What does the Bible say about the Sabbath day?

What is the Sabbath?
Sabbath is the Hebrew word SHABBATH which is a holy rest day unto Yahweh. It is the seventh day of every week (Gen. 2:2-3, Exo. 16:23-29) as well as the seven festivals of Yahweh (Lev. 23). The Sabbath began with Yahweh in Genesis 2:2-3 ending his work of creating the earth and the heavens and resting on the seventh day. The Sabbath was observed and kept by every believer that desired to please Yahweh and keep His commandments from Adam to Moses, all of the Kings and Prophets, the Messiah and His disciples. So integral was this day that Yahweh included this as the fourth of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai (Exo. 20:8).

There are three things that Yahweh commands to do on the weekly seventh day Sabbath:
1. We are commanded to rest (Exo. 23:12)
2. We are commanded to keep this day Holy (Exo. 20:8, Deu. 5:12)
3. We are commanded to have a Holy convocation or calling together of likeminded believers (Lev. 23:3)
There are five things that Yahweh commands us not to do on the weekly seventh day Sabbath:
1. Do no customary or servile work/ for you and your animals and servants (Exo. 31:14, Exo. 35:2, Deu. 5:14)
2. Do not bake or boil (Exo. 16:23)
3. Do not kindle a fire in your home (Exo. 35:3)
4. Do not take a long journey outside of your place (home, community, etc.)(Exo. 16:29)
5. Do not buy or sell (Neh. 10:31, Neh. 13:15-19)

Common arguments against the Seventh day Sabbath:
1. Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath so we no longer have to keep the Sabbath.
2. The Sabbath is for the Jews only.
3. The Sabbath can be any day of the week as long as you rest one day out of seven.
4. Since Jesus died on the cross those that believe in Him will have rest in Him all of the time.
5. Keeping the Sabbath is part of the Law and therefore if you say that I have to observe it on the seventh day then it is legalism and bondage because we (the church) are under grace.
6. The Sabbath is now on Sunday and that is the “Lord’s Day” when I go to church.
7. The early apostles and believers of the Messiah met on the first day of the week and that shows us that they were not strict on meeting on the seventh day sabbath and therefore we can pick whatever day we want, to have a convocation or church gathering.
8. Since Jesus arose on the first day of the week (Sunday morning) then we gather in celebration of his resurrection on Sunday morning and not the seventh day Sabbath.

Facts about the Seventh day Sabbath:
1. Jesus was the Lord of the Sabbath so we no longer have to keep the Sabbath. This is really a ridiculous statement. If Yeshua (Jesus) came to destroy or do away with the Sabbath along with the rest of the Law then what is He the Lord of? NOTHING!? This term Lord of the Sabbath is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke. In context he is speaking against the Pharisees that believed that the disciples were breaking the Sabbath by plucking off the heads of corn in the fields and somehow breaking Torah law as a result. Yeshua rebukes the Pharisees and reminds them that the Sabbath was created for man and not the reverse. Was the Sabbath something that was under the control of the Pharisees or was it the Lord’s Sabbath after all. Look at the corresponding verses in the Torah(First five books of the Bible): (Exo. 16:29) “See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath…” (Exo. 20:10) “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:” By telling the Pharisees that He was the Lord of the Sabbath He was simply reminding them that He was the Lord that gave them the Sabbath and to not try to make it a man made set of do’s and don’ts. This was not some strange admission that somehow revoked the seventh day observance or fourth commandment set into motion from the beginning of creation. How could the Messiah admit this? He was there at creation and at Mount Sinai when the Sabbath was instituted and reconfirmed to His covenant people. 

2. Is the Sabbath just for the Jews? This is a very simple question to answer. (Gen. 2:2-3) “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Here we can clearly see that the Sabbath was created and instituted by Yahweh Himself and for all of creation and not some man-made observance of the Jews. (Exo. 20:10) “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: (Not the Sabbath of the Jews) in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (Gentiles or Non-Jews)” You mean that the Sabbath was also meant for the Gentiles/Nations or Non-Jews as well? (Isa. 56:6-7) “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD,(Gentiles/Nations/Non-Jews) to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath (that means EVERYONE) from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;(7) Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” Gentiles, grab hold of His covenant and keep the Sabbath! 

