Shabbat - Heart of Wisdom

larized issues, there is some truth everywhere, andthe answer to the problem can be found somewherein the middle ground between the extremes.A QUESTION OF OWNERSHIPThe first question that must be answered aboutShabbat is that of its ownership. Most Jews andChristians insist that it is the “Jewish Sabbath.”While it is true that the seventh-day Sabbath haslong been a unique mark of identity for the Jewishpeople, indeed one of the pillars of Judaism, theclear answer of Holy Scripture is that the Sabbath,both the principle and the day, is the Lord’s: “Theseventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God . . .”(Exodus 20:10). In the delineation of God’s liturgicalcalendar in Leviticus 23, God himself assertsabout the Sabbath that “. . . these are myfeasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventhday is the sabbath of rest . . .” Though theSabbath is a sign to the Jews of God’s covenantwith them, it is, nevertheless, universal because itbelongs to God and traces its origin to creation,the creation of all things.The very first person to observe Shabbat wasGod himself. In his own Shabbat, God establisheda principle for all subsequent Sabbaths. For theCreator, there was no need for physical rest, forGod does not grow “weary” (Isaiah 40:28) andhe who keeps Israel “neither slumbers nor sleeps”(Psalm 121:4). What God experienced in that firstof Sabbaths was simply a cessation of work, a timeof reviewing and celebrating the perfection of thecreation that he had pronounced “very good.”After God had blessed Adam and Eve, theseventh day was the very first thing that he blessedand declared “holy,” or set apart unto himself(Genesis 2:3). He, in effect, created a sanctuary intime, marking off by means of the heavenly bodiesthat he had created for “signs, seasons, days,and years” (Genesis 1:14) the divine temporal appointments(moedim) during which he would forevernurture relationship with humanity, hiscrowning creation. God did not bless and sanctifya material object to be worshipped, for he isspirit, a person who seeks relationship that canonly be manifest in time.SHABBAT, THE PERSON$17Bless You!Bless You! is a systematic, comprehensive study ofthe biblically Hebraic concept of blessing. The blessingthat was first given to Adam and Eve is God’sintention for everyone!God himself composed and prescribed “TheBlessing” for his children. This powerful dynamiccan now be experienced in every Christian home andin every corporate worship experience. You, too, canrestore this vital part from the Hebraic faith and bringGod’s blessing upon yourself and your family. Don’tmiss this amazing book.Order FromRestoration FoundationP. O. Box 421218 Atlanta, GA 30342It should have come as no surprise that Yeshuaben Elohim (Jesus, the Son of God) offered a transcendentrest to those who were burdened withthe toil of labor. He himself, through the HolySpirit, would enter their very beings, imbuing arest into their souls that no physical repose couldafford (Matthew 11:28-29). Isaiah 28:12 predictedthat this spiritual indwelling wouldbearest(menuach)for the weary.In both the first covenant and the new covenant,men and women found repose in God, rest fromtheir own struggle for self-actualization by trustingwholly in the One who is rest. Those who realizedthat their own efforts could not give them statuswith God came to trust simply in his chesed (tendermercy and grace). When they did, they came to realizethatrest is not something one does,it is Someone one knows.All Sabbaths (weekly and annual)are pictures of the Person who isthe Sabbath, Jesus Christ. Shabbat isthe true Rest who came down fromheaven, the rest that remained forthe believers even after the Sabbathcommandment was given at Sinai(Hebrews 4:1-3). As a matter of fact,the Sabbath that Israel was to observewas itself a weekly proclamationof the Good News that Godwould come in the person of hisSon as the Sabbath of eternity through whomthose who “have believed do enter into rest” by“ceasing from [their] own works” (Hebrews 4:10).Shabbat is theeternal principle ofsetting apart oneday out of seven forthe things in life thatreally matter: Godand family.Shabbat as both cessation and rest is a profoundleitmotif that ever points to the Person who is Rest.God himself is the eternal rest to those who arein relationship with him. Just as he is Yahweh Shalom(the Eternal, our Peace), so he is Yahweh Shabbat(the Eternal, our Rest). It is in God that the redeemedtrust. The repose that the human soulTHE DAY–AN ETERNAL PRINCIPLEcraves is a Person who transcends the universe Shabbat is an eternal, recurring theme from thebut is immanent in the hearts of those who approachhim in faith.firmed the perfection of creation, and the Sab-beginning of history to its end. The Sabbath con-SHABBAT ISSUE 7