Shabbat Shalom!
That's Hebrew for "Sabbath Peace." The seventh day Sabbath starts from Friday sunset and lasts until Saturday sunset, just as it always has since God created it from the Beginning! Here's an article to give you some kosher food for thought on this holy subject:
Remember the Sabbath
Did you ever stop to think why Christians keep Sunday? Did they get it from the Bible? Is there a clear-cut command that says, "Thou shalt keep Sunday?" Why did Jesus worship on Saturday? Was it only because He was a good Jew? Or does it go beyond that?
http://www.davidbenariel.org
Showing posts with label seventh day sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seventh day sabbath. Show all posts
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
God's Appointment With You
God's Appointment With You
Did you know that God set aside a special day so you can have meaningful, lasting contact with Him? Nearly 6,000 years ago our Creator declared the seventh-day Sabbath a day of rest and fellowship with Him.
by John Ross Schroeder
On any given week our fast-paced, modern lives may embrace several appointments, some of which we don't relish keeping. Few look forward to a tooth-extraction date with the dentist or even a periodic medical checkup. There's no telling what our physician may discover.
Of course most health-care professionals seek to lengthen our lives and make them more pleasant. Yet no matter how capable and competent, they cannot deal effectively with the wide-ranging scope of our human anxieties and uncertainties, along with our financial, work and marital problems.
Only God has the inherent ability to deliver us from all our problems. Only His Word can tell us what our priorities ought to be.
Driving us far from God
Yet our modern societies are not designed to begin, build and enhance a proper relationship with our Creator. Instead, our society mostly widens the gap between God and ourselves—driving us far away from the divine help we all need to cope with life in an increasingly complex, fast-paced world.
Many today are in a state of perpetual confusion, being weighed down with various problems and anxieties. "Hurry sickness" is one symptom and has become the malaise of our Western world. Life in the fast lane is taking a tragic toll.
One journalist frankly confessed: "I am pathologically impatient and incapable of waiting for anything. I'm always stomping out of shops, bars or restaurants because the [line is] too long and I can't be bothered to wait." Today we hear of road rage—and even supermarket-cart rage! As a result of our chronic impatience and always being in a hurry, some become miserable, lonely, stressed-out and sick.
Too many of us don't sleep all that well. Many continually gorge on fast foods, not taking the time to prepare healthy meals. We've allowed time to become an enemy rather than a friend. We are badly misusing one of our most valuable resources. Most of us have lost the knack for properly budgeting our time. We don't realize how important the biblical admonition to "redeem the time" is to our whole well-being (see Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5).
We always seem to have so much to do that we find virtually no time left for regular contact with our Creator. The world has largely cast aside the biblical keys that would unlock the door to God's presence and help in our lives.
A God-like view of time
A psalm attributed to Moses gives us some much-needed perspective. "Lord," it begins, "You have been our dwelling place in all generations...Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:1-2). When God takes center stage in our minds, we start to think differently—to mirror His thoughts rather than our own.
But all of us grow older every day, and the clock is ticking. Our physical lives are composed of just so much time. Many today are already past the 70 years the psalm mentions and are wondering just how much time is left to them.
As the psalm states: "We finish our lives like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away" (verses 9-10).
Our Creator wants us to grasp the implications of the fact that we won't live forever in the flesh. We all need to learn to use our time properly: "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (verse 12, emphasis added throughout).
Our visionary thoughts should extend to a future time beyond our physical lives. God offers the gift of eternal life to those who meet His conditions and surrender their wills to His. But we have to take sufficient time now to think about our real future in the age to come.
Enter God's seventh-day Sabbath!
A day devoted to God
Leviticus 23 is one of the great chapters of the Bible. When we truly understand its implications, it becomes a divinely revealed map of God's plan and purpose for humankind.
It begins: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: "The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [sacred assemblies, NIV], these are My feasts"'" (verses 1-2). God is the Revealer of truth, and Moses is the agent speaking directly with the people on His behalf. These are God's festivals, and He has exclusive rights to them. They belong to Him and not to any person or group of people.
The Hebrew word translated "feasts" here is mo'edim, which means "appointed times" (verse 4) or "appointments" as we would say today.
The first one mentioned is the weekly Sabbath—to be observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings" (verse 3).
The rest of the chapter is devoted exclusively to seven yearly festivals containing seven Holy Days (annual Sabbaths). As verse 4 states, "These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times." The intriguing explanation of their significance is beyond the scope of this article. To help you better understand them, we recommend that you read our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.
