Entering Into His Rest
The Sabbath as a Sign of Covenant
Relationship with the Almighty
*What Is the Meaning of “Sabbath”?
*What Does it Mean that the Sabbath is Holy?
*How Do We Keep the Sabbath Holy?
*What is the Purpose of the Sabbath?
*What Does it Mean that the Sabbath is a Sign?
*Did Yeshua Work on the Sabbath?
*Is Keeping Sabbath a “Salvation Issue”?
What Is the Meaning of
“Sabbath”?
Genesis 2:1-3
The heavens and the earth were completed
with everything that was in them. By the
seventh day Elohim finished the work that he
had been doing, and he ceased on the
seventh day all the work that he had been
doing. Elohim blessed the seventh day and
set it apart because on it he ceased all the
work that he had been doing in creation.
The Hebrew word here translated ceased is
tbv, (pronounced shabbat).
The Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew lexicon
translates this word as cease, desist, rest.
The Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament also renders our word as cease,
desist, rest.
And the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the
Old Testament says this word means to
cease, stop, rest, celebrate.
What Does it Mean that the
Sabbath is Holy?
The Separations of Creation
(Heb bdl – divide,separate,distinguish)
*Day 1- Light from Darkness
*Day 2 – Waters Above from Waters Below
Day 3 – Land from Water
*Day 4 – Day from Night
(Day 6? – Woman from Man)
Day 7 – Sabbath Day from the other Six
25
"'You must therefore make a distinction
(Hebrew badal) between clean and unclean
animals and between unclean and clean birds.
Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird
or anything that moves along the ground-those which I have set apart (Hebrew qadash)
as unclean for you.
26 You are to be holy to me because I, Yehovah,
am holy, and I have set you apart from the
nations to be my own. (Leviticus 20)
Genesis 2:1-3
The heavens and the earth were completed
with everything that was in them. By the
seventh day Elohim finished the work
that he had been doing, and he ceased
on the seventh day all the work that he
had been doing. Elohim blessed the
seventh day and set it apart (Heb qadash)
because on it he ceased all the work that
he had been doing in creation.
Holy (qadash)
The BDB suggests the meaning of this root word is
separation, withdrawal. HALOT defines it as holy,
commanding respect, awesome, singled out,
consecrated for. The TWOT renders our word be
hallowed, holy, sanctified; to consecrate, sanctify,
prepare, dedicate. Emerging from these abstract
terms is the concept of separating or setting apart
of something. Thus, separate or set apart is its true
and basic meaning and is usually the best way to
translate it.
We are commanded to Keep the
Sabbath Holy (to set it apart).
How Do We Keep the Sabbath
Holy?
Remember the Sabbath (shabbat) day to set it
apart. For six days you may labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yehovah
your Elohim; on it you shall not do any work, you,
or your son, or your daughter, or your male
servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or
your resident foreigner who is in your gates. For
in six days Yehovah made the heavens and the
earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he
rested (Hebrew nawach) on the seventh day;
therefore Yehovah blessed the Sabbath (shabbat)
day and set it apart. (Ex 20:8-11)
Remember to separate the Sabbath day
Remember is a word which calls one to
action
Yehovah “remembered” his covenant – he
acted to fulfill his covenant
We are to “remember” the Sabbath day to
act in a way in which the Sabbath is
separated
Guard the day of the Sabbath to set it apart just
as Yehovah your Elohim has commanded
you. You are to serve and do all your work in
six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of
Yehovah your Elohim. On that day you must
not do any work, you, your son, your daughter,
your male servant, your female servant, your
ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the
foreigner who lives with you, so that your male
and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest
(nuwach). (Deut 5:12-14)
Why Should We Keep the Sabbath Holy?
Remember that you were a slave in the land
of Mitzrayim and that Yehovah your
Elohim brought you out of there by
strength and power; therefore, Yehovah
your Elohim has commanded you to keep
the Sabbath day. (Deut 5:15)
What is the Purpose of the Sabbath?
(All your questions about what we can and
can’t do on Sabbath should be easier to
answer if we understand the purpose of
the Sabbath)
1 – A Day to Rest
Rest from what? (work – melacha)
Melacha is what you do to earn a living,
the work of your hands, what you create
or form or produce with your hands.
Business, occupational work, handiwork,
craftsmanship.
Melecha
The Work of Elohim in creation
If the thief is not caught, then the owner of
the house will be brought before the
judges, to see whether he has laid his hand
on his neighbor's goods (melacha) (Shemot
22:8)
What About Cooking?
