I have four boys, most of whom are teenagers. We do not have a communication problem, so I can tell them what to do and they understand perfectly well.
If I tell them clearly, once or twice, to do something, should I have a reasonable expectation that they will do it? What if I clearly give them the same instructions five times?
Suppose I give my sons the exact same instructions eight or even NINE times and I NEVER tell them anything different? Do I have a reasonable expectation that I have been very clear? If they continue to disobey me on the matter, do I have a right to discipline them? Can they plead ignorance? What if the babysitter tells them otherwise? Whose instructions take priority? Does the babysitter have authority to overturn my instructions?
See? This is the dilemma I am in, now. I was that wayward teen who heard my Father say something nine times, but I ignored it because the babysitter said it was okay. Now, I am looking back and realizing I was/am without excuse. His instructions were very clearly given and never changed. Was my disobedience sin?
Later, I was the babysitter who told those in my care that they could just ignore what their Father had said. I supported what I said with some fancy logic, but had no real evidence that their Father had ever changed His instructions.
So what exactly am I getting at? (And, what do I want you to help me understand?)
Our Father in heaven gives us a commandment NINE times, and we ignore it. No where in Scripture does He ever change His mind. No where is the command ever altered. In fact, prophecy actually tells us a couple times that the command stands in the future, yet we ignore it, preferring the logical gymnastics of our pastors and the traditions we have been handed.
With #Scripture being so clear, will we be able to plead ignorance?
Here is the commandment… all NINE times: #torah #messianic #christian
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who [a]stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be [a]none.”27 It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My [b]instructions? 29 See, [c]the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
12 “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as [a]your stranger, may refresh themselves.
12 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, 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. 15 For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. 16 So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to [a]celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ 17 It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”
21 “You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.
2 “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: 3 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings. 4 ‘These are the appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.
12 ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who [a]stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
31 God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created [a]and made.
Now, where is this ever changed? Our Father gave us this commandment NINE times. It may be the most attested instruction in all of Scripture. Certainly, we see Yeshua keeping the Shabbat. Read Acts. Paul always kept the Shabbat. In fact, there is not a single instance in all of Scripture of the Sabbath being changed, annulled, abrogated, altered, abolished, done away with, or any other euphemistic denial of the command.
Isaiah 66:23 tells us the Sabbath will be kept after the earth is judged by fire (66:16-17)!!
So, here is what I need help understanding: By what leap of logic do we trust the words of pastors over the Word of our Father? Will we not be held accountable for ignoring His commands and following the counter-instructions of others?
Show me! I just can’t find any Scripture that prophesies or commands a change. I find no support in Scripture for a change of days. Zero. None. Nil. Zilch. Nada!
Discuss….
Shalom!
Further study: The Sabbath Day
natsab 
I believe you are right and have proven by Our Father’s Word it is Truth. What excuses do we have! Let us walk in all His Truth and His Ways instead of our own or manmade rules and traditions. Are we any better than our Jewish brethren? Nay! But worse! For they wanted to protect Father’s commandments, statutes, ordinances, etc. so put fences around them. They just went to far and made Father’s Word too difficult. But WE! WE cast them off and away. We called it bondage (among other things). How we must have broken His heart. When the Scriptures say so much about them being good for us, wisdom to us, peace, protection, freedom, pleasant, etc. The nations were to observe those who kept His Torah and say ‘what a wise people…… What does that make those who don’t keep His Torah? !!!! Y’shua was very plain when He said ‘they would stand till heaven and earth pass’. Father said He made it so simple any one could understand. We have made our theological explanations so difficult not even the ‘experts’ can understand Truth. Let’s get back to the simplicity of HIS WORD. Before it is Too Late!!!!!
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What a great thought!! (Refers to Deu. 4:6-8) If following Torah is wisdom, what does that make rejecting Torah??