3. The Sabbath can be any day of the week as long as you rest one day out of seven. The problem with this argument is that you have to show that scripture supports one of two conclusions as to what the Sabbath is really signifying. Is it that the Sabbath is about a day, specifically the seventh day of the week; or is it really about the rest and not the day in which you rest. Fortunately, scriptures are very clear on what the conclusion must be and really does not leave a whole lot of room for interpretation. (Gen 2:2-3) “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.(3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Yahweh blessed and sanctified what??? Those that claim to keep a Sabbath one day out of seven would like this scripture to read… “and God blessed a time of rest within the seven days of His work and sanctified the rest.” It just doesn’t say that does it?! Well, perhaps we are just reading this incorrectly. Let’s look at other scriptures that support this as well…(Exo. 16:29) “See, for that the LORD 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.” Yahweh is very specific in His instructions to the Israelites as they gathered His provided Mannah or bread. Six days they will gather the bread and on the sixth day they will gather enough for two days so that they can rest and stay in their tents on the seventh day so that the weekly Sabbath or seventh day would be sanctified or set apart as Holy. Again is the emphasis on the rest or the day in which you are supposed to rest? (Exo. 20:8) “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Now this is the fourth commandment of the ten commandments of Yahweh Himself. Does He say remember the Sabbath rest or does He say remember the Sabbath day? He says remember the Sabbath DAY because He knew it would be forgotten or treated as any other day (the definition of profane is to make ordinary or plain) and reinforces it by saying to KEEP IT (THE DAY) HOLY (or set apart as special and not ordinary). This is certainly speaking of a specific seventh day Sabbath and not some haphazard day of the week to rest. 

4. Since Jesus died on the cross those that believe in Him will have rest in Him all of the time. This definition or use of the Sabbath is very complex and almost mystical in nature. One would really have to twist a lot of scripture to make this explanation make sense at all. I will try my best: OK, the Pharisees (erroneously looked at as representing ALL of Israel) had a “works mentality” and placed burdens on people using the Law of Moses to put people into bondage because after all it is impossible to keep the Law of Moses, right? Jesus came to do away with this binding Law and said stuff like, “take my burden because it is easy and light,” and after all He did break the Sabbath on many occasions to prove that it was bondage and when He died on the cross this bondage of the Law was nailed to the cross and crucified with Him. Now those that believe in Him don’t have to keep a literal seventh day Sabbath but will find rest in Jesus all of the time if and only if you truly have enough faith in Him. Does this sound familiar? The problem with this explanation is that Jesus or I like to refer to His Hebrew name, Yeshua, did not come to do away with the Law of Moses but He came by His own admission to fulfill or fill it up full of meaning (Matt. 5:17-19). The Pharisees and Sadducees were sects of Judaism that did not follow the Law of Moses but added thousands of man-made rules and laws to the Law of Moses to make it impossible to keep. Yeshua even rebukes these Pharisees saying that they do not even follow their own laws. Furthermore, Yeshua goes out of His way in many instances to break these added commandments of men and to bring true clarity to the commandments of Yahweh just as He spoke them on Mount Sinai. For example; Yeshua heals a blind man by making a mud salve to cover a blind man’s eyes. This was breaking an added commandment and not the Law of Moses. Yeshua also tells the crippled man to take up his bed (a thin mat, easily rolled up and carried under the arm) and walk, again breaking an added Law. You will find that Yeshua is adamant on showing that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath and to bring clarity and truth to a confused and burdened people. The “rest” He brought was leading people away from man-made religious systems and back to the Torah or Law of Yahweh as it was originally given. The other problem with this is that Yeshua and His disciples kept the seventh day Sabbath (Mar. 1:21, Mar 6:2, Luk 4:16, Luk 4:31, Luk 6:6, Luk 13:10) as was done by all of Israel and even after His death and resurrection the apostles still kept the seventh day Sabbath (Act. 13:14, Act. 13:42, 13:44, Act. 15:21, Act. 16:13, Act. 18:4, Col. 2:16). Remember that one of the commandments to do on the seventh day Sabbath is to “convocate” or call together the community of like-minded believers. The Jews have always done this by gathering every Sabbath in what was called Synagogues to read portions of the Torah scroll and teach the Law of Moses. Why would they do this if they had rest every day of the week? Didn’t they have enough faith or were they living under the “Great Old Testament Bondage?” Read all of the accounts in the New Testament of what transpired on the Sabbath. You will find miracles, healings, visitations of Angels, the spoken voice of Yahweh, many gentiles repenting, the word of Yahweh taught and demonstrated in power and authority, and powerful acts of kindness and charity. I do not see a day of bondage and legalism, do you?
5. Keeping the Sabbath is part of the Law and therefore if you say that I have to observe it on the seventh day then it is legalism and bondage because we (the church) are under grace. Grace. What is grace and does it mean that it gives someone a license to commit sin or break the commandments of Yahweh? Do you believe that the Ten Commandments are still valid today after the redemptive work of the Messiah or do you believe that these commandments are outdated or somehow governed in a different way today? I am certain that most people in the Christian church would agree that murder is still breaking the commandments of Yahweh. Even bearing false witness or committing adultery would still stand as unacceptable in the Christian’s walk and breaking the commandments of Yahweh. These are all listed as parts of the Ten Commandments but the moment you say that the seventh day Sabbath (the 4th commandment) is something to remember and keep as Holy you will be viewed as a heretic and under “legalism.” If grace came through the Messiah does it allow a murderer or adulterer to break Yahweh’s commandments? The obvious answer is NO! Then why should grace allow the followers of the Messiah to profane (or make ordinary) the seventh day Sabbath? Did you know that the Hebrew word for grace is used staggeringly more in the Old Testament than the Greek equivalent in the New Testament. Did grace only come through the Messiah or has Yahweh always given His people many chances to repent and get back on track before impending judgment? I think that the main confusion comes from a passage of scripture found in Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Again this is a case of taking a small set of verses and pulling together doctrine that does not uphold the true context of what Shaul (Paul) was saying. Look at the whole chapter and you will very easily find that Shaul was equating “the law” with sin and death. He was not talking about the Law of God (Torah). Therefore it makes sense that we are not UNDER THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH but UNDER GRACE because of the atoning work of the Messiah. Romans 6:12 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. ” The Lamb of God did not lay down His life for believers to be FREE from the Law of God but from the law of sin and death.

