Eps 21 Sabbath

February 06, 2021

Hank Branch

Ezekiel 46:1 AMP Thus says the Lord God , “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shall be shut This is episode # 21 “Sabbath.”during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon. "An invitation by the Lord, the gates of the inner court of the Sanctuary were opened on Sabbath welcoming all to come to worship the Lord on Sabbath. Why are the gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shut during the six working days? We find the answer is a reference to God’s previous instructions at creation. Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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: 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. The week of creation establishes 7day week. God names only I day pf the 7 days. He calls it Sabbath. Then God does the following on the Sabbath: rested from all His work of the 6 days. Did God rest because God was tried? Know God rested to give us an example of what we are to do today. Work 6 days and rest on the 7th day from our work and keep the day Holy. God did the following to the Sabbath: (1) rested (2) blessed the day (3) hallowed the Sabbath Day. In effected God did not work on the Sabbath blessed the day ands set the day apart for holy use. God instructed man to keep the day Holy. He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it ( Genesis 2:3 Amplified Bible So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.). That means it was "set apart" for sacred use. Other ways of saying it are; it was "made holy", it was "consecrated", or it was "hallowed". These terms are fairly synonymous. Now the scripture states: Ecclesiastes 3:14Amplified Bible I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God]. Only God can make something Holy. Thus no other day can be set aside for holy use unless God does it. Many times the comment is made this is the Jewish Sabbath, but a reading of God’s word explains the following 1. Sabbath was created before there were Jewish people 2. He rest is not to be aimless rest, but God-centered rest. Attention is to be directed to God in a way that is more concentrated and steady than on ordinary days. Keep the day holy by keeping the focus on the holy God. 3. It’s the 4th commandment, not the 4th suggestion 4. It’s a reflection of God’s character. To be blessed is to be happy in the Lord, all day everyday! The Bible measures blessedness differently from how people of the world measure it: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” James 1:12 Amplified Bible Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. Jesus is my example, follow in His footsteps. This same invitation of entering into His rest exists today, should we accept or reject to follow in the footsteps of Jesus? Remember Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God