cgimaryland.org on the Sabbath.docx · Web view2018-07-05 · making the word of Elohim of no...

Not on the Sabbath! ( of 17)

Introduction Most have heard of the Sabbath… and most don’t

know what it really means. Most associate it with the Jews… as strictly something

“Jewish”. Some have appropriated the label as an alternate title

for the so-called Christian “Sunday day of worship and rest”… calling it the “Christian Sabbath”.

Most self-professed followers of that idea believe Sunday worship is the natural progression from the earlier OT command… to observe that day in a different timeframe… from midnight to midnight… because of the ministry of Yahshua ~2,000 years ago.

They believe that there’s not much NT emphasis concerning the OT Sabbath… or a supposed change in it… only because in reality… it didn’t happen.

That aside, most of us understand which day… which 24-hour period… is being identified here… Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

Whichever day it really is, there a lot of confusion on how it should be observed.

Most of us have a general idea of what one does on the Sabbath… Sabbath services, rest, cease from one’s regular weekly activities.

But then again… what does one do on the Sabbath… and what one should not do… on the Sabbath?

When It was Introduced The Sabbath is introduced early in the Bible. Directly, by name, it is mentioned 111 times… and by

extension and inference, many, many more.


Yahweh’s overall purpose for the Sabbath… the reason He created and defined it… is stated from the very start… after He finished… or more accurately, refinished… His creation. Genesis 1:31, 2:1-3: 31 Then Elohim saw everything that He had made,

and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the 6th day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished.

2 And on the 7th day Elohim ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the 7th day from all His work which He had done.

3 Then Elohim blessed the 7th day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which Elohim had created and made.

We see from the very start what the main reason for the Sabbath is… rest!

For Yahweh, He rested from all His work which He had created.

While the word “Sabbath” does not appear here, it is absolutely apparent… when we cross reference in latter scriptures… that the Sabbath is exactly what is being referenced here.

There is a direct relationship between how Yahweh interprets and acts concerning this holy day… and how He expects man to act. Exodus 20:8, 10: 8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 10 the seventh day is the Sabbath of Yahweh your

Elohim. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor


your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

It becomes apparent from these 2 verses that the Sabbath:1. Is Holy… set apart… not ordinary… and to be

remembered.2. No work is to be done… by you… your family…

your hired help… strangers… even your animals. But then… what is considered “work”? It ties into a direct relationship between Yahweh and

His people… how His people should act… and how His people shall worship Him.

This extends not only to the weekly Sabbath… the most recognized by people… but also to the annual holy days. These are also Sabbaths.

All Sabbaths are special days… holy… set aside… to be different from all of the other days of the year.

Note that Yahweh is very serious about the Sabbath: Exodus 31:14: You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

But how are the Sabbaths different?

The “39 Rules” What has become a big problem for most… is how

does one define “work” … what we must refrain from on the Sabbath.

Many rabbinical scholars believe that their “regulations” concerning labor have something in common… they prohibit any activity that is creative,


or that exercises control or dominion over one’s environment. For example, they look at Jeremiah 17:21-22, 24: 21 Thus says Yahweh: “Take heed to yourselves,

and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

24 And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says Yahweh, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it”.

Orthodox Jews have created for themselves 39 “creative” activities that are prohibited:1. Farming: planting, plowing, reaping, gathering,

threshing, winnowing, sorting, grinding and sifting.

2. Food Preparation: amalgamation, cooking, baking, trapping, flaying/skinning, shearing/slaughtering, and curing/preserving.

3. Clothing: scouring, laundering, carding, combing wool, dyeing, spinning, warping, looping, weaving, separating threads, tying, untying, sewing and tearing.

4. Other Work: smoothing, scoring, measured cutting, writing, erasing, building, demolition: applying a finishing touch (toward completion).

5. Transferring between domains: Transferring something from one domain type (private, semi-private, public and exempt) to another.


6. Fire: Extinguishing or Igniting a fire. One of the things that is considered an exception to

any of these prohibitions is the saving of a human life. In the event that a human life is in danger, a Jew is not

only allowed, but required, to violate any Sabbath law that stands in the way of saving that person.

The concept of life being in danger is interpreted broadly; e.g. – it is mandated that one violate the Sabbath to take a woman in active labor to a hospital.

At the same time, today they put in a lot of, what we might consider, silly rules… One cannot tear their own toilet paper (it must be done before the Sabbath) … and you can’t walk too far on the Sabbath.

Kindling a Fire One of the scriptures used by the Jewish authorities

over the centuries concerning the “fire” prohibition is found in Exodus 35:1-3: 1 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the

children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which Yahweh has commanded you to do:

2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

People look at verse 3 and apply a very strict interpretation on its implementation. They see this verse in isolation to any context.


This strict interpretation leads to many highly specific restrictions.

Orthodox Jews today take restrictions to an extreme… as they do many other of Yahweh’s laws… what one can do… and what one cannot do.

Their claimed “oral law” … primarily the Mishna… is an extraordinarily large volume of “do’s and don’ts” for people… under nearly all situations and conditions.

Not only in relation to Exodus 35:3, but in association with many others OT verses.

