The Sabbath begins at Friday sundown and ends Saturday at
sundown. Keeping the Sabbath holy is initiated by recognizing
it as a separate holy day from the other days.
I prepare a day early. I begin, by making sure my home is
clean. I have meals prepared that will last until Sabbath is
over.
I try to lessen distractions, such as T.V., the phone, or
doing some home project. Remember, it is to be a delight, it
is to be restful. I look for those things that are delightful.
By ceasing from our work it brings a restoration and
refreshing that YOU ONLY GET WHEN YOU BEGIN TO KEEP THE
SABBATH, not just rest on Saturday or Sunday but the Sabbath.
On Sabbath evening, Friday, I always begin with praise and
prayer to YAHUVEH. I invite Him into my home and into me, to
keep Sabbath with me. I ask Him each Sabbath to show me what
it is that He wants us to share together.
The father and/or husband blesses his wife and children as
part of Sabbath. For those of you that are single, it is
YAHUVEH who blesses you.
It is also permissible to do good on the Sabbath; remember
YAHUSHUA healed and did miracles on the Sabbath. Accusers of
YAHUSHUA said that He did not keep the Sabbath. He argued not
against Sabbath but those who restricted any activity
(including doing good) on Sabbath. In fact, YAHUSHUA
specifically healed certain men on Sabbath to illustrate this
point. His logic was straightforward. And He said to them,
What man shall there be among you, who shall have one sheep,
and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take
hold of it, and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a
man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the
Sabbath. Matthew 12:11-12
For those of you who want to keep Sabbath but are facing an
employment situation which conflicts with its observance, ask
YAHUVEH to solve that problem by giving you a new job, a
different work schedule, or a promotion.
The Scripture teaches that if we will obey His voice, He
will bless and make us successful.
Some activities on a Sabbath can cause others to have to
work. The commandment says that we should not cause others to
serve us. This even includes family members, paid servants,
and animals (other living creatures)….but the seventh day
is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any
work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or
your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your
cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male
servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
Deuteronomy 5:14
If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your
own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the
holy day of YAHUVEH honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from
your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your
own word, then you will take delight in YAHUVEH, and I will make
you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with
the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of YAHUVEH has
spoken.( Isaiah 58:13-14) This book of the law shall not
depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and
night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is
written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and
then you will have success. Joshua 1:8
Just like the wedding ring, in its circular construction
speaks of a never ending relationship, the Shabbat speaks to the
covenant relationship between the bridegroom (YAHUSHUA) and the
bride. The precious metals, (gold-kingship and the
silver-redemption, ransom of YAHUSHUA) speaks of the vows that
formed the marriage. The ring is worn as a reminder. We as the
Bride of YAHUSHUA are to wear (keep) the Sabbath as a reminder.
The Sabbath is a feast day.
The Old Testament or Torah calls the Sabbath the commandment
of remembrance. The Sabbath was known to man prior to the
giving of the Old Testament or Torah; therefore, the instruction
is A Remembrance to keep the Sabbath holy.
The observance of Sabbath serves as a stepping stone to a new
awakening of YAHUVEH. Instead of always going to assemblies to
visit Him, keeping Sabbath shows people how to invite YAHUVEH to
their home and He comes to visit them. And He was saying to
them, A Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath.(MAR 2:27)
Sabbath is a day of rest and refreshment. According to
YAHUVEH, the very labeling of days is based on Sabbath.
The whole concept of the millennial kingdom is based on the
Sabbath. It is the seventh 1,000th year day in the history of
the earth. For with YAHUVEH, one day is as a 1,000 years, and
1,000 years as one day. The millennial Kingdom begins with the
wedding of the Lamb/YAHUSHUA. We as the believing community of
YAHUVEH are to observe such a weekly event with diligence, deep
conviction, and overwhelming joy!
