The Sabbath, pt. 3

Honoring The Sabbath Day and Keeping it Holy

Genesis 2:2-3

1It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

to sing praises to the Most High.

2It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,

your faithfulness in the evening,

3accompanied by the ten-stringed harp and the melody

of the lyre.

4You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me!

I sing for joy because of what you have done.

5O LORD, what great works you do!

And how deep are your thoughts.

6Only a simpleton would not know,

and only a fool would not understand this:

7Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers

flourish,they will be destroyed

forever.

8But you, O LORD, will be exalted forever.

9Your enemies, LORD, will surely perish;

all evildoers will be scattered.

10But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.

You have anointed me with the finest oil.

11My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;my ears have heard the

defeat of my wicked opponents.

12But the godly will flourish like palm trees

and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.

13For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house.

They flourish in the courts of our God.

14Even in old age they will still produce fruit;

they will remain vital and green.

15They will declare, “The LORD is just!

He is my rock!There is no evil in him!” NLT

Genesis 2:2-3 – On the seventh day God had finished

his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3And God blessed the seventh day

and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.

NLT

God Rested

God Blessed

God Declared the Seventh Day

Holy

Isaiah 58:13 – “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy

the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.

Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t

follow your own desires or talk idly. 14Then the Lord will be your

delight. NLT

Luke 4:16 – When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as

usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read

the Scriptures. NLT

Luke 13:10-17 - One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in

a synagogue, 11he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years

and was unable to stand up straight.

12When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13Then he touched her, and instantly she could

stand straight. How she praised God!

14But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are

six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd.

“Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

15But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath

and lead it out for water?

16This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in

bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be

released, even on the Sabbath?” 17This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful

things he did. NLT

Luke 14:1-6 - One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in

the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely.

2There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen.

3Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal

people on the Sabbath day, or not?” 4When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the

sick man and healed him and sent him away.

5Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t

work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” 6Again they could not answer.

NLT

The goal is creating the Sabbath as a foretaste of

paradise. The Sabbath is a metaphor for paradise and a

testimony to God’s Presence.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. xv.

A Day of WorshipTo Serve and Adore God.

Two things the people of Rome anxiously desired—bread and circus games. But man does not live by bread and circus games alone. Who will teach him how to desire anxiously the spirit of a sacred day?

Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 18

May Thy children realize and understand that their rest

comes from Thee, and that to rest means to sanctify Thy

name. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 18

Honoring the Sabbath is an Intentional

Opening Yourself to God.

Chronos

Time of clock & calendar

Is the deity of the driven

KairosTime as a

gift, opportunity & season

The time of holy purpose

The Sabbathis a time to Rest.

Honoring the Sabbath and making it Holy can draw you

back to God.

Discontent is an intended fruit of the curse and for many the

fuel of discontent is busyness.

There is a realm of time where the goal is not to have but to

be, not to own but to give, not to control but to share, not to subdue but to be in accord.

Life goes wrong when the control of space, the

acquisition of things of space, becomes our sole concern.

Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath, p. 3

Why am I in such a hurry?

They neither believe or want what God says about

His Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a weekly opportunity

for extended abiding.

How will you Honor the Sabbath Day

and Keep it Holy?