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The internet teems with studies about the Sabbath. Views run the gamut; from the belief in zero expenditure of energy on the Sabbath, to completely denying the need to obey the Fourth Commandment. What you choose to do about the Sabbath is your own decision - but let's examine what the BIBLE says:
Before we begin our study on what is and is not allowed on the Sabbath, let's establish the fact that the seventh day is indeed the Biblical Sabbath (Saturday, according to our calendars):
The Bible tells us that Jews and Gentiles alike regularly attended the synagogue for worship on the seventh day - and the fact that interested Gentiles in Antioch requested further instruction of Paul "on the next Sabbath" is irrefutable evidence that no separate Sunday (1st day) meetings were being held there by those early Messianic Jews or Christians: The Gentiles were willing to wait an entire week - until the next Saturday - for a meeting, because they knew that Paul and his companions did not normally meet for worship on a Sunday. Acts 13:42-44 tells us that, on the next Sabbath (Saturday) practically the whole city arrived for the meeting.
Furthermore, neither the Father nor the Son ever claimed the first day as His own in any higher sense than He has each or any of the other laboring days. Neither of them ever placed any blessing upon it, or attached any sanctity to it. The Bible tells us God expressly reserved the seventh day to Himself - placing His blessing upon it - and claimed it as His holy day (Genesis 2:1-3.) In Israel in the wilderness on the sixth day of the week, He (Moshe/Moses) told them, "This is what ADONAI has said: "Tomorrow is a holy Shabbat for ADONAI..." (Exodus 16:23).
The ancient Roman calendar and the current Gregorian calendar have not disrupted the weekly cycle instituted since creation. God said He rested on the Seventh Day (Genesis 2:2) and commanded that we observe the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8, Deuteronomy 5:12, Leviticus 19:3, Leviticus 19:30, and Leviticus 26:2). The Bible tells us that the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), is made for man (Mark 2:27-28) to be a sign that He is our Mighty God and we are His people:
Exodus 31: (ADONAI said to Moshe) 13 "Tell the people of Israe'el, 'You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am ADONAI, who sets you apart for me. 14 Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people. 15 On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for ADONAI. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death. 16 The people of Isra'el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested.'"
Some might say, "Well, this only applies to Israel and not to the Gentiles!" The fact is, Messianic Judaism and Christianity are a continuation of Judaism through our Jewish Savior - Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ) - and therefore, the Gentiles are very explicitly "grafted in to the Olive Tree":
Romans 11:13-24: Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Rav Sha'ul (Paul) was passionate for this supernatural unity of Jews and Gentiles. He even said the reason Yeshua died was to reconcile the two distinct people groups of "Jews" and "Gentiles". Both Yeshua and Paul said this unity would form the full Body of Messiah: the "One New Man", releasing God's glory on the believing community, and causing the world to believe! (Ephesians 2:14-15 and John 17:21-23.)
As you can see, the above clearly shows that "grafted-in" Gentiles have the same responsibility to adhere to not only the Sabbath, but to adhere to ALL of God's teachings. The death of Yeshua abolished the idea that Jews and Gentiles are two separate entities, as we are all ONE in Him! Furthermore, Yeshua came NOT to abolish Torah, but to "kum" - fulfill/establish/confirm/make it complete. (Please see But, Didn't Jesus Abolish the Law?)
Having said that, let's examine what the Bible actually says about what is and is not allowed on the Sabbath. There are plenty of so-called "studies" about this subject by not only Jewish rabbis who have turned the Sabbath into a burden, but also by Gentiles who don't have a clue about God's Torah (original teachings), yet insist on pushing their skewed viewpoints and limited understanding of the Bible down the world's collective throat. To illustrate this, we will use as an example of one such "off the mark" site (Let Us Reason) which erroneously teaches that "Sabbath means rest, not Saturday!" and goes on to espouse the webmaster's personal ideas as to what the Bible supposedly tells us about the Sabbath rest. Take a look:
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: No work done at all (Ex. 20:10; Lev. 23: 3; Jer. 17:21-22). No watering the lawn, no working in the yard, no hobbies, no surfing, no fixing flat tires, etc. By law if a person did not stop all types of activity in honor of the Sabbath, he was breaking the law. In Numbers 15:32-36 a man was caught collecting sticks on the Sabbath, and he received a "rock concert" from the people he knew.
Messianic Judaism's Response: Absolutely true! God told us in no uncertain terms that we are not to do any work on the Sabbath. But did he tell us not to enjoy our hobbies, or refrain from surfing?
In Jeremiah 17, we are told God said: 21 "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work...." In verse 27 God goes on to use the word "loads" in reference to "work".
