What qualities made the Sabbath "only" for the Jews? I am referring specifically to the seventh-day Sabbath mentioned in Exodus 20. I am NOT talking about the feasts and sabbath days mentioned in Leviticus 23.
Here is my point, if the Sabbath was for the Jews, then all the Commandments of GOD were for the Jews. Does that make sense? For that matter, JESUS' ministry was not for Christians, but, for the Jews. Since JESUS came to appeal to the House of Judah.
How does one explain Acts 13:42-44? Luke 4:16? etc.
Does the Bible call any other day holy, blessed, and sanctified?
In the KJV, there are only eight references to Sunday. Sunday is called "first day of the week". None of the verses change that day!
There is much more that can be said.
I know that CHRIST was raised from the dead on Sunday. Where does the Bible call that day Holy?
Man's tradition calls that day holy, however, GOD's WORD DOES NOT!!!
"REMEMBER" says the Commandment!!!
GOD bless.
2006-07-16 17:25:40 · 14 answers · asked by Exodus 20:1-17 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Saturday was is and will forever be the Sabbath. This question often comes up and people always repeat the same excuses for breaking this commandment.
First,
God created the Sabbath as part of creation week. On the 6th day He created Adam and Eve then He created the Sabbath on the 7th day. For anyone to say that the Sabbath was given only to the Jews is 100%, incorrect it was first given to Adam and Eve who we all descend from. This was hundreds of years before, Abraham the Father of the Jewish nation, was born.
People need to understand the importance and the reason behind the Sabbath. Look at the scriptures, God creates man and the very next thing he does is create a Holy day of rest. Why? Because he was tired? or so that he could commune with them?
The truth is God loves us so much and wants to spend quality time with us. Throughout the week we have school, work and other things that distract us from God. So he created one day that we could focus only on Him.
The purpose of the Sabbath is the fact that God wants to take time to be with us and he wants us to set aside time on His Holy day to devote 100% of our focus and attention on Him, our Creator.
Is the Sabbath a burden? God doesn't think so, in fact he says the exact opposite throughout the Bible.
And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Nehemiah 8:9-11
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." The mouth of the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 58:13,14
God says the Sabbath is a delight, keeping it you will find joy in the Lord, if you keep it he will make you ride on the heights of the earth, and you will feast on the inheritance of Jacob. I can't find anything in that statement that sounds like a burden.
For any Christian to say that the Sabbath is a curse or a burden and Jesus freed us from the burden of keeping the Sabbath is ridiculous.
1) God says rest and people call it a burden or a curse. How many people go on vacation and say "I hate having to rest and enjoy my vacation with the people I love. I wish I could go back to work, get chewed out by my boss be stressed out over the workload and stress over bills." Does that make any sense?
or
2) God says "Come and spend time with me." And his people, who say they love him, say "It is a burden to focus on God."
The church is the Bride of Christ. How many husbands would be pleased if they planned something special for their anniversary and their wives said "It is a burden to spend time with you."
Other people say that Sunday is the new Sabbath. Yet they never produce one verse that says this, because it is not in the Bible. Sunday is not the Lord's day either. The Sabbath(Saturday) is called the Lord's day
Exodus 20:8
Isa 58:14
Matthew 28:8
Mark 1:21
Luke 6:5
Other people say that the Sabbath was done away with. If this is so then why does God say we will keep it in Heaven?
Isaiah 66:22,23
Yes, Moses wrote the Mosaic law, but the Sabbath was not part of the law of Moses. God wrote the Sabbath with HIS finger, in STONE, in the HEART of the Commandments. if He got rid of the Sabbath why not get rid of the others? God will not get rid of the 10 commandments because they together represent his charachter. Someone mentioned the that the other commandments are common sense and most people follow them that is correct, so which commandment shows that you follow God. Most people follow 9 of the 10 commandments. So which commandment seperates the followers of God from them.
Others say Jesus fulfilled the law meaning he got rid of it so we donhave to follow them. What does Jesus say
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
so Jesus meant
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to get rid of them.(or end them, or finish them, etc.) it doesn't make sense
Jesus said:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:18,19
Finally Christians say Jesus gave us a new covenant with new rules, love God and love your neighbor. This is incorrect for 2 reasons
1)the new laws Jesus mentioned are taken from Moses
Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Leviticus 19:18 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD
2) the Bible says that Jesus created the New covenant with the House of Israel
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast Jeremiah 31:27
Paul says that we become spiritual Jews by joing with Christ.
Galatians 3:23-29
So even if it was given only to the Jews "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God." Romans 2:28
PS Paul is quoting Deuteronomy 30:6... The old Law
2006-07-23 09:19:28 · answer #1 · answered by Conundrum 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Is this a sermon or a question? Although I understand why you want the question to be answered, you do realize that not everyone believes that the 7th day is the Sabbath.
I do believe that the 7th day is the Sabbath and none other. The passages used for Sunday references have not convinced me. It makes no sense to me that God would set forth 10 Commandments and then change His mind on one. The entire Commandment is very specific what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath.The Catholic church changed the Sabbath to Sunday, not God. In turn, changed the Commandment to one sentence.
And no, I don't believe the Sabbath is just for Jews or that the message was just for Jews. You refer to Acts 13. If you read verse 46, you'll see that it was originally for the Jews to hear the message, because they were the chosen people. Why? I believe Paul and Barnabas said it clearly...to show that they truly were incredulous about the message, and because of that, they turned to the Gentiles who were more than willing to listen to their message. The Jews became jealous of this. You know the rest of the story.
