The word sababth comes from the hebrew word "shabbat" which means rest or ceasing from producing. Plants rest, animals rest, even the land needs a rest. G-d himself rested to set the pattern for us. Rest is for our health and our happiness. All creation has a design system to work (or produce) and then rest. It is then that plant and animal alike gather strength and all systems repair and prepare for more growth. Think about that in terms of the ups and downs in your life. Or perhaps more accurately times of problems and times of peace.

This is what I have learned about shabbat:

Exodus 20:8

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

We are commanded to keep the sabbath.

Exodus 16:23

Then he said to them, "This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning."

This indicates to me a preparation day. Get it all done today so you can enjoy the rest tomorrow. Not that we are to suffer without but that we prepare beforehand. I know firsthand that when I prepare properly, shabbat is a joy. As the woman of the house there is a special satisfaction knowing that the house is clean, the laundry done and all is in order. Then I have no temptation to get up and get those couple of dishes done. Whatever I need have done is already completed.

Exodus 16:26

"Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none."

Exodus 16:25

And Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

G-d sets the pattern. He does not give them any manna the seventh day. From this I learned that He does not and I should not do anything to encourage someone to break shabbat.

Exodus 20:10

but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

Deuteronomy 5:14

but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

It is not just a rest for the men or the landowners or the freeman. But also the animals.

Leviticus 25:2

"Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord.

Leviticus 25:4

but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard.

Even the land has a sabbath. It is the design of the Creator to give rest between growth intervals.

Exodus 12:47

All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

Who should keep it? All of us.

Exodus 31:16

So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'

Forever.

Now before you go telling me that the sabbath is only for the jew, consider these things:
Sabbath was instituted at the time of creation. G-d set the pattern Himself.
All believers are grafted in.

Galations 3:29

And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Romans 11:17

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

Is sabbath just a day to sleep in?

Leviticus 16:31

"It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.

Leviticus 23:3

'For six days work may be done; but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

Nehemiah 9:14

"So Thou didst make known to them Thy holy sabbath, And didst lay down for them commandments, statutes, and law, Through Thy servant Moses.

Sabbath is not just a day to rest, but a day set aside to honor G-d. It is His sabbath.

Deuteronomy 5:15

And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

It is a reminder of who He is and who we are to Him.

Isaiah 58:13

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure, And speaking your own word,

It is a time not just to rest our bodies but to renew our minds. We do not do our own pleasure but His as we serve His purpose. We honor His day because we honor Him. We delight in the day that the Lord has given us. We think His thoughts, not our own. We do not speak our own words but the words of Him who created us.

This is a time I fellowship with other believeres and rejoice in the goodness of G-d. I rest my body as well. It is a delightful time of renewal.

Isaiah 56:2

"How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."

Be Blessed. Shalom.







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