I find this amazing, now. If you've ever read an old diary or in some way took a good hard look at yourself "back then", you know what I'm talking about. It's eerie, in a way, to see such glaring error in myself - and error that I clung to so passionately!
In a moment of Bible reading today, I came across these verses:
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defieth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." - Exodus 31:12-17
In these 6 verses alone (not to mention in the rest of scripture) God answers all of our arguments!!! Are we so dense and rebellious as to completely ignore HIS view on the matter???? Here are my notes:
1. "children of Israel" - This phrase does not mean "the Jews"!!! Jew is a term derived from Judah (only one son of Israel), and the Jewish people are basically the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (only 2 sons). ISRAEL HAD 12 SONS! The other 10 tribes are scattered throughout the nations today! (For complete information, click here.) Whether we are genetically part of Israel or not, who knows, but we are grafted in by Yeshua!!! Either way, we are in this family. We are a part of the children of Israel. After all, do we not claim the promises that YHVH made to Israel??? YHVH is still speaking to us today! And how many times in these verses does He use this phrase???
2. "my sabbaths" - Here there are 2 things to notice. Firstly, He calls them "my" sabbaths. There could be other sabbaths, which belong to someone else or some other god. Secondly, this is plural! Do yourself a favor and research the biblical sabbaths.
3. "throughout your generations" - It's pretty obvious that we are still "in" our generations. I don't know why we ignore this phrase in scripture. This is a way of saying forever!!! YHVH knew what Yeshua would do and what the New Covenant would be. He never operated from a position of ignorance - He is all-knowing! If He intended for us to drop this after Yeshua, why would He command it forever??? And by the way, Yeshua (Jesus) kept the Sabbath. That fact is recorded in the gospels. If we want to be Christ-like, then why wouldn't we?
4. "the seventh" - Here it is clearly spoken which day is His sabbath (and not someone else's). The seventh day is Saturday! Sunday sabbath was instituted by man (Catholic church). The church clearly documents and acknowledges this fact. (Here.) Are we commanded to keep a man's sabbath or YHVH's??? Are we obedient if we just go with the norm or with what we are used to??? Further down in these verses, it is explained that the seventh day was YHVH's rest from creation. We keep this day as a memorial of that day!
5. "perpetual covenant" - The Bible is full of covenants! This one is forever! It was not done away with at Calvary.
6. "forever" - Forever means forever.
Please, please, if you are a believer, please search this out in scripture! We do not honor our God and King either by breaking His commandments or by remaining obstinately in ignorance of them. He calls us higher, closer to a more intimate and honored position with Him! We claim spiritual authority and privilege, but those are bestowed upon us by YHVH Himself! How can we ask for such treasures with hearts that are disinclined to honor and worship and disinterested in truth???
Share this article, this is a serious matter of our faith! Every believer needs to wrestle with YHVH on such issues and gain an understanding and appreciation of His Truth for themselves!
Be blessed!
Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net
