Jozef-and-Lydia - great !!!
Jozef-and-Lydia - nice weather
Jozef-and-Lydia - Our Heavenly Father Abba YAHWEH, THE Elohenu among the 'elohim' [mighty ones], all praise and worship belongs to You, and we acknowledge Your Holy Name.
Jozef-and-Lydia - The only 'self existing' Elohim of the heavens and the earth, we thank you for this Shabbat again.
Jozef-and-Lydia - We bow down to You as we worship You alone O, Yahweh, and we bend our knees to You in the name of Yahushua Your son and Your appointed King and Saviour.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Thank You for life, Your provisions, our daily sustenance food and clothing and a roof over our heads, but also for Your divine protection, and above all Your Love upon us.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Thank you for putting Your Love IN US through the saturation of 'Your Word', which does feed us spiritually and strengthen us for the days ahead.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Abba Father, to day and the days after we ask your great peace to be upon us all, regardless the situation in the world today.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Forgive us of all our weaknesses, and mistakes we still make daily, in not totally trusting You in all situations,
Jozef-and-Lydia - and for the grievances we might have had toward our fellow men, and the evil tongue we might have unknowingly used against our brothers and sisters.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Help us to overcome all these weaknesses, and help us to forgive others the way You have forgiven us of all our sins, wrongs and mistakes.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Please Abba Yahweh, be with all your people, regardless their religious idiosyncrasies, regardless if we agree with them or not, and make us all see that we are one in Your Spirit.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Deliver us from any evil or untrue thought still from within, or any hate against anyone, and above all, deliver us all from the evil influences from the outside, in this unholy world.
Jozef-and-Lydia - Therefore we pray for Your Kingdom to be established in all realms of existence, and that evil be purged and the guilty be incarcerated, to wait Your just judgement in the last day.
Jozef-and-Lydia - We ask this in the Name of Our Saviour and Advocate and High-Priest, our King Yahushua the Messiah, and we give due honour and glory to the Lamb of Yahweh.
Jozef-and-Lydia - So let it be, HalleluYAH \o/\o/\o/\o/
Throughout scripture, there are certain things that belong to Yahweh and are considered 'holy'.
Throughout scripture, we see that Yahweh is very concerned that we know the difference between the holy/separate and the common.
In the case of the Sabbath, there are certain days that are common or normal days, and there are certain days that Yahweh considers to be holy and set apart to Him.
Part of loving Yahweh is choosing not to profane the holy things that He has created.
One of the things Yahweh instituted is the Sabbath, which was set apart at creation.
It was so important and necessary, that Yahweh kept it Himself as a part of the 7 day creation account
Genesis 2:2 - And on the seventh day Elohim ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Genesis 2:3 - And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made.The Hebrew word for "Sanctified" in this verse is "Qadash" (Heb. #6942), which is the Hebrew word that "Qodesh", the word most translated "Holy", is based upon.
So the Sabbath is the very first thing that scripture records Yahweh setting apart or making holy.
For those who think that the Sabbath was profaned and ignored every week until Yahweh gave the Ten Commandments, they simply do not understand holiness! Yahweh never approves the profaning of His holy things.
Ezekiel 22:26 - Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.Notice in this scripture Yahweh Himself is "profaned" among others because:
1. They did not distinguish between the holy and unholy
2. They did not make known the difference between the clean and the unclean
3. They hid their eyes from Yahweh's Sabbaths
When Yahushua came, was it all of a sudden pleasing to Yahweh that those who claim to believe in Him are free to make no difference between the holy and unholy, the clean and unclean, and hide their eyes from His Sabbaths?
Surely no.
Notice carefully that the above verse said "Sabbaths" (Plural).
There are other days that Yahweh set apart during the year (the coming feast days), which are often ignored. Those days are also holy unto Yahweh and we should not profane any day that Yahweh set apart.
In the Torah/Law, the penalty for defiling His holy Sabbath is death:
Exodus 31:14 - Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Exodus 31:15 - Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to YAHWEH: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.It may be difficult for some to believe, but our defiling of the Sabbath is one of the things that made it necessary for Yahushua to suffer and die for us.
It was among the transgressions that Yahweh laid on Him when He died for us.
Isaiah 53:6 - All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and YAHWEH hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.Will we now go back and defile His Sabbath again?
After Yahushua died, in part, because we profaned Yahweh's Sabbath... are we free to go and do the same again?
Romans 6:1 - What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that favor may abound?
Romans 6:2 - By no means!! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?Let it not be! We must remember the Sabbath, to keep it set apart/holy. We must never defile the Sabbath again.
It is so important, it is included in the Ten Commandments.
It is so important, that Yahweh set this day apart at creation and kept it Himself.
What greater importance could He have placed on it? Yet, people treat the Sabbath as a common thing. It is not common, it is holy.
Exodus 20:8 - Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.Do not forget it, but remember it and sanctify it as Yahweh sanctified it at creation.
The same word for holy, "Qadash" (Heb. #6942) is used here and in Genesis 2:2 where Yahweh "sanctified" the day.
We are to keep holy what Yahweh already made holy
How do we keep the Sabbath holy/separate?