Here we concentrate on your divine appointment with God set for every seventh day.
Observing the Sabbath day
We all need rest from our general labor and occupational work. So the Creator commands us to rest every seventh day (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The Sabbath commandment actually dates from creation since God Himself rested on that first seventh day and sanctified it—set it apart—as an example for all mankind, beginning with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:1-3).
Spiritual fellowship with others of like mind is one of the most beneficial tonics to the human psyche. We all need it! Of course, this can only succeed in and through our fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). Successful relationships, whether with God or man, all require quality time.
A weekly day of rest enables us to use the other six days much more profitably. People who work seven days a week generally burn out sooner rather than later. As well as physical and mental rest, we need sufficient time to meditate, thinking about those matters that bring us special meaning and divine purpose.
The Sabbath provides time and space for families, couples and friends to draw closer together. This seventh-day rest provides precious time for prayer and to read and study the Bible, the book that tells us how to live in ways that are infinitely rewarding, purposeful and fulfilling. It is also a time for assembling with others for collective worship, as the term "convocation" in Leviticus 23:3 denotes a commanded assembly (compare Hebrews 10:24-25).
Observing the Sabbath is an integral part of the Ten Commandments. It is no less valid a commandment than those six specifically designed to cover our relationships with other human beings—do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc. It is one of the vital first four that help us to express love to our Creator, worshipping Him in a proper and respectful manner.
All too many in mainstream Christendom are either dismissive or ignorant of this weekly get-together with their Creator and are missing out on the spiritual edification that observing the seventh-day Sabbath provides. Why not start keeping your weekly appointment with God? GN
Related Resources
Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest
Everyone, it seems, is constantly rushing here and there to get everything done. Is there a way to take a break? The weekly Sabbath can offer that much needed rest.
When Do I Get a Break?
Are you working more and relaxing less? Doing more but never getting everything done? Running here and there but only running yourself down? Maybe it's time you took a break!
Why We Need a Weekly Rest Day
Why the seven-day week and the continual cycle of day and night? Is there a message for modern men and women in the way our planet was designed to operate?
God's Test Commandment
God described one of His commandments as a "test" command. Which command is that? What was he testing? How has mankind fared with that test —and what about you?
The Fourth Commandment: Key to a Relationship With Our Creator
The Fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath, concludes the section of the Ten Commandments that specifically helps define a proper relationship with God—how we are to love, worship and relate to Him. It explains why and when we need to take special time to draw closer to our Creator.
************
Remember the Sabbath
Did you ever stop to think why Christians keep Sunday? Did they get it from
the Bible? Is there a clear-cut command that says, "Thou shalt keep Sunday?"
Why did Jesus worship on Saturday? Was it only because He was a good Jew? Or
does it go beyond that?
Did you know that God set aside a special day so you can have meaningful, lasting contact with Him? Nearly 6,000 years ago our Creator declared the seventh-day Sabbath a day of rest and fellowship with Him.
by John Ross Schroeder
On any given week our fast-paced, modern lives may embrace several appointments, some of which we don't relish keeping. Few look forward to a tooth-extraction date with the dentist or even a periodic medical checkup. There's no telling what our physician may discover.
Of course most health-care professionals seek to lengthen our lives and make them more pleasant. Yet no matter how capable and competent, they cannot deal effectively with the wide-ranging scope of our human anxieties and uncertainties, along with our financial, work and marital problems.
Only God has the inherent ability to deliver us from all our problems. Only His Word can tell us what our priorities ought to be.
Driving us far from God
Yet our modern societies are not designed to begin, build and enhance a proper relationship with our Creator. Instead, our society mostly widens the gap between God and ourselves—driving us far away from the divine help we all need to cope with life in an increasingly complex, fast-paced world.
Many today are in a state of perpetual confusion, being weighed down with various problems and anxieties. "Hurry sickness" is one symptom and has become the malaise of our Western world. Life in the fast lane is taking a tragic toll.
One journalist frankly confessed: "I am pathologically impatient and incapable of waiting for anything. I'm always stomping out of shops, bars or restaurants because the [line is] too long and I can't be bothered to wait." Today we hear of road rage—and even supermarket-cart rage! As a result of our chronic impatience and always being in a hurry, some become miserable, lonely, stressed-out and sick.
Too many of us don't sleep all that well. Many continually gorge on fast foods, not taking the time to prepare healthy meals. We've allowed time to become an enemy rather than a friend. We are badly misusing one of our most valuable resources. Most of us have lost the knack for properly budgeting our time. We don't realize how important the biblical admonition to "redeem the time" is to our whole well-being (see Ephesians 5:16; Colossians 4:5).
