How to Keep the Sabbath
Here's a recent article written by Chip Brogden -- wondering if anyone would like to discuss what he's saying here - do we observe the Sabbath in the New Covenant?
How to Keep the Sabbath by Chip Brogden
"The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day" (Mt. 12:8).
The Sabbath (and every other thing in the Old Covenant) points to a spiritual fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is not bound by any rule, or regulation, or tradition, that says thou shalt, or thou shalt not. He is Lord over the Sabbath; the Sabbath is not lord over Him.
We who are in Christ do keep the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for us is not a day of the week. It is certainly not a day for attending religious services. It has nothing to do with the calendar. If we want to keep the Sabbath we need only abide, continue, and dwell in Christ, as the branch abides, continues, and dwells in the Vine. For the branch is resting in the Vine. The branch does not struggle or worry or force itself through sheer effort to produce fruit. Instead, it simply lives in union with the Vine, and in that sense, it rests. It trusts in the Life of the Vine to produce the fruit. And this is the principle of the Sabbath rest.
Now we see this rest in Christ. You would suppose that, as the Son of God, He had the liberty and freedom to say and do whatever He pleased. But He frankly stated, "I do nothing of Myself. It is the Father that dwells in Me, and He does the works." This, my friend, is rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus mastered the art of observing the Sabbath day. What does it mean? It means I do nothing of Myself. My teaching is not My own, but it belongs to the One Who sent Me. And I do nothing except what I see my Father do, and I speak nothing except what I hear my Father speak. That is extraordinary. But that is what it means to rest in the Lord.
Now our relationship to Christ is to be exactly the same as Christ's relationship to the Father. I do nothing apart from Christ. I speak nothing apart from Christ. And I do nothing and speak nothing in my own strength, but I trust in the life of the Lord Jesus to do in me and through me what I cannot do.
Or, if you like, it is the place Paul describes in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." Not I, but Christ. This is the secret to the Christian life. And may I say that this: "not I, but Christ" is the normal Christian life. It is the way it is supposed to be, from the very beginning.
Remember that Adam's first day of life, after he was created, was a day of rest. Now the Christian life begins the same way. If any one is in Christ, the Bible says that he or she is a new creation. You are born-again; you are born from above. And the first lesson you learn in this spiritual life in Christ is not doing, but being; it is not working, but resting.
How disappointing that the harlot church – the religious system – does not teach you how to enter into rest. It wants to immediately put you to work. And so you wear yourself out, trying to be holy, trying to be more like Christ, trying to please people – the pastor, the elders, your fellow church members. And you sometimes feel as if you can never do enough. You can never give enough, you can never volunteer enough, you can never attend enough. And my, the guilt you feel whenever you say no, or whenever you feel as if you aren't doing enough!
Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Now let's not get tied down to a calendar. That first "day" in Christ may take weeks or years. We are after the spiritual principle of the Sabbath day, and we are not talking about a twenty-four hour period. This is something you learn and you walk in the rest of your life. How unfortunate that people do not begin with resting in Christ. They get saved, and they go to work for religion, and they are like a slave living in Egypt instead of a Hebrew living in the land of milk and honey. Then after so many years of slavery they become institutionalized, and think this is the way the Christian life is supposed to be.
Well, it is that way for many people, but it does not have to be that way. Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Works will come. But your first day as a new creature in Christ is a day of rest. It will be a day of rest until you learn what it means to abide in Christ, to dwell in Him, to rest in His finished work. That is the basis of everything else. If the word "season" helps you to understand this better than a "day" then think of it as a Sabbath season. But the first lesson is how to rest. That is the principle of the Sabbath.
I hope you are beginning to see how far and beyond this goes. From this perspective you see how silly it is to get all worked up into a lather over Sunday or Saturday, Sabbath day or Lord's day, what you can do and what you can't do. Those are arguments for little children. Let us go on to maturity. Let us put away childish things and become men and women of spiritual wisdom and discernment. God is after a spiritual condition, a spiritual result, and to get it He goes to work deep within your heart. That is the basis of the New Covenant.
