*Part 1 in a 4 part series on the Feasts of the LORD.
In a few short months, I will be sharing with the world my first illustrated Children's book, Rest Day is the Best Day. I am fairly beside myself with elation, as I imagine most authors are, awaiting that awesome moment you get to hold the labor of your heart in your hands for the first time. I imagine the joy I'll experience thumbing through the pages, reading the words I've spent countless hours crafting, and taking in all the tiny details of the beautiful illustrations our friend Jonathan Shaw has thoughtfully rendered, will be a small thing in comparison to the thrill of sharing this little piece of art + truth with God's children around the world. To boast the ultimate cliche, I'm so excited!
Many of you who know me well, know I've been working on a book for several years now about our family's transition from mainstream Christianity to Biblical alignment with our identity as part of God's people Israel. While my book Teshuva is still in-process, I hope this blog can provide some context in the meantime for why I've written a Children's book about Sabbath keeping, and how dearly important it is for believers in Jesus to unlearn the lies and re-acclimate themselves to the eternal Truths of God's Word.
To jump right into it, in 2016 my husband asked me - quite out of blue - if I had ever been taught to keep the 4th Commandment. When I looked at him with a blank stare, completely unsure of where he was going with the question, he expounded. He explained how all nine of the other commandments were straightforward hallmarks of the Christian faith - kept without question or fanfare - but the fourth, however, wasn't explicitly taught in our charismatic, Spirit-filled, non-denominational circles. Not even a little bit. But, why?
Now, to give you some context, I graduated with a 4 year Apostolic Preaching degree from the Forerunner School of Ministry in 2008, and have been reading my Bible since I was a child, so I was somewhat appalled by my apparent lack of knowledge that I didn't even know what the 4th commandment was. That night, Aaron and I stayed up late into the night reading and researching everything we could find on the Sabbath in the Bible.
The answer I came to that night shocked me. No, I hadn't been taught hardly anything about keeping the Sabbath, and the only people I knew who did keep the Sabbath were Jewish. Our question then morphed into: Is keeping the Sabbath just for Jews then? Or is it for all people who put their faith in the Creator God, like Isaiah 56 and 58 seem to say? Or did Jesus somehow change the Sabbath to Sunday - because He was first seen alive from the dead on a Sunday? All honest questions that need to be asked... and answered honestly, with Scripture.
And for my dear Catholic and Lutheran friends out there who might be a little lost right now because you've been taught the 4th commandment is "Honor your father and mother"... I am so sorry to have be the one to tell you: the Catholic Church changed the Ten Commandments *gasp* by taking out the second commandment, moving all the following commandments up by one, and splitting the 10th commandment into two, making it the 9th and 10th commandment. The original 4th commandment given to Moses on Mount Sinai, written on stone by the finger of YHWH Himself is actually, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as YHWH your God has commanded you" (Deuteronomy 5:12). It goes on, as we'll soon see, to identify the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as the Sabbath. This again, seems to fly in the face of those denominations that dogmatically teach Sunday is the Sabbath, and 'keeping it holy' means "going to Church"... we will get into this.
So who is this post for? This post is for you-hungry, you-Truth seekers, genuinely curious about this Sabbath thing you may be hearing some in your circle going on and on about. I am here to tell you with absolute certainty that keeping the Sabbath has changed my life in the best way possible. A day of complete REST in pursuit of the heart of my Maker has been the Biblical anecdote to burn-out that has not failed me once. I have hinted at our family's Sabbath keeping for years, but today I want to lay out a brief but beefy feast of Scripture for you to take into the quiet place of your communion with the LORD, and talk to Him about it. Feast on His Word to you. Let it write its Truth on your heart (Jeremiah 31).
So let's get into it. Below are some key Scriptures presenting the case for why all believers in Messiah Yeshua, Jesus Christ, owe it to themselves and the LORD, to keep the seventh day of the week holy and set apart; a day of rest and convocation.
Keeping the Sabbath identifies us as sons and daughters of our Father, the Creator. When we do as we see our Father doing, we imitate the pattern He's given us to follow as His children and heirs: Genesis 2:1-3; John 5:19; Romans 8:12-17
The seventh day of the week, Saturday, is called 'Shabbat' in Scripture. It is the only day of the week God blessed, set apart, and made holy unto Himself: Genesis 2:1-3
Keeping the Sabbath holy by RESTING is the Fourth Commandment. It begins with the interesting imperative command, "Remember the Sabbath" - as if God knew it would be the one so often forgotten: Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5
YHWH wrote the Ten Commandments 2x, with His own finger, in stone. No where in Scripture is there any indication the people of God are not to continue keeping the Ten Commandments: Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 4; Matthew 5:17-20
Keeping the Sabbath is a SIGN of the Covenant relationship between God and His people Israel: Exodus 31; Ezekiel 20
By keeping the Sabbath, we are to remember that YHWH delivered us from slavery: Deuteronomy 5:15
The Sabbath remains as a day of REST for His people today: Hebrews 4:9-11
Yeshua/Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and made the Sabbath for man: Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27-28
The Sabbath is the seventh and final day of the week, given to mankind as a gift of REST and convocation or "sacred assembly". It is the day God's people are actually supposed to gather together to worship the King of Creation.
Keeping the Sabbath comes with great blessing and the promise of fruitfulness in all seasons: Psalm 1, Psalm 19, Psalm 119; Isaiah 56, 58; Revelation 22:14
Biblical prophecy says the Sabbath will be kept holy forever: Isaiah 66:22-23
The Sabbath is a permanent covenant between God and His people: Exodus 31:16
The Sabbath is for all people who love and worship YHWH as His treasured possession, and always has been: Isaiah 56 + 58
There is so much more to say... and study. I think most of us are familiar with the age-old navigational anecdote that even one degree off course will land you hundreds of miles off base from where you set out to be. This is the sad truth about Christianity. A little bit of historical antisemitism here, a dash of Marcionism there, a big dousing of replacement theology, and a healthy dose of dispensationalism could potentially land you in another country altogether - sadly - not the eternal country we all set out for. Satan is the master of lies and manipulation. He has sadly done a brilliant job of getting God's people so far from the narrow road, they look on it with scorn while boasting a false doctrine.
Yeshua predicted that many would claim to know Him in the end; to have prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and performed miracles in His name - only to learn (in horror, I imagine) that Yeshua did not know them because they were "workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23). This verse should instill the fear of the Lord in every single one of us.
The apostle John speaks of this when he wrote in his letter to the early church:
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:1-2).
John goes on to give a beautiful definition of what it looks like to abide in God (John 15:4).
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him: Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked (1 John 2:3-4).
Jesus lived in perfect obedience to His Torah. May we all desire to do the same.
Let Love lead the way,
Natalie
Thank you for reading and studying with me! We are hoping to have 100 people on our VIP list who commit to purchasing Rest Day is the Best Day on Amazon the day it comes out this Autumn. Would you like to join this highly wonderful group of people? If so, click here and add your email to the list! Thank you! www.bellafolk.com/restdayisthebestday
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