These days, there is so much debate over things in the Bible. Is the Law relevant today, should we observe the feast days, can we eat what we want, and then the Sabbath, is it really Sunday or is it still Saturday? Among all of these things mentioned, the one that sparks the most is that of the Sabbath, or “Shabbat” as it is said in the Hebrew language. First off, allow me to say that you can worship any day you choose. Realistically speaking, worshipping the Creator should extend past a mere one set aside day. Now as it relates to this one particular day, as early as Genesis 1, we find that YHVH established the seventh day as a set-apart day of rest. Lets dig a little deeper.
For those that are dead set on keeping Sunday as the day of worship, that is totally fine, I mean you could make Thursday the “new” Sunday if you like. However, any day chosen other than Saturday will NOT suffice for as a day of rest as it relates to the Bible. It may seem a light thing to you, which day you rest on, but it is VERY important to the Creator. It was so important that when He gave the “Ten Commandments” to Moses, the fourth command was to “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy”. This can be found in Exodus, the second book of Torah. With that in mind, it is a short back track to the time of creation. I say this to point out that there really isn’t a lot of searching to be done to see that from the very first mention of the seventh day until the time of the giving of the command on Mt Sinai. It becomes blatantly clear that Sabbath is without a doubt on the seventh day of the week and NOT the first day of the week. One could search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and find out that “Sabbath is mentioned about 170 times. As it relates to the Old Testament, we see that YHVH continuously warned Israel about not keeping His Sabbaths as a day of rest, and the consequences for ignoring them as well. Of the various Sabbaths, there is also one that relates to the Promised Land, where YHVH told Israel that they could work the land for 6 straight years, BUT on the 7th year, it was so be a Sabbath rest for the land. YHVH warned the people that failure to give the land it’s rest would result in them being expelled from the land in proportion to the amount of years the land was denied it’s Sabbath rest. This can be found in the Book of Jeremiah. Interestingly enough, when the Babylonian captivity took place, this was the exact result of them not heeding His warning, and as a result they were expelled from the land for 70 years, the time that adds up to the number of years the land was owed it’s “rest”.
One might ask, just how are we to remember this Sabbath day? Well, this could be found in Scripture, if you look. We are to refrain from ALL work as it relates to you occupation. Any other type of servile work is also prohibited, in that we are told to “rest”, not do house projects such as paining, mowing the lawn, washing cars etc. Not only that, but our animals are to rest as well. If you have servants or even people working for you, there are to rest as well. You do not buy things or even sell things on Sabbath, it is a day of complete rest. That being said, some may contend that the day was changed in the New Testament, however, there are NO SCRIPTURES anywhere in the Bible that confirms this change. Most people totally confuse the term “day of rest” and “Sabbath”. It is assumed by those who believe that Sunday is the “new” Sabbath, that this is the day of rest, yet these same people do not do anything related to rest on this day. Churches all over the US have a little tradition of going out to a local family restaurant after service to eat, which, according to Scripture is not allowed in that you are out buying food when you aren’t supposed to do so. Not only that, but the people working in these places from the host/hostess that seats you to the person that cooks your food are indirectly working for you, whereas your servants should not be working for you on this day. Just because you worship on Sunday does not mean that is rest. True, the Jews did assemble in the Synagogue on Sabbath (Saturday) to hear the reading of the Torah, but outside of that, they didn’t do anything remotely resembling work of any kind.
I said this early on, a person can choose any day of the week they want to worship on, but this does not negate ones biblical expectation of Sabbath observance in accordance to Scripture. If you really wanted to observe Sabbath in accordance to Scripture, then rest from ALL your labors on Saturday, and then if you want to assemble on Sunday to worship, go for it. At least then you are lining up with Scripture and not the other way around. Since we observe our days the way we do, and Saturday and Sunday are our weekends, it seems understandable why we are so mixed up. Saturday is considered a great day of work in that most people work 5 days a week, so catering to people on this prime day allows businesses to generate huge revenue in the fact that they cater to the masses. One good example would be Chick-fil-a. I respect how they make it a practice to observe Sunday as a day of rest. The only problem is that the day to choose to observe as a Sabbath is NOT the day the Lord proclaimed. And although I am sure they lose a little revenue being closed on Sunday, I could only imagine the financial hit they would take if they were to shut their doors on a Saturday, correctly observing YHVH’s Sabbath. In my eyes, I think it would be a genuine lack of faith to do this. I mean if you were to compare their daily earnings throughout the week, I’m willing to bet that Saturday is their big money making day. Looking at it from the perspective of numbers, this would be totally unwise, however, looking at it from a biblical standpoint, it would be totally wise in that you are trusting in God and not the numbers. It all boils down to one’s priorities, as it relates to their faith in YHVH.
On the flip side, to look at the church and it’s observance of the day, I believe many will keep Sunday as the day of worship simply because it has been our tradition, dating back almost two thousand years. To change this day would be uncomfortable to many and as a result could drop membership and the amount of money in the collection plate. All in all, in most cases it would seem easier to appease the masses rather than obey YHVH, under the guise of reaching people. Again, it all boils down to what you trust, or better yet WHO do you trust. That being said, you can do whatever you like, but in the midst of doing, understand that your actions tells the story your mouth doesn’t want heard. Obedience to His word is better than any sacrifice you make for His word.
