Remember The Sabbath

Recently, there was a story in the news about the Supreme Court making a ruling on a case concerning a man that was allegedly a Christian and as such, felt that he should not have to work on the Sabbath. He felt that his job should make accommodations for him to be able to practice his faith by not working on Sunday so that he can attend church. Remarkably, SCOTUS sided with him, ruling in his favor, and for the most part, it was a big win. It definitely made my heart feel good to see a “W” on the side of faith for once, especially considering that we live in a world growing further and further from all things faith related.

My mind also begin to consider the owners of the Chic fil a franchise, and how they went all out trying to create an atmosphere that reflects Christian values. They even went as far as to make Sunday the day off for all employees that they might be able to have a day off to rest and attend church if they would like to. You can travel from coast to coast, and no matter where you find yourself, if it’s a Sunday and you go to Chic fil a, you will find the doors locked and the lights off. This is another case of faith being lived out loud before the world, yet I find myself having issue with both of these cases.

There was a time, 50 or more years ago to be exact, that many of the states in the US had what’s known as “Blue Laws”. I actually recently found out about them. Blue Laws basically are laws that demand businesses be shut down on Sunday so that the employees can all attend church and practice their faith. This was a time, unlike today when the people appeared to much more “faith focused” than they are today. It was important to them that the family was given the opportunity to attend church on Sunday, as things seemed to slow to a crawl all around the city, allowing the nuclear family the opportunity to enjoy family time. This was very important, in that we were designed to interact with one another on a regular basis.

For the most part, the intentions were good, but I have said so many times on my Twitter page that not all good intentions are “God” intentions. What do I mean by that, you ask? In Genesis 2:2, we read that YHVH rested on the seventh day, hallowed it, and declared it a day of rest for mankind. Having taken 6 days to create the entire world, He rested from all of His labors, declaring that all that He created was “good”. In making the 7^th day a day of rest, we not only rest according to His command, but we attest to the fact that He did indeed create the heavens and Earth in 6 days. Although we don’t see anything else about the Sabbath until the time of Moses, the Sabbath was still very much important to YHVH.

While meeting with YHVH on Mt Sinai, YHVH spoke to Moshe concerning His commands for the people. After having showed His power to the people, He delivered them from Egypt, the house of bondage with a high hand. Realizing, that He truly was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they quickly agreed to accept Him as their God. He then told them the requirements for them to be in covenant relationship with Him. Ultimately, there were about 613 commands given. To be more accurate, not all were commands, some were just His teachings, or instructions for the people. In the midst of them we find the Ten Commandments, in which mid-way through, we find something about the Sabbath, where He commands that the people remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

He makes it clear that the Sabbath has not changed, and is the same Sabbath He established on the 7^th day of creation. From that point on, we find countless texts throughout the Bible, dealing with His Sabbaths. Note that I said “His” Sabbaths as opposed to just “the Sabbath”. It is to be understood that these Sabbaths belong to Him, as they are appointed times, and not just merely something made by the Jews. We can also go to Leviticus 23, where He gets into all of His appointed times, beginning with the Sabbath. I point this out again because I need this to be crystal for where we are going with this blog. We also need to take note that not only did the people in Yeshua’s time observe Sabbath on the 7^th day, but the Apostles continued long after His death as we find it in the epistles written by various Apostles.

So what’s the problem? Well, if you consider the fact that observing the Sabbath on the 7^th day is a command by YHVH, along with the fact that He continues throughout the Old Testament addressing this particular command, that alone is the problem. There is also the fact that if we go back to the covenant on Mt Sinai, the basis of this covenant relationship was hinged on Israel obeying His teachings and guarding His commands, and in doing so, He assures them that not only would they then become His people, but He in turn would become their God. Now we could easily argue that this covenant was solely to Israel but this brings another problem. Outside of the Sinai covenant, there is no other Scripture that outlines another way to be in covenant relationship with Him.