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People hear what they want to hear. When you show them that Yeshua said, “I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it,” they say, “See? Jesus said we don’t have to follow the law because he has done away with it.” Even when you show them, “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished,” they come up with a plethora of reasons not to take Yeshua’s words at face value; one of which is, “The ‘Old Testament’ is for the Jews… Jesus is just talking to the Jews; I’m not Jewish.”
When we point out verses like this (and many others) we are accused of being legalistic and preaching a faith of works. Apparently, they believe that Yeshua died for us so that we can live as we please, by our own rules and look as much like the world as possible.
I worked on the staff of a mini-mega church here in Michigan years ago and they often preached that it does not matter which day the Sabbath is on, as long as you try to rest for a day, but if you can’t, God understands how busy we are.
I have even met Christians that find scripture study totally unnecessary and they just “believe on Jesus.”
I do not claim to understand scripture in its entirety and I do not wish to engage in heresy, but if I understand this subject correctly, then I can only conclude that it is a deception promoted by the deceiver.
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Brian, good to see you… I take it you have your arms back? I read about your truing of planes… LOL!
Addressing this one tomorrow and Wednesday. There is no way around that one, either.
I think you are exactly right. He comes masquerading as an angel of light… The arguments sound good until held to the light of Scripture, then it begins to fall apart…
Shalom!
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What Brian Stafford said below is not wrong. I believe this is what is meant by, those who are meant for captivity will go into captivity, and those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The Word of God is a sword and an enemy of this world. If we truly live by His word, we will also suffer on His behalf. If we choose in our hearts the things of this world, then we are a captive/slave to this world, and into captivity we will go. I would rather be shepherded by the One true Elohim, the giver of life, than a slave to death, which hasn’t the power to give me life much less life in abundance.
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Shalom and welcome.
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And yet, the Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday! A pope, the leader of the Christian Church saw free to change it. This, almost no Good Christian remembers. 😦
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I wonder who gave him the authority to change “DON’T add to” DON’T take away”. !!!!!!!!
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Dietary and ceremonial law is dealt with in Romans 14 very clearly. What other OT laws are you suggesting we also keep?
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Shalom and welcome.
Romans 14 does not deal with ceremonial law. It deals with a common discussion in that period. What day was best for fasting, therefore the discussion on eating and not eating. Later in the chapter Paul shifts to discussing a topic similar to I Cor. 8, meat offered to idols.
Paul never teaches against the Law of Moses/Torah. He does however teach against the Oral Law, or traditions of the elders that Yeshua also taught against.
Here are a few trips into Scripture you may never have taken: The Apostle Paul was NOT a Christian, What was the Apostle Paul’s Example, and Know Your Bible? 10 Question Pop Quiz (Subject:Paul).
As to your other question, combined here:
No. Actually, Scripture teaches quite the opposite. The church began at Mt. Sinai. See Acts 7:38. According to Stephen, the ‘congregation’ or qahal is the same thing as the ‘ekklesia’ which translators conveniently change throughout the rest of Scripture… See: Translators & The Lying Pen of the Scribes, Pt. 2, Then Part 1, and, if you so choose, the rest.
In fact, Scripture teaches that we are grafted INTO ISRAEL. Eph. 2:8-15 and 4:4-6. Yahweh doesn’t have two people, two standards, two brides, etc. He made promises to Israel and He will fulfill those promises to Israel. The question is, Do you know who Israel is?
I challenge you to ask the Father for truth! Set aside the traditions we’ve been taught and read Scripture through the lens it was given. Anything less spells trouble.
May Yahweh bless you!
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Shabbat and torah is for those who sojourn among us. It is for the foreigner who wants to join himself/herself to the Holy One of Israel. It is not for anyone else.
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On one level, I agree. All who follow the Holy One of Israel keep His commandments and statutes, whether native born or grafted in/sojourning among.
