The
Sabbath is a profound foreshadowing of the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan; exemplified in His 7 Feasts listed
in Leviticus 23, especially the Feast of Tabernacles. FEAST OF TABERNACLES WEB SITE – Home Page
Celebrating the Sabbath 1-day out of
each 7 days; 24 hours:
i.e. Saturday sundown to Sunday at sundown.
Exodus 20:8-11
(4th Commandment)
"Remember the Sabbath day
by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the Lord your God. 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 the
Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore
the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
"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 Lord's
holy day honorable, and if you honor 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 58:13-14
Deuteronomy 5:15 Reiterates the Ten Commandments and notes the second
thing that we must remember on Sabbath: "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and
the Lord, your God brought you forth from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God
commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."
What does the Exodus have to do with resting on
the seventh day? It's all about freedom. In ancient times, leisure was confined to certain classes;
slaves did not get days off. Thus, by resting on Sabbath, we are reminded that we are free. But in a more
general sense, Sabbath frees us from our weekday concerns, from our deadlines and schedules and commitments. During
the week, we are slaves to our jobs, to our creditors, to our need to provide for ourselves; on Shabbat / Sabbath, we are
freed from these concerns, much as our biblical ancestors were freed from slavery in Egypt. We are freed to commune / dwell with God on those “Appointed Times”
God has foreordained (i.e. 4th commandment; the Sabbath).
Sabbaths and Feasts are called "Holy
Convocations" in Scripture. That is to say, they are intended to be times of meeting between God and man
for "Holy Purposes".
Feasts:
aka: Solemn Appointed Times with the Lord. Lev. 23:1-4
The Hebrew word translated "Feasts" means Appointed Times.
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 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. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all
your dwellings. These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their
seasons. Lev. 23:1-4
According to Lev. 23:1-4;
God commands that we keep each sabbath & feast day holy (in light of the New Testament); aka "Holy Convocations"; that is, they are intended to be times of meeting between God and man for "Holy
Purposes" in preparation of an eternity dwelling with Him!
These "Holy Convocations" are a combination of celebratory commemorations of God’s
providence fulfilled in the past, and the continued fulfillment of His covenant promises for the future.
The Feast of Tabernacles becomes the ultimate oneness of meeting with God; to “tabernacle” / dwell with
God for eternity.
The question is: If
you are not willing to spend a Sabbath with God, even when God COMMANDS it (4th commandment),
how do you expect to spend eternity dwelling with God ???
Note feasts relationship to God’s ordained numerical sequencing:
7 day week ending
on a Sabbath
7 months of 7 feasts ending on the
ultimate Sabbath, the Feast of Tabernacles
7 years culminating in a Sabbatical year
7 Sabbatical years of 7 years culminating at the Year of Jubilee
7 weeks of 7 days to the Feast of Weeks / Shavuot / Pentecost
70 periods of 7 (Dan. 9:24-27) “End
of the Age” prophecy
7 year period at the “End of the Age” (Dan. 9:24-27’s: The
70th 7 year period)
70 years symbol of Completion; , see Jer. 29:10-14 30:3,7,11,24
31:31-34, 38-40
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SABBATH SCRIPTURES:
Exodus 20:8-11 (4th Commandment)
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it
holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
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 the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
In Exodus 20:11
Because for six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the
seventh day, He rested; therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
Exodus 31:12-14
Then the Lord said to Moses, say to the Israelites, you must observe my Sabbaths. This
will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord,
who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put
to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.
Lev. 23:1-4
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, 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. 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.
These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
Deuteronomy 5:12
The Sabbath in Hebrew is called Shabbat. It is said "more
than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel." Shabbat involves two interrelated commandments:
to remember (zachor) Shabbat, and to observe (shamor) Shabbat.
Isaiah 56:1-2
This is what the Lord says: "Maintain
justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating
it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Isaiah 58:13-14
"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 Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor 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.
Ezekiel 46:1-4
"'This is
what the Sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but
on the Sabbath day and on the day of the New Moon it is to be opened. The prince is to enter from the outside through
the portico of the gateway and stand by the gatepost. The priests are to sacrifice his burnt offering and his fellowship
offerings. He is to worship at the threshold of the gateway and then go out, but the gate will not be shut until evening.”
Ezekiel 46:12
“When the prince provides a freewill offering to the Lord--whether a burnt
offering or fellowship offerings--the gate facing east is to be opened for him. He shall offer his
burnt offering or his fellowship offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after
he has gone out, the gate will be shut”
Acts 13:42-47
As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them
to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the
Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace
of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word
of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively
against what Paul was saying. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We
had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now
turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: "I have made you a light for
the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."
Acts 16:13-15
“On the Sabbath we went outside
the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak
to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in
purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond
to Paul's message. Then she and the members of her household were baptized, …”
Heb. 4:9-10
"There
remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also
rests from his own work, just as God did from his.”
See Associated Links:
Sabbath Truth.Com at: http://www.SabbathTruth.com
Feast of Tabernacles links:
http://www.feastsofthelord.net/id12.html
http://www.feastsofthelord.net/id28.html
Eschatology links:
http://www.feastsofthelord.net/id40.html
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD
require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk
humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8