Then Yehovah said to Mosheh, "I am going to
rain bread from heaven for you, and the
people will go out and gather a certain
amount each day, that I may test them,
whether they will walk in my instruction or
not. And on the sixth day they will prepare
what they bring in, and it will be twice as
much as they gather each day" (Shemot
16:4,5).
This is what Yehovah has said: 'Tomorrow is a
time of cessation (shabbaton), a set-apart
Sabbath to Yehovah. Whatever you want to
bake, bake today; and whatever you want
to boil, boil today; and whatever is left put
aside for yourselves to be kept until
morning.'" So they put it aside until the
morning, just as Mosheh had commanded,
and it did not stink, nor was there any
worm in it. (Shemot 16:22-24)
2 - It is a Day unto Yehovah
For six days you shall labor and do all your
work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to
Yehovah your Elohim (Exodus 20:10)
Not for your own pleasure! Isaiah 58:12-14
The Sabbath was made for man… Mark 2:27
Is it a day to sleep and lounge?
3 – A Day to Worship Yehovah
Psalm 95 – a Sabbath Psalm
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us
kneel before the LORD our maker (vs.6, KJV)
Chavah – to prostrate oneself, bow down.
Prostration was quite common as an act of
submission before a superior.
Kara’ - bow down, kneel, sink down to one's
knees, kneel down
Barak – to kneel, bless, salute, greet
4 – A Day For Holy Assembly
Speak to the sons of Yisrael and tell them, 'These are
Yehovah's appointed times which you must proclaim
as set-apart assemblies--my appointed times:
(moedim). Six days work may be done, but on the
seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete
rest, a set-apart assembly (miqra qodesh). You must
not do any work; it is a Sabbath to Yehovah in all the
places where you live. These are Yehovah's
appointed times, set-apart assemblies, which you
must proclaim at their appointed time.‘ (Leviticus
23:2-4)
Now the One who created the heavens
and the earth and all the living
inhabitants thereof was establishing a
permanent memorial of his creative
acts by establishing the seventh day as
that time when all mankind is to stop
all his activity to honor and
acknowledge the Creator of all.
What Does it Mean that the Sabbath
is a Sign?
What Does Sabbath-Keeping Signify?
Can You be in Good Standing with the
Creator While Ignoring the Sabbath?
Tell the sons of Yisrael, 'Surely you shall keep my Sabbaths,
for it is a sign between me and you throughout your
generations, that you may know that I am Yehovah who
separates you. So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is
set-apart for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely
be put to death; indeed, anyone who does any work on
it, then that life will be cut off from among his
people. Six days work may be done, but on the seventh
day is a Sabbath of complete rest, set-apart to Yehovah;
anyone who does work on the seventh day must surely
be put to death. (Exodus 31:13-15)
And the sons of Yisrael must keep the Sabbath
to observe the Sabbath throughout their
generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a
sign between me and the sons of Yisrael
forever; for in six days Yehovah made the
heavens and the earth, and on the seventh
day he rested and was refreshed (Exodus
31:16-17)
Sign – Hebrew tAa (owt)
HALOT: sign, distinguishing mark
TWOT: sign, mark, token, ensign,
standard, miracle, miraculous sign, proof,
warning.
How Does the Sabbath Function as a Sign?
Only those who are truly committed to Yehovah
will set apart the Sabbath.
All others will make excuses why they believe the
seventh day Sabbath is invalid
It is a sign “between you and me” – a private sign
which others do not understand.
When you set apart the Sabbath, He sets you apart
as belonging to Him
The committed, submitted ones will keep it.
Penalty for not keeping Sabbath holy
Surely die and Cut off from his people.
“Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to
death; indeed, anyone who does any work on
it, then that life will be cut off from among his
people.”
When does this occur?
Sabbath Sign – a Test commandment
Exodus 16:4-5
4 Then Yehovah said to Mosheh, "I will rain down
bread from heaven for you. The people are to go
out each day and gather enough for that day. In
this way I will test them and see whether they
will follow my instruction (Torah).
5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they
bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they
gather on the other days."
The Torah is a Mark
Love the Yehovah your Elohim with all
your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength. These commandments
that I give you today are to be upon your
hearts... Tie them as symbols on your
hands and bind them on your foreheads
(Deuteronomy 6:5,6,8).
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and
minds; tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads...
