Sabbath Celebration Part 1
Dear Bible Student, I’ve designed this study so you can look up scriptures prayerfully with open mind, finding the answers there. You’ve asked me to show you what Yahweh’s word says concerning how to keep the fourth of His ten commandments.In this study we'll break down eight Biblical principles for how Elohim wants us to keep His Sabbath day command.
The number eight is symbolic for new beginnings. Hopefully you'll have a new beginning of pleasing Elohim by learning and obeying His commandments concerning the Sabbath day; instead of the commandments of men.
With that, we'll use the KJV Bible to read and answer any question presented in this study. I'll at times ask you to use a Webster’s Dictionary, Strong’s Bible Concordance, or Thesaurus for word study. So take your time and read all the scriptures or references, looking up any given Hebrew or Greek words to find the answers.
Why We Celebrate: Brothers and Sisters the author of the Sabbath day is the author of the Christian faith, Yahshua Messiah the son of Elohim. It was he who in the beginning (Genesis) as Elohim the Word, created the Heavens and Earth in six days and rested on the seventh day (JN 1:1-3).
As you'll see, our Savior and Lord Yahshua Himself has revealed from His own word (the Bible), the meaning that he attaches to the Sabbath; His special seventh day celebration.
In keeping the Sabbath, unlike Evolutionist, atheist or other nonbelievers, we celebrate or commemorate a statement of belief that Elohim Himself specifically declares to us in Exodus 20:11. When you put this statement with what our Elohim in the flesh said in John 14:15, do you agree that obeying His Sabbath command is one way in which we show Yahshua we love and respect Him as Elohim the Creator?
By this we recognize, celebrate and proclaiming before all the unbelieving world and more importantly within our hearts before Yahweh the acknowledgment that He alone is to be worshiped as the Sovereign Creator of all things (Ex. 20: 8-11; Col 1: 15,16,17).
Not only is keeping Yahshua's Sabbath day command a memorial or celebration of How He as Elohim created the heavens and Earth in six literal days, it acknowledges His creation of time itself. In Genesis 1:1, the words "in the beginning" pronounces Elohim's start or creation of Earthly time.
He is the ultimate source & sovereign power over time itself. From the very beginning Elohim began teaching mankind (the crown of His creation) how to keep track of this newly created Earthly time. Man's fall into sin has made time a limited, temporary resource or commodity for us (see Genesis 1:14; 2:17; 3:23).
Similar to Yahweh Elohim's worship command of giving Him a tenth of our earnings or wealth as a tithe of acknowledgment that all wealth and even our ability to earn it belongs to Him (Deut 8:18; Ps. 50:10-12), so we are commanded to worship weekly by giving Him a seventh of our borrowed time in strictly acknowledging Him; of whom all time belongs.
Yahweh specifically choose the seventh day which comes at the end or completion of His created time measure called a week. He did this because He assigned seven as a number symbolic of completion. Six is the number of man and Yahweh Elohim created man on the sixth day in his image and gave man dominion over the earth.
At the end of the six day, when the seventh day began, Yahweh Elohim had completed all of his creation work; and on the seventh day he blessed the time to be a special rest in his glorious completion of creation that He called good.
Just like the weekly seventh day Sabbath, the eternal Sabbath of which it is a symbolic celebration, will arrive at the end or completion of mankind's time in this fallen sin corrupt world. Until then Yahweh's people as good stewards of the time that He gives us on this Earth, honor and acknowledge Elohim, by celebrating the one special day He picked out of all seven to end His symbolic time measure called a week.
In our observance of this special day, Yahweh purposed that man from past to present should always keep Him in remembrance and rest in the fact that He as eternal Elohim is the one and only true Creator and completion of all things good.
Elohim desires that we personally remember and celebrate that in His loving thoughtfulness towards us, he has and will again create us anew in His own good and complete image. He created the lights of the expansive heavens above and the whole planet below with a beautiful garden wherein for His pleasure, He graciously placed mankind in the midst.
Being made in His image, He gave us dominion over the Earth (Gen. 1: 26). In the garden of Eden, Yahweh walked with man in fellowship all the other days of the week, but unlike the other days when He allowed man's attention to be divided or preoccupied with tending the garden, He made the Sabbath day a special time of beneficial worship for mankind to rest in the completion of undivided blessed fellowship and loving worship with Yahweh the source of all goodness.
From the very beginning, the Sabbath day celebration represented Yahweh our Elohim's loving desire or goal of having a Earthly time set aside for when He can enjoy His ultimate creation; made complete in his own righteous image (mankind), a good rest of mutually undisturbed, uninhibited, undivided pure, intimate fellowship of oneness (Gen 3: 8; 5:22-24; Rev 21: 3-6; John 17:20-26).
In the Garden paradise of Eden, the Sabbath was a refreshing gift time for man to experience the pure spiritual bliss, of undivided attention, and acknowledgment of oneness from Yahweh to us, and us to Yahweh our source of all goodness.
At this time,the regularly good mental or physical preoccupations of paradise that man would indulged in throughout the other days of the week, were set aside for the even better sole preoccupation of Elohim. Elohim provided no higher time to observe this pure unadulterated, sentiment of uninhibited, undivided fellowship between Himself and man, than His special 7th day.
Out of all the days Elohim created within His Earthly time period known as the seven day week, those who love Yahweh are to keep the seventh day, totally separate unto Him until its final form is completed, or fulfilled in Heavens Eternity (PS 111: 7,8; IS 66:23). In His scriptures, Yahweh Elohim shows He always meant His weekly Sabbath day rest to be a feast celebrated by His people to symbolize the Glorious rest we will experience with Him for all eternity (Heb 3: 6-4:11)!
Even before the Sabbath was written down on stone tablets as the fourth of the ten commandments Elohim reintroduced this garden of Eden practice to His people ancient Israel soon after they were freed from Egyptian slavery (Ex 16: 3-4;16-30; 20: 8-11).
From past to present Yahweh Elohim has declared that as far as Earthly time is concerned, the keeping of the Sabbath day of rest is a sign unto all generations of His people that they have been sanctified or set apart to be with Him for all eternity (Ex 31:13).
Therefore we can not miss the fact that the Sabbath Day is also meant by Elohim to be a celebration of His creative power put forth a second time in Yahshua's completed work of redemption from Calvary's tree.
This reality is Elohim's new creation of us and the Sabbath as a memorial of Elohim as Creative thus becomes a memorial of our salvation through the creative power of Messiah's death, burial and resurrection. Again the fact that the Sabbath was definitely set forth as a sign of sanctification (Ezek, 20: 12), and Messiah being the one who sanctifies His people, causes the Sabbath to become a sign of what Messiah is to the believer. It is a memorial of our rest in Him, our rest from sin; unto the completion of His work of full salvation in us. As such this memorial is to endure forever. It is Yahshua who saves from sin.
