Sabbath

I am trying to discover which day the Sabbath falls on. I know it is defined as the seventh day, but are you sure that the seventh day is our Saturday? What if when they switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar the days of the week get out of phase?

When the Julian calendar was switched to the Gregorian, ten days were omitted from the calendar, and it was decreed that the day following Thursday, October 4, 1582 (which is October 5, 1582, in the old calendar) would thenceforth be known as Friday, October 15, 1582. Although ten days were removed, the proper sequence of days in the week remained unchanged and continuous. Only numbers of the month were changed, not days of the week.

The Jews always kept the Sabbath every week without fail throughout history. Yahshua never corrected them on the day they kept as the Sabbath, and in fact He observed it Himself with other Jews on that same seventh day, Luke 4:16, 31,so we need only go back that far in history for the proper seventh-day sequence.

A. The sunset ending and beginning of a day is not a "Jewish" determination but a Biblical one. The Romans and Egyptians began their day at midnight, as the world does today. The Babylonians began their day at sunrise because they were worshipers of the sun.

We can learn from the Bible itself which is the proper beginning and ending of a day in Yahweh's sight.

Aside from Leviticus 23:32, which clearly shows that the Sabbath of rest begins at evening and continues until the next evening, the following passages also show that the Biblical day begins and ends at ereb (dusk):

Ex. 12:18: In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.

Lev. 11:24-25: And for these you shall be unclean: whosoever touches the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even. And whosoever bears ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.

Lev. 22:6: The soul which has touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.

Deut. 16:6: But at the place which Yahweh your Elohim shall choose to place his name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came forth out of Egypt.

Deut. 23:11: But it shall be, when evening comes on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.

Deut. 24:13: In any case you shall deliver him the pledge again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless you: and it shall be righteousness unto you before Yahweh your Elohim.

Jud. 14:12, 18: And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if you can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle. [Samson gave them seven days of the Feast to answer his riddle. When just before sunset on the last day it was answered through a deceitful maneuver, he was furious.]

Neh. 13:19: And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

Mark 1:32: And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. [They waited until the Sabbath was over at sundown before having Yahshua heal the sick and possessed.]

In the Hebrew, when a passage speaks of sunset, the word is bo, which means when the sun goes down into the horizon. This begins evening, end of one day and the beginning of another (see Gen. 28:11).

There is intriguing evidence that dates back to the first century, showing the observation of the Sabbath starting at evening. The historian Josephus, reports in Wars of the Jews IV,582: "And the last was erected above the top of the Pastophoria, where one of the priests stood of course, and gave a signal beforehand with a trumpet, at the beginning of every seventh day, in the evening twilight, as also at the evening when that day was finished, as giving notice to the people when they were to stop work, and when they were to go to work again."

Archaeology has confirmed the place of trumpeting to which Josephus was referring. Excavated by B. Mazar at the southern foot of the Temple Mount we find a very unique artifact, a stone from the second temple. In the Biblical Archaeology Review's July/August 1980 issue we read:

"When we excavated the beautifully paved Herodian street adjacent to the southern wall and near the southwestern corner of the Enclosure Wall, we found a particularly large ashlar block. On the inside was a niche where a man might stand, especially if the ashlar were joined to another which would enlarge the niche.

On the outside was a carefully and elegantly incised Hebrew inscription: LBYT HTKY 'H LHH [RYZ]; "To the place of Trumpeting to (declare)." If the restoration of the world "declare" is correct, the rest of the missing part of the inscription probably went on to tell us more about the declaring of the beginning and the end of the Sabbath.

The stone had been toppled during the Roman destruction of the Temple onto the street below where it had lain for nearly two thousand years until we uncovered it.

It must have originally come from the pinnacle of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount. From a spot on top of the Temple chambers a priest would blow a trumpet on Sabbath Eve, to announce the arrival of the Sabbath and the cessation of all labour, and to announce, on the following evening, the departure of the Sabbath and the resumption of all labor.

The entire city was visible from this spot on the southwest corner of the Temple Mount; the clarion call of the trumpet would reach the farthest markets of the city. Such a scene is recounted by Josephus in his work, The Jewish War. (IV, 582)." Editor, H. S. 2004; 2004.BAR 06:04 (July/Aug 1980). Biblical Archaeology Society

Being all-powerful, Yahweh did not need to rest on the seventh day. Being sinless, neither did Yahshua need to be immersed for His sins. But both did so as examples for the people of Yahweh.

By resting on the seventh day, Yahweh created and established the Sabbath as the crowning achievement of His creation. What could be more important for us than to observe a day that Yahweh Himself observed. No other day carries that special distinction or honor.

The Sabbath is a day when we are to avoid not only work, but also the pursuit of our own words and pleasures (Isa. 58:13). It is a day to focus entirely on Yahweh, which is not possible when one is busy focusing on those in a wedding, funeral, or shower.