6. The Sabbath is now on Sunday and that is the “Lord’s Day” when I go to church. Oh yes, the “Lord’s Day.” Where did this term come from? It comes from one verse in the Book of Revelation. (Rev. 1:10) “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” This is John (Yochanan was his Hebrew name), a Jewish apostle who was in a time of tribulation on the Island of Patmos. He was dipped in burning oil, beaten and imprisoned for life because of sharing the Gospel of Yeshua. He was praying while in exile and a vision comes to him that shows him the events that would unfold to bring about the Great Tribulation on the whole Earth and the return of the Messiah for His faithful bride. The entire scriptures do not speak of the “Lord’s Day” as being Sunday observance of the Sabbath but speak of the Day of the Lord (Act. 2:20, ICor. 1:8, ICor. 5:5, etc.) when He comes to bring judgment on the whole Earth and the resurrection of the dead in Messiah. An understanding of the Day of the Lord is needed in order to comprehend what Yochanan was referring to. The answer can be read in the writings of Simon Keefa (Peter). (IPet. 3:8) “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” In the book of Genesis we read that all of creation was created in 6 days and on the seventh day Yahweh rested and ceased from all of His work. If a day to Yahweh is a thousand years then that would make the total plan of Yahweh to be 7,000 years or 7 days. Theologians and Bible scholars agree that the Messiah came around 4,000 years from creation and we are already in the 7th day or 7th millennium. This is the time that the end is prophesied and the Messiah will come making an end to iniquity in one day (1,000 years) and to setup His kingdom to rule and reign for 1,000 years in the New Jerusalem. Yochanan saw this in his vision and penned down this vision in the Book of the Revelation of the Messiah and alluded to this seventh day mystery by mentioning that he was on the Lord’s Day or Day of the Lord. This is not somehow a changing of the Sabbath from the seventh day Saturday to the first day Sunday! Not even close! So how did this seventh day Sabbath get twisted into a first day Sunday observance? The answer may shock you! It was changed solely on the authority of the Catholic Papacy and reinforced in many writings. The Catholic priest, Father T. Enright, C. SS.R. of Redemptor Col¬lege, quotes in The American Sentinel as follows:

“I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to any one who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the Holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says: “Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.” The Catholic Church says: “No by my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day, and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.” And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic church.”