Let's continue to read:
Exodus 20:9 - Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exodus 20:10 - But the seventh day is the sabbath of YAHWEH thy Elohim: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exodus 20:11 - For in six days YAHWEH made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore YAHWEH blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.So, we see that the primary way we keep the Sabbath holy is to refrain from work. We see that we are also not to cause others to work, such as our children, servants, visitors to our home or even our animals. This is the day that Yahweh rested!
This would also mean that we must refrain from going to stores and restaurants on the Sabbath.
For instance, if we go to a restaurant, we are hiring servants to prepare and cook our meals, serve them, and clean our tables when we are done. This is no different than having a maid do work for us on the Sabbath.
Buying and selling on the Sabbath is not pleasing to Yahweh:
Nehemiah 13:15 - In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified gainst them in the day wherein they sold victuals.
Nehemiah 13:16 - There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 13:17 - Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?So buying and selling is clearly profaining Yahweh's Sabbath, a day He wants us to remember and keep holy. Going to restaurants and shopping malls and grocery stores is no way to keep the Sabbath holy.
When Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, he re-instituted the Sabbath day that had been forgotten. No doubt that the Egyptians expected them to work seven days a week.
In the below scripture, Moshe (Moses) is telling the children of Israel what they should do in preparation for the Sabbath:
Exodus 16:23 - And he said unto them, This is that which YAHWEH hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto YAHWEH: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.On preparation day, we should prepare our food that will be eaten on the Sabbath so that we will not have to cook or prepare it on the Sabbath. There are many variations of how to do this which for brevity's sake will not be discussed in this study.
Yahweh not only wants our bodies to rest on His holy day, we see that He also wants our minds to rest:
Amos 8:4 - Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
Amos 8:5 - Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?The context of this verse is Yahweh's displeasure over the poor being oppressed, but there is another here lesson also.
Notice the attitude of those who are keeping the Sabbath. They long for it to end so that they may go out and commit sin again.
We also need to remember that while the Sabbath is to be kept, we don't want to be longing for it to end or proceed to go out into the world and sin again when the Sabbath is over!
Of course, this isn't a problem if our attitude is right toward Yahweh's commandments and our relationship with Yahweh.
1John 5:3 - For this is the love of YAHWEH, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.In this next verse, we will see what Yahweh desires our attitude to be like toward His holy day:
Isaiah 58:13 - If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of YAHWEH, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isaiah 58:14 - Then shalt thou delight thyself in YAHWEH; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of YAHWEH hath spoken it.In context, this verse could possibly be speaking of the Day of Atonement, but the principles of keeping a day holy is no different. We see in verse 13 that Yahweh desires:
1. For us to call the Sabbath a delight.
2. To consider the holy day of Yahweh honorable.
3. For us to honor Him.
We see here the right attitude toward His Sabbath.
Truly His Sabbath is a delight, His holy day is honorable and Yahweh is worthy of honor!
It is a day to honor Yahweh and delight in the Sabbath He set apart for us. Yahweh ALWAYS knows what is best for us. He created our minds and our bodies, surely He is great and wise in His desire for us to rest.
Let's continue the list:
4. To not do our own ways.
5. To not find our own pleasure.
This is not a day to do our own ways or our own pleasure, but to do the ways of Yahweh and focus on the things that please Him.
This is a beautiful picture of Yahweh's desire for us. He desires our attention on Him and His matters on this day, let's truly honor Him and praise Him for His wonderful works on this day!
If our attitude is right.. the Sabbath shouldn't be about what you "can't" do, but what you get to do!
Yahweh desires our fellowship with Him. It is an honor to have a right relationship with our Creator
It is an honor to walk with Yahweh and to spend time with Him
We need to get to know the One who created us from dust...
and loved us enough to send His own Son into the world to save us from our uncleanness and wickedness
That sounds like someone I would want to get to know!
That's part of what the Sabbath is for
Continuing the list:
6. To not speak our own words (Heb. Dabar dabar).
I find this to be an interesting scripture.
The Hebrew here is literally "Dabar dabar". The Hebrew word "Dabar" is most often translated "word".
I can see the wisdom in translating it "our own words". It seems apparent that Yahweh doesn't want us being so quick to speak on His holy day. Consider this scripture:
Ecclesiastes 5:1 - Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of Elohim, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
Ecclesiastes 5:2 - Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before Elohim: for Elohim is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
Ecclesiastes 5:3 - For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.The Sabbath would be the most common day for one to enter the house of Elohim. We should be more inclined to hear rather than to speak hastily on His Sabbath day. But if any man speak:
1Peter 4:11 - If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of YAHWEH. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which YAHWEH supplies, that in all things YAHWEH may be glorified through Yahushua the Messiah, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.Especially on His holy day, let's ask Yahweh to set a watch over our lips:
Psalms 141:3 - Set a watch, O YAHWEH, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.We must beware of what words we partake of, and what words we speak
For this day is to be a day for hearing the words of Yahweh:
Leviticus 23:3 - Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of YAHWEH in all your dwellings.The Hebrew words in Lev. 23:3 for "Holy convocation" are Miqra Kodesh.