This salvation from sin is His creative power actually working within us who by faith, love and yield in submission to him as Elohim, our Creator, Lord and Savior. Only through His power, brought to sinners by the Holy Spirit, can sin be overcome in human flesh, and man enter into the blessed rest of faith in Yahshua (MT. 11: 28). In his scriptures Yahweh our Elohim shows that he takes our keeping of his Sabbath day command very seriously since observing it is one of the ways we give open acknowledgment that we love and recognize Him as the one true Creator of all things (JN 14:15, MT. 22: 36-40).
To purposely not keep it as He requires, sends the opposite message to our Heavenly Husband stirring up His wrath (Ex. 31: 14-18). [END] In celebrating the Sabbath day we recognize that Yahshua Elohim eluded to the fact that way back at the end of creation week, He originally made the Sabbath for mankind (MK 2: 27). Since from the beginning,Yahweh Elohim out of love for us, completed His original creation week, by making the Sabbath for our good (MK 2:27; Deut.10: 13), we should not spurn His love by refusing to keep it holy as He requires.
So where does our Elohim in His wisdom, tell us to begin when keeping His Sabbath day holy? What does this mean for us in the practical application or break down of what he wants as far as worship, on this most blessed day? Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #1:When We Celebrate Would you agree that an important part of knowing how to keep Father Yahweh’s chosen Sabbath Day holy, is knowing when to keep it holy (yes or no.)? Unlike today's popular man made method,Yahweh's originally revealed method of reckoning days in the Bible is not from midnight to midnight. Read Gen 1:4-5 and answer the following questions:
Does scripture show that Father Yahweh gave a whole 24 hour day, a dark part and a light part?
Besides night and day what other two names does scripture gives these parts?
Can you name the first part which the Bible shows begins a whole day; and the second part who’s ending finishes a day?
Read Gen 1:5-2:2 and answer the following:The Bible shows that Father Yahweh made creation week(the first week in existence) with how many days?
What numbered day did He rest on, and by what name do men today generally call that day of the week?
Scripture shows when the Sabbath begins and ends....
Read Lev 23:32 (b) and answer.
In the scriptures, when does Elohim instruct us that a Sabbath Day or any day for that matter is meant by him to begin and end?
Read Mark 1:32 & Deut 16:6, What sign did Elohim put in the sky for us to look for and know when it’s evening?
Therefore, it is clear that when the sun goes down on the evening of the sixth day of the week, this marks the beginning of Elohim's seventh day Sabbath. This lead us to...
Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #2:PREPARATION DAY The way in which we spend the seventh day Sabbath time with Yahweh is so important to Him that he gave us a whole day to prepare in advance for it!
As we advance in this study, we should have already begun to see that Yahweh's preoccupation of heart concerning the Sabbath day is to spend time in undisturbed fellowship with His people whose heart is likewise disposed to their Elohim's prerogative. In other words the preoccupation or goal of both our Elohim and we His people is to individually and collectively come together on the Sabbath; in one heart and mind of mutual communion and singular focus on Him.
We are to do the following commandments every day, but on the Sabbath, this way of life is even more strictly displayed...
Jeremiah 29:,"11‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
Matthew 22:37, Yahshua declared, “‘Love Yahweh your Elohim 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 depend on these two commandments.”
1 John 4:20,"If anyone says, “I love Elohim,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love Elohim, whom he has not seen.21 And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves Elohim must love his brother as well."
Scripture shows the sixth Day is meant by Yahweh as a preparation day so that as much as possible all things that might be a distraction from our Sabbath day preoccupation of loving fellowship in Yahweh's holy rest, can in advance be accounted for and eliminated.
Read MK 2:27 & Deut. 6:24-25. Based on all that you’ve learned so far would you say Yahweh made the importance of the Sabbath day for our good or it’s own good?
Read MK 15:42; LK 23: 54-56.Since the Sabbath is important enough to Yahweh to give us the guideline and example of using a preparation day, should it be equally important to us to wisely use this time in advance to make sure every Sabbath day is segregated from unnecessary secular employments? (Look up and the definition of secular.)
Without distractions Yahweh wants the whole Sabbath day completely devoted exclusively in holiness unto Yahweh.This means participating in no other employment than directly loving Him through the keeping of his Sabbath commandment; and indirectly loving Him by loving each other.
Read Ex 16: 22-23. Does scripture show Father Yahweh established the practice of his people using the sixth day (called Friday) as a day to prepare in advance for the Sabbath? Read John 19:14 (KJV) use the Strong's Concordance to look up the Greek definition of "Preparation": Gr.#3904 & #3903 and say what you think is the best definition. Based on what you've learned so far, fill in the blank of the following sentence in your own words. In order that every Sabbath day can begin and end as a holy rest from my own secular, earthly employments, proper advanced preparation on _____________should be done.
Advancing further in this study, you'll continue to see concerning the Sabbath day, that Father Yahweh wants us to minimize as much as possible the normal every day earthly encounters and distractions of life. On preparation day we should strive before the start of every Sabbath rest,to eliminate such worldly activities or distractions as your cooking, cleaning, shopping, and putting gas in the tank.,ect. If at all possible, we should be willing to sacrifice these types of errands in an effort to prevented them from intruding upon our important Sabbath day time with Yahweh.
One might even consider notifying non-Sabbath keeping friends and family who would take your mind off of Yahweh that unless it's Elohim related, or an emergency your unavailable. Elohim's inspired word seems to suggest that even the burial preparations of His own son's (the Messiah's) body, should take a back seat, as something undesired to be done on His holy Sabbath day. These activities which were precious and important to the mourners among Yahshua's family, and freinds were halted as time ran out on preparation day.
After the Sabbath day was completed, they sought to finish these activities (MK 15: 42-16:2). Perhaps this was appropriate, since in our Heavenly Husband eyes, His Sabbath is symbolic of eternal life, joy and holiness of Heaven., To continue into the seventh day having their minds and bodies preoccupied in the sadness of dealing with a unclean dead body, (especially one upon which all the sins of the world were placed) may have been inappropriate to keeping it holy.
Now that we know when Yahweh Elohim wants us to keep His Sabbath day, and when, why and how we are to prepare for it, next we ask Yahweh, for clear examples or guidelines of how specifically He wants us to keep or celebrate His Sabbath day? This leads to...
Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #3:Exodus 20:8,"Remember the Sabbath day." to keep it holy
Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask,"If Yahweh has already made the Sabbath day holy, how can anything we do or don't do, make what Yahweh has made holy, unholy?(if in a group study, ask if someone has an answer and then compare with the following)
ANSWER: in Heaven, Yahweh Elohim by literal definition of His name, is without peer, the singularly perfect, complete in and of Himself, self existent, ultimate originator, and supreme source of all reality, who by very nature or presence, can't help but hold the eternal position of Highest.Without having to say anything, just His existence alone automatically commands the righteous acknowledgment of praise and worship from His creation. The angels of Heaven exalt him because that's, what and who He already is (see Isaiah 6:1-5).
So likewise, we as His Earthly creation, owe Him eternal acknowledgment, by exalting or treating him as who he already is. One of the ways we give Yahweh His due worship, is on His special Sabbath day, acknowledge Him, by treating or keeping this seventh day time period, as He already made it; holy unto Him As motivation "to keep it holy,Yahweh commands that we (His redeemed) "remember" in our celebration of this sacred time, the special loving meaning towards us, that He placed on this day." Yahweh Elohim makes it clear that He has made the hours between sunset at the end of the sixth day (Friday) and sunset at the end of the seventh day (Saturday) exclusively holy time (Exodus 20:11)
In (Duet 5:12; Ex 20:8,11), does Father Yahweh command mankind to keep the Sabbath day as He Himself did? If so what words found there suggest how we should approach it like Him?
Can you use either a Dictionary, Bible Concordance, or Thesaurus to look up the words sanctified, hallowed and blessed, look at their definitions and note any synonymous words you find in common within the definitions of each of the three words.
When it comes to keeping the Sabbath day holy, from the very beginning, our Heavenly Husband made Himself an example for us to follow.... "For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but on the seventh day." he rested
Read Gen 2:3 and answer....
We know that unlike the other six days, Father Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, but can you find in the verse two other things Father Yahweh Himself did on the first sabbath; as an example to us?[END]
Remember, based on Yahshua's words in Mark 2:27, Yahweh in Genesis wasn't doing these things for himself. The Sabbath motivation of His heart was to bless man even more with a beneficial special day of personal uninterrupted fellowship together with Him.
Just as Yahweh purposely stopped His own work and blessed the Sabbath day, making it a special holy time of fellowship with His people, so we should follow His lead and purposely plan to treat the Sabbath time as blessed; in uninterrupted spiritual activities of holiness unto Yahweh.
Read Psalm 121:3-4 and answer whether or not you think Yahweh needed to rest on the Sabbath Day, or was he just doing it as our (Adam & Eve / man kinds) example of how to keep it?
Putting all of what our Elohim is saying together, He tells us that just as He in His holiness rested from doing his own work and everything was declared good, it is good and holy that we like Him on the Sabbath day, keep it holy by resting or ceasing from doing our own work.
The idea that growing in a relationship of intimate, loving eternal Holy fellowship with Yahweh by imitating or following in His example is not just relegated as a Sabbath activity. For a Christian it must be a daily way of life that involves our consistent active sharing in or following after Elohim's own example of what He's done, or is doing. This is a prevalent truth throughout the scriptures...
Song of Solomon 1:4,""Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers." "We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you."
Matthew 16:24,"Then Yahshua told His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."
Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you."1 Corinthians 11: 1," 2 You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Messiah."
Philippians 3:10,", that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death11 so that I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been perfected, but I press on to take hold of that for which Messiah Yahshua took hold of me.13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of Elohim’s heavenly calling in Messiah Yahshua."
As we delve deeper in His word, it becomes more and more clear that Yahweh Elohim didn't just tell us to keep this special day holy and leave it up to us to decide how to do that. Elohim took an active leading role that serves for a teaching example for us to follow in how he specifically wants us to uniformly approach keeping his Sabbath Day holy. Before getting into more detail about proper Sabbath Keeping, it's important for us to understand why in our flesh, whether attempting to keep a day or ultimately ourselves holy...
(A) IT'S UNNATURAL TO FOLLOW ELOHIM
We'll start at the beginning, before outside Satanic interference or temptation helped cause the fall of man's nature. Originally mankind was created with a good nature that was naturally inclined to spiritual intimacy and obedience to Yahweh's loving heart. It was a simple thing for Adam and Eve to follow Elohim in keeping the special once a week Sabbath Day requirements of worship. Before the fall, it wasn't a struggle on the Sabbath to put aside and rest from their own separately chosen diversions or routine of daily tending the garden. They instead delighted in spending the time dedicated individually and corporately in exclusive intimate worship unto Yahweh...
Mark 2:27,"Then Yahshua told them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
As a result of the fall, man's heart or spirit became corrupted and lost the natural intimacy they once desired and held for Yahweh and His Law as priority over all things. That day, this Elohim centered life perspective or mind state of intimacy with Yahweh died within them; becoming unnatural or foreign to them. It was replaced by a new corrupt, self centered or other false god centered nature...
Romans 8:7,"because the mind of the flesh is hostile to Elohim: It does not submit to Elohim's Law, nor can it do so."
As time went on, except for a small minority, mankind as a whole completely forgot the knowledge of Yahweh they once had instilled in them...
Romans 1:28,"And even as they did not like to retain Elohim in their knowledge, Elohim gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
Yet when Yahweh Elohim graciously called Abraham and through him brought forth a remnant of mankind who he made into His holy nation or people of Israel, He re-introduced His sabbath day and of necessity, added rules to help steer their naturally foolish and wayward hearts.
To those who sought the truth, Elohim's Law opened their minds towards understanding the deeper spiritual meaning of this day of exclusive fellowship and holy intimacy, He desired to share with them. Yahweh's written Law or Torah spelled out for mankind His good, righteous and Holy character and heart's desire towards us...
Romans 7:12,"So indeed, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."
Under the Old Covenant, it helped that through Elohim's inspired faith, the people had their old human hearts graciously cleansed or forgiven of their past sinful deeds. It helped that Yahweh declared them righteous and gave His Law to let them know what sin was, and a desire to avoid sin; maintaining His imputed righteousness. Despite all this gracious help Yahweh knew that without a completely new heart or nature, It was still hard and unnatural for His Old covenant people to be holy as he is holy.
To make things easier, they needed a new (born again/regenerated) Holy Spirit heart living inside them, to naturally and consistently keep His holy and righteous Law(MT 11:29-30). Faith in Yahweh graciously helped start them off right, but due to the weakness of their own corrupted away from his holy image nature, their fleshly efforts to keep the righteous and holy Law were eventually doomed to fall short of the Laws requirement to be like Yahshua. That's why until the New Covenant Promise of Faith in the person and work of Messiah Yahshua came, Yahweh Elohim graciously gave them the temporary guardianship or Law protection of the blood of animals which only covered their sins committed in the inevitable weakness of their flesh.