On another level I would have a question. As I previously argued, the Torah pre-existed Creation, and the Sabbath is a Creation ordinance. As such, with all mankind descending from Adam, would not all mankind be subject to the Sabbath and Torah? Consider: We will all be judged. What is the standard? If Torah, then even those who claim not to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be wise to obey Torah so that they be judged with fewer stripes…See: https://natsab.com/2014/02/27/before-the-foundation-of-the-world-implications/
Thoughts?
Good to see ya! Shalom!
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The Holy One blessed the seventh day in creation. But there was no command to humankind to observe this day until torah was given on Mt. Sinai. But there is much that is unsaid that we can speculate about. We know Noah knew the difference between clean and unclean animals, which had not yet been mentioned, and mankind was vegetarian until following the flood. If the torah was in effect prior to creation, then the children of Adam and Eve would have been committing sin by marrying each other. So much we don’t understand.
This telling Christians to keep torah doesn’t make sense to me. When my kids were little, they followed my rules. I only expected kids that were not mine to follow my rules when they were in my house. So, the torah is for the Jewish people, those who sojourn among us – and I would say this is not just in the land of Israel but in the diaspora also, and in addition those foreigners who join themselves to the Holy One of Israel. Many people practice a religion with some commonality, but they haven’t joined themselves to the God of Israel; they don’t even recognize the one they worship as the God of Israel. So let them be, just like we let the Muslims, HIndus, Atheists be, but lay out the welcome mat if they wish to join us.
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Understand.
Indulge me in another question… 😉
When was the word ‘Sabbath’ first used and who said it? Might that indicate knowledge prior to Mt. Sinai?
Just curious. 🙂
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Ex.16. Second month out of Egypt. ‘Then said Yahweh unto Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, {#8451 Torah} or no.”……
Ex.16:25 Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath unto Yahweh: today you shall not find it in the field.
Ex. 16:26 Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none……..
Read on. There is more on the ‘established sabbath’.
Ex 19…..Sinai —-third month
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Bingo.
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Ask people: When was the first time the word, “holy,” is used in scripture?
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Moshe’s conversation with the Memra?
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Gen_2:3 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.
Gen 2:3 ויברך אלהים את־יום השׁביעי ויקדשׁ אתו כי בו שׁבת מכל־מלאכתו אשׁר־ברא אלהים לעשׂות׃
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Yes, we know that the day was blessed and it was when God ceased from creation. But there is no other mention in any other context. Did our forebearers treat this day as significant? I don’t believe we can know.
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Increasingly I am understanding that the Torah pre-existed Creation and that Adam and Eve had all of it. If Father is in the business of restoring all things from the Fall and the Torah is the final standard (going forth from Tzion) then would it not have been the initial standard?
We do not see the fullness of it revealed as covenant until Sinai, but you know the many examples of Torah obedience in Genesis.
I just see it as the standard for and revelation of Abba from and for all eternity. It reveals His character which is unchanging.
Wrapping up here, but would love more discussion on this.
Have a blessed rest!
Shabbat Shalom!
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My response (currently in moderation) to this trackback:
Thank you for coming by and wrestling with what I wrote. Here are a few follow-on thoughts:
You should have posted a pice I wrote a couple days later that sheds a good bit of light on Acts 20:7 and the related ‘mia ton sabbaton’ cites. https://natsab.com/2014/01/30/first-day-of-the-week-acts-207/
Now to answer your questions: (I’ll take them one at a time.)
“Why are there no verses in the New Testament that specifically say, “Ye must keep the Sabbath day”, as there are in the Old Testament?”
There are many commandments in the ‘old testament’ that are not repeated in the ‘new.’ A vile example would be the law against beastiality. By your argument, since it is not mentioned in the ‘new’ then it is not of import… Does that mean we can pair off with sheep and goats? Just asking.
“Why are there no verses in the New Testament criticizing those who do not keep the Sabbath, as there is in the Old Testament?”
