WHY SHABBAT?

Joined To HaShem Ministries

Have you ever received a very important document from someone? Funny thing happens prior to the transfer. Though everything the originator desires to say is in the document, the person will normally point out the items which are most important to make sure you acknowledge it.

This principle happened to Moses on Mt Sinai. Hashem had written out the complete document of the Torah on two tablets. Just prior to handing it to Moses He points out a couple of things. When God gets to the section of the Ten Commandments He points out Shabbat. Why is this? Why did He not bring his attention to the commandment of obeying your parents, or the commandment of not using His name in vain? He points out the Shabbat! Hashem goes on to state that this will be sign between Him and the children of Israel forever!

Before going any further, we probably need to make a point very clear. When the apostle Saul writes in Romans that we as believers in Messiah are “grafted in,” who are we grafted into? Many people seem to think they are grafted into the church they attend or some new religion they feel God started in the book of Acts. Nothing could be further from the truth! The Word is very clear; we have been grafted into Israel! I like to say it like this, believers in Yeshua Messiah have not replaced Israel, they have enlarged her! Now that we have established our identity, and with this as our starting point, let’s move on.

In all my travels and times of speaking it seems Shabbat is one of the most asked about commandments. It is also the one that brings the most controversy. I have even been asked how we know that Saturday is the seventh day and if I think Saturday is really Saturday! I have been accused of legalism for observing Shabbat by people who feel it is the greatest of sins to miss one church service on Sunday. Many will argue that God changed the Shabbat from Saturday to Sunday, then whittle the day of observance down from a day to an hour or so, followed by restaurants, shopping and any number of other things to fill the day. Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with meeting to worship on Sunday or any other day of the week. The point is, Shabbat is Shabbat and it appears in scripture that it is important to God! Should it not be important to us also? Can we not give The Almighty one day of our week? Could we not do so from an attitude of love, not legalism?

Many tired people have said to me over the years Yeshua has become their Shabbat. Of course I see this as true, but understand, the spiritual does not negate the natural. Shabbat is a time of rest for our body and a time to spend with God and with family. I liken it to a date that is scheduled every week.

Let me challenge you to look once again at the words spoken by God in Exodus 31:12-17. Look back at the Ten Commandments written in Exodus 20! Are our lives lining up with these words or have we taken these words and made them into an image of our own liking and tradition, maybe even into another golden calf?

One last point for this week. Notice in Exodus 31 it was after the pointing out of Shabbat that Hashem handed Moses the tablets. Maybe if we would look at Shabbat with a more serious attitude, He would let us see more clearly into His other instructions!

Blessings,

Mike