E.12~ Archipelago: Exploring in Rest- Remembering & Keeping the Sabbath
What is the Sabbath?
Shabbat, which means Sabbath, or rest, is a series of appointments with your creator God who wants to encounter you personally. Eternally, we enter into His rest when we encounter Him personally for the first time and choose to allow Him to dwell within us. Daily, we enter into His rest for our bodies as we sleep. Weekly, we enter into His rest when we gather together with our families and with our communities in services. These special divine appointments are to be marked by three qualities: holiness, rest, and joy.
Shabbat is considered the most important of the Jewish holidays -- even more important than the Feast of Atonement or the other High Holidays. It is the fourth commandment in the list of 10, listed after the commandments directing man’s relationship to God and before the rest off the commandments directing man’s relationship to man.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it ... (Deuteronomy 5:12)
What does it mean to “remember” the Sabbath?
We are called by Scripture to both "remember" (recall or retain in the memory) and “keep” (to guard) the Sabbath Day, in order to consecrate it as a day to enter into divine rest and joy. He rested from His creative work and set apart the seventh day of the week (Genesis 2:2) as a memorial of this work. Reflection is an essential element to enter His rest.
Jesus commanded us to practice this weekly rest in remembrance of Him. 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Luke 22:19-20)
What does it mean to Guard the Sabbath?
Guarding something or someone implies that there is something to be guarded from and that there is a potential to lose the thing you are guarding. We must protect and watch closely our opportunities to enter into divine rest as the enemy does not rest from working to steal the divine rest God intended you to have for body, soul, and spirit. God modeled in the garden how to work and then pause to reflect on that work. He does not need rest like we do but He is the master teacher. He commands us to regularly set apart time to honor the creative work of our hands that He has blessed and partnered with us in and focus our attentions on communion with Him and our friends and family. Even the sleep we enter into daily is reflective in its nature.
How did the Jewish people and Jesus remember and keep the Sabbath?
Remembering and keeping the Sabbath day is a prophetic act. Each week when we celebrate the Sabbath day imitating God, we are physically doing something that corresponds to what God is doing in our souls while we do it. This external, concrete obedience manifests the internal, abstract work God is doing in us.
The bird’s eye view of the traditional Jewish Sabbath Day:
Begin with a corporate family meal that includes a form of worship & cleansing. The Shabbat meal is also a time when friends and family share highlights from the week, words from scripture, and sing Shabbat table songs.
Gather with local community in a worship service, or synagogue. (This service often includes the recital of six nature Psalms (95-99, 24), corresponding in number to the six days of the creation, and the special psalm of the Sabbath (Psalm 92).
Relax with family and friends while praying, reading, napping, and participating in activities that rejuvenate.
Finish with the Havdalah Ceremony- the 25th hour- closing ceremony that separated the Sabbath from the start of the week. This often included going outside to look at the sky to look for the first stars to shine, which marked the start of the new work week.
The worm’s eye view of the traditional Jewish Sabbath Seder meal:
God created a form to follow that allows for us TO ENTER into His rest for our souls. This is why the weekly family meal always BEGAN the Sabbath day. Let’s look at the worm’s eye view of this form present in the Sabbath Seder. The word “seder” is Hebrew for arrangement or order. This order parallels the life of every Christian!
Preparing for Shabbat- The house is cleaned, the food is cooked, and other chores are finished up so that everyone can relax and enjoy the sanctity of time apart from their normal routines.
Preparing for Eternity- All of our time from our creation till we step into humility, seeing ourselves as a sinner in need of a savior, we are preparing to make a choice for eternity.
Remembering the poor- Giving “Tzedakah” is considered a moral obligation and a form of social justice, not just an act of generosity. Tzedakah involves giving money, time, and effort to help those in need.
Remembering we are poor- Humility is the essential precursor to entering into His rest. Isaiah 66:2 Says the LORD, "But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.” Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Lighting the Shabbat candles- The Shabbat table should be set with at least two candles (representing the dual commandments to remember and to keep the Sabbath). The oldest woman would speak a blessing or a verse related to the lighting of candles. We light candles to symbolically drive away darkness and welcome the Light.