Observe all these commands I am giving
you to follow--to love the Yehovah your
Elohim, to walk in all his ways and to hold
fast to him" (Deuteronomy 11:18,22).
Keeping Feast of Unleavened
This observance will be for you like a sign on
your hand and a reminder on your forehead
that the law of Yehovah is to be on your lips.
For Yehovah brought you out of Mitzrayim with
his mighty hand. (Exodus 13:9)
Did Yeshua Work on the Sabbath?
4th Gospel 5 - The Healing of the Invalid
16
So, because Yeshua was doing these things on
the Sabbath, the Yehudim persecuted him.
17 Yeshua said to them, "My Father is always at his
work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
18 For this reason the Yehudim tried all the harder
to kill him; not only was he breaking (?!) the
Sabbath, but he was even calling Elohim his own
Father, making himself equal with Elohim.
What work occurs every day in the
temple, including the Sabbath day?
Answer: a work of forgiveness, release,
redemption and restoration of humans
Yeshua, like his Father, was working every
day, including the Sabbath, to heal and
restore people.
The Healing of the Woman on the Sabbath
But the president of the synagogue, indignant because
Yeshua had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd,
"There are six days on which work should be done! So
come and be healed on those days, and not on the
Sabbath day." Then Yeshua answered him, "You
hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie
his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?
Then shouldn't this woman, a daughter of Avraham
whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released
from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?" (Luke
13:14-16).
Is Keeping Sabbath a “Salvation Issue”?
Entering Into His Rest
Hebrews 3:7-4:11
7
So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his
voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion
(provocation), during the time of testing in the desert,
9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty
years saw what I did.
10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I
said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they
have not known my ways.'
11 So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never
enter my rest.'"
My Rest
Hebrew yti(x'Wnm. (menuchati)
This phrase, “my rest”, occurs 3 times
Psalm 95
Psalm 132:14 This is my resting place for ever and
ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it
Isaiah 66:1 This is what Yehovah says: "Heaven is
my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is
the house you will build for me? Where will my
resting place be?
They Shall Never Enter My Rest
yti(x'Wnm.-la, !Waªboy>÷~ai
Literally, “If they will enter my rest”
LXX: eiv eivseleu,sontai eivj th.n
kata,pausi,n mou
Is this Hebrew metaphor for “they shall never”?
Or is this an oath literally stating the condition
12
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living
Elohim. (see Ps 78:17ff)
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is
called Today, so that none of you may be hardened
by sin's deceitfulness.
14 We have come to share in Messiah if we hold
firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
15 As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his
voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the
rebellion."
16
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they
not all those Mosheh led out of Mitzrayim?
17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it
not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the
desert?
18 And to whom did Elohim swear that they would
never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because
of their unbelief.
Hebrews 4
1 Therefore,
since the promise of entering his
rest still stands, let us be careful that none of
you be found to have fallen short of it.
(Ez 18:20… can you lose your salvation?)
2 For we also have had the gospel preached to
us, just as they did; but the message they
heard was of no value to them, because those
who heard did not combine it with faith.
3
Now we who have believed enter that rest,
just as Elohim has said, "So I declared on oath
in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"
And yet his work has been finished since the
creation of the world.
4 For somewhere he has spoken about the
seventh day in these words: "And on the
seventh day Elohim rested from all his work."
5 And again in the passage above he says,
"They shall never enter my rest."
6
It still remains that some will enter that rest,
and those who formerly had the gospel
preached to them did not go in, because of their
disobedience.
7 Therefore Elohim again set a certain day, calling
it Today, when a long time later he spoke
through David, as was said before: "Today, if you
hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.“
8 For if Yehoshua had given them rest, Elohim
would not have spoken later about another day.
9
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the
people of Elohim;
10 for anyone who enters Elohim's rest also rests
from his own work, just as Elohim did from his.
11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter
that rest, so that no one will fall by following
their example of disobedience.
*See also 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
12
For the word of Elohim is living and active.
Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints
and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart.
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from Elohim's
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare
before the eyes of him to whom we must give
account.
The Bible never promises that entering into
Elohim’s Promised Rest is easy
Yeshua: 13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For
wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through
it.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road
that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7)
So, is keeping Sabbath a “Salvation Issue”?
Our ancestors were saved and baptized but in
their rebellion forfeited entering in.
Many are called but few are chosen.
Do you love him with all your heart, soul and
strength? (the supreme commandment)
Those who want to enter the kingdom rest are
called to enter his Sabbath rest.