Was the Sabbath (meaning Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) only given to the Jewish people to observe?
I believe the answer is NO for the following reasons.
1) The Sabbath is part of the basic structure of the universe.
The Sabbath account as told in Genesis chapters one and two actually takes place before sin. Sin doesn’t come into the picture until Genesis Chapter three. So in Genesis one and two, we have the Sabbath as a pre-sin institution. My reasoning is if the Sabbath goes all the way back to creation, then it’s for the whole human race. This is fascinating because it tells us that the Sabbath is NOT the result of or a response to sin. Hence, it is part of God’s original plan for all mankind.
2) The Israelites were keeping the Sabbath BEFORE they received the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai
In Exodus Chapter 16, it is clear that by the time the Israelites receive the 10 commandments in stone at Mount Sinai, it is clear that they have already been keeping the Sabbath. So this reveals that the Sabbath was nothing new when the 10 commandments were given. It was something they had already been keeping.
3) Jesus Himself said, “The Sabbath was made for man (all mankind)”
“And he said unto them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath’“-Mark 2:27
A lot of believers misinterpret Mark 2:27 thinking that Jesus was implying that we can make the Sabbath any old day we want. However, that is not what this verse means and it is actually a powerful statement supporting the idea that the Sabbath was NOT just given to the Jews to observe. The Greek word for “man” being used here is “anthropos” from where we get our word “anthropology”. And what is anthropology? It is the study of mankind.
It is important to understand that Jesus was referring back to the creation when He made this statement. Adam and Eve were NOT Jews. The Sabbath was given to them as representatives of all humanity, not just a part of it.
4) The prophet Isaiah foresees a time when the Sabbath will be kept by both Jew and Gentile
The following from the prophet Isaiah is a powerful appeal from God Himself to everyone both Jew and non-Jew to embrace the Sabbath.
Here is what Adonai says:
“Observe justice, do what is right,
for my salvation is close to coming,
my righteousness to being revealed.”
Happy is the person who does this,
anyone who grasps it firmly,
who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it,
and keeps himself from doing any evil.
A foreigner joining Adonai should not say,
“Adonai will separate me from his people”;
likewise the eunuch should not say,
“I am only a dried-up tree.”
For here is what Adonai says:
“As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant:
in my house, within my walls,
I will give them power and a name
greater than sons and daughters;
I will give him an everlasting name
that will not be cut off.
“And the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai
to serve him, to love the name of Adonai,
and to be his workers,
all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it,
and hold fast to my covenant,
I will bring them to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.”
-Isaiah 56:1-7
Nope. Just a bunch of fluff with no real scriptural proof supporting your opinion and I mean just that ; Opinion😊
Thank you for sharing your opinion.
Absolutely correct! Yahveh’s holy and eternal Shabbat (Isa 66) was made before sin (Gen 2) and it was made for man (Mark 2:27) and not the other way around! It is furthermore the sign between Yahveh and His children (Ex 31:13, Ez. 20:12), both Israel and those grafted unto Israel (Rom 11), the natural olive tree, are therefore grafted into the covenant Yah made with Abraham, Yitzhak and Yacob. This is something the church at large hasn’t really grasped as they have been fed lies for centuries. Mama Roma instituted her own set apart day, the day of the sol invictus, under penalty of death but Father is no respecter of persons that He should change HIS Shabbat for whatever the Roman/ Babylonian universal system has decreed. Although her daughters have inherited lies from her (Jer 16:19) they are told to get out of her, Jer 51:45, Rev 18:4.
Thanks for your positive thumbs up Shoshana! Shalom!
Great points Rich.
This leads me to HOW we should keep Sabbath in a world that is so anti Sabbath.
I have a 24/7 business with 30 employees that are also on call 24/7.
I know I’m breaking Sabbath.
We also have rental properties and on occasion have to attend to rental issues on Sabbath.
Exodus 31 is pretty clear that breaking Sabbath is a capital offense punishable by death.
As far a I can tell, I should be put to death ever Sabbath.
I want to please my heavenly Father, but it seems impossible in this world.
I know that there must be many Hebrews and Gentles that struggle with this same predicament.
What are we to do?
Good question…and I can only answer from my personal experience.
Throughout my entire working life which began in the United States, God has always engineered things so that I never had to work on Shabbat…
And this even included jobs which had a heavy 24/7 shift component to them.
I did have one job as a Front Desk clerk at a Comfort Inn in San Francisco that had me working on weekends but the Lord pulled me out of that job within 2 months and that’s when I came to Asia. And ever since then for the past 20 years, I’ve never had to work on Shabbat EVER.
So using my experience, I guess what I’m saying is that if you truly seek to do the Lord’s Will, He will open doors (and windows) for you so that you will be able to obey His commands.
But judging from other folks’ experiences, sometimes it may not always be that easy.
I’ve heard stories of many people who were outright fired from their jobs because they refused to work on Shabbat…
But eventually God provided for them.
Hope this helps and be blessed.
Shalom!
Thank you Richoka,
Taking that step of faith and selling the companies has defenitley been something my wife and have talked about.
I hope you don’t mind me asking another question.
Given that breaking Shabbot is a capital offense, and that I have not been put to death as I rightly should, how does or will God deal with me / us?
In my learning, it seems that repeating a death penalty offense is far worse than just an one time capital offense such as in the story of David and Basheba. Since God is just, He requires that sin MUST be paid for, both in the spirit and in the flesh.
I know Yashua is our ultimate blood sacrifice that can redeem us from even capital sin, but that is our eternal hope, what about the payment that is due in this life?
Yashua paid the price for our spiritual redemption, but He did not pay for our earthly redemption.
Woe unto me for I am a man of unclean lips.
Not only unclean lips but of mind, body and possibly even soul.
What is the payment / consequence / punishment due, for repeat capital sin in this life?
Even if we sell our companies, that does not pay for our past transgressions.
David paid the price in this life, with the death of his sons, the rape of his daughter and lived out the remainder of his life in a kind of hell, even though the Father forgave him (I assume eternally).
It seems to me, that this is the fate that awaits most of us.
Am I correct or am I missing something?
What roll, if any does God’s “chesed” play?
Thank you for your time.
I greatly look forward to your insight.
Lor
I’d say CHESED plays a big role.
Let’s not forget the foundational gospel message.
Our debt has been paid for by Yeshua’s sacrifice.
Be blessed.
Question for you: Although I am doing no work on the Sabbath, but because of me somebody else is doing work because of me, am I still sinning?
I live in an apartment complex and I have had many backups in my bathroom sink, some close to overflowing. So many, that I now know what to look for before they happen. Yesterday before Sabbath I went to the Super’s office to tell him that I will be getting another backup soon. Well, when I went into my bathroom, sure enough I had had a backup. Unfortunately, this was after the Super was on duty.
Saturday morning, I woke up and sure enough I had another backup. My Super doesn’t work on the weekends, but his assistant works on Saturday and neither work on Sundays. I could just see me trying to take a shower and the water overflowing so I went down to the office and asked the Assistant Super to please help and unclog the sink. He didn’t have to work in my apartment but in the apartment next to me because we share piping and the clogs seemed to come from that apartment.
So, my question is that even though I didn’t do any work, is making someone else do work on the Sabbath a sin? I cannot find anything in The Word regarding this. I have even had to take days off from work because of this problem.
Not necessarily…
Life-essential duties do take precedence over Sabbath observance I would say…
Also, if the superintendents etcetera in your apartment aren’t in a covenant relationship with Yahweh, it wouldn’t matter anyway…
Be blessed.