Just like the previous example, silence is not a very good position to argue from. The Tanak, and particularly the Torah, was settled law in the mind of every single author in the ‘new’ testament. Paul said, speaking of the Tanak, ‘All Scripture is inspired by god for… training in righteousness.’ Paul said, ‘Do we then nullify the Law? May it never be!! We establish the Law.’ and ‘so then, the Law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and good!’
Why do they need to repeat everything. The Word of our God stands forever!
“why is Sabbath observance not mentioned in Rev. 22 as one of the conditions under which people are sent to Hell?”
I think you meant Revelation 20, but the argument is moot. Notice the word ‘works’ in vrs 12 & 13. That is euphemism for obedience to God’s instructions. But, since you mentioned Rev. 22, check out verses 14… ‘DO His commandments’ to ‘have the right to the Tree of Life.’
“Why is the first day of the week mentioned over and over again in the New Testament, and not the Sabbath?”
Uhm… My Bible has 60+ mentions of ‘Sabbath’ with only one after the book of Acts, and, as I demonstrated in the above linked post, the nine ‘first day of the week’ cites actually use the Greek word ‘sabbaton’ and NOT the Greek word for ‘first’ (proto) or ‘day’ (hemera) which Luke is fully aware of as he uses that phrase in Acts 20:18.
Now, did Jesus come to start a new religion or to be the Messiah of Israel? According to Deuteronomy 18 He was to be ‘one like unto Moses.’ According to Deuteronomy 13, any prophet who led people away from the Torah was to be stoned.
*and, I notice two typos: ‘piece’ and ‘God.’ Sorry, but leaving original copy as it may appear on that blog.
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Seems Mr. Dean over there doesn’t appreciate truth! I responded to his last reply with New Testament verses, per his request, but he chose to remove the post. Here it is for those who understand that the WHOLE counsel of Yahweh’s Word stands forever. Not just the parts that are affirmed by the traditions of men:
LOL! Now that is funny.
Okay. Here are a few ‘new’ Testament verses.
2Ti 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
“All Scripture” Pretty clear, but to be more specific, when Paul wrote this, he was not referring to anything in the New Testament. NONE of it was regarded as Scripture… yet. Some was not even written! So, what was he referring to? The Tanach!! The Word of God. The Word that became flesh…
Now, the ‘Scripture’ Paul is referring to is good for what? Doctrine? Yes. the Tanach, according to Paul is good for doctrine. It is also, according to Paul, good for instruction in righteousness!!
What did Jesus quote? What did Paul quote? They quoted the everlasting, unchanging Word of God…. All of it from the Tanach. They might be hereticks, too. Didn’t they keep the Law?
Frankly, I think I am in good company following in the footsteps of Messiah! Paul said, ‘Imitate me as I imitate Messiah.’ John said, ‘He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.’ Yeshua said, ‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.’ His commandments are no different than those of the Torah! ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their brethren and I will put MY Words in His mouth and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. Whoever will not listen to MY Words which He shall speak in MY name, I MYSELF will require it of Him.’ (Deu. 18:18-19)
When I stand before the King I will say, ‘Through Your shed blood blood I did everything I could to be obedient to what You spoke of the Father.’
If He says, ‘But you worshiped on the seventh day Sabbath,’ I will answer, ‘Your Word says NINE times that the seventh day Sabbath is to be holy and is to be kept perpetually as a sign of Your sanctification and it NEVER says otherwise.’
If He says, ‘But you kept the feasts,’ and I will say, ‘Lev. 23 says multiple times that these are to be celebrated as a PERPETUAL ordinance in ALL your dwellings throughout your generations.’
If He says, ‘But you ate clean and avoided the unclean,’ I will say, ‘Your Word says, “be ye holy for I am holy” and “touch not the unclean thing.”‘
What are you going to say? “The church fathers said we didn’t have to do that stuff anymore”?
Call me a heretick. Here I stand on the Word.
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What a great teaching
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Thank you so much. Glad to be a blessing.
