Shabbat Shalom.
Our topic for today is the Sabbath. When is it, what is it, and who is it for?
To approach this topic properly, we really are stepping into a single city block of a much larger neighborhood. What I mean by that is, the topic underlying this discussion really boils down to this question: Is “the law” done away with? If so, what law was done away with? And how are we to approach holy living… with or without the so-called “law?”
This brings up any issues and questions, so for some grounding, let’s begin with the words of our common Messiah, Yeshua, in:
Matthew 5:17-20 (TNIV)
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now, the TNIV states that Yeshua came not to abolish, but to “fulfill” the Torah and the Prophets. A clearer version is found in David Stern’s Jewish New Testement, where the word fulfill is exchanged with the phrase “to fill them up with meaning.” In the gospels, Yeshua declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath. If he was coming to put an end to Sabbath observance, that would make Him Lord of nothing. Does that make sense? Of course not.
You see, the term “fulfill” is not the best rendering, because it suggest an end; this is not reflective of the Hebrew and Aramaic original language. The original manuscripts use wording that suggest a present and ongoing process… filling the practice up with meaning. Certainly, apart from God, keeping the Sabbath is a rather empty practice. Whether held on Saturday or some other day, a Sabbath absent the presence of God is not something that lends meaning, depth and closeness to our creator; with the Messiah filling these practices up with meaning and significance, we can see why God ordained the Sabbath – to set aside a special time that is exclusively and uniquely to spend time together with those who worship him.
Now, let us look at the origin of the Shabbat:
Genesis 2:2-3
On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.
The Shabbat, therefore, is the seventh day of the week. The seventh day of the week, according to Jewish practice that Yeshua Himself observed, begins at sundown on Friday and is complete at sundown on Saturday. This is the Shabbat as God created by His own actions.
This fact is underlined when ADONAI gave Moshe the Ten Commands. Now, the Ten Commands are unique among the Mosaic Laws, because they were spoken directly by God Himself. The rest of Torah law was a mediation by Moshe, as he stood in the gap between God and the children of Israel. Therefore, whatever one may feel about the rest of the Mosaic Law, the Ten Commands stand apart from such mediation between God and man – they are the direct words of Adonai, and therefore are non-negotiable. If one is searching for “the will of God,” it is with the Ten Commands they must begin their search; nothing less.
It is paradoxical that even the most well-intentioned Christians will fight for the display of the Ten Commands in public places, and yet if it is pointed out that these commands include an expectation for seventh-day Sabbath observance, they immediately begin to mis-quote Paul on the Law being done away with. This can only be due to at least 1,700 years of bad and false teaching on the Sabbath… leading to the false impression that it falls on Sunday.
But what does God say about when the Sabbath falls? It is made clear in:
Exodus 20:8-11 (CJB)
“Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work; not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.
Seventh-day Sabbath observance is one of the 10 Commands. This is simply fact. The question then becomes, when did believers in Yeshua start worshiping on the first day of the week (Sunday) instead of the day God Himself declared the Sabbath? Well, some claim that the practice dates back to the first century itself. This is simply not so, and comes originates from a misreading of Paul’s writings.
Colossians 2:16-17
So don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in connection with eating and drinking, or in regard to a Jewish festival or Rosh–Hodesh or Shabbat. These are a shadow of things that are coming, but the body is of the Messiah.
While many folks interpret this passage to mean that Shabbat observance has been done away with, that is not the case here. Specifically, Paul is addressing conflict within the kehilat as Colossi, where factionalism had APPARENTLY broken out (not unlike on these boards) between those who said all these things must be done, and those who said none of them needed to be done.
Paul, playing the diplomat, isn’t clarifying who’s right. what is he saying is, stop the fighting about it. That’s where the words “don’t let anyone pass judgment on you” about all these practices comes from. But let’s stop for a moment and think about this: was Paul mediating between Sunday worshippers and Saturday worshippers? No. He couldn’t have been, because Sunday worship was not part of the first-century church.