As a result, most “Christians” today… seeing what the Orthodox Jews demand in obedience… overreact to say that the Orthodox Jewish view of the law is so demanding… and impossible to keep.

They say that our Savior Yahshua came to do away with the law… to free us.

This is also being “extreme” … saying we have evolved past keeping the outdated commandments of the OT. They look primarily to the teachings of Paul as proof of this.

Application of Exodus 35:3 then becomes an obstacle for the followers of Messiah to truly applying the law of Yahweh in one’s life.

For the Jews it’s also an obstacle to correctly apply what Yahweh has set forth for all of mankind… to incorporate into their lives.

But when we look at the first 3 verses of Exodus 35 together… in context… no work on Sabbath Day… followed by no kindling of a fire… verse 3 almost


seems to be out of place… unless contextually we are missing the point.

Perhaps it is not so obvious… then again, maybe it is.

Electricity The highly restrictive view of how to practice and

implement Exodus 35:3 has lead Orthodox Jew today to enforce strict guidelines, and some creative… if not absurd… exceptions to get around the restrictions they originally created.

Electrical appliances… for that matter anything involving electricity… is highly regulated.

Making adjustments to the intensity of electrical appliances is also frowned upon.

Light switches are not be switched on or off… because they may cause an internal spark… a sort of “kindling of a fire”.

Does firing up an incandescent light bulb constitute “kindling of a fire”? After all, technically, isn’t it a fire… a very, very slow burning fire? Technically no.

An incandescent light bulb generates light by causing electric current to flow through a metal filament. The resistance to current flow generates light and heat.

Yet being inside a vacuum seal makes a true redox reaction impossible… the tungsten wire is not “burning”.

Most Jewish authorities permit observant Jews to open a refrigerator door even though it may cause the compressor motor to turn on immediately or later (it’s not certain to occur); however, they prohibit opening


the door if a light inside will automatically turn on (this being of certain benefit).

They also permit walking past a house with a motion sensor which switches on a light if the street is already well-lit (it’s not of benefit), but not if it is already dark outside.

Several innovations have been developed to address the various needs of the Sabbath-observant Jew. One such consumer product available since 2004, is the Kosher Lamp.

It facilitates the pseudo-control of lighting by blocking/unblocking the light of a bulb that remains lit for the duration of Shabbat.

Other questions come up involving electricity. The use of automated machines to milk cows on the Sabbath… an activity that is prohibited if done by hand… is disputed because the farmer may derive economic benefit from the milk… although cows would suffer if not milked regularly.

The use of electricity from power plants operated by Jews in violation of the Sabbath is also controversial because it is normally forbidden to benefit from the action of another Jew… violation of the Sabbath.

However, because of communal need and other halakhic factors, most religious authorities in Israel permit these uses of electricity.

There are also self-imposed restrictions on the use of elevators on the Sabbath.

To overcome this, there are special elevators… that repeatedly stop on each floor automatically… so as to not create a spark as you press a button.


With all this in mind, consider the fact that the use of commercial electricity has only been around for just over a century.

Automobiles In similar thought, one is prohibited to operate an

automobile on the Sabbath. The internal combustion engine obviously creates

sparks in the cylinders in order to operate. According to halakah… the collective body of Jewish

religious laws… the operation of a motor vehicle constitutes multiple violations of the prohibited activities on the Sabbath.

This includes the idea that they believe labor is being performed… yet it would seem to be less labor than walking.

Add to this the many electrical components… such as lights, that are continually turned on and off during the course of a vehicle’s operation… often without the driver’s awareness.

This, along with rules placing limits on the distance one may travel beyond the city/town where one is spending the Sabbath… regardless of the method of transportation… makes using an automobile prohibited.

All of this seems rather absurd on the face of it… yet if you were to drive a car through certain Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Israel on the Sabbath… you most likely would see your car pelted with rocks… the people are that zealous about the subject.


As with electricity, the common use of automobiles has been around for just over a century.

The Real Meaning Obviously, the real meaning and purpose of Exodus

35:3 is being missed. We need to review the words of Yahshua on how

we… as humans… can allow our uncircumcised minds to create barriers to following His truth. Mark 7:5-16: 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked

<Yahshua>, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.

7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 For laying aside the commandment of Elohim, you hold the tradition of men; the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”

9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your tradition.

10 "For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’


11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”’ (that is, a gift to Elohim),

12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,

13 making the word of Elohim of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

14 When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand:

15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.

16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” We also need to remember the warning of the OT.

Deuteronomy 4:2: You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you.

We are not to invent traditions that replace the intent of the Biblical instructions.

There’s an interpretive balance that is required to rightly understand and apply the words of the Bible. II Timothy 2:15: Be diligent to present yourself approved to Elohim, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This also means that there can be… and can be shown… that a wrong way can be developed and practiced.


Personal doctrines can certainly dull the truth. Hebrews 4:12: For the word of Elohim is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We must seek the truth: John 4:24: Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

In many cases, we need to understand the context of the verses to be comprehend what is being taught.

For example, why no kindling of fire “in your dwellings”? Can you do it outside of your homes?