Q. I have a good chance to get work as a bus driver. But the problem is I will have to work on the Sabbath also. Should I take the job or not? My wife is getting tired of seeing me without work and she is pushing me to take the job. For her the Sabbath is not a specific day. According to scripture it is right also to take care of the family. What do you think about this view on Shabbat? The time zones are not in Scripture. Therefore anyone who celebrates the Sabbath at any place other than in Jerusalem, his Sabbath is not official Temple time. And in the north pole, days are 6 months longs, so I don't know how a person could keep the sabbath in either pole. Of course, if the International Date line was just moved over a little bit, then my Sunday would be a Saturday. Also if you pay close attention to Yahshua's revelation about the Sabbath you'll see that it is all focused on what a person does, not when.

A. We'll answer your points one at a time. Doing any work on the Sabbath violates the Fourth Commandment. We are each working out our own salvation and must never violate Yahweh's commands in order to please someone. Relatives can pose some of the biggest tests of our faith. Blessings will come if you put Yahweh first. We are indeed commanded to provide for our families, but not at the cost of lawbreaking. We could justify bank robbery with that logic. The Sabbath comes to us when the sun sets at our location on earth. Being thousands of miles away from Jerusalem on his missionary journeys, Paul had to keep the Sabbath at sunset where he was and not when sunset came at Jerusalem. Keeping it when the sun sets in Jerusalem today means we would observe the Sabbath around noon on Friday, which would violate the Biblically mandated end and start of the day at sunset. Besides, there is no Temple and thus no "Temple time" today. Living at either pole presents problems and we must wonder whether Yahweh even intended man to live there, given the extreme weather conditions. We live and act in the context of time and cannot separate actions from when they were done. How else can you keep the Sabbath holy except through your activities? This clearly is a test to see whether you will do your own will or Yahweh's. The Sabbath is indeed the test commandment both in entering the Truth and in staying in it. We have found through the years that the Sabbath is the first of Yahweh's laws broken when someone backslides.

I am a Police Officer and I'm required to work Friday and Saturdays. I try to spend my downtime reading scripture and being mindful of Yahweh. But I understand it's not exactly the way we are supposed to honor the Sabbath. What does one do in a situation like this where I don't have the option of being off on the Sabbath?

While we certainly respect our law enforcement, believers should not be working on the Sabbath. The same would also apply to those in the medical field. The only option is to receive a waiver or look for a position that would allow you to correctly observe the Sabbath.

It's important to realize that the Sabbath is a sign between us and our Heavenly Father. In two places we find this confirmed:

"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Yahweh that doth sanctify you" (Exodus 31:13).

"I am Yahweh your Elohim; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am Yahweh your Elohim" (Ezekiel 20:19-20).

The Sabbath is not only a sign solidifying our relationship with Yahweh, but it's the only sign of this kind. In other words, no other command is called a "sign." This honor is given only to the Sabbath. Therefore, when we work on the Sabbath we are not only breaking an important commandment but diminishing the relationship between us and Yahweh.

When it comes to work on the Sabbath, Yahweh is incredibly strict. Below are two examples:

"And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And Yahweh said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as Yahweh commanded Moses" (Numbers 15:32-36)

"Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And Yahweh said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that Yahweh hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:26-29).

In the above examples, Israel was punished for the breaking of the Sabbath. In the example of the man picking up sticks, based on the Hebrew, it's possible the word "sticks" refers to lumber and referred to construction work. Regardless, both accounts show the seriousness of breaking the Sabbath.

It should also be remembered that the Sabbath is a day of rest, worship, and convocation (coming together), Exodus 20:8-11 and Leviticus 23:3. It's also a day that we're not to spend focused on our hobbies or pleasures outside of the Word. Isaiah 58:13 reads, "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and Yahweh's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words."

Some might question Yahshua the Messiah's actions in the New Testament. The fact that He healed and said that it was okay to do good on the Sabbath, does this give those in critical, life-saving positions, the grace to break the Sabbath. While Yahshua certainly showed that it was permissible to do good on the Sabbath, these actions were not part of His employment and were done only when absolutely required.

We do not believe that exercise and sports are permitted on the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is first and foremost a day of rest The word "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew primitive root shabath and means, "..to repose, i.e. desist from exertion." Since exercise and sports causes a person to exert themselves physically, this activity would violate the Sabbath command.

We find a secondary reason from Isaiah 58:13: "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of Yahweh, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:" We believe doing our own pleasure prohibits activities such as exercise and sports, in addition to other worldly and personal activities that don't focus on the Word. The Sabbath is a day not to focus on the mundane or the world, but on Yahweh's Word.

For the above reasons we would caution against any activity that causes exertion or may be seen as our own pleasure apart from Yahweh's Word.