Galations 3:15," Is the Law, then, opposed to the promises of Elohim? Not at all! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the Law. But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Messiah Yahshua, the promise might be given to those who believe.Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the Law became our guardian to lead us to Messiah, that we might be justified by faith.Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
3:19,"Why then was the Law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator (Moses and the Aaronic priesthood of the sons of Levi who temporarily represented Yahshua's eternal ministry and preisthood) . A mediator is unnecessary, however, if there is only one party; but Elohim is one."You are all sons of Elohim through faith in Messiah Yahshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Messiah Yahshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise."
Until Elohim Himself came in the flesh and through the better sacrifice of his death burial and resurrection, inaugurated the New Covenant, His Old covenant Law protected His people from their own flawed nature. This protection came under the condition that they by faith in Yahweh obeyed His Law.
If they obeyed Yahweh's Law by sincerely battling or striving against their own fleshly nature to please Yahweh as the Law itself prescribed in the first great commandment, they'd first humble themselves under the already revealed knowledge of who He is. Then through the prayer of forgiveness they'd repent from any sins that were inevitably born from their naturally rebellious hearts. If they obeyed Yahweh's Law guardian this way, it would help His people to not only grow in reduced frequency of their sins, but in reduced magnitude as they loved Yahweh by the obedient doing of His righteous works. Yahweh's Law guardian acted as a fleshly heart filter or strainer that retarded or suppressed many sins from being produced.
The Major advantage of Yahweh's Law guardian was the mercy feature in which any sin not suppressed or retarded by its filter, could be covered or hidden in sincere repentance from Yahweh's forgiving sight; through the work of animal blood sacrifices. This Elohim provided Old covenant Law guardian acted as a temporary mediator or Earthly priesthood, that was fearfully and obediently worked out by flawed in nature men; who by faith were saved.Except for a small faithful remnant, Israel the earthly nation or kingdom as a whole completely succumbed to their fleshly rebellious nature and fell from the saving faith of the Old Covenant. In their iniquity and condemnation, they did not by faith obey Yahweh's Old covenant Law Guardian as He commanded that they should live by...
Jeremiah 31:31,“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares Yahweh"
(B) HOW FOLLOWING YAHWEH TO KEEP IT HOLY, BECOMES NATURAL AGAIN
Jer. 31:33,“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh,“I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. Yahweh 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know ,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Acts 17:30,"Although Elohim overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all men everywhere to repent. 31For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
With the establishment of the New improved Covenant, Yahweh's people learned that whether having the written Law or not, all people by faith in Messiah Yahshua need to completely forsake trying to walk in righteousness through our old weak and beggarly human fleshly efforts or understanding. In Yahshua our old nature must die, or we must die to it, so by faith we instead have a new Holy Spirit heart nature leading in the gracious righteous, clean, and pure life of Yahshua active inside us...
Ezekial 36: 25,“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27 "“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."
By the leading of Yahweh Elohim's own Law of the Spirit of Life in Yahshua we're now empowered to naturally, keep His Sabbath day command or any of His righteous and holy Law...
Romans 2:14,"Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law,"
The apostle Paul is communicating, what he observed among the new Gentile believers in Messiah, who unlike the Jews, did not yet have the outwardly written instruction of Yahweh's Law taught to them. After receiving the Holy Spirit these uneducated in the Law, Gentiles were naturally led to do many of the things written in the unknown to them written Law of Yahweh. Naturally without being told to, they began fulfilling many of Yahweh's Law requirements. Such requirements as hungering and thirsting for righteousness, so that they would come every Sabbath to church to seek and hear the Masters teachings in order to grow in His knowledge. The Holy Spirit led them to study the scriptures (Law & prophets) to show themselves approved; so through repentance of sins, they could walk more and more in his righteous image of Yahshua's Law character (Psalm 25:4-12,, Proverbs 21:21, Isaiah 55:1-2).
Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders Elohim had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me! 14 Simon has told us how Elohim first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: 16‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,and I will restore it, 17 so that the remnant of men may seek Yahweh, and all the Gentiles who bear My name, says Yahweh who does these things 18 that have been known for ages.'19 It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to Elohim. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Acts 13:42,"As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people (Jews & Gentiles converts) urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.43 After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of Elohim. On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city (Majority Gentiles) gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of Elohim to you first.
But 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,to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region."
[END]
Whether physical Jew or Gentile,the fact is as we denying our fleshly nature, and become mature in walking in the Law of the Spirit of life in Yahshua, according to John 16:13-15, and Ezekial 36:27, the new Holy Spirit empowered nature within us will lead us to the truth of Yahweh's holy & spiritual Law commands; such as remembering to keep holy the Sabbath day.What in our flesh is a difficult, unnatural and undesirable way to spend time, will be for those led in the Spirit, a natural, desirable delight!
By choosing to walk in our new Holy Spirit nature, we like Adam and Eve before the fall can now naturally delight in following Yahweh's holy Sabbath command. Going back to the very Genesis of our creation we will find and follow Elohim's example set by His Himself of how to keep the first Sabbath day. Doing this deepens both our understanding and intimacy with Elohim as he personally leads and guides our spiritual development within His Sabbath rest. In other words, the foundation of us keeping or celebrating the Sabbath as holy begins with our being sensitive and dedicated to Elohim's own Holy Spirit guidance.
This means learning from what we both hear the Heavenly Father has already said and doing what we see He Himself has already done concerning Sabbath celebration.
Read Gen. 2:2 and answer Can you write the word used to specifically categorize whose work Father Yahweh as our example, ended and rested from on the seventh day?
This rule first established by Yahweh's example in Genesis, becomes even more apparent when for the first time Yahweh Elohim reintroduces His Sabbath command to ancient Israel the nation. He specifically says (Ex 20: 9), "Six days you shall labor ". and do all your work
As you look at Exodus 20:9-11, what other words instruct us on specifically whose work we should rest from and what kind of rest we should have?
Yahweh is showing and telling us by his own original example, that on the other days of the week we are allowed to do our own self inspired works or creation, but to keep the Sabbath day holy, we must only participate in activities that strictly follow His example; by watching and observing what He has said and is saying, and what He has done, and is doing.
His Sabbath day rest isn't just any kind of rest. We rest from our own activity's unto and in Yahweh. The New Living Translation, verse 10 puts it like this.... "but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to Yahweh your Elohim" In other words, on the Sabbath day we're on a special date time with our Heavenly Husband and He takes the lead about how we are to follow His Heart's desired form of rest.
For us who keep the Sabbath, even our association with worldly non-Sabbath keeping people,friends and family is affected. Unless their participating in Sabbath activity with us, let them know this day is off limits to the self led secular aspirations and preoccupations we normally indulge with them. This day is special, in that it's specifically dedicated only to our Elohim's strong desire for intense holy fellowship with us His people. As such our Holy Spirit led hearts follow His heart holy desire in intimacy with Him and other like minded Sabbath keepers. This leads us to...