Since God refrained from labor on the seventh day, we are commanded to do likewise. Traditional Jews translate this mandate into practical observance by refraining from any act of creation or destruction on the Sabbath. Shabbat is a day devoted to rest from our everyday work (whether it be income-producing work, or cooking and cleaning, or yard work). It is to be a day of reflection, prayer and Torah/Bible study. It is also a day to enjoy our "time off". God never forbade us to enjoy the things we consider "fun" and relaxation after our Bible studies - such as playing games, taking naps, or even surfing. He never actually said, "Thou shalt not surf on Shabbat"....But, if He had, then we certainly should NOT surf on the Sabbath!
Many, if not most, Christians don't adhere to the Fourth Commandment at all. While they might attend church on Sunday, many often go right on doing whatever they want on that day, including heading to the office to "catch up", or to mow the yard or clean the house, etc. They don't actually take a day of REAL rest as God commanded.
1 John 5:3 - For loving God means obeying his commands. Moreover, his commands are not burdensome, 4 because everything which has God as its Father overcomes the world. And this is what victoriously overcomes the world: our trust.
The New Testament reveals that in the intervening centuries the Rabbis added a myriad details to the Sabbath command, thus missing the spirit of it as a wonderful gift for man's good. Yeshua did His utmost to get His followers to view these traditions through a different lens than the one shared by the Pharisees.
Matthew 12:1-12: At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the sabbath the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, `I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath." And he went on from there, and entered their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?" so that they might accuse him. He said to them, "What man of you, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the sabbath."
Yeshua didn't come to abolish the Sabbath (or any of God's original teachings) but to dig it out from under the mountain of legalistic sediment, and return it to us once more as a blessing rather than the burden it had become. It is a day for showing mercy and a day for doing good - and if you are allowed to "do good", then does that not insinuate you may leave your homes, drive to synagogue, drive to town to do something you consider pleasurable, or walk to your neighbor's house to fellowship? The Sabbath should not be governed rigidly by narrow definitions of what is work and what is not; it is a day get your mind off your job, your troubles and trials, and to focus on God - and to rest.
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: No kindling of a fire (Ex. 35:3). No fellowship cookouts or barbecues. You can't go into a restaurant and get a hamburger that's been flame broiled, you can't cook eggs or pancakes in the morning because you'd be kindling a fire for cooking. To drive a car would be to "kindle a fire" in the combustion chamber of your engine.
Messianic Judaism's Response: That statement is indicative of someone who hasn't got a clue about God or the Torah! In OT times, kindling fires was extremely hard work. They not only had to cut the trees and branches and split the logs, but also to shlep them home, afterwards. Compare that to today where we simply light a match or turn a knob or push a button on our propane grills or microwaves - that could hardly be considered "work"! We don't have to carry any heavy loads in order to heat up the food we prepared yesterday. We don't have to butcher a cow or gather wood. God did NOT say we couldn't eat or enjoy "fellowship cookouts" on a Shabbat. Here's what the Bible tells us:
Exodus 16: 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two 'omers per person; and all the community leaders came and reported to Moshe. 23 He told them "This is what ADONAI has said: 'Tomorrow is a holy Shabbat for ADONAI. Bake what you want to bake; boil what you want to boil' and whatever is left over, set aside and keep for the morning.'" 24 They set it aside till morning, as Moshe had ordered; and it didn't rot or have worms. 25 Moshe said, "Today, eat that; because today is a Shabbat for ADONAI - today you won't find it in the field. 26 Gather it six days, but the seventh day is the Shabbat - on that day there won't be any." 27 However, on the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather and found none.
28 ADONAI said to Moshe, "How long will you refuse to observe my mitzvot (words/commands) and teachings? 29 Look, ADONAI has given you the Shabbat. This is why he is providing bread for two days on the sixth day. Each of you, stay where you are; no one is to leave this place on the seventh day."
Like everything else in the Bible, you have to take the above Scripture in context: During the Mosaic Covenant times, God kept the Israelites in the desert/wilderness for 40 years for some serious re-training and "deprogramming" of what had been drilled into them by their pagan Egyptian captors of 400 years. He was trying to show them exactly Who He was and how to obey and please Him. They basically had everything handed to them food-wise, and God had a simple command for the sixth day: Do what I tell you and don't gather manna tomorrow on the seventh day because there won't be any - it's the Sabbath. I gave you enough to last two days so you wouldn't have to bother gathering more. God, in His utter frustration over being ignored, ultimately made it perfectly clear that NOBODY was supposed to try to gather manna; they were, instead, to stay "in their places" on the seventh day.
