The Sabbath

Gen 2:2-3 HNV
(2) On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
(3) God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work which he had created and made.

Christians have misunderstood - or ignored - the Sabbath, to some extent, since the time of Jesus. We all have questions. The Sabbath is important! Keep it! Yet... it is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? How can I do it without being 'legalistic'?

Questions. To boot, this all falls under 'the Law' discussion which is a HUGE gray area to most Christians. We have lost much of our Jewish understanding.

First of all, the Sabbath (Shabbat) and 'a sabbath day' are not necessarily the same thing. If a Jewish feast day (hag; holiday) falls on a week day, then that day will be a sabbath day. Later in that week, Shabbat (Saturday) comes also. Two sabbath days in the same week, but only one Shabbat. Shabbat ('the' Sabbath) is always Saturday. Shabbat is equivalent to Saturday - in the Hebrew realm.

That said, can a sabbath be observed on a Sunday? Of course!

So how important is the Sabbath?

Exo 20:8-11 HNV
(8) "Remember the day of Shabbat, to keep it holy.
(9) You shall labor six days, and do all your work,
(10) but the seventh day is a Shabbat to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates;
(11) for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the day of Shabbat, and made it holy.

Obviously this is important! But what does it mean for us? We are not under the law, right?

Fortunately, we are not justified by the law (read Romans 3), but by another law of 'faith'. Does this mean we put aside the law?

I believe everyone would agree that we do not put aside 'You shall not murder' or 'You shall not commit adultery' or 'Honor your parents'. That would be ludicrous! So then, what shall we do with Shabbat?

Paul wrote,
Rom 14:5 HNV
(5) One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.

and Jesus said,
Mat 12:5 MKJV
(5) Or have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath and are blameless?

There is much I do not know about Shabbat. Do I believe it's important? Yes! Because God believed it was important. Does that mean I know how to observe it properly? Unfortunately, not really. When Jesus reminded the Pharisees that the priests in the temple were blameless even though they profaned the sabbath, He was not saying it was okay to profane the sabbath. Yet, there was MUCH importance placed on being a priest! Are you a priest before God? Anyone can be, if they are willing.

Another interesting tidbit... is that the land also was supposed to observe a sabbath. Every seventh year the land was to rest from plowing, sowing, and harvest. From the time Israel came into the Promised Land, they did not let the land rest. They ignored the land's sabbath for 490 years. After many warnings from the prophets, God told them that HE would rest the land. Since 490 years had passed, Israel owed God 70 years of Sabbaths. This was the length of Israel's captivity. For 70 years, Israel was denied a national existence.

Because of this, some teachers say that for every week we ignore a sabbath, God shortens our own lives by a day. Naturally, one cannot prove this, but in a culture where we value the 'get-ahead' mentality at all costs and above all else, this isn't such a stretch. He who dies with the most toys wins, right? Rest.