Technically yes… if you read it literally… and have not done other things to prepare for that fire. Numbers 15:32-36: 32 Now while the children of Israel were in the

wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.

34 They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.

35 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”

36 So, as Yahweh commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died.

Seems rather harsh! Or is it.


Looking back on Exodus 35, is there something more? Is there something less? Or are we reading more into this than we should?

Is Yahweh focusing on the “dwelling” for a reason? What purpose did the fires in the “dwelling” serve as

opposed to any random fire one might kindle? The answer is to look at the intent and purpose of the

verse… no work on the Sabbath! We’re not to start a fire that’s clearly related to work. This makes sense because the central point of the

verse is that the purpose of the Sabbath is to rest. It is not the fire itself… as some make it out to be. Focus not on the fire… but the work! Otherwise it would not include that the limitation was

in the dwelling. But why the dwelling? The fire here relates to something contrary to

resting… in the dwelling. Millenia ago, and sometimes even today… even in the

Middle East… many people did their work… their livelihood… in their dwellings… cooking, cleaning, tool and supply production, etc. … and fire is a central component of that work.

The fire identified here is a fire that supports working… and the burden of work to create it.

There is an intent on the part of the dwelling occupant to work… and this admonishment was directed toward that individual… to not do that work on the Sabbath.

Yahweh is telling us to… not only refrain from work… but don’t even prepare for… or even think of… work on the Sabbath.

We are to rest… and focus on Him.


Remember also that kindling a fire back then was not a simple matter… no pushing a button, striking a match, or using the latest waterproof tactical lighter.

We need to look at those verses through the eyes of the One who gave them… the people receiving them… and the timeframe when they were given… not through our modern interpretive glasses.

We are to prepare… before the Sabbath… what we need for the Sabbath… those things such as food to eat, gas for the car, and warmth during the cold months.

So, the ultimate question is: Was the fire indicated to be used for work, or not?

Are we to believe that, thousands of years ago, those who met and worshiped for long hours on the Sabbath, that either began in darkness and many times extended past the Sabbath into the darkness of the 1st day of the week, did not use candles, lanterns and other fire sources to light their way as they fellowshipped and worshiped?

Did they do all of this in the dark? Is this not lighting a fire in a dwelling? They understood the context of the verses… as we

should today.

How Yahshua See the Sabbath Yahshua, the Elohim of the OT, either directly or

through His messengers, said that the Sabbath is holy and that no work was to be performed on it.


Look to verse such as: Exodus 16:23, 20:8, 31:14-15, 35:2, Leviticus 23:3, Deuteronomy 5:12, Nehemiah 9:14, 10:31, Isaiah 58:13.

Yet He, as a human in His earthly ministry, proved that the Sabbath was not a highly restrictive or taboo thing to consider… quite the contrary.

He had no problem to confront the so-called experts; the Jewish leaders… on their misinterpretation… and even downright arrogance… concerning the law… including the Sabbath day.

When Yahshua and His disciple were hungry, and going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, they plucked grains and ate.

He proved that it was not a violation; they did it within the limits defined in Deuteronomy 23:24-25.

He also showed that David and his people ate the showbread… illegal in normal circumstances, but the situation called for mercy… and that the priests by nature violated the spirit of the law on the Sabbath by working their assigned jobs.

This can be seen in Matthew 12, Mark 2 and Luke 6. One of the biggest irritants to the Jewish leaders was

His healings on the Sabbath. Mark 3:1-4: 1 And <Yahshua> entered the synagogue again,

and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2 So they watched Him closely, whether He would

heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

3 And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.”


4 Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

Yahshua, in John 7:22-23, also used the example of a circumcision being performed on the 8th day of a male’s life as an example of the Jew’s hypocrisy concerning work on the Sabbath.

Conclusion Perhaps it’s best for us to review regularly how we see

the Sabbath. While many of us scoff at the restrictive attitude of

others, we need to look at the Sabbath for what it was originally intended for… a day of rest… not a burden.

It is the usual work that you do during the 1st 6 days of the week that you are to refrain from.

Yahshua is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:27, Luke 6:5); He has the authority to define how it is to be observed.

He also did not create the Sabbath as something that man was to serve. Mark 2:27: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

For us, we should be careful not to be lax in our attitude. There is a preparation day before the Sabbath to make sure we go into that day prepared (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:31).

For instance, we need to make sure we don’t misapply the difference on food preparation on the weekly Sabbath vs. most annual Holy Days. Exodus 16:23: Then he said to them, “This is what Yahweh has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to


Yahweh. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’”

With that said, we need to take time to step back and relax… it is a day of rest… and refreshment.

Get out an enjoy what Yahweh has created… take a walk… breathe in the clear air.

Exodus 31:17 tells us that the Sabbath is a sign between Yahweh and His people… forever!

See the Sabbath for what it is… a delight. Isaiah 58:13-14: 13 If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of Yahweh honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,

14 Then you shall delight yourself in Yahweh; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.

So… see the Sabbath for what it is… a delight… and not a burden. Enjoy the Sabbaths of Yahweh!

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