God's intent was to gain the people's obedience. He did not want them running around worrying about gathering manna on the Sabbath; He even proved to them that the left-over manna from the sixth day, to be eaten on the seventh day, Sabbath, would not rot/spoil. He simply wanted them to learn to trust Him in all things. He wanted to show the Israelites (and all believers) that through Him, they/we could take one day of complete rest, unburdened by the routine physical responsibilities that normally demand our attention and energy for every day living.
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: No traveling (Ex. 16:29). Later the Jews added to this law, allowing only a half mile of travel on the Sabbath which we see observed in the NT. But the pure law says "stay at home." Actually, if you kept this part of the law, you could not travel to your church gathering unless it was less than one-quarter mile away from home. If you had an emergency you could not drive to the hospital.
Messianic Judaism's Response: The rabbis of old constantly added to, and "read into" the Scripture. Yeshua did His best to dispel and undo many of their "rabbinical" teachings, because the rabbis had made the Sabbath into a complete burden.
Yeshua healed on the Sabbath - which means if we have an emergency, we're most definitely allowed to seek medical treatment! It also means that healers - doctors, nurses, medical people of all types - may work on the Sabbath if need be. God never said, "Thou shalt not heal on the Sabbath."
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: No trading (Amos 8:5). If you happened to need gas to get to church service, you could not "trade" money for gasoline. You would not be allowed to buy a cassette tape of that morning's message or a book at the store. There is to be no exchanging of money for goods. If you worked with stocks and you needed to sell, you couldn't.
Messianic Judaism's Response: Let's examine Amos 8:5....
You say, "When will Rosh-Hodesh be over, so we can market our grain? And Shabbat, so we can sell wheat?" You measure the grain in a small eifah, but the silver in heavy shekels, fixing the scales, so that you can cheat...."
Here the prophet was discussing ADONAI'S anger with His people's disobedience. The people had again been ignoring and/or complaining about the Sabbath because they wanted to get on with their daily work and their own agendas. Does this Scripture actually SAY we cannot "trade" or "exchange money" for goods? No, it does not! GOD never said "Thou shalt not buy or sell on the Sabbath." That was MAN'S idea. (Granted, if you "work with stocks", that's another thing; that's considered working your normal job on which you earn income..."
Some like to use the example of Yeshua's throwing "the money changers" out of the temple, insisting that this means God doesn't like us "buying or selling" or doing business of any kind:
Matthew 21: 12 Yeshua entered the Temple grounds and drove out those who were doing business there, both the merchants and their customers. He upset the desks of the money-changers and knocked over the benches of those who were selling pigeons. 13 He said to them, "It has been written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer.'" But you are making it into a den of robbers!"
QUESTION: Was it a Sabbath when Yeshua threw these people out of the Temple for conducting all sorts of business? No! We aren't told which day it was, but it wasn't on a Sabbath because Yeshua rode into town on a donkey (animals aren't supposed to work on Sabbath, either), and the people had cut branches from trees to spread on the road before Him. He threw out these "business men" who were turning a profit on their wares and had turned the Holy Temple into a carnival-like atmosphere, thus defiling its true purpose!
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: No marketing (Neh. 10:31; 13:15,19). Make sure you do no shopping whatsoever. You can't buy any ice cream for dessert after dinner or anything else. If you run out of food or drink at home you can't go out to purchase any, you can't even by a stick of gum.
Messianic Judaism's Response: So, what's to stop you from stocking up on the SIXTH day? Is it a burden for us to plan ahead and stock up so that we DON'T "run out of food" by Saturday? Why can't you buy your cotton-pickin' ice cream or chewing gum on Friday? (The blatant sarcasm by the "Let Us Reason" site shows just how unwilling they are to comply with the Word of God - which leads us to wonder if they truly belong to God at all! By all means, let's not inconvenience ourselves for God! Never mind the fact that He inconvenienced Himself to be beaten, ridiculed, and spat upon before becoming the Final Sin Sacrifice!) If we truly belong to God then NOTHING He asks of us should be considered a burden. You can't pick and choose which Scripture to randomly ignore...
Nehemiah 10:31 - "If the peoples of the lands bring merchandise or food to sell on Shabbat, we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day....
Nehemiah 13:15 - In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day so I admonished them on the day they sold food.
Nehemiah 13:19 - It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day.
