Keeping Sabbath - Part 4

DAY OF PREPARATION | SABBATH BEGINS! | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3

HOW WE KEEP THE SABBATH

In the previous parts on Sabbath we reviewed many scriptural examples of Sabbath keeping and Sabbath breaking. We also learned a great deal from the Messiah. This time we shall look at just how a believer keeps Sabbath.

The difference in a Sabbath keeper's life doesn't just start each week on the evening of the sixth day; it starts each week just after Sabbath ends, as the first day of the week begins. The first thing we must do to obey the commandment is to work for six days. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, Ecclesiastes 9:10. Those who work hard for the six days really appreciate the meaning of the Sabbath day of rest.

"The Sabbath as experienced by man cannot survive in exile, a lonely stranger among six days of profanity. All the days of work must be SPIRITUALLY CONSISTENT with the Day of Days." (Between God and Man by Abraham Heschel, Harper and Brothers, 1959, p226. Note the respect this Jewish writer has for Sabbath.)
 

DAY OF PREPARATION

In Exodus 16:23 we read, "And he said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has said, 'Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath to Yahweh:' BAKE THAT WHICH YOU WANT TO BAKE TODAY, AND BOIL WHAT YOU WANT TO BOIL. . ."

There are two things to learn from this. First, the concept of the day of preparation: When the fifth day of the week ends, the preparation day begins. It is a period of 24 hours devoted partially to getting ready for Sabbath. What ever you will need during Sabbath should be prepared then, on the Sixth day.

Second, there is to be no baking nor boiling on Sabbath. Any preparation which changes the form or consistency of the food such as frying an egg or cooking rice to make it soft should certainly not be done on Sabbath.

Especially in the home, Sabbath begins to have a greater effect beginning on Thursday evening, when the day of preparation starts. It may not seem like it, but even in the winter when Sabbath begins earlier, the day of preparation is still 24 hours long. Using this time properly is one key to keeping Sabbath properly and enjoyably.

All the food for Sabbath which needs to be purchased, cooked or baked must be prepared by the end of the Sixth day. The house should be put in order so that no distractions will mar the Sabbath. If you drive to services then the car should be filled with gas (you can't be fueling around on Sabbath).

One of the last things to do before Sabbath is to take a bath or shower. A person must be clean when he or she comes before Yahweh. If you don't have the free article Cleanness Before Yahweh, please write for it.

A man appreciates his good wife when the Sabbath begins smoothly with a nice meal ready, candles lit, all the children sitting happily around the table, waiting to thank Yahweh for the food and for the Sabbath.

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SABBATH BEGINS!

When Sabbath begins, many families observe the occasion by reading the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 or Mark 12:28-34) and the Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 or Deuteronomy 5:6-21). Reading one or more Psalms is also very enjoyable. If anyone has something to read or to talk about, Sabbath evening would be a good time to start the discussion. If there are young children the discussion should be kept short since they may be too tired to pay proper attention.

A good topic to discuss with your family may be "What is the difference between leisure time and Sabbath?"
 

The question is often asked by children or new Sabbath keepers, "What is there TO DO on Sabbath?" Here's a list of some things:

• Go to bed early, get up late and/or take a nap Exodus 34:21

• Dine together in an unhurried manner on somewhat nicer food

• Draw or color pictures a little

• Quiet play for small children

• Take a short walk with your children

• Tell the children a good Sabbath story

• Prayer - lots of praise, few requests, I Chronicles 23:31, Isaiah 66:23

• Worship with your family and others, bring a friend, Leviticus 23:3

• Spread the Good News, Matthew 12:12, Acts 16:13, 17:2, 18:4

• Write a report about the worship service

• Write a letter to another believer

• Visit a friend who is old or ill or lonely, Matthew 12:12

Spend time with family members talking about ...

• The news as it relates to Yahweh's laws or prophecies

• How to keep the Sabbath or other laws of Yahweh better

• Things that happened to you during the week (but not too much business talk)

There could be a detailed list of many pages of things NOT TO DO on Sabbath. To give an idea of the principles involved, here are a few things which we will not do if we want to keep Yahweh's Sabbath:

• Buy a meal in a restaurant or buy anything else, Nehemiah 10:31

• Sell anything or talk about it or deliver it, Jeremiah 17:21

• Think or talk business or counsel about your job

• Start a fire Exodus 35:3

• Cause someone to work for you or by your direction Exodus 20:10

• Plan, make or repair some thing for yourself, Numbers 15:32, Mark 16:1

• Play golf, tennis or badminton, Isaiah 58:13

• Take a long swim, walk or bike ride, Acts 1:12

• Hard exercise, aerobics, weight lifting

• Have marital relations, Nehemiah 13:22, Leviticus 15:16

• Cook food, fry or boil an egg or bake a cake, Exodus 16:23

• Wash dishes that got dirty before Sabbath or aren't needed

• Gossip, quarrel, bicker or party, Isaiah 58:13

• Watch TV commercials, or shows not on religious subjects. Believers mostly keep the TV off throughout the Sabbath

• Play a video game, Isaiah 58:13

• Say to yourself, "When will the Sabbath be over so I can do what I want to do?" Exodus 16:28, Amos 8:5

This is what Yahweh says; "Stand in the paths and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it and you shall find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16. May Yahweh bless you as you do.