Sabbath
This is the next in a series of posts on Biblical Timing. Thus far I have concentrated mainly on Friday, Day Six of the week, the day the Lord made animals and then human beings, and the day on which human beings killed the Lord; and Day One, the first day of the week, the LORD's Day or Sunday.In this post I want to have a look at the day that comes between the two, namely Day Seven, but of course better known as the Sabbath. In his book 'Sabbath', (buy it here) Dan B Allender points out that for many the Sabbath has somehow morphed into Sunday, the day of the resurrection and that it is fulfilled by attending a religious event called Sunday morning church service. He warns that "this is not a Sabbath, but that rather this is Sabbath breaking". Eugene Peterson [writing in Christianity Today vol 38, no. 4, in 1994, in an article called The Good-for-nothing Sabbath] warns of the danger of the bastard Sabbath, which he describes as a Sabbath which has become nothing more than a break.
I need to make clear right up at the start as we talk about Sabbath that too much discussion around the Sabbath gets hung up on what day it is, rather than concentrating on what it means to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. As Allender points out in his introduction, “Sabbath rest is not an option; it is a commandment” and “it is as wrong to violate the Sabbath as it is to steal, lie, and kill.”
Jesus did not abrogate, cancel, or annul the idea of the Sabbath and neither should we. Jesus points out that humans were not made for the Sabbath but rather that the Sabbath was made for humans. Sabbath is actually one of God's gifts to us. In fact Sabbath is one of God's gifts for all of His creation: male, female; slave, free; Jew, Gentile; believer, unbeliever; beast of burden, and the ground itself. Sabbath is important and necessary for all creation.
There is so much to write about Sabbath that this post is once again going to end up being a number of posts. My context, which is one of Biblical timing,is a context which seeks to point out how much we miss by neglecting the Bible's way (and of course, God's way) of timing. By conflating Sabbath with Sunday we lose out on much of the richness of the story of Jesus. Sabbath keeping was one of the main reasons for the Pharisees deep dislike, which became hatred, of Jesus. I do believe that if our God had really wanted us to conflate the Sabbath (Day 7) and the Day of the Resurrection (Day 1), He would have raised Jesus on the Sabbath.
As we read the New Testament, the Sabbath is the one day of the week which is mentioned more than any other. For me this becomes an opportunity to say: “We know exactly which day of the week this event happened” and I then often meditate on different Sabbath events on the Biblical Sabbath, which is from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, and has been such for at least 3 000 years!
Another joy that comes from practising Biblical timing, is that one ends the week with Sabbath celebration (from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) and perhaps even with Sabbath rest...and then one starts a new week on Sunday, Day One, with Resurrection celebration.
It's a way of timing that sets things in perspective.
Another joy that comes from practising Biblical timing, is that one ends the week with Sabbath celebration (from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) and perhaps even with Sabbath rest...and then one starts a new week on Sunday, Day One, with Resurrection celebration.
It's a way of timing that sets things in perspective.
