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Introduction
    Some people say, “We follow the moral aspects of the Ten Commandments, but we don’t observe the Seventh Day Sabbath because it was meant only for Israel.” While some understand Sabbath observance through the Messiah, others wonder what can be done on the Sabbath day. So, the question arises, how should one observe the Sabbath?
   “If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don’t use My holy day for personal advantage, if you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, Yahweh’s holy day as a celebration, if you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’ making money, running here and there – then you’ll be free to enjoy Yahweh! Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all. I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.” Yes! Yahweh says so! Isaiah 58:13-14, The Message.
   It’s appropriate to rest outdoors by walking in the park or sitting on a bench. This is specifically to be a day of joy and happiness without concern for your job or shopping in stores.
It’s a day to take and enjoy, focusing on Yahweh and thinking about His ways in your life. It is without question a day of worship and a day of rest.
   And Yahweh spoke to Mosheh, saying, “Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘The appointed times of Yahweh, which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, My appointed times, are these: Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings,’” Leviticus 23:2–3, The Scriptures.
The world is at variance with Yahweh’s ways. We, however, must be obedient to, and in line with His Word. Six days we work, but the seventh day is set-apart/holy. But what if you are employed in the medical industry, helping others on the seventh day? Inform your employer you can’t work on the Sabbath, or else separate yourself from that employment.
   Does this mean that if there is an emergency, we can’t seek hospital care on the Sabbath? Not at all. Does it mean that if someone is breaking into our house on the Sabbath, we can’t call the police? Not at all. There are “ox in the ditch” situations we must deal with, no matter what day it is.
   Yahweh, however, does not want His people to work regular jobs on the Sabbath day. One can be on a regular job, in a service position six days a week, but not on the seventh day of the week nor on any of the other seven annual Sabbaths, which Leviticus chapter 23 specifically lists.


His Appointed Times
    The Appointed Times (moedim) are days in which we come before Him. But what if you’re disabled, unemployed, or unable to travel to where others gather in His Name? While there are conditions, rather than objections, that can arise, we do the best we can where we are, to honor Him.
   Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, Exodus 20:8, KJV. From sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, a 24-hour period, we keep the day holy unto Yahweh. When one comes into this knowledge, activities must be examined in the light of whether or not participation in these constitutes keeping the Sabbath day set apart. Anything that distracts us from giving our attendance to the economies of Yahweh on the Sabbath should be avoided (1 Cor. 7:35).
   May we take military or public service employment that would benefit our community? Can we watch the news to see what current events are happening worldwide? What about walking in the park and appreciating Yahweh’s creation? Is studying Yahweh’s Word or listening to messages on the Sabbath alright? What about visiting family members?
   These questions find their answer in Scripture:
   If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of Yahweh honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in Yahweh, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken, Isaiah 58:13–14, NASB.


Restaurants and Shopping on Sabbath?
    “… if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day,” Nehemiah 10:31a, ESV. He explains his position, which should also be our position.
   In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our Elohim bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath,” Nehemiah 13:15-18, ESV.
   Seeing that Judah went into captivity expressly because they had not kept the land Sabbath for more than 490 years, they ought to have learned the implications of forgetting to keep the Sabbath holy.
   Nehemiah confronted the nobles of Judah about the evil of undertaking commerce on the Sabbath. He declared he would personally lay hands on anyone who tried to buy, sell, or transport any goods on the Sabbath or holy days (Neh. 13:21). Moreover, for other transgressions against Yahweh’s commandments, he struck some of them, even pulling out their hair (Neh. 13:25).
   Today, the Jews in Jerusalem close shop on the Sabbath and all holy days, and are found in worship at the synagogue. Many of Jewish orthodoxy, and others who would emulate their practices, as in,
      • lighting candles, so no electricity is used;
      • pre-tearing tissue for toiletry use;
      • even refraining from attending Sabbath services for reason of having to start their automobile do so with a zeal toward making “the holy day of Yahweh honorable,” but have forgotten to “call the Sabbath a delight … in Yahweh” and burden themselves from enjoying the Sabbath, as it should be enjoyed.