The Sabbath is not Jewish. It began before there were any
Hebrews or Jewish people. Sabbath is explained in Genesis
chapter two. Adam kept Sabbath, as did Noah, before Abraham, the
first Hebrew or called out one.
One of the greatest misunderstandings of the Sabbath seems to
be the nature of the commandment itself. Many people think that
Sabbath is a commandment of assembly. They think Sabbath is a
commandment of assembly on the seventh day rather than the first
day of the week. The commandment of Sabbath is not A
"Thou shall assemble and hold church on Saturday."
Lets look at what Moses in the Old Testament or Torah taught
from the revelation of YAHUVEH.
Travel on the Sabbath
See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives
you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his
place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. Exodus
16:29
When the children of Israel departed Egypt, YAHUVEH provided
manna for bread. His instructions called for it’s gathering to
be only on six days with no gathering on Sabbath. YAHUVEH
instructed that every man remain in his place or your home.
In fact, the apostle Paul taught that we are not to let
anyone act as our judge concerning a Sabbath. Therefore let
no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in
respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. Colossians
2:16.
Scriptures on the Sabbath
Genesis 2:2
By the seventh day YAHUVEH completed his work which He had
done, and he abstained on the seventh day from all His work
which he had done. YAHUVEH blessed the seventh day and sanctified
(set apart) it because on it He abstained from all his work
which YAHUVEH created to.
Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Six days shall you
work and accomplish all your work, but the seventh day is
Sabbath to YAHUVEH, your Elohim, you shall not do any work –
you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maidservant, your
animal, and your convert within your dates – for in six days
YAHUVEH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is
in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, YAHUVEH
blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
Leviticus 23:1-3
YAHUVEH spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the Children of Israel
and say to them, YAHUVEH’s appointed festivals that you are to
designate as holy convocations (rehearsals) these are MY
appointed festivals. For six days labor may be done, and the
seventh day is a day of complete rest, a holy convocation, you
shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath for YAHUVEH in all your
dwelling places.
Numbers 15:32-36
The Children of Israel were in the Wilderness and they found
a man gathering wood on a Sabbath day. Those who found him
gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to the entire
assembly. They placed him in custody, for it had not been
clarified what should be done to him. YAHUVEH said to Moses, the
man shall be put to death, the entire assembly shall pelted him
with stones outside of the camp. The entire assembly removed him
to the outside of the camp, they pelted him with stones and he
died, as YAHUVEH had commanded Moses.
Numbers 28:9-10
And on the Sabbath day: two male lambs in their first year,
unblemished, two tenth-ephah of fine flour for a meal offering,
mixed with oil, and its libation. The elevation-offering of each
Sabbath on its own Sabbath, in addition to the continual
elevation-offering and its libation.
BEGIN TO KEEP THE SABBATH. THE BLESSINGS WILL FLOW. YOUR
RELATIONSHIP WITH YAHUVEH AND WITH OTHERS WILL BECOME MORE
INTIMATE. YOU WILL REST PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY IN A WAY YOU
THOUGHT NOT POSSIBLE.
Shalom
* * * * * * *
Shalom Elisabeth (Elisheva) Elijah,
My name is Devorah and I think you have already spoken to a
very good friend and sister of mine Sandy Smith here in Colorado.
I was called by YAHUVEH to begin studying HIM/Torah 5 years ago.
I had never heard of the word Torah, Shabbat, Menorah, etc. I had
realized that there was something VERY VERY MAJOR missing but I
did not know what it was, other than it dealt with HIM. I had
prayed and ask him to reveal to me what it was.
In the meantime, he pulled me out of the church. I spent the
next 2 years going from church to church, thinking that the
particular fellowship I was attending was what was wrong. I
realized why he had me do this; it was to show me that what I was
looking for was in none of them, no matter what they were called!
they had pieces of the truth but not the full gospel. We need
YAHUSHUA, his Torah, his Ruach, his blood atonement, but I did not
know all of that then.