The number eight is symbolic for new beginnings. Hopefully you'll have a new beginning of pleasing Elohim by learning and obeying His commandments concerning the Sabbath day; instead of the commandments of men.
With that, we'll use the KJV Bible to read and answer any question presented in this study. I'll at times ask you to use a Webster’s Dictionary, Strong’s Bible Concordance, or Thesaurus for word study. So take your time and read all the scriptures or references, looking up any given Hebrew or Greek words to find the answers.
Why We Celebrate: Brothers and Sisters the author of the Sabbath day is the author of the Christian faith, Yahshua Messiah the son of Elohim. It was he who in the beginning (Genesis) as Elohim the Word, created the Heavens and Earth in six days and rested on the seventh day (JN 1:1-3).
As you'll see, our Savior and Lord Yahshua Himself has revealed from His own word (the Bible), the meaning that he attaches to the Sabbath; His special seventh day celebration.
In keeping the Sabbath, unlike Evolutionist, atheist or other nonbelievers, we celebrate or commemorate a statement of belief that Elohim Himself specifically declares to us in Exodus 20:11. When you put this statement with what our Elohim in the flesh said in John 14:15, do you agree that obeying His Sabbath command is one way in which we show Yahshua we love and respect Him as Elohim the Creator?
By this we recognize, celebrate and proclaiming before all the unbelieving world and more importantly within our hearts before Yahweh the acknowledgment that He alone is to be worshiped as the Sovereign Creator of all things (Ex. 20: 8-11; Col 1: 15,16,17).
Not only is keeping Yahshua's Sabbath day command a memorial or celebration of How He as Elohim created the heavens and Earth in six literal days, it acknowledges His creation of time itself. In Genesis 1:1, the words "in the beginning" pronounces Elohim's start or creation of Earthly time.
He is the ultimate source & sovereign power over time itself. From the very beginning Elohim began teaching mankind (the crown of His creation) how to keep track of this newly created Earthly time. Man's fall into sin has made time a limited, temporary resource or commodity for us (see Genesis 1:14; 2:17; 3:23).
Similar to Yahweh Elohim's worship command of giving Him a tenth of our earnings or wealth as a tithe of acknowledgment that all wealth and even our ability to earn it belongs to Him (Deut 8:18; Ps. 50:10-12), so we are commanded to worship weekly by giving Him a seventh of our borrowed time in strictly acknowledging Him; of whom all time belongs.
Yahweh specifically choose the seventh day which comes at the end or completion of His created time measure called a week. He did this because He assigned seven as a number symbolic of completion. Six is the number of man and Yahweh Elohim created man on the sixth day in his image and gave man dominion over the earth.
At the end of the six day, when the seventh day began, Yahweh Elohim had completed all of his creation work; and on the seventh day he blessed the time to be a special rest in his glorious completion of creation that He called good.
Just like the weekly seventh day Sabbath, the eternal Sabbath of which it is a symbolic celebration, will arrive at the end or completion of mankind's time in this fallen sin corrupt world. Until then Yahweh's people as good stewards of the time that He gives us on this Earth, honor and acknowledge Elohim, by celebrating the one special day He picked out of all seven to end His symbolic time measure called a week.
In our observance of this special day, Yahweh purposed that man from past to present should always keep Him in remembrance and rest in the fact that He as eternal Elohim is the one and only true Creator and completion of all things good.
Elohim desires that we personally remember and celebrate that in His loving thoughtfulness towards us, he has and will again create us anew in His own good and complete image. He created the lights of the expansive heavens above and the whole planet below with a beautiful garden wherein for His pleasure, He graciously placed mankind in the midst.
Being made in His image, He gave us dominion over the Earth (Gen. 1: 26). In the garden of Eden, Yahweh walked with man in fellowship all the other days of the week, but unlike the other days when He allowed man's attention to be divided or preoccupied with tending the garden, He made the Sabbath day a special time of beneficial worship for mankind to rest in the completion of undivided blessed fellowship and loving worship with Yahweh the source of all goodness.
From the very beginning, the Sabbath day celebration represented Yahweh our Elohim's loving desire or goal of having a Earthly time set aside for when He can enjoy His ultimate creation; made complete in his own righteous image (mankind), a good rest of mutually undisturbed, uninhibited, undivided pure, intimate fellowship of oneness (Gen 3: 8; 5:22-24; Rev 21: 3-6; John 17:20-26).
In the Garden paradise of Eden, the Sabbath was a refreshing gift time for man to experience the pure spiritual bliss, of undivided attention, and acknowledgment of oneness from Yahweh to us, and us to Yahweh our source of all goodness.
At this time,the regularly good mental or physical preoccupations of paradise that man would indulged in throughout the other days of the week, were set aside for the even better sole preoccupation of Elohim. Elohim provided no higher time to observe this pure unadulterated, sentiment of uninhibited, undivided fellowship between Himself and man, than His special 7th day.
Out of all the days Elohim created within His Earthly time period known as the seven day week, those who love Yahweh are to keep the seventh day, totally separate unto Him until its final form is completed, or fulfilled in Heavens Eternity (PS 111: 7,8; IS 66:23). In His scriptures, Yahweh Elohim shows He always meant His weekly Sabbath day rest to be a feast celebrated by His people to symbolize the Glorious rest we will experience with Him for all eternity (Heb 3: 6-4:11)!
Even before the Sabbath was written down on stone tablets as the fourth of the ten commandments Elohim reintroduced this garden of Eden practice to His people ancient Israel soon after they were freed from Egyptian slavery (Ex 16: 3-4;16-30; 20: 8-11).
From past to present Yahweh Elohim has declared that as far as Earthly time is concerned, the keeping of the Sabbath day of rest is a sign unto all generations of His people that they have been sanctified or set apart to be with Him for all eternity (Ex 31:13).
Therefore we can not miss the fact that the Sabbath Day is also meant by Elohim to be a celebration of His creative power put forth a second time in Yahshua's completed work of redemption from Calvary's tree.
This reality is Elohim's new creation of us and the Sabbath as a memorial of Elohim as Creative thus becomes a memorial of our salvation through the creative power of Messiah's death, burial and resurrection. Again the fact that the Sabbath was definitely set forth as a sign of sanctification (Ezek, 20: 12), and Messiah being the one who sanctifies His people, causes the Sabbath to become a sign of what Messiah is to the believer. It is a memorial of our rest in Him, our rest from sin; unto the completion of His work of full salvation in us. As such this memorial is to endure forever. It is Yahshua who saves from sin.