We always seem to have so much to do that we find virtually no time left for regular contact with our Creator. The world has largely cast aside the biblical keys that would unlock the door to God's presence and help in our lives.
A God-like view of time
A psalm attributed to Moses gives us some much-needed perspective. "Lord," it begins, "You have been our dwelling place in all generations...Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:1-2). When God takes center stage in our minds, we start to think differently—to mirror His thoughts rather than our own.
But all of us grow older every day, and the clock is ticking. Our physical lives are composed of just so much time. Many today are already past the 70 years the psalm mentions and are wondering just how much time is left to them.
As the psalm states: "We finish our lives like a sigh. The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away" (verses 9-10).
Our Creator wants us to grasp the implications of the fact that we won't live forever in the flesh. We all need to learn to use our time properly: "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (verse 12, emphasis added throughout).
Our visionary thoughts should extend to a future time beyond our physical lives. God offers the gift of eternal life to those who meet His conditions and surrender their wills to His. But we have to take sufficient time now to think about our real future in the age to come.
Enter God's seventh-day Sabbath!
A day devoted to God
Leviticus 23 is one of the great chapters of the Bible. When we truly understand its implications, it becomes a divinely revealed map of God's plan and purpose for humankind.
It begins: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: "The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [sacred assemblies, NIV], these are My feasts"'" (verses 1-2). God is the Revealer of truth, and Moses is the agent speaking directly with the people on His behalf. These are God's festivals, and He has exclusive rights to them. They belong to Him and not to any person or group of people.
The Hebrew word translated "feasts" here is mo'edim, which means "appointed times" (verse 4) or "appointments" as we would say today.
The first one mentioned is the weekly Sabbath—to be observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings" (verse 3).
The rest of the chapter is devoted exclusively to seven yearly festivals containing seven Holy Days (annual Sabbaths). As verse 4 states, "These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times." The intriguing explanation of their significance is beyond the scope of this article. To help you better understand them, we recommend that you read our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.
Here we concentrate on your divine appointment with God set for every seventh day.
Observing the Sabbath day
We all need rest from our general labor and occupational work. So the Creator commands us to rest every seventh day (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The Sabbath commandment actually dates from creation since God Himself rested on that first seventh day and sanctified it—set it apart—as an example for all mankind, beginning with Adam and Eve (Genesis 2:1-3).
Spiritual fellowship with others of like mind is one of the most beneficial tonics to the human psyche. We all need it! Of course, this can only succeed in and through our fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3). Successful relationships, whether with God or man, all require quality time.
A weekly day of rest enables us to use the other six days much more profitably. People who work seven days a week generally burn out sooner rather than later. As well as physical and mental rest, we need sufficient time to meditate, thinking about those matters that bring us special meaning and divine purpose.
The Sabbath provides time and space for families, couples and friends to draw closer together. This seventh-day rest provides precious time for prayer and to read and study the Bible, the book that tells us how to live in ways that are infinitely rewarding, purposeful and fulfilling. It is also a time for assembling with others for collective worship, as the term "convocation" in Leviticus 23:3 denotes a commanded assembly (compare Hebrews 10:24-25).
Observing the Sabbath is an integral part of the Ten Commandments. It is no less valid a commandment than those six specifically designed to cover our relationships with other human beings—do not murder, do not steal, do not commit adultery, etc. It is one of the vital first four that help us to express love to our Creator, worshipping Him in a proper and respectful manner.
All too many in mainstream Christendom are either dismissive or ignorant of this weekly get-together with their Creator and are missing out on the spiritual edification that observing the seventh-day Sabbath provides. Why not start keeping your weekly appointment with God? GN
Related Resources
Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest
Everyone, it seems, is constantly rushing here and there to get everything done. Is there a way to take a break? The weekly Sabbath can offer that much needed rest.
When Do I Get a Break?
Are you working more and relaxing less? Doing more but never getting everything done? Running here and there but only running yourself down? Maybe it's time you took a break!
Why We Need a Weekly Rest Day
Why the seven-day week and the continual cycle of day and night? Is there a message for modern men and women in the way our planet was designed to operate?
God's Test Commandment
God described one of His commandments as a "test" command. Which command is that? What was he testing? How has mankind fared with that test —and what about you?
The Fourth Commandment: Key to a Relationship With Our Creator
The Fourth Commandment, to remember the Sabbath, concludes the section of the Ten Commandments that specifically helps define a proper relationship with God—how we are to love, worship and relate to Him. It explains why and when we need to take special time to draw closer to our Creator.
