to be pleased with. Ponder this concept of doing our pleasure: By doing our pleasure we follow our own. By doing our pleasure we follow our own. By doing our pleasure we follow what well. Psalms 37:4 NKJV 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. The word desires is the Hebrew word #04862. mish'alah, a request, desire, petition. It is from a word meaning to question or ask. When we delight in the LORD we receive what our heart asks for. When we are soft and pliable in the LORD, we welcome His. When we are soft and pliable in the LORD, we become His. When we luxuriate in the LORD, we open ourselves to experience. When we are delicate in the LORD, we entrust to God. E. The Sabbath is a sign of Yeshua s return. Ps 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight Are like yesterday when it is past, And like a watch in the night. (NKJV) 2 Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (KJV) We look forward to the Sabbath of the reign of Yeshua.
Re 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (NKJV) Jer 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (NKJV) Let us observe the Sabbath with true delight!