How to Keep the Sabbath by Chip Brogden
"The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day" (Mt. 12:8).
The Sabbath (and every other thing in the Old Covenant) points to a spiritual fulfillment in Christ. Jesus is not bound by any rule, or regulation, or tradition, that says thou shalt, or thou shalt not. He is Lord over the Sabbath; the Sabbath is not lord over Him.
We who are in Christ do keep the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for us is not a day of the week. It is certainly not a day for attending religious services. It has nothing to do with the calendar. If we want to keep the Sabbath we need only abide, continue, and dwell in Christ, as the branch abides, continues, and dwells in the Vine. For the branch is resting in the Vine. The branch does not struggle or worry or force itself through sheer effort to produce fruit. Instead, it simply lives in union with the Vine, and in that sense, it rests. It trusts in the Life of the Vine to produce the fruit. And this is the principle of the Sabbath rest.
Now we see this rest in Christ. You would suppose that, as the Son of God, He had the liberty and freedom to say and do whatever He pleased. But He frankly stated, "I do nothing of Myself. It is the Father that dwells in Me, and He does the works." This, my friend, is rest. He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Jesus mastered the art of observing the Sabbath day. What does it mean? It means I do nothing of Myself. My teaching is not My own, but it belongs to the One Who sent Me. And I do nothing except what I see my Father do, and I speak nothing except what I hear my Father speak. That is extraordinary. But that is what it means to rest in the Lord.
Now our relationship to Christ is to be exactly the same as Christ's relationship to the Father. I do nothing apart from Christ. I speak nothing apart from Christ. And I do nothing and speak nothing in my own strength, but I trust in the life of the Lord Jesus to do in me and through me what I cannot do.
Or, if you like, it is the place Paul describes in Galatians 2:20: "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." Not I, but Christ. This is the secret to the Christian life. And may I say that this: "not I, but Christ" is the normal Christian life. It is the way it is supposed to be, from the very beginning.
Remember that Adam's first day of life, after he was created, was a day of rest. Now the Christian life begins the same way. If any one is in Christ, the Bible says that he or she is a new creation. You are born-again; you are born from above. And the first lesson you learn in this spiritual life in Christ is not doing, but being; it is not working, but resting.
How disappointing that the harlot church – the religious system – does not teach you how to enter into rest. It wants to immediately put you to work. And so you wear yourself out, trying to be holy, trying to be more like Christ, trying to please people – the pastor, the elders, your fellow church members. And you sometimes feel as if you can never do enough. You can never give enough, you can never volunteer enough, you can never attend enough. And my, the guilt you feel whenever you say no, or whenever you feel as if you aren't doing enough!
Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Now let's not get tied down to a calendar. That first "day" in Christ may take weeks or years. We are after the spiritual principle of the Sabbath day, and we are not talking about a twenty-four hour period. This is something you learn and you walk in the rest of your life. How unfortunate that people do not begin with resting in Christ. They get saved, and they go to work for religion, and they are like a slave living in Egypt instead of a Hebrew living in the land of milk and honey. Then after so many years of slavery they become institutionalized, and think this is the way the Christian life is supposed to be.
Well, it is that way for many people, but it does not have to be that way. Your first day in Christ is a day of rest. Works will come. But your first day as a new creature in Christ is a day of rest. It will be a day of rest until you learn what it means to abide in Christ, to dwell in Him, to rest in His finished work. That is the basis of everything else. If the word "season" helps you to understand this better than a "day" then think of it as a Sabbath season. But the first lesson is how to rest. That is the principle of the Sabbath.
I hope you are beginning to see how far and beyond this goes. From this perspective you see how silly it is to get all worked up into a lather over Sunday or Saturday, Sabbath day or Lord's day, what you can do and what you can't do. Those are arguments for little children. Let us go on to maturity. Let us put away childish things and become men and women of spiritual wisdom and discernment. God is after a spiritual condition, a spiritual result, and to get it He goes to work deep within your heart. That is the basis of the New Covenant.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sean Steckbeck on -
Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed. "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant.To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off."Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant. Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." (Isaiah 56)
The Sabbath to me is a blessing and not a burden. We do no work, do not cook, do not light fire, etc.
