Shabbat Shalom - Sabbath Peace

The command to celebrate the Sabbath has its foundation in Genesis 2:2-3:

2 "And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made." (JPS)

We have to do a lot of things every day: show up for work on time, stop at red lights and stop signs, obey the speed limit, get dressed, treat your spouse nicely, discipline our children, eat (our stomach commands that!), and on and on...but has anyone commanded you to celebrate and so that you can truly enjoy the day?

There is freedom when we realize that God tells us to rest on the Sabbath. And there is freedom in knowing that we can enter Sabbath rest every day by trusting in the Lord, praising His name, reveling in all His creation. But if not every day begin with one and follow His beautiful invitation found in Exodus 20: 8-11 ~

8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto the LORD thy God, in it thou shalt not do any manner of work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; 11 for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (JPS)

God lovingly instructed that all should rest: Jews & Gentiles, male & female, adults & children, servants & the free, cattle & donkeys, strangers & friends.

The sabbath was not some ordinance that God created and then said to us, "Now keep it." No the sabbath was created for us and for our benefit.

Mark 2:27 ~ "Then he [Yeshua] said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.'" (NIV)

So this Saturday rest and take a few moments to sing, dance, praise the Holy name of the Lord and enjoy the day. It was created FOR YOU!

Shabbat Shalom!

Freedom in Shabbat?

Shabbat Shalom means Sabbath peace, peaceful Sabbath, good Sabbath. Shabbos is another word for Sabbath. Shabbat comes from the Hebrew word rest.

God set the Sabbath apart and clearly stated it was the last day of the week, which was discussed in a previous post.

Exodus 20:11 - "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy" (NIV).

First of all, keeping the Sabbath cannot be viewed as a means to salvation. Yeshua is our Salvation. When we do what God commanded and what Yeshua did when He walked this earth, we do so to be made more like Him. So the idea of the Sabbath is to cease from work, as God did, and spend time in His presence--studying His Word, worshipping Him, fellowshipping with family and friends in the Lord, and if the need arises, going out and finding that lost sheep, healing the sick.

We can misinterpret what God instructs us to do as bondage or see His Word as Truth and realize it as freedom. The Sabbath is a day of refreshing, renewal and it's one of those things, that you won't know if it "works" until you try it. Can we accept that the Creator actually knows what's good for us? Or do we know better?

Exodus 20:8 - "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (NIV).

It is customary to light two candles no later than 18 minutes before sunset on Friday evening because Shabbat begins at sunset. This week's time is 4:07 pm (EST) today--find the time in your area. The two candles symbolize the two commands God gives in the 4th commandment: to remember and keep or guard this day as holy unto Him.

For believers in Yeshua, the candles also represent Yeshua as the Light of the world. And there is a blessing that incorporates Yeshua in the traditional Hebrew custom, which is said after you light the candles: "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to be a light to the nations and who gave us Jesus, our Messiah, the Light of the world." - from Lighting the Sabbath Candles

Restful Sabbath, in the name of Jesus, the Messiah!
Shabbat Shalom, BaShem Yeshua HaMashiach!

Rosh Chodesh Kislev

November 11, 2007 or according to the Hebrew calendar 1st Kislev, the year 5768, is the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh. According to the Bible, days begin in the evening (repeated 6 times in Genesis 1 for instance: "So the evening and the morning were the first day" NKJV). And so the New Moon Festival begins at sunset November 10. There will be no moon visible until the moonrise of November 11 or 12 and that will be a tiny crescent.

New Moon in the Bible
Numbers 10:10 "Also at your times of rejoicing—your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals—you are to sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, ^[a] and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the LORD your God"(NIV).

Isaiah 66:22 "'As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,' declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure" (NIV).

Psalm 81:3-5 "'Blow the trumpet at the time of the New Moon, At the full moon, on our solemn feast day. For this is a statute for Israel, A law of the God of Jacob. This He established in Joseph as a testimony, When He went throughout the land of Egypt, Where I heard a language I did not understand'" (NKJV).

Psalm 104:19 "He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down"(NKJV).

And it all began here:
Genesis 1:14-15 "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth'; and it was so" (NKJV).

Rosh Chodesh Blessing

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!
Sabbath Peace and Good Month!