James Cardinal Gibbons declared:

“You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day that we (Catholics) never sanctify.”

Not only does the Catholic Church not sanctify the seventh day Sabbath as instructed in the scriptures but the Protestant church (Protesting Catholics) also do not sanctify this day and continue to hold onto a first day observance that is riddled with Pagan influences of Sun God worship instituted by Constantine in the Roman Empire; thus the name Sun-Day after the day declared by Constantine under penalty of torture and death to worship Mithras, the Roman god of the sun. Why hold on to this Pagan tradition reinforced by the Catholic Church? What is so dreadful about keeping the day scripture declares as Holy?! 

7. The early apostles and believers of the Messiah met on the first day of the week and that shows us that they were not strict on meeting on the seventh day sabbath and therefore we can pick whatever day we want, to have a convocation or church gathering. In Acts chapter 20:7 there is a recorded passage that seems to read that the disciples, after the resurrection of the Messiah, came together on the first day of the week and Shaul (Paul) preached unto them until midnight. This is one of the key versus that is used to try to twist and produce precedence for a first day gathering or Sunday worship. First let’s take a look at the proceeding verse and get some context as to what is happening: Acts 20:6 “And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.” Now first of all these were Jewish apostles and believers in the Messiah. The Messiah clearly did not teach them to cease from keeping the feasts, like Unleavened Bread, or the seventh day Sabbath. Shaul abides for seven days before he leaves again. Well what day does he leave again? Acts 20:7 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Shaul and his companions celebrate the feast of Unleavened Bread in Philippi and then sail to Troas where they stay until the seventh day or Sabbath. Why does it say the first day of the week if it was the Sabbath? In the Greek compilation where our English translation is from (Stephen’s Textus Receptus) the Greek word Sabbaton is used where it says, the “first day of the week.” So the original text reads, “And upon the Sabbath day, when the disciples came together to break bread…” It does not say the first day of the week at all. This is either a mistranslation of the scriptures or a blatant cover-up to erase the significance of the seventh day Sabbath in the New Testament. These followers of the Messiah were gathering on the Sabbath at what is traditionally called a Hav Dilah service, where Shaul preached until midnight and was going to make his journey from Troas early in the morning. The Jewish disciples of the Messiah kept the feasts of Yahweh such as Unleavened Bread and also kept the seventh day Sabbath holy just as they had done for thousands of years prior.
8. Since Jesus arose on the first day of the week (Sunday morning) then we gather in celebration of his resurrection on Sunday morning and not the seventh day Sabbath. Did Yeshua rise from the dead on Sunday morning as has been taught for decades in the church? This is a basic mathematical solution that somehow escapes the attention of those reading and teaching from the Gospel records. If he indeed was crucified on “Good Friday” and arose on Sunday morning how can He line up with the only sign that He gave to testify of his resurrection. Matt. 12:39-40 “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” How can you get 3 days and 3 nights from Friday to Sunday morning? YOU CAN’T! Careful study will show that the Messiah was taken on a Tuesday evening, the day before the 14th of Aviv (Pesach or Passover) and was beaten and questioned and finally hung on the tree in the afternoon of the 14th (Wednesday) and was dead and in the grave by 4pm on the same day. Now let’s pause for a minute to lay a foundation of how the Hebrews reckon time. The next day starts at sundown and ends the following sundown as outlined in Genesis chapter 1. So Wednesday afternoon to sundown is a ½ day, Wednesday sundown to Thursday sundown is 1 day. Thursday sundown to Friday sundown is another day and Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is yet another day. This totals 3 days and 3 nights just like the Prophet Jonah in the belly of the great fish. So what about Mary coming to the tomb early on Sunday morning? Notice that the tomb was empty (Matt. 28:1). The Messiah had already risen as was the words of the Angel that greeted her. The Lord of the Sabbath arose on the Sabbath just as the scriptures convey. <<back to top