************
Remember the Sabbath
Did you ever stop to think why Christians keep Sunday? Did they get it from
the Bible? Is there a clear-cut command that says, "Thou shalt keep Sunday?"
Why did Jesus worship on Saturday? Was it only because He was a good Jew? Or
does it go beyond that?
Monday, February 2, 2009
No hunting on Sunday
No hunting on Sunday
By Rod McNair
Sabbath, January 31, 2009
As a sportsman, I was disappointed when, upon moving to North Carolina, I encountered the “Sunday law.” No deer hunting on Sunday. Period. As a Sabbath-keeper, this has brought me no little consternation! I will not hunt on Saturday, and according to the laws of the State, I may not hunt on Sunday. That leaves Monday through Friday – not ideal for getting in quality hunting time.
But far beyond my own personal pain, this brings up a bigger question: “Why rest on Sunday at all?” Most Christians believe that “Sunday rest” originated in the Bible. What honest truth-seekers are shocked to find is there is absolutely no biblical command to rest on Sunday. None. So, why do some rest on Sunday if the Bible doesn’t command it?
Good question.
The answer is right in front of our faces. In fact, the newspaper in our hometown recently ran a story, “Pray or play?” with the answer. On page 8E of the article, the editors reproduced the widely recognized edict by the Roman emperor Constantine in 321ad. It reads thus:
On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost (The Charlotte Observer, January 10, 2009).
So, where did “rest on Sunday” come from? A Roman emperor? Certainly not the Bible. In fact, if we honestly look at Scripture, the only day ever spoken of as a rest day is the seventh. Take a look at a few examples:
“Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest” (Exodus 31:15).
“The seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it” (Leviticus 23:3).
“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work” (Deuteronomy 5:14).
Interestingly, resting on the seventh day of the week was commanded as a way of following God’s example. He rested on day seven after the six days of Creation. Christians who observe the weekly Sabbath – by worshipping and resting – are acknowledging the Creation many millennia ago!
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God … For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:9-11).
So, which day do you rest on? We challenge you to ask yourself “Why?” Is it because of tradition, traced back to the edict of an unconverted Roman Emperor? Or do you obey what you find written in your Bible? (For additional help in your study, be sure to read our free booklet, Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?)
Sabbath-keeping is actually the wave of the future! The book of Isaiah foretells a coming day when all nations will observe God’s Holy Days, including the weekly Sabbath. That prophecy is found in Isaiah:
“‘And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23).
I’m looking forward to that day, when people everywhere will worship – and enjoy the revitalizing rest of the Sabbath – together in harmony and unity.
Until then, you may find me hunting on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday – but not on Saturday.
And – at least in North Carolina – never on Sunday.
************
Plea to Diehard Catholics & Protestants to Repent
Monday, July 30, 2007
Beware the Big Lie of Sunday!
If you and me see the seventh day as the Sabbath, and so many "Christians" see it as the first, where does the contradiction come from?
There is no contradiction in the Bible, but there definitely is a clear contradiction between professing Christians who turn their back on the biblical seventh day Sabbath to keep their traditional pagan Gentile Sunday, following Roman wolves in sheep's clothing instead of following the Jewish Shepherd and Savior, Yeshua.
Any honest observer sees both the Bible and history testify to the truth of the seventh day Sabbath, as opposed to the big lie of Sunday, deceived and/or dishonest "Christians" notwithstanding.
Mark 7:
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men...
9 He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition."
1 John 2:4-6
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments [rather than traditional error], is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
The Sabbath
Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?
By Herbert W. Armstrong
Does it make any difference WHICH day we observe—or whether we keep it? Does the Bible establish SUNDAY as the LORD’S DAY? Was the Sabbath given for the Jewish people only—while Christians are commanded to keep SUNDAY as the LORD’S DAY?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 But Does It Make Any Difference?
Chapter 2 Who Made and Established the Sabbath?
Chapter 3 God—Not Moses—Gave the Law
Chapter 4 A Special Eternal Covenant
Chapter 5 Which Day for Gentile Christians?
Chapter 6 Why Israel and Judah Made Slaves
Chapter 7 Is Sunday Mentioned in the New Testament?
Chapter 8 The Amazing Truth About Christian Fellowship
The Plain Truth about Herbert W. Armstrong & the Worldwide Church of God
Do You Prefer TRADITION Over Truth?
Is The Plain Truth Too Strong?
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