~~~~~~~~
When we first decided to keep the Shabbat, I was a bit overwhelmed. What do we do? There were so many "don'ts" I went to Jewish websites to try to get a little information.
Bad idea. They added so many laws and restrictions to the day that it is impossible to keep:
you can't push a button on an elevator
You can't turn on a switch
you must remove the light bulb in your fridge to keep it from turning on but you can open the door?
no writing
no stitching or sewing
no driving but you can walk a certain distance
I turned back to scripture. God did say that his laws are not burdensome...
1. Rest and Remember
Exodus 16:23-30 "And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. (24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. (25) And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. (26) Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. (27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. (28) And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? (29) See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. (30) So the people rested on the seventh day."
Exo 20:8-11 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 the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, 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 the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Okay, I can rest. I'm good at that!
2. Keep
Exo 31:14-15 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. (15) Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
That Hebrew word for "keep" is "shamor" and means "to hedge about" (as in thorns), to guard and protect. We are to guard Shabbat and place a protective "hedge of thorns" around it.
3. Don't kindle a fire
Exo 35:3 Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.
4. No Commerce
Neh 10:31 And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.
What? No trips to Lowes or Walmart?? Okay, I can do this...
5. Worship and sing
Psa 92:1-3 A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: (2) To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, (3) Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
Thankfully, scripture says to make a joyful noise; it doesn't have to sound professional!
6. Do good
Mat 12:11-13 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? (12) How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. (13) Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Mar 1:21-25 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. (22) And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes. (23) And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, (24) Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. (25) And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
Mar 3:1-5 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. (2) And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. (3) And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. (4) And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. (5) And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.
Here is where we can really shine! As we go about our lives, we are never restricted from doing His will and His good!
7. Shabbat is for our good
Mar 2:23-28 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. (24) And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? (25) And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? (26) How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? (27) And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: (28) Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Shabbat is a day when we don't need to worry about the cares of this world; we focus on HIM and rest in HIM, doing HIS good work as we go.
Really, the Bible doesn't give many restrictions: don't cook, don't work, don't build a fire, don't buy or sell, keep it special. That's about it. How you keep it is up to you!.
Isa 58:13-14 "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: (14) Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
***This sure makes Shabbat sound boring to folks and is certainly boring to children who are used to being constantly entertained. I won't lie; it can be boring and at times it has been! But adults and children have to change our mindset from entertainment to focusing on God. And as Clint says, "Sometimes, boring is good!"
As we attempt to study scripture, the Hebrew culture, the language, the mindset, world history, the more we learn to connect the dots, the more excited we get in what we're learning! Now, even our children have begun to really get into this study.
**Note** It can still be somewhat boring when I haven't properly prepared for the day but isn't that true for most things? A lot falls on me for the physical preparation, but I'm getting better at it.
It might be interesting for your VBS class to "prepare" for a day of Shabbat, what did that look like in Moses' day, or how can we celebrate Shabbat today?
A good exercise for children is to learn to re-focus their minds...
Don't think of it as a day of I can't:
I can't go shopping.
I can't watch that really neat new movie.
I can't cook
I can't work
I can't have fun...
we changed our idea of what fun actually is....
Instead, think of it as a day of I get to! or I don't have to!
I don't have to cook
I don't have to work.
I get to sleep late!
I get to learn history
I get to find more truth in scripture... (sounds lame but it really is exciting.)
I get to do good things.
I can have fun!!
Shalom Aleichem!
Peace be unto you
~WOW
No comments:
Post a Comment