Hebrews 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
The law is a shadow of the reality....What does this mean?
Lets give some modern day examples.
1.) The wedding ring is a symbol/shadow of marriage, however, means nothing if the marriage is not strong. We still wear a wedding ring though.
2.) The Lord's supper is a symbol/shadow of the death and atonement of Yeshua and fellowship with the saints, however, many believers take it without truly experiencing the regeneration of the Spirit through the atonement and without discerning the body of Messiah. Those who have the real, still partake in the shadow as well.
The law was given to the Jewish people for four main purposes:
1.) Define who God is.
2.) Defines what morality is.
3.) Defines what the Israeli theocracy looks like.
4.) Defines the ritual and cultural identity of the people of Israel so they can be a "light to the nations" and bring the Messiah through their seed.
The law is perfect and is forever, as Paul says, however, our relationship to the law has changed in the New Covenant (Jer 31:31).
Of the four purposes for the law, only two of them were given to all people, while the other two were given only to Israel:
1.) WHo God is--- for all nations
2.) What morality looks like- for all nations.
3.) Israeli theocracy- glimses of it in Hezekiah's and Josiah's reigns, but never really established and practiced as a national constitution, will only be established upon the return of Messiah. (See Ezekiel)----- only for Israel, in the last days the nations will become a commonwealth of Israel, not sure how that looks like honestly- however, under the One New Man (Ephesians 2) of Messiah Yeshua.
4.) Ritual and cultural identity of the Jewish people- practiced throughout Israel's history, altered in rabbinical Judaism with the basic outline of the real, and since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD about half of the ritual/cultural law can't be practiced. That which can be practiced has been practiced by the Jewish people (The Sabbath, the Passover remembrance, wearing tzitzits, kosher, clothing standards, etc. can all be done without a temple). This was never meant to be practiced by the Gentiles, only by Jews and Ger Toshav (those who live in Israel and identify with Israel within Israel's borders). Some of the temple rituals have been also altered by rabbinic Judaism so they can be practiced without a temple since the Council of Yavneh.
The New Covenant changed our relationship to the law by freeing us from the curse of the law and providing us atonement.
For the Gentiles: Moral law
For the Jews: Moral, Ritual/cultural, and theocracy law
However, it is still good for all to practice through the Holy Spirit and in the freedom of the Lord the moral law.
Its a good standard, however, the Holy Spirit calls us to this and higher and living by the Spirit.
It is also still good for Jewish believers to practice the ritual/cultural law that is possible today without a temple as their calling and destiny to be a light to the nations. However, in the Spirit and in freedom, not condemning, and reliazing it is a shadow (a prophetic act) for the reality of Yeshua and the New Covenant era.
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Permalink Reply by Dan W. Cawthon on -
Mr. Brogden makes some wonderful points and a new slant on thinking about the Sabbath. I love the idea of expansion of the Sabbath day to a longer time period than a day and the consequences thereof. Most of all his description of Adams first day after being created was a day of rest. This is keen insight I never saw coming but can heartily agree with. His pointing out the contrasts between IC's needs of your time and the comfort of the Sabbath's day of rest was so clear and easily understood. I guess I'll never get used to fact that the bible shines its lights of holy knowledge in so many different ways and I for one am grateful for them all. Thanks for sharing Dena.
God Bless
Dan
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Permalink Reply by chiefer on -
So we could say that everyone who keeps sabbath in Christ is a Every-Day-Adventist* ;)
* adventist in meaning - awaits the Lord
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Permalink Reply by Nik P. on -
I'm wondering when we lost our understanding of Sabbath and re-created it's definition to mean "a day of rest?"
In early Judaism, we see the priestly class write their verses of creation showing that God rested, so should we. They later wrote of a day of rest for the slaves of the Exodus, to go worship their God. Even manna takes a Sabbath. I wonder how long Sabbat was a practice before these theological statements were given to explain the practice?
