The Weekly Sabbath: God Orders Our Times (Lev. 23:1-3)

10/24/2008 8:44 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time           Focus: The weekly Sabbath:  God orders our times

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Lev. 23:1-3

          Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 2  "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: 3  ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.”

            The SD begins a new chapter in both the book of Leviticus and also in Dr. Wiersbe’s book “Be Holy.”  The chapter title is called, “The Calendar That Tells The Future.”  This chapter of Leviticus talks about the Jewish Holy or the Feast calendar.  In this chapter the word “feast” is used nine times (AV) and the words “holy convocations” is used ten times (AV).  The word feast has nothing to do with what it may be thought of today and that is eating a lot.  The word simply means “appointed times,” while convocation gives the idea that during each of these feasts, all the people met together as a congregation, but this also was not true.  There were special days, but the word basically means “proclamation” or “announcement.”  I most often use the NASB95 version of the Bible so I am not sure how many times each of these words is used in it.

            These three verses speak of the weekly Sabbath day, which all of the people of Israel were to observe or they could be put to death.  I want to talk about a section in the Gospels where Jesus and His disciples were accused of breaking the Sabbath day and He went on to tell His accusers that the Sabbath day was made for man and not man for the Sabbath day.  God did give this law to the nation of Israel for them to rest and He gave the sabbatical year in order to rest the land, for God cares for His creation, all of His creation. 

            The Sabbath day was the sixth day and Israel, all of Israel was to rest on this day, as it did make them think of God resting on the seventh day after creating the earth and all that is in it.  This is one of the Ten Commandments that God gave to the nation of Israel through Moses on Mt. Sinai. 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I do not believe that keeping the Sabbath day as it was directed by God to Israel is part of the Church era as a proclamation, but the principle of it is given in that man should rest on one day out of the week and Sunday seems like a good day to rest.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. Trust that the Lord will give peace to me, His peace, about the election in our country this year knowing what ever will happen is in God’s plan and He can do noting wrong.

Memory verses for the week:                                              Exodus 20:13-17

13.    You shall not murder.

14.    You shall not commit adultery.

15.    You shall not steal.

16.    You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17.    You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant of his ox or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

10/24/2008 9:35 AM