One might argue that we have Yeshua as Messiah, and whereas that is a really good answer, even that answer falls short when considering that the overall purpose of Yeshua doing all He did was to bring us back to YHVH in right standing. Both the Old and New Testaments agree that there is no Jew nor Greek, male or female, bond or free in Him because we are all one. What applies to one applies to all. Now there are some of the commands in Torah that apply only to certain people, but that’s a topic for another day. My point is simple, according the text, YHVH established His Sabbath on the 7^th day, and this was made for all time. Even the messianic prophesies of the Prophet Isaiah confirms that a time will come when ALL flesh when come before Him to worship on the Sabbath. Note it says, ALL flesh, not just, “the Jews”.

What we find is that there are actually two Sabbaths, one established by YHVH on the 6^th day of creation, and the other by Constantine around 325 CE. When comparing these two Sabbaths, which of the two are of divine creation? For those who accept the 1^st day of the week as opposed to the 7^th day of week, in doing so, you are indirectly implying that man, not just any man, but a Gentile that was not divinely inspired, has authority to change times set by YHVH. Not only that, but you are arrogantly asserting that YHVH is fine with you choosing a man-made day over His day. You are disregarding how important this day is to Him, and expecting Him to change His word to accommodate you.

Again, I am not trying to bash Sunday as a day of worship. As I said, you can choose whatever day you want to, as a day of worship, however, stop calling Sunday the Sabbath when the Bible clearly points out Saturday as Sabbath. If you choose to NOT observe the Sabbath of YHVH, that’s on you, but do not call a different day “Sabbath”, as if to imply that you have the authority to change an ordinance of God as you see fit. Even Yeshua observed the 7^th day in accordance to Torah. With this in mind, as I look back to the “Blue Laws”, the stance of Chic fil a on taking Sunday’s off, the SCOTUS case about the man who wanted to be able to take Sunday off as a Sabbath observance, and every other case like this, I think they are indeed commendable, even though the focus is misaligned in the sense that they are fighting for the wrong day. The question becomes this, when these people find out that YHVH actually declared the 7^th day as the Sabbath as opposed to the 1^st day, and that no one other than YHVH has the authority to change it to another day, will they change their fight to the appropriate day and take a stance?

The bad thing about Sabbath being on a Saturday is that almost everything we want to do seems to always take place on this day. The world around us has made this change from being a day about YHVH into a day that is all about us? It almost seems cruel to make a day like Saturday, the day everyone looks forward to, into a day of rest in YHVH. The world seems to be having a great time, in defiance to the Word of God, yet here we are in the Synagogue, or at home. At the same time, I would much rather spend the day with God and the people of God, honoring His day as opposed to running the street with the world. Definitely didn’t want to come off as a buzz-kill writing this blog, but at the same time, many of us make decisions based on half of the information. I wanted to give you more information so that now that you have more info, you can make better decisions on next steps as to whether you change your days of observance to the day declared in the Bible, or whether you keep going in your current direction.

Is this a heaven or hell issue? Not at all, but like I said, when you know better you do better. I believe that as believers, it is solely on us to live a life that lines up with the Word of God and not the other way around. The moment you have been given the word, and you fully understand it, the next steps taken will define your future. At this point, we go from having somewhat of an excuse, in that we were previously operating out of ignorance, into disobedience, in that we willfully choose to continue on the wrong path, despite having knowledge of this error. Either way, it is something to think about, especially if you have been made aware of truth, while yet choosing to walk contrary to that truth.

In all actuality, you can argue against this all day, but the fact of the matter is this, Scripture confirms all that I am saying, whereas any stance against this is supported only by the annals of history, and perhaps a few misunderstood quotes from the Apostle Paul, who I might add also observed the Sabbath on the 7th day. Man was never given authority to change any of the ordinances of YHVH, let’s get that part straight. All in all, worship on Sunday is fine, but do it without calling it a Sabbath. Man does not have a Sabbath, but God does. Besides, most of the people that call that call Sunday the Sabbath still don't even observe it correctly, as it relates to the scriptures. Sunday is merely a Sabbath in name, not observance. #Checkmate