Sabbath 2022
Shabbat
Shabbat Shalom!
Shabbat (Sabbath) is a reminder of Paniym Elohim, the Presence of God always before us. A reminder of His Rest, and that He will always be before us - not only always with us, but He has also gone before us and knows what will happen. He knows the decisions we will make before we do, because He sees the big picture––He has already been there––He has already been present and therefore knows what we need at any given time.
A Day of Rest
God sanctified the seventh day and made it holy. Shabbat is the only day that Yahweh gave a name, and the only day He made holy. So how do we know that Saturday is the seventh day, and not Sunday?
Even though the Jewish Rabbis have changed many things, they have not changed the day of Shabbat (Sabbath). The leaders of the early Catholic church changed the Sabbath day to Sunday, which you can see in their canons (Council of Nicaea 325AD, Council of Laodicea in 365AD, Canon 29 & 37; Council of Toledo X in 656AD; Council of Nicaea II in 787AD, Canon 8: www.newadvent.org). They wanted to rid their religion of all things Hebrew.
The Sabbath does NOT begin at sundown on Friday (Exodus 16:23-24 clearly shows that the Sabbath day began in the morning). Shabbat is celebrated every Saturday, the seventh day of the week, from 12:00am to 12:00pm.
As with the year really beginning in the Spring, we should also consider when the day actually begins. We have been trusting in what the Jews have told us, based on Talmudic teachings. But a lot of their conclusions are based on confusing rationalizations within Rabbinic debates. The Talmud is NOT the same as the Torah. It is full of Rabbinic traditions of man, NOT Scripture.
Darkness covered the earth in Genesis 1:3. There is darkness all around all the planets, but Earth is the only planet God said to it, “Light be!” He called the Light “good,” then He separated the Light from the darkness in verse 4. Nothing more was said about the darkness. In verse 5 God called the Light “Day,” and the darkness He called “Night.” Plain and simple, and very straight forward. The day begins in the morning, at 12:01am, and ends at 12:00pm.
Light is an idiom for Salvation, so Yeshua is the Light. The Jews do not know Yeshua, because they are without His Light––their day begins at night because they are full of darkness––there is no Light in their lives.
But believers, who know Yeshua and have His Light in them, know the difference. They know that the day begins with the morning because the day comes alive, everything in nature wakes up and it is a bright, new shiny day in the morning (Exodus 12:10, 16:23-24, 18:13).
The Hebrew word Shabbat has some very interesting characteristics. This day that we rest on and celebrate each week, is a rehearsal to assemble and meet with God; which is the meaning of the Hebrew word miqra, known in our Bibles as a holy convocation. So what is it a rehearsal of?
In order to understand the answer to this question, we must understand the word itself. The root word of Shabbat, is Shoov. It means to cease, desist, or rest––a day of rest. The ancient meaning is what comes from the understanding of to return and repent––which is rest (in God).
This word is also the root of the word for seven which is sheva (sheba). This word sheva means sacred full one or to make complete or to be full or satisfied or have enough of. God’s work of creation was full and complete, and good and perfect. Nothing could be added to it or taken from it without marring it. And He did it all in seven days (actually six, because He rested on the seventh day).
Bread of Presence
On the Sabbath there was one thing done differently in the Temple than on the other days: the Bread of Presence (or Showbread), was changed. Fresh cakes of the Bread were baked and the priests would change the Bread so that it was always present before Yahweh. This was done very carefully so that the table was never without the cakes of Bread. The old Bread was then given to the priests to eat on the Sabbath.
There were twelve of these cakes of (matsah / unleavened) Bread, which were to represent the twelve tribes of Israel, and at the same time represented the Presence of Yahweh––the Bread being a symbol of God’s Presence, and God as the people’s Bread and their Life. Changing the Bread each week also symbolized refreshing our spirits before God once a week.
The golden table the Bread of Presence was placed upon, was in the Holy Place, across from the Menorah. The Menorah represents the Presence of God’s sevenfold Spirit and that He is Israel’s Lightgiver and their Light.
Between the Menorah and the table of the Bread of Presence was the ever-burning incense on the golden altar. This showed that Life and Light are joined together, and come to Israel in fellowship with God and prayer.
God dwelt in the Holy of Holies, and He was worshiped in the Holy Place where the symbols of His Presence were. This Presence meant the special manifestation of God––and is also a symbol of the Messiah.
God manifested these symbols in the life of Yeshua, the actual Presence of God in the flesh, when the time was right.
Shabbat is a rehearsal of when we will live with God’s Presence on the Earth in the very near future. It is a rehearsal for our final Day of Rest when we will rest in Yeshua eternally in Paradise.
God tells us in Exodus 31:13 & 17 that Shabbat is a sign between His people and Himself, so that we will know He is Yahweh, our God and our Creator. So this day is a sign for us to remember who God is.
Celebrating Shabbat (Sabbath)
To begin your Sabbath celebration, make your Sabbath meal special, including something special to drink, usually a special grape or pomegranate juice, maybe some special bread such as Challah (a Jewish tradition and not commanded by God), and perhaps a special side dish. A special dessert that you only have on Shabbat would keep this day special and separate as well.
Just before you sit down to your Shabbat meal, light the candles of a regular seven-branch Menorah. Light the center candle first, and use it to begin lighting the candle on the right first, and continue to the left lighting all of the remaining seven candles. A Menorah represents Yeshua, and it was in the Temple. It is the only light that was in the Temple mentioned in Scripture.
Read Psalm 92––it is a prayer just for Shabbat.
Read Isaiah 58:13-14 where God tells us what He requires of His people on the Sabbath.
Shabbat is a day for study, worship and rest unto Yahweh Elohim Yeshua (Yahweh God our Salvation). It is a day of rest and therefore we are not to work on this day––that includes your job, and any household and yard work as well.
Based on the meaning of the word Shabbat, nothing of the other kingdom (the devil’s world) should enter into a day spent in God’s kingdom. Anything that is of the world, such as anything the rest of the world engages in (anything that involves technology, playing or watching sports, playing worldly games, watching worldly movies or TV shows) we should rest from.
• This is a day with Yeshua––Yahweh in the flesh. You will receive the greatest benefit if you spend it listening to Him, studying His Torah, letting Him lead you in your studies of His Word, and of course in His rest.
If this day is spent with family, you might study together to learn the things of God, including the children. God’s wisdom is infinite, so we can never learn enough, nor be too young to learn about God and Who He is.
This is not a day of don’ts, but a day simply spent with Yahweh. We should look forward to this day each week. God wants us to delight in it.
We should cook our Sabbath meals on Friday, and put them in containers for the Sabbath. I have been wrong about this in the past, and I repent of causing you to stray from God's Word about this. I have read in a couple places recently (Exodus 16:23 & Isaiah 58:13), that we should not prepare our meals or do whatever we want (our own pleasures) on the Sabbath day. Since heating up your meal would also be construed as cooking, I suggest meals should be made that can also be eaten cold; or that you can put in a crock pot overnight. I had read in the past verses that I presumed meant we could prepare meals on the Sabbath, but I was mistaken. Please forgive me if you took my word for this. I do not want to be responsible for causing you to sin.