This salvation from sin is His creative power actually working within us who by faith, love and yield in submission to him as Elohim, our Creator, Lord and Savior. Only through His power, brought to sinners by the Holy Spirit, can sin be overcome in human flesh, and man enter into the blessed rest of faith in Yahshua (MT. 11: 28). In his scriptures Yahweh our Elohim shows that he takes our keeping of his Sabbath day command very seriously since observing it is one of the ways we give open acknowledgment that we love and recognize Him as the one true Creator of all things (JN 14:15, MT. 22: 36-40).
To purposely not keep it as He requires, sends the opposite message to our Heavenly Husband stirring up His wrath (Ex. 31: 14-18). [END] In celebrating the Sabbath day we recognize that Yahshua Elohim eluded to the fact that way back at the end of creation week, He originally made the Sabbath for mankind (MK 2: 27). Since from the beginning,Yahweh Elohim out of love for us, completed His original creation week, by making the Sabbath for our good (MK 2:27; Deut.10: 13), we should not spurn His love by refusing to keep it holy as He requires.
So where does our Elohim in His wisdom, tell us to begin when keeping His Sabbath day holy? What does this mean for us in the practical application or break down of what he wants as far as worship, on this most blessed day? Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #1:When We Celebrate Would you agree that an important part of knowing how to keep Father Yahweh’s chosen Sabbath Day holy, is knowing when to keep it holy (yes or no.)? Unlike today's popular man made method,Yahweh's originally revealed method of reckoning days in the Bible is not from midnight to midnight. Read Gen 1:4-5 and answer the following questions:
Does scripture show that Father Yahweh gave a whole 24 hour day, a dark part and a light part?
Besides night and day what other two names does scripture gives these parts?
Can you name the first part which the Bible shows begins a whole day; and the second part who’s ending finishes a day?
Read Gen 1:5-2:2 and answer the following:The Bible shows that Father Yahweh made creation week(the first week in existence) with how many days?
What numbered day did He rest on, and by what name do men today generally call that day of the week?
Scripture shows when the Sabbath begins and ends....
Read Lev 23:32 (b) and answer.
In the scriptures, when does Elohim instruct us that a Sabbath Day or any day for that matter is meant by him to begin and end?
Read Mark 1:32 & Deut 16:6, What sign did Elohim put in the sky for us to look for and know when it’s evening?
Therefore, it is clear that when the sun goes down on the evening of the sixth day of the week, this marks the beginning of Elohim's seventh day Sabbath. This lead us to...
Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #2:PREPARATION DAY The way in which we spend the seventh day Sabbath time with Yahweh is so important to Him that he gave us a whole day to prepare in advance for it!
As we advance in this study, we should have already begun to see that Yahweh's preoccupation of heart concerning the Sabbath day is to spend time in undisturbed fellowship with His people whose heart is likewise disposed to their Elohim's prerogative. In other words the preoccupation or goal of both our Elohim and we His people is to individually and collectively come together on the Sabbath; in one heart and mind of mutual communion and singular focus on Him.
We are to do the following commandments every day, but on the Sabbath, this way of life is even more strictly displayed...
Jeremiah 29:,"11‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
Matthew 22:37, Yahshua declared, “‘Love Yahweh your Elohim 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 depend on these two commandments.”
1 John 4:20,"If anyone says, “I love Elohim,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love Elohim, whom he has not seen.21 And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves Elohim must love his brother as well."
Scripture shows the sixth Day is meant by Yahweh as a preparation day so that as much as possible all things that might be a distraction from our Sabbath day preoccupation of loving fellowship in Yahweh's holy rest, can in advance be accounted for and eliminated.
Read MK 2:27 & Deut. 6:24-25. Based on all that you’ve learned so far would you say Yahweh made the importance of the Sabbath day for our good or it’s own good?
Read MK 15:42; LK 23: 54-56.Since the Sabbath is important enough to Yahweh to give us the guideline and example of using a preparation day, should it be equally important to us to wisely use this time in advance to make sure every Sabbath day is segregated from unnecessary secular employments? (Look up and the definition of secular.)
Without distractions Yahweh wants the whole Sabbath day completely devoted exclusively in holiness unto Yahweh.This means participating in no other employment than directly loving Him through the keeping of his Sabbath commandment; and indirectly loving Him by loving each other.
Read Ex 16: 22-23. Does scripture show Father Yahweh established the practice of his people using the sixth day (called Friday) as a day to prepare in advance for the Sabbath? Read John 19:14 (KJV) use the Strong's Concordance to look up the Greek definition of "Preparation": Gr.#3904 & #3903 and say what you think is the best definition. Based on what you've learned so far, fill in the blank of the following sentence in your own words. In order that every Sabbath day can begin and end as a holy rest from my own secular, earthly employments, proper advanced preparation on _____________should be done.
Advancing further in this study, you'll continue to see concerning the Sabbath day, that Father Yahweh wants us to minimize as much as possible the normal every day earthly encounters and distractions of life. On preparation day we should strive before the start of every Sabbath rest,to eliminate such worldly activities or distractions as your cooking, cleaning, shopping, and putting gas in the tank.,ect. If at all possible, we should be willing to sacrifice these types of errands in an effort to prevented them from intruding upon our important Sabbath day time with Yahweh.
One might even consider notifying non-Sabbath keeping friends and family who would take your mind off of Yahweh that unless it's Elohim related, or an emergency your unavailable. Elohim's inspired word seems to suggest that even the burial preparations of His own son's (the Messiah's) body, should take a back seat, as something undesired to be done on His holy Sabbath day. These activities which were precious and important to the mourners among Yahshua's family, and freinds were halted as time ran out on preparation day.
After the Sabbath day was completed, they sought to finish these activities (MK 15: 42-16:2). Perhaps this was appropriate, since in our Heavenly Husband eyes, His Sabbath is symbolic of eternal life, joy and holiness of Heaven., To continue into the seventh day having their minds and bodies preoccupied in the sadness of dealing with a unclean dead body, (especially one upon which all the sins of the world were placed) may have been inappropriate to keeping it holy.
Now that we know when Yahweh Elohim wants us to keep His Sabbath day, and when, why and how we are to prepare for it, next we ask Yahweh, for clear examples or guidelines of how specifically He wants us to keep or celebrate His Sabbath day? This leads to...
Sabbath Sanctified Celebration Rule #3:Exodus 20:8,"Remember the Sabbath day." to keep it holy
Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask,"If Yahweh has already made the Sabbath day holy, how can anything we do or don't do, make what Yahweh has made holy, unholy?(if in a group study, ask if someone has an answer and then compare with the following)
ANSWER: in Heaven, Yahweh Elohim by literal definition of His name, is without peer, the singularly perfect, complete in and of Himself, self existent, ultimate originator, and supreme source of all reality, who by very nature or presence, can't help but hold the eternal position of Highest.Without having to say anything, just His existence alone automatically commands the righteous acknowledgment of praise and worship from His creation. The angels of Heaven exalt him because that's, what and who He already is (see Isaiah 6:1-5).