Jews Only?
    Is Sabbath only for the Jews or only for Israel? Verse 2 of Leviticus 23 says they are “Yahweh’s Appointed Times.” There is one Law for both the native born and the foreigner (Exod. 12:49). (Read our free mini-study The Hope of Israel.)
   Yahshua declared, “the Son of Man is Master of the Sabbath. Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Yahshua, asking, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath’? – so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, ‘What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath’” (Matt. 12:8b-12, NASB.)
   This gets back to the “ox in the ditch” circumstance we sometimes experience. We have to discern what is appropriate. If your neighbor has run out of gas coming home from somewhere and has to push his vehicle into his driveway and asks for your help, then, by all means, help him.
   But, if he is trimming his trees on the Sabbath and asks if he can get you to help him clean up all the branches and haul them to the dump, it’s your opportunity to tell him about the Sabbath and why you don’t do regular work that day. He may say it’s not regular work, as he only does it once a year. You’ll still have to stand your ground and let him know that you can’t help him, because there are 6 other days to do work during the week. It may not make him very happy. But we must please Yahweh rather than man. It’s better to have a person angry with you than to have Yahweh angry with you.
   A man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then Yahweh said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as Yahweh commanded Moses, Numbers 15:32-36, NIV.
   Again, whom are we to obey? Yahweh or man? When it comes to the laws of the land, we obey both Yahweh and civil authority. But when civil law conflicts with Yahweh’s Law, then civil law becomes subordinate to Yahweh’s Law.
   For thou shalt worship no other god: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous El, Exodus 34:14, KJV.


Choosing Yahweh or Something Else?
    Things which are highly esteemed can become like a false idol or a god. But anything that comes between you and Yahweh is, figuratively, an idol – career, hobbies, desires of the flesh.
   There was a dialogue between Oprah Winfrey and Steven Tyler (Aerosmith’s lead singer). Steven spoke about believing in a Creator. He’d said something about experiencing “god” in music, and Winfrey replied that she thought the music was “god.” Tyler’s countenance revealed his consternation. He didn’t believe her.
   The reality is that positioning things between ourselves and Yahweh is a pointless endeavor.
   Then Yahshua said to His taught ones, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his stake, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he gains all the world, and loses his own life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?” Matthew 16: 24-26, The Scriptures.
   We’re given choices. We’re told in Messiah that we’ll be forgiven our sins and gain eternal life if we overcome such things that would draw us away from doing His Father’s will. Worldly things get in the way of remembering to keep the Sabbath set apart – yes, the Sabbath, that sign between Yahweh and His people. It is that, and more, which distinguishes His people from all that is the rest of the world.


Learning, Hearing, and Doing
    When my wife, Carrie, and I lived in Hawaii and were learning about the Sacred Names and other deeper truths from Scripture, we kept the Feast of Tabernacles at a campground, doing the best we could with what we had and knew. (If there is first a readiness to will and a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man has, and not what has not (2 Cor. 8:11-12.)
   Carrie and I couldn’t get the campground permit the first night, so we pitched the tent in the backyard. Neighbors were partying much of that night, and we thought about what it must have been like for the Israelites coming out of Egypt. Each week, the Seventh Day Sabbath allows us to recall that from which we’ve been redeemed, saved, and delivered. The spiritual lessons and insight we gain from remembering and honoring Yahweh’s Sabbath are clear. We are reminded that we have come out of spiritual Egypt to worship Yahweh and to do what He says.
   The 4th commandment reads,
   Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your Elohim commanded you. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the Seventh day is a Sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your Elohim brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore Yahweh your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day,” Deuteronomy 5:12-15, NASB.
   Learning how to keep the Sabbath and the other Appointed Times where Yahweh has placed His Name may take some time. But He will guide you and can keep you safe from the enemy.
   Life may be difficult at times, but there is joy and happiness for those who overcome and strive to do what’s right in Yahweh’s sight.


Fasting on the Sabbath?
    While we usually don’t recommend fasting on the weekly Sabbath, it actually is commanded on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27). Going back to Isaiah 58:13-14, which we read at the beginning of this article, it may be that the Day of Atonement is the context of the passage when including the previous 12 verses.
   It really is up to an individual, whether they fast on the weekly Sabbath or not. If one feels compelled to fast on a weekly Sabbath, and it should be alright if they do. However, it should not be a regular tradition to do so.
   If I were to fast on the Sabbath, everyone here would know it, since we all eat together after services. I believe it would draw unnecessary attention to myself, so I would not do it unless an emergency required prayer and fasting (Matt. 15:21).
   It should be noted that Moses and Yahshua (Matt. 4:2) fasted continuously for 40 days, even King David (2 Sam. 12:16), who all fasted on a weekly Sabbath. Besides these, valiant men in Israel also fasted on the Sabbath due to King Saul’s death (1 Sam. 31:12-13).


Conclusion
    What was Israel’s real problem? Backsliding into disobedience (Heb. 3:12-19). The inspired Word additionally testifies:
   Therefore, since a promise remains of entering into His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it … those who formerly received the Good News did not enter in because of disobedience … there remains a Sabbath-keeping for the people of Elohim … Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience, Hebrews 4:1, 6, 9, 11, The Scriptures.
   Remember the Sabbath by being obedient and not neglecting what you know to be true. By submitting to Yahweh’s Commandments and overcoming all that is of the world through Yahshua the Messiah, you will enter into His rest and become an heir to eternal life.




- Elder David Brett


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