What he was mediating between was likely more akin to the controversy that broke out in the book of Acts, where a group of former Pharisees – now Messianic followers of Yeshua – speak up and say that “to be saved,” Gentiles had to follow things like the kashrut laws, circumcision, etc. That is found in this passage:
Acts 15:5-21
But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.” The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered––and it’s the same with them.” Then the whole assembly kept still as they listened to Bar–Nabba and Sha’ul tell what signs and miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles. Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. “Brothers, ”he said, “hear what I have to say. Shim‘on has told in detail what God did when he first began to show his concern for taking from among the Goyim a people to bear his name. And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written, ‘“After this, I will return; and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David. I will rebuild its ruins, I will restore it, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, that is, all the Goyim who have been called by my name, ” says ADONAI, who is doing these things.’ All this has been known for ages. “Therefore, my opinion is that we should not put obstacles in the way of the Goyim who are turning to God. Instead, we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled and from blood. For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”
This is a rich passage, and often vastly misunderstood.
The key to understanding this passage is the phrase of the former Pharisees: “IT IS NECESSARY…”
When the disciples respond to this challenge, Kefa/Peter and Ya’akov/James are the ones who respond and say, basically, “NO, IT’S NOT NECESSARY.” That’s what this boils down to.
But what are we talking about? We’re talking about bringing Gentiles, completely unexposed to Jewish customs, into union with Messiah. Leaving behind their likely polytheism, into monothesim toward (to them) a foreign (Jewish) God would have been quite a challenge… INITIALLY. You see, this isn’t about whether Gentile believers should NEVER obey these things… this is about whether following the Law of Moses, circumcision and the rest are necessary for salvation. Clearly, they are not necessary for salvation.
But does that mean Gentiles shouldn’t grow in obedience to ADONAI’s word, and eventually take up some, and perhaps all, of such things? I believe that was a given, and generally expected as part of the discipleship process… but NOT part of the salvation process. That’s the distinction being made here.
And as this relates to seventh-day Sabbath observance, please note that verse 21 ends with James/Ya’akov pointing out that the Law of Moshe is being proclaimed “in the synagogues every Shabbat,” a clear reference to seventh-day Shabbat observance, and also an indication that further obedience would come from further study of God’s word. So it’s clear that even this late in Acts, there is NO Sunday worship.
So, where did Sunday worship come from and how was it introduced into the church?
Glad you asked. Sunday worship was instituted by the anti-Judaic Roman Emperor Constantine, who founded the Catholic church, as a way to distance “Christianity” from its Judaic roots, and as a sign of the church’s authority. We get this from:
Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, pg 50
“Saturday is the Sabbath… We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.”
See? That is from the Catholic Cathecism and they admit it themselves! They transferred the day of worship, not God.
In 1891, Catholic author James Gibbons, who was a Catholic cardinal, wrote the following in his book, Faith of Our Fathers:
Gibbons, Faith of Our Fathers, pg. 89
“The Catholic Church… by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday… You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday, a day which we never sanctify. Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act… and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power. This change is repeatedly referred to as a mark. Sunday is our mark of authority!”
Gibbons is correct; Sunday worship is not found or endorsed in the Bible. It was transferred by an act of man.
Now, does this mean that those who worship on Sunday are knowingly violating the command to honor the Shabbat? Not knowingly, no. Most do so in ignorance, because they’ve never been properly taught about the Sabbath, and many have actively been mis-taught about the Sabbath. And sadly, too many simply accept what their house of worship practices or states in their statement of faith, never bothering to study it out for themselves.
Can God be worshiped and honored on any day? Certainly. But once one learns of when the Shabbat actually falls, one has to form a response of some sort to this newfound knowledge. They can either conform their practices to fit their new convictions, or they can choose to continue worshiping God on the day their church meets, knowing it’s not the true Sabbath but also knowing God is honored on the day they do meet.
What is illogical, however, would be to continue to deny which day God placed the Sabbath on; it is, always has been, and always will be on the seventh day of the week – Saturday. That is what Yeshua Himself practiced; as the Word of the L-RD, it is what he declared to Moshe on Sinai.
