THE SABBATH (a reminder)

-

Exodus 31:14-17

You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community.

You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.

The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time.

It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’”


The day of rest of the Lord, is the Sabbath and just as we see in Exodus 31, the Lord reminds the children of Israel that they must keep the sabbath day, the penalty for flouting it was death!


Now we would understand why the teachers of the law observed Jesus on the sabbath day waiting for him to perform a miracle that they may jump on him to arrest, then kill him.


Mark 3:1-2

Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.

Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.


I love the question Jesus asked them:


Mark 3:3-6

Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.”

Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.

He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!

At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to plot how to kill Jesus.


Today the contention is not really what can be done on the Sabbath day but on which day is the Sabbath. If the current calendar fits with what it had been in bible times the sixth day should be a Saturday.


This is so important to some that they believe those who will inherit God's kingdom are those who keep the sabbath day or do I say the saturday.


We remember this:


John 1:18

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. (talking of Christ Jesus)


Thus, it is Christ who gives us the true revelation of the Father and the accurate interpretation of His laws.


What did Jesus say?


Matthew 12:6-8

I tell you, there is one here who is even greater than the Temple!

But you would not have condemned my innocent disciples if you knew the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’

For the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”


Mark 2:27-28

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.

So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!”


What did Christ reveal through Paul:


Colossians 2:16-17

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.


This everyone ought to know and thus act accordingly either to condemnation or to truth. For we must understand that all that happened before Christ was revealed, were shadows of things to come, Christ was the fulfilment of all things. He is the Heavenly Father revealed.


Yes people seek physical things/practices to do or observe to make them feel holy or acceptable to God. Listen to scriptures again


For God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit. (John 4:24)


It is NOT "the day" or "the place" we worship but the Heavenly Father we worship and His worship can only be true if it is in Christ Jesus. Selah


Even more absurd is certain days and rituals created by some sects even in the church and they tie attributes to it and have convinced some that they must follow those practices, ordinances or sacraments to get eternal life. This is NOT true. It is a contradiction of scriptures and what Christ came to do. For Christ is all in all.


1 Timothy 4:1-5

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.

Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.

For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.


Christ came to set people free, what denominations, religion or sects can put people in bondage again? God forbid.


May the Lord reveal His truth to the willing and searching heart.


Worship the Lord continually, do NOT get roped in the bondage of the law and legalism, understand that Christ is the fulfilment of the law.


Glory to God.


He calls us blessed.


Love

@the watcher

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU STILL SEE?

-
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry. It may have been easy when we first believed, to visualize the promises. We reach out with zeal, loving God, seeking to do exploits. That was when we first believed, just as Jesus said: John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." When we become born again we see God's kingdom, our spirit man is reborn and we count the flesh as nothing. Then time passes by, we are in the world, all its distractions, temptations, responsibilities, challenges and so on begin to reveal themselves. The question then is: * Can we still see heaven? John 3:3 * Are we still zealous? John 2:17 * Are we continuing in those things? Acts 2:42 * Are we walking in love? 1John 4:7 or Has the cares and worries of life and service ta
Read more

DO UNTO OTHERS . . .

-
Matthew 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. It is hypocritical of us to expect people to stand with us when we are experiencing challenges yet when we see others face their own challenges, we begin to imagine what they must have done wrong or maybe they annoyed God or did one evil or the other instead of reaching out to help as we would desire others to do for us. The same thing goes for prosperity, when the Lord opens a door for us and we have abundance of wealth or a breakthrough we expect others to rejoice with us, more so, some would even find it hard to give to others. What is our reaction when someone else gets this breakthrough, do we get suddenly suspicious without reason. Do we expect the person to reach out to us? It is better to stay on the side of encouragement than to sit as a judge or prosecutor. Jesus said, Matthew 7:2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same
Read more

MY YEAR OF FULFILMENT

-
Psalms 57:2 I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me. We just finished the book of 1Samuel, in this book we see the cry of Israel for a king and how God raised Saul to rule them. We also saw how Saul disobeyed God and lost kingship for himself and his generation. He did not stop there, he went on to seek for the death of David, whom he saw as the next heir of the throne. In chapter 31, the last chapter, we see how Saul and all his sons and men were killed, it was tragic, however it was as a sign of relief for David. We could go on counting all the struggles and difficulties we faced in the past year. No, we should not, we should begin to look at all the positives, remembering all the good things God has done for us. If He promised it, He will do it and that is what we hold onto as we go through this year. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. This is the year of fulfilment, and
Read more