What does it mean to have a Miqra Kodesh? The answer may surprise you
It literally means to have a "holy reading", which implies gathering together to do so. For instance:
Nehemiah 8:5 - And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
Nehemiah 8:6 - And Ezra blessed YAHWEH, the great Elohim. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped YAHWEH with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 8:7 - Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
Nehemiah 8:8 - So they read in the book in the law of Elohim distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.The word translated "reading" here is Miqra (Heb. #04744), elsewhere translated "convocation."
It is true that a convocation seems to be implied. And it is true that scripture says we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together:
Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
Hebrews 10:25 - not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.Having the Sabbath day available for seeking and hearing His words is a great blessing.
Why is it that some people become believers in Messiah for a time but soon fall away back into the same sinful condition they were in before or perhaps even worse?
For many it is because they fail to read Yahweh's word and/or seek fellowship with other believers. Absorbing His word into our minds can fulfill us like nothing else. Words are very powerful.
Often our actions and mannerisms are a carbon copy of our current group of friends or those we work with. There is wisdom in the proverb:
Proverbs 13:20 - He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.Words are "spirit".
The very word "spirit" also means breath or wind. If we are around unbelievers in our work life or have unbelievers as friends, there are subtle influences that their words can have on us.
Proverbs 12:26 - The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them.The same holds true for Yahweh's word.
However, when we read Yahweh's word we know we can put down our guard because His word is spirit, truth and life.
Yahushua said:
John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.This is where the keeping the Sabbath is so essential to our spiritual growth
If we have at least one day out of the week that we can withdraw ourselves from the world and its influences and concentrate on keeping the day holy by resting, worshipping, praying and studying Yahweh's word, it truly strengthens our faith and a keeps us growing spiritually.
Soon, keeping the Sabbath is no longer just a day of rest but rather a way of life!
Often, the keeping of the Sabbath will keep us from falling away. The idea of breaking it becomes unthinkable because it is the just way we live!
Just as it would be unthinkable to not go to work during the week, it becomes unthinkable that we would not rest on His holy day. Ask anyone who keeps the Sabbath the way Yahweh wants us to and they will testify that it is truly a blessing!
Those who use the Sabbath day as a day for pursuing worldly pleasure, work or profit are missing out on a true spiritual blessing that would otherwise keep their minds and bodies strong.
The Sabbath can also be a time of strengthening our family relationships
My family and I have a special meal on Sabbath evenings just before I come to the chat room. We call it "Special Sabbath"
We get out our best dishes, put on our best clothes and let the children choose the meal they would like
We set a place for Yahushua the Messiah at the table, knowing that He is in the midst of where two or three are gathered
He gets the best dishes and placemat
We even use cloth napkins, and we light candles
During the meal we talk about the week
And after the meal I get out the guitar and we sing praise to Yahweh
Then I bless my children..
and my wife
Brethren, the Sabbath can instill positive memories in our children's lives
And they will want to do that with their children
Consider the blessings:
Isaiah 58:13 - If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of YAHWEH, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isaiah 58:14 - Then shalt thou delight thyself in YAHWEH; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of YAHWEH hath spoken it.So according verse 14, when we do these things, we will:
1. Delight ourselves in Yahweh.
2. Ride upon the high places of the earth.
3. Be fed with the heritage of Jacob.
To me, this confirms the idea that keeping the Sabbath keeps us strong in Yahweh.
We see 3 wonderful promises to those who "Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy!"
We can delight ourselves in Yahweh and ride upon the high places of the earth (thus rule the world) and be fed with the heritage of Jacob, which is to enter the Promised Land:
Psalms 105:9 - Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
Psalms 105:10 - And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
Psalms 105:11 - Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:and again..
Isaiah 60:21 - Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
Isaiah 60:22 - A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I YAHWEH will hasten it in his time.Brethren, the Promised Land awaits those who regard the Sabbath and keep it holy as Yahweh desires.
Let us be sure that we enter that rest, and inherit everlasting life!
Let's delight ourselves in Yahweh and keep holy what He created to be holy. We can not make it holy. Yahweh has made it holy and we are to KEEP it holy!
Let's remember the sign between Him and His people forever:
Exodus 31:16 - Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exodus 31:17 - It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days YAHWEH made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.Being children of Israel in the flesh, or in Spirit through Yahushua the Messiah, let's not forget the sign between us and Yahweh!
Let's follow the example of Yahweh in His creation.
Let's walk as Yahushua walked and do what Yahushua did, for He kept the Sabbaths of Yahweh.
For we must remember that there will be found nothing in the that Great City that defiles His holy things:
Revelation 21:23 - The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of YAHWEH illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
Revelation 21:24 - And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
Revelation 21:25 - Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).
Revelation 21:26 - And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.
Revelation 21:27 - But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.Nothing that defiles will enter in. Let's not be found among those who defile the holy day of Yahweh.
Rather, let's be found in the Lamb's book of life. Let's be found keeping Yahweh's holy things: Holy!
Hebrews 12:14 - Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see YAHWEH:May Yahweh bless you and may He have mercy on us all!