Is seventh-day Sabbath worship necessary for salvation? Clearly not, and the attitude of Messianics must be tolerant, as in the book of Acts. However, as each believer grows in faith, I believe if they study out the topic of the Sabbath, they can only come to one conclusion about which day it falls on, which means the only remaining question is how to respond to that new knowledge.
And that is between each believer and Adonai; we must not judge, unless we want to be judged ourselves. Be merciful, and mercy will be shown to you.
Shabbat Shalom.
My Va’era Commentary
Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Here’s my Va’era commentary. Or listen to it!
Shabbat Shalom.
Our parashah today is Va’era, or And I Appeared, and covers Exodus 6:2 through 9:35. As this passage opens, the L-RD is speaking with Moses and encouraging the people to listen to him, despite their circumstances.
Under the direction of Pharaoh, their labor in brick-making had been made more difficult by the Egyptians because their supply of straw had been taken away, and yet they were expected to produce the same number and quality of bricks as before, when they were supplied with straw. Despite encouragement from the L-RD through Moses, however, the people find their labor so harsh, most do not listen.
Despite the reluctance of the people to trust in the promises of the L-RD, God directs Moses to move forward with the plan for their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. What follows is a showdown of sorts between Moses and his one God, against Pharaoh and his many gods. It is a showdown even more dramatic than the one that occurred between Elijah and the priests of Ba’al.
Now, while this may be obvious on the surface, what many may not be aware of is just how specifically God Himself is tearing down the trust of the Egyptians in their pantheon of many gods through these plagues. That is what I’d like to focus on in our study today.
Before we begin, though, the most natural question that occurs to me that someone might ask, is, Why would the L-RD do this? Why would he try to communicate with an evil king?
First, we must keep in mind that this is not without precedent. After all, The L-RD used Joseph to communicate his message about an impending famine to a previous Pharaoh more kindly disposed to the Jewish people. And God even spoke to a non-Egyptian king, warning him not to sleep with Sarah, when Abraham failed to trust the L-RD for his safety and passed off his wife as his sister.
So, whether a ruler is good or evil, whether a ruler worships the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob or not, the L-RD clearly can and does communicate with people who are in worldly seats of power; whether they listen and obey or not is not guaranteed, but the effort of God to communicate with them does not depend on their belief in Him. In fact, God Himself determines who remains in power and who does not, as testified to in:
So, with that in mind, let us examine how The L-RD sought to communicate His sovereignty to Pharaoh and the people of Egypt through the plagues he sent upon them.
Even before the plagues begin, The L-RD declares his sovereignty through the sign of the staff that turns into a cobra, which is related in:
The snakes in question here are almost always said to be cobras, and from an Egyptian perspective, that makes sense; in Egypt, cobras are a sign of power and royal authority, dating at least all the way to the Pharaoh Djozer of the Old Kingdom, and continuing up through at least Pharaoh Cleopatra toward the end of the Pharaonic dynasties of Egypt; all wore golden cobras on their crowns and decorated their buildings with cobras.
By having the staff of Aaron transform into a snake and devour the snakes of the court magicians, God was speaking to the Pharaoh of Egypt in a symbolic language he could understand; The L-RD was declaring that his power and authority was greater than Pharaoh’s.
The first plague was turning water to blood, including the waters of the Nile River. When the waters of the Nile turned to blood, all the fish of the Nile perished. This plague was an assault on the trust of the Egyptians in two gods; Hapi, the god of the Nile, and Haymeyt, a fish-headed goddess.
The next plague was the plague of frogs; this was an assault by The L-RD against the frog-headed goddess Hekt, one of the oldest fertility cults in all of Egypt.
Next came lice, and although there was not an Egyptian god of lice, lice were definitely an assault on the Egyptian sense of religious and ritual purity. In Egypt, many priests would shave off all of their body hair, from head to toe, in an attempt to avoid being made impure by the presence of lice on their bodies. So God was basically telling the Egyptians they were impure, through this plague. Some also associate the plague of lice with the Egyptian god Geb, the god of the earth.
