This is a question that I have been asked and I am sure I will be asked in the future so I figured I would make things easier and just write a post about it. Why do I keep the Sabbath Day Holy? Well to put it simply... because YHVH says to!
Genesis 2:3, "So YHVH blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it YHVH rested from all His work that He had done in creation."
Exodus 20:8-10a "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your YHVH. On it you shall not do any work..."
Isaiah 56:2, "Blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil."
Isaiah 58:13-14, "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; If you honor it not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Exodus 31:16, "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever."
Isaiah 66:23, "From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord."
Matt 12:8, "For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
Mark 2:27-28, "And He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Hebrews 4:9, "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of YHVH."
I could give you many, many more verses but I will stop there. The word Sabbath is found 169 in the KJV - 109 in the OT and 60 in the NT. Not only is it mentioned in both the OT and NT, but it is the fourth commandment of the 10 that were written on stone tablets. Why I was taught to obey all the other nine and not this one is beyond me. But from now on, our family is going to be obeying YHVH by keeping the Sabbath day holy!
In one earthly word, Constantine was why you were taught to keep the opposite of the last day of the week..in a spiritual word, it is HaSatan that says first is better, last not good....surely you will not die! Between that and the terror an earthly church brought down on those that would not obey its edicts....they killed so many Sabbath keepers that it almost gave the word remnant a new meaning.....welcome to the restoration of Israel and of the return to the land of the Creator of The Universes Commandments (or instructions that lead to life!) Thank Yah for Yahshua the Messiah....His way of saying "I am coming down there!" Love your heart!
ReplyDeleteI have been pondering your posts of late. I too seriously considered many of these issues over the years and studied the Word for clarity and direction in my life. With Christ we are still bound to the law, but it is now written on our hearts. Romans covers many of the issues associated with what that means for the grafted Gentiles.
ReplyDelete"One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Romans 14:15
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matt. 22:37-40
Amy, thanks for reading my posts. Rom 14:15 is one of the most often misunderstood passages. Paul, a man who always observed Sabbath and believed it was a command of God for all His children, I do not believe he would ever had taught the opposite. This verse is in reference I believe to fasting. The Pharisees were adding man made laws and saying that one particular day was the "right" day for fasting and other people were fasting on another day. Paul was clarifying to these people that one day was not better than another, but that when you fast just do it unto the Lord. This is my best understanding of that verse at the moment. The second group of verses is a wonderful set of verses. Those are the two greatest commandments, not the only ones, but the two greatest. That is the sum or the "headline" so to speak of the laws.
ReplyDeleteNo, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. Rom 2:29
ReplyDeleteBut now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Rom 7:6
In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. Rom 9:8
I am interested in what these verses mean to you, if you don't mind. You've got me reading Romans beginning to end :-)
Rom 2:29 But a Yehuḏite is he who is so inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart,1 in Spirit, not literally, whose praise is not from men but from Elohim.
ReplyDeleteRom 9:8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of Elohim, but the children of the promise are reckoned as the seed.
Rom 7:6 But now we have been released from the Torah, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in newness of Spirit and not in oldness of letter.
I love this translation! It is called The Scriptures (1998) and seems to stay true to the Hebrew perspective and also keeps the original names intact.
You are correct in saying that only those who believe in the Messiah and turn from their old ways and start a new life - those are the ones who are part of the covenants. Some will definitely be Jews (from the tribe of Judah) but there were 12 tribes so there will be others from Israel. And then there will be those of us who are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. Does that make sense? Or answer your question?
I am still very new with all these studies so please forgive me if I am not coming across as clearly. However, I am encouraged to hear that I have brought you to reading through Romans :) Just seek God while you read and remember the Hebrew authors who wrote these books. Its easy to misinterpret things with our naturally greek minds. Have you read my testimony on my blog here? Just a few days ago I wrote it.
Here is something else I thought of. Hope it helps in answering your question...
ReplyDeleteThere are many laws mentioned in the NT. The trouble is, there is only one Greek word for law, nomos. So when we speak of Romans law, it is nomos. When it is God's law (Torah) it is nomos.... religious law, nomos, etc. By context we have to decipher which we speak of. That said, Paul introduces another concept, another law! He calls it the "law of sin and death." This is the law we have been made free from. "So not steal" is not done away with so how then can we say we are free from God's laws? No, Yehshua undid the curse from the garden hence we are free from the law of sin and death. (Rom. 8:2)
I think we are both fully convinced in our own minds, which isn't a bad thing. May love be yours in abundance!
ReplyDeleteLove to your family as well Amy!
ReplyDelete