The Spiritual/Prophetic meaning of Sabbath:
Setting aside the overwhelming evidence of the extreme importance of keeping the seventh day Sabbath as Holy, separate, above all other days of the week, an understanding of the prophetic significance of the seventh day Sabbath is quite beautiful and can only leave one in awe of the intricate spiritual weaves in the fabric of Yahweh’s great plan of creation, redemption and restoration of all things.
(Exo. 23:12) “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest:”
(Heb. 4:9,11a) “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God… (11a) Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest…”
In Hebrew culture before the Babylonian, Assyrian and Roman captivities, there was only one day that had a name. That day was the seventh day of the week known as the Shabbat or Sabbath day and the Hebrew word Shabbath, being a feminine noun, gave the day a nickname of the “Queen of Days.” The other days were simply counted in reference to the Shabbat or Queen of Days…the first day after Shabbat (Sunday), second day after (Monday), third day (Tuesday), etc. So, when someone spoke of the Sabbath or Shabbat everyone in all of Israel would know that it was the seventh day of the week. The first six days would be spent working hard culminating and building up to the sixth day which was the day of preparation. This was the day that you would go to the market and buy what was needed for the next two days because all of Israel would be shut down for the weekly Shabbat. Final preparations in the streets and in the homes would keep everyone scurrying around like honey bees before nightfall gathering in all that was needed for the day. The men worked twice as hard in the fields to make sure that nothing was left undone for the Shabbat while the women baked special bread called Challah and all of the meals needed for the evening’s Shabbat dinner and the following day. These Challah loaves were different than the other loaves baked during the week; honey was added to make it a little sweeter signifying the sweet rest of the Sabbath and the loaves were carefully constructed with two braids of dough intertwined signifying folded arms as the people of God refrained from doing any work on this special day. As the evening of the sixth day rapidly approached, last minute preparations scampered through the home trying to make everything just right before the sun went down. As the sun would sink into the horizon the whole family, along with perhaps a neighbor, would gather at a savory Shabbat meal ready to begin another glorious day of rest and peace. The father of the house would stand and bless the wine and the fresh Challah while it was broken for each to partake just as Abraham and Melchizadek had done centuries before. Once the Sabbath had commenced the family would spend the day with each other resting and learning from the Torah either from the father of the house or from the Synagogue that they might have attended.
Is this a picture of bondage and legalism? Is it a picture of Jewish vain tradition or could it possibly be a shadow picture of the Messiah? (Col. 2:16-17) “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday (feasts), or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of the Messiah.” How is the Messiah seen and demonstrated in the seventh day Sabbath?
When Yahweh created the heavens and the earth, He created them in six days and rested from His labor on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2-3). This was a prophetic shadow picture as to how long the plan of Yahweh would be from the beginning of creation to the End of Days. This is how the plan of Yahweh works: (provided by Monte Judah of Lion and Lamb Ministries, Yavoh He is Coming July 2007 Issue)
Day 1: (God created the Light and Darkness.) From Creation to 1,000, Adam and Eve live in God’s presence (light) and fall to sin (darkness). Adam was told that if he sinned that he would die in that day. Adam lived to be 930 years old and “died in that first 1,000 year day.”
Day 2: (God creates waters and separates the waters above and below.) From 1,000 to 2,000, Noah is the dominate Biblical story with the Flood. The waters in the heavens and the fountains in the earth gushed forth to produce a world-wide flood. The results were new mountains, continents, and a clear atmosphere that could produce a rainbow.
Day 3: (God creates vegetation and plants.) From 2,000 to 3,000, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dominate leading to the birth of the nation of Israel and their entrance into the promised land. Abraham was likened to a plant: “In your seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed.” One of the understandings of the name Israel is “the planting of the Lord.” Israel is also likened unto an olive tree. All of the agricultural elements from grain to trees are used to explain our occupation in the land and our growth in the Lord.
Day 4: (God creates the heavenly lights of the sun, moon, and the stars to show signs and seasons.) From 3,000 to 4,000, Israel is led by prophets and Kings. Each of them had a profound effect on the nation of Israel. Abraham was promised that his descendants would be as the stars at night in number. Joseph dreamed that he saw his family as the sun, moon, and stars. The prophet Daniel was told that those with insight into heavenly things are seen as stars and heavenly lights showing the signs and seasons of God (Daniel 12:3).
Day 5: (God creates living creatures on the earth.) From 4,000 to 5,000, (1 to 1,000 AD) the Messiah came to us to do the work of redemption. He actually came to make us “new creatures.” He came so that we could be born again by His Spirit to be made in the “image of God.”
Day 6: (God creates beasts and mankind. Man is made a living soul in the image of God.) From 5,000 to 6,000, (1,000 to 2,000 AD) mankind has subdued and filled the earth. We have traveled to every part of the globe and established communities on every continent. Man has traveled to the North and South poles, traveled underwater and in the sky above. Man has even gone to the Moon and come back. Man now dominates every part of the planet and nothing is withheld from man.
Day 7: (God rests, sanctifies the Sabbath, and blesses all that He has made.) Presently, we are very close to the Biblical year 6,000 since creation. According to Bible chronologists, the Biblical year 6,000 occurs somewhere between 1994 and 2017, depending on your historical assumptions. The Lord will return at the appointed time for the “last day.” The Messianic kingdom on earth is to last 1,000 years (the Millennium). The Messianic kingdom will be the Sabbath of Millennia. It will be a time when we rest from our labors (the previous ages), live with the Lord, and re-establish the garden with “no end to the increase.” This is why Peter told us to count one day as 1,000 years.