Sabbat matches Jubilee, but Sabbat happens on the 7th day rather than the 7 x 7th year. Thus, it carries connotations of a mini-Jubilee. The central themes of Jubilee are:
1) Worship
2) Redistributive justice; all families could return to their ancestor's land, even if it had been mortgaged / seized for debt
3) Abundance; the celebration of God's provision and trust of future provision
IMHO, we have really watered down the meaning of Sabbath. A day of rest?? This seems like a modern view of it. Sure, rest is restorative and healthy, but if that's all Sabbath is, then it is easily discarded. I seems that even back a few centuries, worship was the focus, not rest.
In the new covenant, Jesus does not replace the law but fulfills it. Through Him, with Him, in Him, Sabbath is still a time of worship, abundance and redistribution of wealth. But it is no longer constrained by rules of the church. . . it is there for the glory of Christ.
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Permalink Reply by David on -
God's pertetual convenant with man is established by the rest we enter into, with stammering lips and another tongue.
The type/shadow has been established by substance that was poured out on the day of Pentecost.
Those who serve God by following where his spirit leads have ceased from their own works.
We abide in God's spirit (his Christ, his anointing) and we have the gift of the Holy Ghost dwelling in our hearts.
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Permalink Reply by Randy W. Jordan on -
Chaplain Nik said:I'm wondering when we lost our understanding of Sabbath and re-created it's definition to mean "a day of rest?"
/div>
Nik:
I would preface all that I say with the fact that I totally agree with Mr. Brogden about the concept of Sabbath being about resting in the completion and finished work of Jesus, and only doing what He asks us to do. “Being” a Christian is just that. It is “being in" Him. Not "doing for" Him out of some sense of obligation or to meet rules, regulations, or others expectations. We will only “do” properly when we are resting “in” Him first.
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
(Note: the works are not something we dream up or set out to do of our own. God prepared them in the ages past. We do them as He reveals them.)
However to answer your question about when we lost the understanding and recreated the Sabbath into a ‘day of rest’, I think that happened with very literal interpretations of the 10 commandments from Exodus 20 8-11. It should be noted that this is the only one of the so-called ten that is “spiritualized” today. The others are pretty much embraced literally as proper behavior.
Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (holy—sanctified—set apart)
Exodus 20:9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exodus 20:10 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 stays with you.
Exodus 20:11 "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.
Later in Exodus, the breaking of the Sabbath was even outlined as punishable by death.
Exodus 31:15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh [is] the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth [any] work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Exodus 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
And in other places Moses told the people of God to gather enough provision on the day before the Sabbath to see them through, because they would not be able to gather, nor would manna be provided on the Sabbath.
While Jesus is the Sabbath for those of us who believe, it is important that we ask ourselves “Why did the LORD, put this picture/type in front of us, and why did He put such a heavy penalty on those who could not keep it?
The weekly Sabbath, I believe, served its very own purpose which did not have a focus on worship, at least, not beyond honoring God, the Father by keeping it. To mix it with the jubilee, to me, is to mix metaphors somewhat.
As you’ve said Jubilee restored what had been lost and redistributed provision to those in need. Yes, you had to trust God to get you through it as well and rest in His ability to provide. But I see its purpose as a type/shadow separated from Sabbath.
I do think the weekly Sabbath purpose as a type/shadow was focused on rest and completion. It was focused on setting a time (a day) a part to focus on His completed work. The whole reason for the rest was outlined in Exodus 20:11. “For in six days the LORD made….. and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy”. Note it is the LORD (Yahweh – I AM – God of covenant mercy and grace) who made, who rested, and that blessed it and set it apart, not just God (Elohim – the creator). The Sabbath spoke of His competed work, it spoke of His complete provision. It also was a clear picture of His intent to lift the curse of toil and death by resting in Him, and His completion. “In toil you will eat…” “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, Till you return to the ground”. (See Genesis 3:17-19)
See from the beginning God has desired for man to just come to Him for all he needs and to be satisfied. From the beginning He has desired a people who would be holy as he is holy and immediately obedient to His word (command/purpose). A people who are like Jesus. In the old covenant we worked at right relationship through obedience. In the new covenant (in Jesus) we have be given right relationship that we might learn obedience (like Jesus who for love “humbled Himself by becoming obedient” Phil. 2:8to accomplish the Father's purpose). The point of both covenants is a people who are in right relationship and that will carry out His purposes.