2006-07-17 00:44:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You are right....nowhere in the Bible is the Sabbath called "Jewish sabbath"...
Luke was a Gentile writer of the New Testament and often made reference to things which were peculiarly Jewish. He spoke of the "nation of the Jews," "the people of the Jews," "the land of the Jews," and the "synagogue of the Jews." Acts 10:22; 12:11; 10:39; 14:1. But please note that Luke never referred to the "sabbath of the Jews," although he mentioned the Sabbath repeatedly.
Christians have been led to believe ALL the old testament laws were abolished at the cross...thats satan's deception....there was, in fact one type of laws which was abolished....talking about laws, there are two types...
1. The first set of laws were written by the fingers of God on tablets of stone and kept inside the ark of the covenant. These are the moral laws which were not given at sinai, (as many believe) but right at the creation.
These laws will hold good even in the millenial rule of Christ, until the new heaven and new earth.....they are called the Ten Commandments.....
2. The second set of laws were written down by Moses as instructed by God on parchment leaves and placed by the side of the ark of the Covenant, but outside....these laws are also called mosaic laws. Deut 31:24-26
it is these laws which were actually abolished at the cross....
satan's modus operandi has always been this : take half truth, merge it with half falsehood and present it so subtly, that ppl wouldnt know......if only all believers went to the Bible with a sincere heart....
God bless
2006-07-17 00:51:05 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes the Sabbath was established by Jews and it was Saturday. Christians changed it in honor of the ressurection NOT because of anything in the Bible. It was just a choice they made. But Saturday or Sunday was simply a choice of religious authorities at either time. This is why I don't understand why some Christians want to get their panties all in a not because the Roman Catholic Church will allow people to attend obligatory weekly service on Sunday or Saturday evening, though Sunday is prefered. It is just a tradition. All the Bible technically establishes is that there should be a weekly Sabbath day, not what day that has to be.
Also commandments were written for Jews by Jews but Christians adopted them and many other things by Jews. What Jesus specifically said they didn't have to keep (like diet rules) they didn't and all else they kept, supposedly.
Jesus appealed to the house of Judah because he was a Jew but he clearly wanted to spread his religion to everyone, not just Jews. The Jewish people believed they were a chosen people by race by God himself so its no suprise they weren't interested in Jesus. Perhaps Jesus was at a dissadvantage. One wonders if his religion may have gone over better without the race association to Jews. His teachings are more inline with Buddhism than Judaism.
2006-07-17 00:43:38 · answer #4 · answered by tenaciousd 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
When God made everything, on the seventh day He rested. It should be a cue for all mankind. Jesus said that the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. Mans laws had become so strict, He wasn't even supposed to heal people on the sabbath. The commandments say to honor the sabbath and keep it holy. Even Paul said to be prayerful always. God doesn't just evaporate at the door of your car.
2006-07-17 00:32:38 · answer #5 · answered by Mommymonster 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Jesus came to liberate people from the old Hebrew laws, including the Sabbath (which was Saturday). His followers have no holy day. I guess you could say that each day is holy for them.
Jesus' early followers broke bread together on Sunday, and both Paul and Peter agreed not to impose Jewish laws on new believers (except for eating meat with the blood still in it and sexual immorality), so the Sabbath doesn't apply to Christians. Neither do any of the 612 other Old Testament laws.
Many Christians today try to follow the Old Testament laws because it's all in the same book, which to me is a big mistake. It's confusing in any way you can imagine.
The new way is a way of love, which sounds silly for me to say 2000+ years after the fact. Christians are still struggling to know exactly what they're supposed to do so their God doesn't throw them into hell, despite their good intentions.
2006-07-17 00:41:17 · answer #6 · answered by Baxter 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is true that the Torah was given to the Jewish people, and not to any other people. Had you asked a Chinese person why he was not keeping the Shabbat (Sabbath) he would not have known what in the world you were talking about.
This is true of all the commandments. Some of the commandments are, however, just common sense. You really shouldn't need to be told not to kill. A Chinese person would have instinctively known that law, just as much as an Israelite. But the Sabbath, he wouldn't have a clue about.
2006-07-17 00:30:31 · answer #7 · answered by Heron By The Sea 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The Sabbath isn't just for Jews, it is is for all Christians. And you are correct, it should be honored from Friday night through Saturday night, but many Christians for whatever reason don't do that. My suggestion is to look into such Christian religions as 7th Day Adventists.
2006-07-17 00:41:34 · answer #8 · answered by greatpanisdead 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well, actually thru modern revelation from God in these latter days, the day Sunday was proclaimed to be the day to worship the Lord. Since, and as u have made reference, Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, being Sunday
2006-07-17 00:36:08 · answer #9 · answered by stacypeacock1967 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
G-d said the sabbath is a special sign between Him and the Jewish people. Logically, when one specifies a group, it is to the exclusion of other groups. Thus, the sabbath is a sign between G-d and the Jews and no-one else.
2006-07-17 00:33:40 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
i think you mean, observing the sabbath the way a jew does. which would be friday dusk to saturday dusk. if you work or do anything besides rest on the jewish Sabbath, you have reason to be stoned to death. it's the curse of the law. Christians are not jewish.... our sabbath is sunday, because Jesus is Lord of the sabbath,and its a day of rest and worship, not a day of 'Laws'. we cannot be made righteous by the Law. if you fall in one your guilty of ALL
2006-07-17 00:30:23 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