The Sabbath Blessing
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Had men and women always remembered this memorial of God's creation, the problems so prevalent today, lack of meaning in life, identity crises, loss of self-esteem, would never have arisen. There would be no evolutionists, no skeptics, no agnostics![1]
Exod 20 (v. 8) Remember the Sabbath day.... (v. 11) ....wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day....
In these immortal words, God asks men and women to remember the weekly memorial of creation, the seventh-day Sabbath. And He promises His people many blessings in connection with this special day.[1]
Mark 2 (v. 27) ....the Sabbath was made for man.... For what purpose?
Matt 11 (v. 28) Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Rest from what? Exod 20 (v. 9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work....
The Sabbath is about laying your burdens at the feet of the cross and forgetting about it for a 24 hour period, spending time with Jesus.
To all who receive the Sabbath as a sign of Christ’s creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight. Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature repeats His invitation, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28).[2]
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Why do we need this time off from work?
John 17 (v. 3) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
How do you get to know someone, without spending any time with them?
Is 5 or 10 minutes every day of the week, enough time to build a relationship?
God is no less particular now in regard to his Sabbath than when he made this requirement of the children of Israel. His eye is upon all his people, and over all the works of their hands. He will not pass by unnoticed those who crowd upon his Sabbath, and employ time for their own use which belongs to him.[3]
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What will happen, if we neglect in taking this time to know him?
Matt 7 (v. 21-23) ....depart from me, I never knew you....
Why does it matter which day you choose to spend time with Him?
Gen 2 (v. 3) ....God blessed the 7th day and sanctified it....
You will not find any other day in the bible, in which the Lord has announced this special status on it!!
God blessed the seventh day! He made the seventh day an object of divine favor, a day that would contain an endless fountain of spiritual refreshing for His people, for all time to come.[4]
Next, He sanctified the seventh day! He set it apart as a holy day, a special time every seven days to continually remind us of our beginnings, our roots![4]
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God did not say "any day" in seven, but rather He picked the Day!!
Compare this with a human example: Go ask any groom at his wedding to line up the bride with all the bridesmaids.
And tell the congregation to vote on who the best woman for him to marry should be, any one of the seven women, and then take a note of the groom's response!
Exactly, he didn't pick that one, even though all seven women look good and could give birth to children. He doesn't want just anyone other than the one he asked to marry.
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Deut 5 (v. 9) ....For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God....
If He picks a day for us to worship on, then why do we think that it is ok to just worship Him on any day that we choose?
Why did the Lord give us these Sabbaths?
II Thes 2 (v. 13) ....for salvation [is] through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
What promise does the Lord give to those who observe the Sabbath?
Isa 58 (v. 13) ....And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, (v. 14) And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob....
There is no other day in the bible which the Lord makes this kind of a promise. But we can have this promise if we worship Him on a day that He chose.
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The Sabbath is a symbol of rest, not works. It is a meaningful symbol of righteousness by faith, not legalism. It is a clarion call to trust in Jesus and not in ourselves....All week, we work, but on the seventh day, we rest. We turn from our works to a total rest in Christ.[5]
So, the Sabbath is not about you keeping some Law, in order to goto heaven.
No, it is about you taking the time, out of your busy schedule, to build a relationship with your savior.
It is a divine appointment every week, where you get to spend all day learning of Him, on a day that He has blessed and that He has sanctified.
It’s a day of worship, which helps you to remember, that He is the creator God that made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
Exod 20 (v. 11) ....the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day....
And as your mind dwells on these things, certainly He is able to provide for all of your needs.
Phil 4 (v. 19) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
The Sabbath reminds us of where we develop character, in relationship with our heavenly Father and with Jesus Christ. We need that distinctive time with the heavenly Father. We need Sabbath quality time with the God who sanctifies us, the God who helps us keep growing.[6]
The question was asked to me at a bible study one time about the Sabbath, “I can’t just sit around and rest all day on Saturday and do nothing?”
So let us see from the bible: >>>>> What did they do on the Sabbath day? <<<<<
References:
1. Mark Finley, (1995). Beyond Orion's Gates, p.147, Hart Research Center.
2. E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, p.289, par.1
3. E.G. White, The Spirit of Prophecy (vol.1) p.259, par.1
4. Mark Finley, (1995). Beyond Orion's Gates, p.145, Hart Research Center.
5. Mark Finley, (2002). Satisfied: How God can meet your deepest needs, p.73-74. Pacific Press.
6. Mark Finley, (2002). Satisfied: How God can meet your deepest needs, p.75. Pacific Press.
Image #1: Life, Hope, & Truth, (2018). The Sabbath: A blessing for families. Retrieved from https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/10-commandments/sabbath/blessing-for-families/
Image #2: The Bible Sabbath, (n.d.). The Sabbath was made for man. Retrieved from http://www.the-bible-sabbath.com/sabbath-made-for-man.html
Image #3: Jesus Without Religion, (2016). Depart from Me, I never knew you. Retrieved from https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LlqydCYYGlE/hqdefault.jpg, YouTube video.
Image #4: Daisy Formals, (2018). Wedding day bride picture with 6 bridesmaids. Retrieved from https://www.daisyformals.com/blogs/news/a-crinkle-chiffon-a-line-dress-with-cross-front-halter-neckline-and-self-sash-at-the-waist
Image #5: Veronica Lake, (n.d.). God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/474x/3e/eb/d3/3eebd3df05e1ae9d8a8464c42191adc7--star-quotes-wise-quotes.jpg
Image #6: Light for my path, (2011). To accept or reject the weekly Sabbath of rest. Retrieved from http://www.pathlights.com/Bible-Study-Course/YBSC-15.htm
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