Lighting Christ within us- Jesus is the light of the world, John 8:12. He stood in the synagogue days before His death and resurrection, standing in front of the two very large lamps kept lit every day, all day long in the dwelling place of God. He made the announcement to all that He was the light that those lamps represented.
Drinking the wine- a glass of wine or grape juice was blessed and then drank by the everyone at the table.
Drinking the blood- The blood of Jesus, which gives us salvation & has the power to continually cleanse us, body, soul, and spirit, is the sign of the new covenant.
Washing the hands- Everyone would wash their hands in a bowl of water.
Washing the heart- Our hands are a symbol of what we do. Confessing our sins one to another (admitting we are dirty), and washing them in the blood must happen first before we can hear His voice. Our sin gives us the false perception of ourselves and of God and we become deaf to His communion.
Eating the bread- At least two loaves of braided bread called challah are placed on the table. The two loaves represent the double portion of manna the ancient Israelites received each Friday during their wilderness wandering. Challah loaves are baked whole and usually covered with a decorative bread cover or napkin. The Father usually blessed the bread and offered it to His children.
Eating Manna- Manna, or God the Father’s voice, is given to us as a gift and Jesus was the word made flesh for us to consume so that we would never be hungry or thirsty again. Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
Blessing as a parent & a spouse- The Father blesses the children and places His hands on their heads to impart to them the blessing. Then the Husband and Wife bless each other.
Blessing as a priest- We enter into the role of priest, facilitating God’s Blessing. He gave us the relationships of parent and child to help us to see our relationship to Him as our Father. He gave us the relationship of husband and wife to help us see our relationship to Christ as the bride. These relationships with God enable us to enter the priesthood and turn to our neighbors and love them as ourselves for the first time ever.
Under the old covenant, only the descendants of Aaron were chosen to convey the blessing of God to the people of God, but under the new covenant, all the followers of Jesus Christ of Nazareth who came in the flesh are made part of "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession". It must be remembered that the power of the priestly blessing is from the Lord. He is the One who does the blessing, and even under the older covenant, the sons of Aaron merely transmitted or conveyed it, like a conduit.
Feasting the Shabbat Meal- Once the blessing has been spoken, the meal is eaten by the family.
Feasting at the Lord’s table- The spoken word precedes the manifestation of the fruit of the Lord’s blessings of which we get to eat. He spoke and it was in creation and He then gave us dominion over all the Earth to do the same. We feast together at God’s table, physically & spiritually at the same time. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5
Giving Thanks after the Meal- Jews normally do not say "grace" before meals (as do many Christians), but rather after they have eaten. They do not "bless" the food, either, but rather acknowledge that God is the One who provides for their sustenance.
Giving Thanks for His Salvation & Sustenance- We offer our thanks to God for His salvation and provision, His communion, which is the sustenance of life, and the invitation to His table. “When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.” Deut. 8:10
This is how we ENTER into His Rest!
When we choose to remember and ENTER into His Sabbath (rest), He sets apart (makes holy) our body, soul, and spirit. Rejoice in the Lord, Always, again I say rejoice!
Our day 7 of rest is essential to working days 1-6 according to our true identities, to walk in the creative, specific purpose God has for us. Without doing this weekly, we begin to survive, instead of thrive.
This is an invitation & celebration, not an obligation. Delight in the Lord. Call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable. Isaiah 58:13 I have made Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27
The Sign of the Sabbath
Exodus 31:12-17
The Sabbath
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14 “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
Without entering into His Sabbath, daily, you cannot move in rest in your body. First birth, Creation
Without entering into His Sabbath, eternally, you cannot be alive in your spirit. Rebirth, Transformation
Without entering into His Sabbath, weekly, you cannot encounter rest for your soul. Sanctification
Rest for us, body, spirit, and soul, comes from connecting to the source of life, our Father God, by the Holy Spirit, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, His Son.