Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Israel: ‘The designated times of Adonai which you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times. “‘Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is a Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your homes.”-Leviticus 23:-1-3
We have just begun a study of the Lord’s “fixed” times.
In Hebrew, these are called MO’ED or MO-EDIM (plural) or in plain English, simply the Biblical Feasts.
From verse 3, the first fixed time or MOED God deals with is the Sabbath.
But wait a minute.
The Sabbath isn’t one of the seven Biblical Feasts.
That’s right.
There’s actually a differentiation made between the Sabbath and God’s fixed times, and rightly so.
Remember, the Sabbath was NOT first given at Sinai when Moses received the 10 Words from God.
The Sabbath was established at the time of Creation WAY BEFORE THERE EVER WAS A NATION OF ISRAEL.
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, along with everything in them. On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.”-Genesis 2:1-3
So you see, God did not invent the Sabbath at Mount Sinai.
He was simply reminding Israel to make sure and observe it, because apparently it had long ago been forgotten by mankind.
“Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for Adonai your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work — not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.”-Exodus 20:8-11
The operative word here is “remember”.
In Hebrew “remember” is KAZAR and it carries with it the sense of recalling or bringing back to memory something that used to be.
The Sabbath was not something that originated between God and Israel, it was established between God and ALL His Creation.
The Hebrew word for Sabbath is SHABBAT and obviously this is different than MO’ED which means “appointed time”.
Therefore, the SHABBAT is different than what occurs during a MO’ED.
This will become apparent as we progress through our study.
What we’re going to find is that there is a distinction between THE Sabbath and various other kinds of sabbaths connected to the Biblical Feasts.
Just understand that verse 3 is speaking about the Sabbath we are all most familiar with, the 7th day of the week!
There are 3 elements that separate the Sabbath from all the other days of the week.
First, the Sabbath forbids work on that day.
Second, it is to be considered a HOLY day and treated as such.
Finally, the Israelites are to observe the Sabbath no matter where they may be.
The Hebrew word for “work” is MELA’KHAH and verse 3 gives us a sharper point in terms of what exactly this word means.
We are told “you are not to do any kind of work”.
The 7th day Shabbat is to be a day of “complete rest”.
The Hebrew says SHABBAT SHABBATON.
What’s being communicated here is that of all the holy observances, the 7th day shabbat is that day when refraining from work is to be at its most extreme.
Absolutely NO WORK is to be done!
If you ever wished you could have a day where you could just veg out all day in bed, well here you go.
You now have divine permission to do so and once every week at that!
There are some pretty good examples in Torah reinforcing the importance of complete cessation from any kind of work on the Shabbat.
Recall when the Israelites were gathering MANNA.
On the 6th day, they were told to gather a double-portion so they didn’t have to gather any on the Sabbath.
Later on, we’ll encounter a chilling scene in the book of Numbers where a man was ordered to be executed for gathering wood to start a fire on the Sabbath.
To me, this makes it pretty clear that Sabbath observance is NOT voluntary.
It’s not a day one observes only if one feels like it.
On which “named” day is that? Sunday, Saturday, Friday, Thursday, etc…? Don’t work 6 days in a row not even in your homes. Yes, even momma gets a break.
The 7th Day which is Saturday. See my earlier posts on this topic for a much more extensive treatment of this topic.
My wife past away on the Sabbath. Should I have left her in that hospital bed. ? Please I would love to hear what you have to say. One thing I know is. if I did this I would have lost my charges of bring Gods word. The people I know would have seen me as whiteout Love. That is why GOD is love. Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true and every man a liar; as it is written
Of course not Anton. Human life is much more important than any one isolated commandment and Yeshua demonstrated this by healing people on the Sabbath.
Read these verses:
“Another time Yeshua went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Yeshua, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Yeshua said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
Then Yeshua asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Yeshua.
It is good that you properly mourned your most beloved wife at her hospital bed.
And please also allow me to say a prayer for you as well.
I’m sorry for your loss.
I’m sure she was a wonderful person.
Shalom,
Rich
Hi Rich you say and I quote from your text “Absolutely NO WORK is to be done!” Somebody had to work to come and fetch the body. But now I say to you this was made a law because the Israelite had to work 7 day a week and GOD want them to forget there time they spend as slaves.
Thanks for your comment Anton. As I said before, the importance of human life supersedes any one isolated commandment except maybe the commandment to LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART, ALL OF YOUR SOUL, AND ALL OF YOUR MIND.
Hi! I’ve been told that “holy convocation” means that we are to go to church, fellowship included. Is that what “Mikra’ei Kodesh” means? Did OT Israelis assemble at the tabernacle each Sabbath? Didn’t God tell them to stay in their dwelling? Does “dwelling” include the campsite and could it extend to the town, city, or even state? I’ve been searching online for an accurate translation and found your site!
I had been keeping the Sabbath on my own for over 10 years — genuine rest and prayer that I looked forward to each week! Just last month, September, I was baptized by a very friendly Sabbath-keeping church that’s several miles away from me. I was told that Sabbath-keeping includes BOTH church-going and fellowship. Isn’t fellowship our treatment of our neighbors as ourselves, with the love of Jesus? Or is it cookies/coffee or even an entire meal each and every Sabbath? Perhaps the eating together is an expression of fellowship?
I continue to try and sort out what could be considered work and research Bible meanings concerning this. I had refrained from cooking and other tasks when observing Sabbath alone. But is it all right to cook or wash dishes on the Sabbath if it’s for fellowship after church? Or even eat out at a restaurant on Sabbath since others are doing the work?
Thanks so much for you time and input!
Yes, correct. “Holy convocation” means to assemble.
As far as proper sabbath observance, opinions vary widely.
Here’s how I have always looked at.
It means to cease from your REGULAR and NORMAL duties that you do from Sun-Thu to keep you alive and for your livelihood.
It’s not like the Israelites didn’t do any physical activity on the Shabbat.
Refraining from cooking on Shabbat is a Rabbinic ordinance and I do respect what they say.
However, at the end of the day, it is between your conviction, and what you feel God is impressing upon your heart to follow.
Based on your testimony above, HaShem seems to have greatly blessed you.
Be blessed.