This right relationship expressed through obedience to His plan and purpose is difficult, in that the perfect cannot be commanded. God has not desired a people that are obedient from intimidation, fear, or guilt. Nothing would have been easier for Him to produce than that as God Almighty. But, He is not the parent that is says “Obey me because I said so” desiring obedience from fear or guilt. The kingdom principal is what I call “Submission gained by love” (NOTE: You can see it from Genesis to Revelation. But it is really prominent in Ephesians where Paul fleshes it out with the mystery regarding the church being the fullness of Him who fills all in all, and God’s inheritance in Jesus. Paul goes through every kind of relationship God/Man, Christ/Church, Husband/Wife, Father/Children, Masters/Slaves/- read that Employer/Employee- and shows how submission is gained by love. Not through intimidation, guilt or fear as the world would have us believe. Then he tells us we will exhibit that principal of victory to principalities and powers.) Anyhow, the point is God desires a people who will obey/carry out His purpose because of love. He has from the beginning. In the Garden, before sin, there were three kinds of trees. The trees that were good for food that we could take freely from., the tree of the knowledge of good and evil about which He said “Don’t touch it or you will die” (setting up covenant obedience around it - the law), and finally the tree of life, about which He said nothing, because the perfect can’t be commanded. His desire was for man to come to/choose the tree of life (Jesus). Had Adam done so, completion of the purpose and plan of God would have been revealed in and through him, and he would never have toiled. He would never have died. There is more here, but I will stop.
So, as usual, I have been too long winded (or is it long-worded). But the Sabbath was so important because it, among all the commandments, revealed His redemptive nature and purpose in Jesus. Completion in Him, Rest in Him. Jesus would cry out, “It is finished” nailed to a tree as His death restored access to the tree of life.
Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, picks up on the tension between Sabbath rest and disobedience from unbelief. See we have a strong tendency to want to return to Egypt, or to earn/deserve righteousness by works. Yes, the IC has driven some to work/unrest by guilt. But, many just simply choose it as well. I won’t go into that now but to share
Hbr 4:9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Hbr 4:10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
Hbr 4:11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through {following} the same example of disobedience.
There is somewhat of an oxymoron here when the writer says “There remains a Sabbath rest….. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest.” But again that oxymoron is relieved when we understand that it is never about works righteousness, or about obedience dreamed up to please Him (as in “I’ll do this or that and God will be pleased”). That rest is only entered by coming to the tree of life….Choosing/believing/trusting in Jesus, and Jesus alone. And the obedience that pleases Him comes only from resting in the completed work of Christ Jesus, who is our Sabbath and our righteousness. Then we should only be found doing that which is done in Him, which He asks of us by His Spirit and draws us to do motivated by love for Him.
So let us be Sabbath keepers IN HIM as Mr. Brogden suggested. But let us not forget the powerful purpose of the type given to us in the “day”. Although I don’t keep a day now, and embrace an everyday Sabbath in Him, I can understand how some might be drawn to, as a consistent reminder of the LORD of the Sabbath who has delivered us from the curse of works and death… in Jesus. Better to set a part the day, if He makes it an issue with you, than to forget Him in the hustle of everyday toil for bread and/or in exchange for a day on the golf course or whatever. Both the day focused on Him, and the day on the course/whatever, can reap benefits, depending on what He is calling you to.
gratefully redeemed
Randy
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on -
Beautiful thinking, Nik...!
(I forgot to click the "follow this thread" button -- here y'all were having a wonderful conversation without me, LOL!)