We have ask ourselves: Did GOD Himself speak these words? Did GOD Himself tell us not to do "any shopping whatsoever" on the Sabbath? No! The prophet and the people were discussing these things. They were telling each other what they would and would not do on the Sabbath. There's no Scripture in the Bible wherein GOD tells us not to "buy or sell" on the Sabbath. HOWEVER - God did tell us to cease working on the Sabbath, and Commerce is working/making a living. If someone can't go from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening without buying or selling, then they have a problem! It is not a big deal if you plan ahead for it.
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says:"... A holy assembly with double the daily offering along with the other offerings. In other words, you are to give twice as much on the Sabbath (Num. 28:9). Do we practice this today in compliance with Old Testament law. Do Sabbatarians really practice the law? I have yet to see people go to Shabbat and give twice as much each week.
Messianic Judaism's Response: Does the webmaster of "Let Us Reason" personally KNOW how much each "Sabbatarian" gives on the Shabbat? Does he hang out in Messianic (or even in traditional) synagogues on Saturdays? Can he present a fact sheet that substantiates his unproven allegation? Does he even know how much NON-Sabbatarians tithe in their churches (many of which have "convenient" teller machines on the grounds!)? The "Let Us Reason" web master obviously is confused about the fact that God gave us a New Covenant, not a new Torah!
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says: New showbread in the holy place (Lev. 24:8). Of course this cannot be done today since there is no temple, so this part of the Sabbath cannot be followed by the church. The fact is the Sabbath was not made for the gentiles, but for the Jews and their generations Ex. 31:12-17). It's a law given between God and the Jews.
Messianic Judaism's Response: The "church" CAN, however, keep kosher, and follow the Biblical feasts and the seventh day Sabbath - which they don't! So, why make a big deal about the showbread? Obviously, it's to prove the point that "Sabbatarians" supposedly don't have their heads screwed on straight. We "Sabbatarians" are at least doing what we can for God, rather than to sit on our haunches and pretend our afterlife is assured simply because "we believe". You might have the "insurance policy" of Jesus, but you need to read the "fine print"....
Rev. 12:17 - "The dragon was infuriated over the woman and went off to fight the rest of her children, those who obey God's commands and bear witness to Yeshua."
Rev. 14:12 - "This is when perseverance is needed on the part of God's people, those who observe his commands and exercise Yeshua's faithfulness."
Please note, the above Scriptures don't call these people "Christians", nor do they mention the "Ten Commandments". They simply refer to "the Commands" or "the Commandments", depending on which Bible version you use....God warns us in Proverbs 4:2 - "I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah." With the advent of Christianity, the "Old Testament", along with God's original teaching and instruction, basically became null and void....BIG mistake! Yeshua was our final SIN Sacrifice; not someone who came to abolish God's original teachings!
Messianic Jews and Gentiles are the ones who actually keep Torah (God's original teaching and instructions which Yeshua NEVER abolished) AND they hold the testimony of Yeshua....
Only those who continue to obey God's commands - including keeping the Sabbath - will finally enter the glorious "rest" of God's Kingdom and receive the gift of eternal, spiritual life! Sabbath-keeping shows an attitude of simple obedience. It is a test of our attitude, revealing whether we really want to obey and depend upon God and receive His Holy Spirit.
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"Let Us Reason" webmaster says:The last part of the requirements for keeping the Sabbath day law is the penalty for breaking it: DEATH.
Messianic Judaism's Response: GOD is God, and He can do whatever He wants. He plainly warned the people about the consequences of their actions - and then, in His mercy and grace (because He knew we were never going to "get right"with Him without it), He sent us a Final Sin Sacrifice. Ours is to obey, not to whine, complain, and disobey simply because we find His commands to be "inconvenient".
If you are talking to the "Sabbatarian" Jews, then you need to remember, THEY do their best to follow God's original teachings and instructions. Rather than to put them down for keeping GOD'S Sabbath, perhaps you should concentrate on getting YOUR understanding of the Bible in order, and praying for traditional Jews to come to a saving knowledge of Yeshua....
The bottom line is, if God HAD been more specific and told us "Don't even bother getting out of bed on the Shabbat because I don't want you moving a muscle" - then we would, indeed, have to stay in bed and not move a muscle. Whenever God speaks, we MUST listen! But, He didn't. He gave us an exact outline of what was expected of us in our daily walk with Him. He simply said not to do "any work" on the Sabbath. This means we are not to wear ourselves out by doing the things we normally have to do in order to survive. We are to take a break and rest, and to concentrate on Him and all the blessings we've received. Shabbat is a day to concentrate on and rejoice in the awesomeness of God and His creation because, without Him, none of us would even be here!
God's ordained Sabbath is not now, nor ever has been, a burden. However, our constant disobedience and whining and complaining has been, and continues to be, a burden to God....
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