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I always wondered why God did not include wife in the list about who was to keep the Sabbath day Holy. Any ideas anyone?
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Welcome, Conrad,
Guessing you are referring to the way the command is written in Exodus 31:12-13 where the phrase ‘bnei Israel’ is sometimes translated ‘sons of Israel’ and other times, ‘children of Israel’:
There are a number of places that the ‘bnei’ word gets translated as ‘sons,’ and that often hinges on the underlying presuppositions of the translator. Honestly, the command is for all of us… Interesting to see other commands that get translated as ‘sons,’ but only make sense as ‘children.’
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Mmm I totally agree one thing tho
I thought Our Lord was the King of the sabbath he help , healed , and forgave
Sin on the sabbath that it was made for us not to overwork ourselves but that
We should have that one day … The Sabbath for Us not Us to b a slave to
It … My love n salutations I’m a wrecked sinner who beats his chest
Asking The Lord to forgive me in hope that one day my flesh n my spirit can get alone …
Peace 🙂
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Shalom and welcome,
We are all sinners, saved by grace!!
Yeshua (Jesus) IS/was Lord of the Sabbath, but that doesn’t abolish it! There really are only five or six specific rules for the Sabbath, primarily rest and worship. Yeshua made it a point to do ministry and to break many of the man-made rabbinic traditions in the oral law to make the point that the 1400 rules the rabbis came up with were an addition to the Torah, not of Yehovah (God).
We are not saved by works, but a true salvation will humbly come to the Father seeking to understand all of His everlasting, unchanging Word.
I recommend: https://natsab.com/2013/12/04/was-jesus-on-mt-sinai-does-it-matter/
Blessings to you!!
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Pete, thanks for humbly opening this topic for discussion. For me, the question regarding whether or not I should observe the 7th day as set apart was settled in two ways. Readers may be interested in my article, EVIDENCE THAT TORAH WAS GIVEN TO ALL MEN AT CREATION (https://lambsservant.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/evidence-that-torah-was-given-to-all-men-at-creation/ ) which goes into more detail, but briefly:
(1) Gen 2:2-3 – “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
I’d have to work pretty hard to convince myself that Adam and Eve (who were certainly not ‘Jews’) were neither aware of nor practiced the observation of Sabbath, since they carefully handed down the information that it was indeed a set-apart day – and that it had been set apart before man even existed. This infers that it was God Himself who informed Adam and Eve of the specialness of the day. He would not have so informed them if He did not intend them to observe it.
(2) Gen 26:5 – Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws [torah].
Once again I would have to work pretty hard to convince myself that Avinu Avraham was neither aware of nor observed the Sabbath. This passage clearly indicates that Avraham was aware of and observed God’s instructions. Although Genesis does not go into much detail as to what instructions were being observed, we can make a pretty good guess.
For example, we know from Cain’s and Abel’s sacrifices that the correct method of sacrifice (blood and fat) was already known even though such instruction is not ‘spelled out’ in the Word until Mount Sinai.
We know that the concept of priesthood was understood and practiced, despite the fact that we hear no specifics about it until Mount Sinai. The very concept of priesthood intrinsically implies a proper method of worship, which in turn implies a specific format and instructions.
We learn from the account of Noah and the flood that the concept of clean and unclean was clearly understood long before Mount Sinai.
There is much more in Genesis and other books in the Tanakh (the five books of Moses), not to mention the Psalms, that indicate that Torah is eternal, having neither a beginning nor end in Time. Scripture also informs us that God does not change – what pleases Him today will be the same as what pleased Him thousands of years ago. “As for me and my house, we will serve YHVH.” (Jos 24:15)
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Absolutely, totally agree. The Torah existed prior to creation, was transmitted to Adam and therefore to all mankind. Like your excellent blog, we’ve covered this many times. God doesn’t change, else the Scriptures revealing His steadfast character would be a lie.
Blessings to you and John on this set apart day.
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