I'm seeing as you do. We externalized the spiritual again ... we keep doing that. Silly us...! ;) Take us 'round that rock, again, God!
Shalom, Dena
Chaplain Nik said:I'm wondering when we lost our understanding of Sabbath and re-created it's definition to mean "a day of rest?"
In early Judaism, we see the priestly class write their verses of creation showing that God rested, so should we. They later wrote of a day of rest for the slaves of the Exodus, to go worship their God. Even manna takes a Sabbath. I wonder how long Sabbat was a practice before these theological statements were given to explain the practice?
Sabbat matches Jubilee, but Sabbat happens on the 7th day rather than the 7 x 7th year. Thus, it carries connotations of a mini-Jubilee. The central themes of Jubilee are:
1) Worship
2) Redistributive justice; all families could return to their ancestor's land, even if it had been mortgaged / seized for debt
3) Abundance; the celebration of God's provision and trust of future provision
IMHO, we have really watered down the meaning of Sabbath. A day of rest?? This seems like a modern view of it. Sure, rest is restorative and healthy, but if that's all Sabbath is, then it is easily discarded. I seems that even back a few centuries, worship was the focus, not rest.
In the new covenant, Jesus does not replace the law but fulfills it. Through Him, with Him, in Him, Sabbath is still a time of worship, abundance and redistribution of wealth. But it is no longer constrained by rules of the church. . . it is there for the glory of Christ.
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on
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AISI too, David. Beautifully simple. An inside-job.
Shalom, Dena
David said:God's pertetual convenant with man is established by the rest we enter into, with stammering lips and another tongue.
The type/shadow has been established by substance that was poured out on the day of Pentecost.
Those who serve God by following where his spirit leads have ceased from their own works.
We abide in God's spirit (his Christ, his anointing) and we have the gift of the Holy Ghost dwelling in our hearts.
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on
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Let each one be convinced in their own mind ... and love the other, whether they be seen as neighbor or enemy.
Sean Steckbeck said:Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed. "How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil."Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant.To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off."Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant. Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." (Isaiah 56)
The Sabbath to me is a blessing and not a burden. We do no work, do not cook, do not light fire, etc.
Hebrews 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
The law is a shadow of the reality.....
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on
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You're most welcome, Dan ... as always, your comments are a feast for the soul.
Shalom, Dena
Dan W. Cawthon said:Mr. Brogden makes some wonderful points and a new slant on thinking about the Sabbath. I love the idea of expansion of the Sabbath day to a longer time period than a day and the consequences thereof. Most of all his description of Adams first day after being created was a day of rest. This is keen insight I never saw coming but can heartily agree with. His pointing out the contrasts between IC's needs of your time and the comfort of the Sabbath's day of rest was so clear and easily understood. I guess I'll never get used to fact that the bible shines its lights of holy knowledge in so many different ways and I for one am grateful for them all. Thanks for sharing Dena.
God Bless
Dan
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Permalink Reply by Nik P. on
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Randy W. Jordan said:Yes, you had to trust God to get you through it as well and rest in His ability to provide. But I see its purpose as a type/shadow separated from Sabbath. I do think the weekly Sabbath purpose as a type/shadow was focused on rest and completion.
Thank you Randy for your additions to the discussion. It seems clear to me that we are reading with different hermeneutics which have led to our different conclusions as to whether Sabbath and Jubilee are of the same typology. Regardless, I agree with you that works righteousness is not a part of Sabbath nor Jubilee.
I continue to thank God for this open forum where His word is discussed rather than the man-made emptiness found on most of the internet and TV. And, I am grateful that I can share my theological background even though a narrative reading which goes beyond modernism sounds differently than traditional systematic historical-grammatical interpretations.
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Permalink Reply by Dena Brehm on
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Your response is very gracious, Nik.
Thank you for modeling the way to find agreement, even as you share how you disagree -- and how that is no theat to a deeper unity.
As usual, you exhibit how you live what you believe, as well as giving me something to consider from your perspective, which enhances my view of the whole - thanks!
Shalom, Dena
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