Worthy Words

We conclude our study on understanding of the meaning of Sabbath; let’s examine the seventh and final fact of this important biblical word based on Genesis 2:1-3. FACT #7: Hebrews 4:11 says, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Why do we have to work at resting? Some folks come alive in their Christian life learning early on how to flourish in rest. Still others try it and it doesn’t work for them. Why? The answer lies in what our Lord and Savior said in Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus says: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Looking closely at the text you will notice the word “rest” is used twice. The first “rest” is given—meaning that it is experienced when you first come to Christ by bei...

Hope this information is helping you to have a correct understanding of the meaning of Sabbath, let’s examine the sixth fact of this significant biblical word. Let’s refresh our memory of the verses we have been using as our source text for our study, Genesis 2:1-3 from the English Standard Version: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. FACT #6: Genesis 2:3 makes known to us that God blessed and made the Sabbath holy. Remember that blessing is connected with fruitfulness and dominion. God told man in Genesis 1:28 to “Be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over all the earth.” Blessing is fruitfulness and dominion. God also made holy or “sanctified” the Sabbath. He assigned it a specific function...

We march on in our effort to have a correct understanding of the meaning of Sabbath, let’s examine the fifth fact of this remarkable biblical word. Let’s refresh our memory of the verses we have been using as our source text for our study, Genesis 2:1-3 from the English Standard Version: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.  FACT #5: Though the Saturday observance of Sabbath ended at the cross the true Sabbath rest of God in which He ceases from His creative efforts, continues to this day. The specific application for this is described in verses nine and ten of Hebrews chapter four: So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested...

Continuing our effort to have a correct understanding of the meaning of Sabbath, let’s examine the fourth fact of this amazing biblical word. As before, here is the source text for our study, Genesis 2:1-3 from the English Standard Version: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. FACT #4: Saturday, the seventh day of the week, is widely known as the weekly Sabbath. However, Saturday is not the real Sabbath. It has never been that weekly day. That weekly day is a reminder, a vivid picture of the real Sabbath. The genuine Sabbath is a rest. The Sabbath of the Jewish people is a shadow or picture of that rest. All of the Old Testament shadows pointed to Christ. Paul says in Colossians 2:16-17 NLT: “So do...

This week we consider the third fact about putting together a correct understanding of the meaning of Sabbath. Here, once again, is the text before us, Genesis 2:1-3 from the English Standard Version: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. FACT #3: The area of focus today is the specific action from which God rested was creation. The text says, “So God…rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (v. 3b). There is no further record of any creative activity. God created man then He rested. Nothing has been made by God since. Man is the last physical effort of God in the creation story. It can therefore be concluded that the Sabbath (rest) in which God entered continues to this day. God is c...

This week let’s take a look at the second fact about putting together a correct understanding of the meaning of Sabbath. Let us reread again Genesis 2:1-3 from the English Standard Version:  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And 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. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. FACT #2: It seems obvious from this passage that the spot-on meaning of Sabbath is rest. Actually, the word “seven,” the word “sabbath,” and the word “rest,” are all the same basic root word in Hebrew, Shabat meaning seven, and the word sabbath meaning rest. Therefore, the significance in its meaning is rest. Let us be clear here. Rest as it is used in the text does not mean rest in the way we think of it. After working hard all day we come home tired and weary and ne...

Twelve years ago my wife and I attended a Bar Mitzvah service for the son of her long time Jewish friend. It was on the seventh day of the week where the young 13 year old conducts the service much as a rabbi would. He read, for the first time, from the scrolls of the Torah, the first five books of Moses. It was impressive to see the rabbi unlock the ark in which the Torah is kept, bring out the scrolls, unroll them on the table, as Jews have done for centuries, and hear the teenager read in Hebrew from the scrolls. At the end he gave thanks for two things which have been the treasure of Israel for centuries, the Law and the Sabbath. The Sabbath is one of the oldest institutions in the world dating back to the very earliest appearance of man upon the earth when, in Genesis 2:1-3, God blessed and proclaimed the Sabbath holy. Then, later in the biblical record it became part of the Law given to Moses for Israel (Ex. 20:8-11; 31:12-17). There are a number of Christians today who are conce...