So likewise, we as His Earthly creation, owe Him eternal acknowledgment, by exalting or treating him as who he already is. One of the ways we give Yahweh His due worship, is on His special Sabbath day, acknowledge Him, by treating or keeping this seventh day time period, as He already made it; holy unto Him As motivation "to keep it holy,Yahweh commands that we (His redeemed) "remember" in our celebration of this sacred time, the special loving meaning towards us, that He placed on this day." Yahweh Elohim makes it clear that He has made the hours between sunset at the end of the sixth day (Friday) and sunset at the end of the seventh day (Saturday) exclusively holy time (Exodus 20:11)
In (Duet 5:12; Ex 20:8,11), does Father Yahweh command mankind to keep the Sabbath day as He Himself did? If so what words found there suggest how we should approach it like Him?
Can you use either a Dictionary, Bible Concordance, or Thesaurus to look up the words sanctified, hallowed and blessed, look at their definitions and note any synonymous words you find in common within the definitions of each of the three words.
When it comes to keeping the Sabbath day holy, from the very beginning, our Heavenly Husband made Himself an example for us to follow.... "For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but on the seventh day." he rested
Read Gen 2:3 and answer....
We know that unlike the other six days, Father Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, but can you find in the verse two other things Father Yahweh Himself did on the first sabbath; as an example to us?[END]
Remember, based on Yahshua's words in Mark 2:27, Yahweh in Genesis wasn't doing these things for himself. The Sabbath motivation of His heart was to bless man even more with a beneficial special day of personal uninterrupted fellowship together with Him.
Just as Yahweh purposely stopped His own work and blessed the Sabbath day, making it a special holy time of fellowship with His people, so we should follow His lead and purposely plan to treat the Sabbath time as blessed; in uninterrupted spiritual activities of holiness unto Yahweh.
Read Psalm 121:3-4 and answer whether or not you think Yahweh needed to rest on the Sabbath Day, or was he just doing it as our (Adam & Eve / man kinds) example of how to keep it?
Putting all of what our Elohim is saying together, He tells us that just as He in His holiness rested from doing his own work and everything was declared good, it is good and holy that we like Him on the Sabbath day, keep it holy by resting or ceasing from doing our own work.
The idea that growing in a relationship of intimate, loving eternal Holy fellowship with Yahweh by imitating or following in His example is not just relegated as a Sabbath activity. For a Christian it must be a daily way of life that involves our consistent active sharing in or following after Elohim's own example of what He's done, or is doing. This is a prevalent truth throughout the scriptures...
Song of Solomon 1:4,""Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers." "We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you."
Matthew 16:24,"Then Yahshua told His disciples, "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."
Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and for maintaining the traditions, just as I passed them on to you."1 Corinthians 11: 1," 2 You are to imitate me, just as I imitate Messiah."
Philippians 3:10,", that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death11 so that I may somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been perfected, but I press on to take hold of that for which Messiah Yahshua took hold of me.13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of Elohim’s heavenly calling in Messiah Yahshua."
As we delve deeper in His word, it becomes more and more clear that Yahweh Elohim didn't just tell us to keep this special day holy and leave it up to us to decide how to do that. Elohim took an active leading role that serves for a teaching example for us to follow in how he specifically wants us to uniformly approach keeping his Sabbath Day holy. Before getting into more detail about proper Sabbath Keeping, it's important for us to understand why in our flesh, whether attempting to keep a day or ultimately ourselves holy...
(A) IT'S UNNATURAL TO FOLLOW ELOHIM
We'll start at the beginning, before outside Satanic interference or temptation helped cause the fall of man's nature. Originally mankind was created with a good nature that was naturally inclined to spiritual intimacy and obedience to Yahweh's loving heart. It was a simple thing for Adam and Eve to follow Elohim in keeping the special once a week Sabbath Day requirements of worship. Before the fall, it wasn't a struggle on the Sabbath to put aside and rest from their own separately chosen diversions or routine of daily tending the garden. They instead delighted in spending the time dedicated individually and corporately in exclusive intimate worship unto Yahweh...
Mark 2:27,"Then Yahshua told them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."
As a result of the fall, man's heart or spirit became corrupted and lost the natural intimacy they once desired and held for Yahweh and His Law as priority over all things. That day, this Elohim centered life perspective or mind state of intimacy with Yahweh died within them; becoming unnatural or foreign to them. It was replaced by a new corrupt, self centered or other false god centered nature...
Romans 8:7,"because the mind of the flesh is hostile to Elohim: It does not submit to Elohim's Law, nor can it do so."
As time went on, except for a small minority, mankind as a whole completely forgot the knowledge of Yahweh they once had instilled in them...
Romans 1:28,"And even as they did not like to retain Elohim in their knowledge, Elohim gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
Yet when Yahweh Elohim graciously called Abraham and through him brought forth a remnant of mankind who he made into His holy nation or people of Israel, He re-introduced His sabbath day and of necessity, added rules to help steer their naturally foolish and wayward hearts.
To those who sought the truth, Elohim's Law opened their minds towards understanding the deeper spiritual meaning of this day of exclusive fellowship and holy intimacy, He desired to share with them. Yahweh's written Law or Torah spelled out for mankind His good, righteous and Holy character and heart's desire towards us...
Romans 7:12,"So indeed, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good."
Under the Old Covenant, it helped that through Elohim's inspired faith, the people had their old human hearts graciously cleansed or forgiven of their past sinful deeds. It helped that Yahweh declared them righteous and gave His Law to let them know what sin was, and a desire to avoid sin; maintaining His imputed righteousness. Despite all this gracious help Yahweh knew that without a completely new heart or nature, It was still hard and unnatural for His Old covenant people to be holy as he is holy.
To make things easier, they needed a new (born again/regenerated) Holy Spirit heart living inside them, to naturally and consistently keep His holy and righteous Law(MT 11:29-30). Faith in Yahweh graciously helped start them off right, but due to the weakness of their own corrupted away from his holy image nature, their fleshly efforts to keep the righteous and holy Law were eventually doomed to fall short of the Laws requirement to be like Yahshua. That's why until the New Covenant Promise of Faith in the person and work of Messiah Yahshua came, Yahweh Elohim graciously gave them the temporary guardianship or Law protection of the blood of animals which only covered their sins committed in the inevitable weakness of their flesh.
Galations 3:15," Is the Law, then, opposed to the promises of Elohim? Not at all! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the Law. But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Messiah Yahshua, the promise might be given to those who believe.Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the Law became our guardian to lead us to Messiah, that we might be justified by faith.Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
3:19,"Why then was the Law given? It was added because of transgressions, until the arrival of the seed to whom the promise referred. It was administered through angels by a mediator (Moses and the Aaronic priesthood of the sons of Levi who temporarily represented Yahshua's eternal ministry and preisthood) . A mediator is unnecessary, however, if there is only one party; but Elohim is one."You are all sons of Elohim through faith in Messiah Yahshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Messiah Yahshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise."
