S A B B A T H - S H A B B A T
"Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.”
Exodus 20:8-11 (4th Commandment)
To fully
understand the Feasts, one must first understand the full meaning and implications of the Sabbath as a time of oneness
with God.
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
Celebrating the Sabbath one
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 for dwelling eternally 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: 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
SABBATH SCRIPTURES:
The 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.” Exodus 29:8-11
“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 20:11
“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.’
“ Leviticus 31:12-14
“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.’ “ Leviticus 23:1-4
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. (per Deuteronomy 5:12)
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 56:1-2
" ‘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
"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 46:1-4
“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” Ezekiel 46:12
“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 13:42-47
“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, …” Acts 16:13-15
"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.”
Heb. 4:9-10
See
Associated Links:
FEAST of TABERNACLES – Shemini Atzeret
FEAST OF TABERNACLES aka SUKKOT
Eschatology
Sabbath Truth
“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