The next plague is a plague of flies or beetles. The uncertainty comes from the imprecise definition of the Hebrew word here, ‘arob. Usually translated insects, it could refer either to scarab beetles or to flies. If beetles is what is meant, then that would be an assault on the Egyptian god Khephera, a god depicted has having the head of a scarab-beetle. If it was flies, that would refer to Khepri.
The next plague was against the livestock of Egypt; this would have been a strike against Hathor, the bull-headed goddess of love. Other cattle gods were Ptah and Amon.
Next comes the plague of boils, a strike against the very health of the Egyptians. Two gods may be referenced here; Isis was considered a goddess of healing. Also, there was a human who was later elevated to divine status, who was associated with healing; the Old Kingdom figure Imhotep.
The plague of hail refers to Nut, the mother of the sun-god Ra. Nut was to protect the land from destructions that come from the sky, so a plague of hail eroded any trust in her power.
The plague of grasshoppers and locusts refers to the locust-headed Egyptian god Senehem. Another god that would have been a target here is the god Seth.
The curse of darkness is a direct assault on one of the most prominent gods in Egypt’s pantheon – Ra, the god of the sun. By blocking him out with darkness, the L-RD is saying He is greater than the sun itself, which ultimately He created. This is a reminder to worship the creator, not the created thing.
That takes us up through this week’s reading. What lies ahead next week is the plague known as the death of the first-born. This would be a direct assault against Pharaoh himself, who is viewed as the greatest god of Egypt. Every sitting Egyptian Pharaoh was considered a living god in their lifetime, and it was believed most became gods after death.
So, why did the L-RD go to such trouble to discredit the gods of Egypt? If it were purely for the benefit of the Egyptians, it might be considered futile, since Egypt remained a polytheistic society and never did convert to worshipping the L-RD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet it was not for the sake of the Egyptians alone.
As you may remember, few of the sons of Israel had turned out to be faithful and God-fearing people. His prophetic blessings on each of his sons makes that clear, as we discussed a couple weeks ago. So it ought to be no surprise that, after the passage of 400 years in the land of Egypt, the descendants of the twelve tribes were losing their sense of unique identity and were beginning to blend into Egyptian society.
God sent the plagues not only for the sake of the Egyptians, but for the sake of his chosen people, to wake them up from their idolatry and cause them to spurn the gods of Egypt and re-embrace the God of their forefathers.
So God did these things primarily to prove Himself as God and God alone, as we read in:
Imagine it! God cared so much for a people who were forgetting about Him, he did all these things even before beginning to rescue them, so that they could know Him and know His proper role in their lives.
It is interesting to look back on this period of ancient history and wonder how the Egyptians could be so foolish as to worship cattle or beetles or the sun. Or that the children of Israel living among them could forget The L-RD and start joining in the worship of those false gods.
Yet are we any different? We may not worship people with animal heads, as the Egyptians did; but all idolatry is, ultimately, is investing our money, our time, and our talent toward something other than God and his kingdom.
Like Pharaoh, the descendants of Israel had forgotten Joseph and his God, the L-RD, the God of their fathers. And like them, we too sometimes forget the God of our fathers and begin to blend into the culture around us.
Perhaps we go to “every movie ever made” with a particular actor or actress in it. Perhaps we are politically involved and our personal happiness rises or falls with the success of those politicians. Or perhaps we just invest too much of our time watching a favorite TV show, reading a favorite author, or listening to the work of a favorite musician.
Whatever the case, what is made clear by this week’s lesson is that God wants us to wake up and realize there are no other gods but Him. He alone is truly worthy of our time, talent and fortune. He alone deserves to be our favorite… anything! Just as he called out to his children in Egypt and exposed their false gods as powerless, He calls each of us out of our idol worship, and into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with Him, through the work of our own Moses, the Messiah Yeshua.
Shabbat Shalom.
Tags: Torah commentary, Va'era
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