Until Elohim Himself came in the flesh and through the better sacrifice of his death burial and resurrection, inaugurated the New Covenant, His Old covenant Law protected His people from their own flawed nature. This protection came under the condition that they by faith in Yahweh obeyed His Law.
If they obeyed Yahweh's Law by sincerely battling or striving against their own fleshly nature to please Yahweh as the Law itself prescribed in the first great commandment, they'd first humble themselves under the already revealed knowledge of who He is. Then through the prayer of forgiveness they'd repent from any sins that were inevitably born from their naturally rebellious hearts. If they obeyed Yahweh's Law guardian this way, it would help His people to not only grow in reduced frequency of their sins, but in reduced magnitude as they loved Yahweh by the obedient doing of His righteous works. Yahweh's Law guardian acted as a fleshly heart filter or strainer that retarded or suppressed many sins from being produced.
The Major advantage of Yahweh's Law guardian was the mercy feature in which any sin not suppressed or retarded by its filter, could be covered or hidden in sincere repentance from Yahweh's forgiving sight; through the work of animal blood sacrifices. This Elohim provided Old covenant Law guardian acted as a temporary mediator or Earthly priesthood, that was fearfully and obediently worked out by flawed in nature men; who by faith were saved.Except for a small faithful remnant, Israel the earthly nation or kingdom as a whole completely succumbed to their fleshly rebellious nature and fell from the saving faith of the Old Covenant. In their iniquity and condemnation, they did not by faith obey Yahweh's Old covenant Law Guardian as He commanded that they should live by...
Jeremiah 31:31,“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares Yahweh"
(B) HOW FOLLOWING YAHWEH TO KEEP IT HOLY, BECOMES NATURAL AGAIN
Jer. 31:33,“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh,“I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people. Yahweh 34 “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know ,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Acts 17:30,"Although Elohim overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all men everywhere to repent. 31For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
With the establishment of the New improved Covenant, Yahweh's people learned that whether having the written Law or not, all people by faith in Messiah Yahshua need to completely forsake trying to walk in righteousness through our old weak and beggarly human fleshly efforts or understanding. In Yahshua our old nature must die, or we must die to it, so by faith we instead have a new Holy Spirit heart nature leading in the gracious righteous, clean, and pure life of Yahshua active inside us...
Ezekial 36: 25,“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.26 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27 "“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."
By the leading of Yahweh Elohim's own Law of the Spirit of Life in Yahshua we're now empowered to naturally, keep His Sabbath day command or any of His righteous and holy Law...
Romans 2:14,"Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law,"
The apostle Paul is communicating, what he observed among the new Gentile believers in Messiah, who unlike the Jews, did not yet have the outwardly written instruction of Yahweh's Law taught to them. After receiving the Holy Spirit these uneducated in the Law, Gentiles were naturally led to do many of the things written in the unknown to them written Law of Yahweh. Naturally without being told to, they began fulfilling many of Yahweh's Law requirements. Such requirements as hungering and thirsting for righteousness, so that they would come every Sabbath to church to seek and hear the Masters teachings in order to grow in His knowledge. The Holy Spirit led them to study the scriptures (Law & prophets) to show themselves approved; so through repentance of sins, they could walk more and more in his righteous image of Yahshua's Law character (Psalm 25:4-12,, Proverbs 21:21, Isaiah 55:1-2).
Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders Elohim had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me! 14 Simon has told us how Elohim first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written: 16‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,and I will restore it, 17 so that the remnant of men may seek Yahweh, and all the Gentiles who bear My name, says Yahweh who does these things 18 that have been known for ages.'19 It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to Elohim. Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood. For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
Acts 13:42,"As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people (Jews & Gentiles converts) urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath.43 After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of Elohim. On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city (Majority Gentiles) gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of Elohim to you first.
But 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,to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the word of the Lord, and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout that region."
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Whether physical Jew or Gentile,the fact is as we denying our fleshly nature, and become mature in walking in the Law of the Spirit of life in Yahshua, according to John 16:13-15, and Ezekial 36:27, the new Holy Spirit empowered nature within us will lead us to the truth of Yahweh's holy & spiritual Law commands; such as remembering to keep holy the Sabbath day.What in our flesh is a difficult, unnatural and undesirable way to spend time, will be for those led in the Spirit, a natural, desirable delight!
By choosing to walk in our new Holy Spirit nature, we like Adam and Eve before the fall can now naturally delight in following Yahweh's holy Sabbath command. Going back to the very Genesis of our creation we will find and follow Elohim's example set by His Himself of how to keep the first Sabbath day. Doing this deepens both our understanding and intimacy with Elohim as he personally leads and guides our spiritual development within His Sabbath rest. In other words, the foundation of us keeping or celebrating the Sabbath as holy begins with our being sensitive and dedicated to Elohim's own Holy Spirit guidance.
This means learning from what we both hear the Heavenly Father has already said and doing what we see He Himself has already done concerning Sabbath celebration.
Read Gen. 2:2 and answer Can you write the word used to specifically categorize whose work Father Yahweh as our example, ended and rested from on the seventh day?
This rule first established by Yahweh's example in Genesis, becomes even more apparent when for the first time Yahweh Elohim reintroduces His Sabbath command to ancient Israel the nation. He specifically says (Ex 20: 9), "Six days you shall labor ". and do all your work
As you look at Exodus 20:9-11, what other words instruct us on specifically whose work we should rest from and what kind of rest we should have?
Yahweh is showing and telling us by his own original example, that on the other days of the week we are allowed to do our own self inspired works or creation, but to keep the Sabbath day holy, we must only participate in activities that strictly follow His example; by watching and observing what He has said and is saying, and what He has done, and is doing.
His Sabbath day rest isn't just any kind of rest. We rest from our own activity's unto and in Yahweh. The New Living Translation, verse 10 puts it like this.... "but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to Yahweh your Elohim" In other words, on the Sabbath day we're on a special date time with our Heavenly Husband and He takes the lead about how we are to follow His Heart's desired form of rest.
For us who keep the Sabbath, even our association with worldly non-Sabbath keeping people,friends and family is affected. Unless their participating in Sabbath activity with us, let them know this day is off limits to the self led secular aspirations and preoccupations we normally indulge with them. This day is special, in that it's specifically dedicated only to our Elohim's strong desire for intense holy fellowship with us His people. As such our Holy Spirit led hearts follow His heart holy desire in intimacy with Him and other like minded Sabbath keepers. This leads us to...