“Where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt…”

Yeshua teaches a principle about the Sabbath and heavenly things and is recorded in Matthew chapter 6. He teaches that men store up for themselves earthly treasures instead of depending on the provision of Yahweh in their lives and it shows a lack of faith in the loving care of the Father.
Matt. 6:19-20 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
Where did the Messiah get this connection and teaching from? Does this scenario that He paints sound familiar? Do you remember when the Israelites were in the wilderness and Yahweh instructed them to gather the provision of manna enough for just that day but on the sixth day they would gather twice as much so that they would have enough for the seventh day Sabbath. In the first six days the Israelites didn’t trust in Yahweh’s provision and therefore gathered more than what they needed for that day and the worm and rot destroyed the leftover manna. Only the gathered manna for the seventh day Sabbath did not rot or gather the worm infestation.
Exo. 16:4-5 “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. (5) And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Exo. 16:20 “Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
Exo. 16:24-25 “And they laid it (manna) up till the morning (Sabbath Day), as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. (25) And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto the LORD: today ye shall not find it in the field.”
What is the lesson learned then? The seventh day is the last seven thousand years of creation and is the Millennial reign or kingdom of the Messiah. We have been living in the last six days of creation or 6,000 years from creation and the Messiah is teaching that in these six days if you try to store up the provision and blessings of Yahweh in fear that Yahweh will not provide for you or out of selfish greed then it will not amount to anything in the kingdom. Only those things done for the kingdom will be stored up for the seventh day or kingdom of the Messiah where the worm will not rot it. Yahweh declares to Moses that He is only giving a certain amount of this provision to test the hearts of His people and see if they will keep His laws or not. Likewise, the Messiah rebukes the people of Israel for their unbelief by not knowing and living this principle every day drawing a direct connection to this experience in the wilderness. Yahweh has always tested the hearts of the righteous to see if they truly will follow His instructions or not. He watches and waits to see how men exact usury over each other and how wicked men heap up treasures and wealth as a false sense of security against the wrath and judgment of Yahweh. These men forsake the Sabbath rest to try to make more money because they do not believe in Yahweh or His instructions. The apostle James also spoke of this:
Jam. 5:2-4 “Your riches (provision/manna) are corrupted (rotten), and your garments are motheaten. (3) Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (4) Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth (Sabbath).”
How do we know that James is talking about those that have forsaken the seventh day Sabbath? He reinforces the same words that the Messiah Yeshua spoke in Matthew six and goes even further to make reference to the Lord of the Sabbath as His title. Do not be deceived! Do not follow the same pattern of unbelief that stemmed from the Israelites in the wilderness to the modern day church of today. Keep His instructions and His promise is that you will have good success and more than enough.