The Sabbath

3-30-25

The Sabbath

• What is the Sabbath?
  • Stop working, solemn rest, .
• Where does it come from?
  • Based out of

Genesis 2:1–3 (ESV)
¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ²And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

• • • God’s exampling of work

Exodus 20:8–11 (ESV) (6 days creation was made)
⁸“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

• • • God’s expectation of towards humanity and creation

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 (ESV) (You were slaves)
¹²“ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ¹³Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁴but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On 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 livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. ¹⁵You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

• What are the different types of Sabbaths spoken of in the Law?
  • Last day of the 7 day week – Leviticus 23:3
  • 7^th year of rest for the land and the year of release
    Leviticus 25:1–7 (7th Year Rest)
    Deuteronomy 15:1–23 (Releasing of debt and slaves)
  • 50^th year of rest for the land, releasing of slaves, returning property
    Leviticus 25:8–22 (Year of Jubilee)
  • Passover: A day to remember that God ‘passed over’ the Israelites in the land of Egypt when all the first borns died. (At Jerusalem) – Leviticus 23:4–8
  • Feast of First Fruits: A day of thanksgiving for God’s provision. An offering of the first fruits of the barley harvest – Leviticus 23:9–14
  • Feast of Weeks (Pentecost): A day of thanksgiving for God’s provision. An offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. (At Jerusalem)
    Leviticus 23:15–22
  • Feast of Trumpets: A day to mark the beginning of the new year.
    Leviticus 23:23–25
  • Day of Atonement: A day to atone for all the sins of the people for the last year. – Leviticus 16:29–31
  • Feast of Booths: A week to remember that God took the people of Israel through the desert and cared for them. (At Jerusalem) – Leviticus 23:33–43
• What happened if you did not follow the Sabbath?
  • Death Penalty
    Exodus 31:12–17 (ESV)
  • Taking the Sabbath seriously

Isaiah 58:13–14 (ESV)
¹³“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; ¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

• The fulfillment of the Law: Jesus Christ
  • Keeping things in their proper place and understanding the heart of the Law
    • Helping others:

Matthew 12:1–14 (ESV) (Lord of the Sabbath/Good on the Sabbath)

• • • Not getting caught up on which day: Motivation

Romans 14:5–8 (ESV)

• • • This is meant for our good, not as a punishment or a debt:

Mark 2:27–28 (ESV) (The Sabbath is for man, not man for the Sabbath)

• This side of the cross

1 Corinthians 10:23 (ESV)

Romans 8:1–4 (ESV)

A Healthy Rhythm of Life

Ephesians 5:15–17 (ESV)
¹⁵Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Weeks – Months – Years – Seasons

• What happens when you don’t rest?
  • Weariness, diminished physical health, neglect of relationships, increased stress, less productivity, lack of mental clarity
• Strategy for a rhythm of life
  • Get some Perspective

Ecclesiastes 3:9–13 (ESV)

⁹What gain has the worker from his toil? ¹⁰I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. ¹²I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; ¹³also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

Exodus 16:22–23 (ESV)

²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’ ”

• • Take the long rest when needed

Leviticus 25:3–4 (ESV)

³For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, ⁴but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.

• • Be about the time
    • Shabbat: working
    • Nuach: Be
    • What brings you joy in God?