One day I went to a Christian bookstore that I frequented and
stopped in front of the book case that said "Hebrew
Literature" Wondering what that meant, I looked. On the top
shelf was this big blue (my favorite color) book which was called
"The Chumash". I had no idea why I was so drawn to this
book. I opened it up and noticed it was Genesis - Deuteronomy. I
wondered why was I drawn to this book since I felt that I already
knew the "Old Testament".
Well to make a long story short, I would come to this store off
and on for the next year and each time be drawn to this book, pick
it up, walk around the store with it, and then put it back (isn't
that just like us to put YAHUSHUA back on the shelf, even when he
hands himself to us!) well eventually I "took hold" On
that same day in the store a friend, not Sandy this time, walked
in and asked what I was buying, when she saw the Torah she asked
where I was attending a "Torah Study" and I ask her
"what's a Torah?, she said it's what's your holding, Oh! she
said, who told you to get it? no one!, just feel like I'm suppose
to have it!, she said Deborah, you're being called, I said called
what?
I can now answer that question: I have been called to teach HIS
Torah, make talmadim. It is truly awesome what YAHUVEH has done. It
is even more awesome what he is doing and is going to do with all
of us. I pray we all remain obedient to Him. As you know, it is
thought that the Torah was studied from Genesis through
Deuteronomy every 3 to 3-1/2 years (notice it also represents the
time in ministry of YAHUSHUA on earth). Over the years and
especially after the various dispersions of the 12 tribes, it
became more and more difficult to do so. In order to maintain an
order or siddur for the reading of the word no matter where the
tribes lived, the rabbis established this Torah Cycle schedule
which is used to this day by Jews worldwide. What is interesting
about the breakdown of the Parashiot or portions, is each weekly
portion reveals something that is going on in our life personally,
and the world. I find this an excellent way to study the word of
YAHUVEH, and for all of us to be one or echad.
As you can see, we have already started the Torah cycle for the
year. As we go thru the Torah schedule cycle I will explain the
headings. Within the Torah schedule cycle falls the 7 Biblical
Feasts of YAHUVEH. As we come to these throughout the year, I will
attempt to begin to teach on those as well. I will attach a Torah
Schedule. As you can see, we have already started for this year,
and are now on Vayera which means: And He Appeared. This is the
Sabbath portion for 10/26/02.
To get you started with some Messianic Music, here are the
names of a few: Jerusalem Arise by Paul Wilbur Shalom Jerusalem by
Paul Wilbur A Final thought......remember when you begin to keep
the Sabbath, you will not do it perfectly, but as you keep the
Sabbath with God or YAHUVEH he will begin to teach and instruct you
how to keep the Sabbath, but the key is to start.
Shalom Elisabeth, I pray you both had a blessed and restful
Shabbat. The Shabbat is the wedding ring. It is the symbol or sign
that says to YAHUVEH "I DO" or I HEAR AND I WILL OBEY!
Yes, I have finally read all the prophecies and heard the audible
words spoken to you by YAHUVEH. I find it a confirmation to the
things that I have heard through reading and studying his word.
Sandy and I have often discussed these same things, and how we
might not talk to each other for a week or so, and then find out
that YAHUVEH has been speaking the same things to us. YAHUVEH
usually speaks to me thorough the reading and hearing of his word.
When I first started to study, the letters and/or words would jump
of the page. Now there is just this continual flow of
understanding and revelation, the word of YAHUVEH is truly alive
The observance of Sabbath serves as a stepping stone to a new
awakening of YAHUVEH. Instead of always going to assemblies to
visit Him, keeping Sabbath shows people how to invite YAHUVEH to
their home and He comes to visit them. And He was saying to them,
A Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.(MAR 2:27)
The Sabbath is not Jewish. It began before there were any Hebrews
or Jewish people. Sabbath is explained in Genesis chapter two.
Adam kept Sabbath, as did Noah, before Abraham, the first Hebrew
or called out one.
Love and Blessings in the name of YAHUSHUA!
