The Creative Sabbath (3)

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB Work and “Work” – “The biblical story of mankind begins with the command, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.’ Work is more than labour. Biblical Hebrew has two words to express the difference: melakhah is work as creation, avodah is…

The Creative Sabbath (2)

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB To keep holy – Pay close attention to the verse. Notice that the act of remembering has a purpose. That purpose is leqaddesho, “to keep holy.” We remember in order to sanctify. That’s not our usual thinking about Shabbat. We often think that Shabbat…

The Creative Sabbath (1)

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8 NASB To keep it – Let’s talk about the Sabbath. Again and again the question comes up, “Am I allowed to do ­­­­________ on the Sabbath?” You fill in the blank. Of course, what you will fill in is not something specifically prohibited. Those actions…

The Day

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Exodus 20:8:  ESV The Sabbath day – And what does this mean?  Does it mean we spend the day meditating on God?  Does it mean we sit around wondering if doing the next thing will violate the commandment about rest?  Perhaps we need to look at the original…

What to Do During What Not to Do

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Exodus 20:8  ESV Sabbath – Followers of the God of Israel are Sabbath keepers.  This ritual is the most conspicuous symbol of association with YHWH in all of the Tanakh.  In fact, YHWH holds His people accountable for the sin of not keeping Sabbath.  It is of…

A Little History

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy  Exodus 20:8  NASB Sabbath day – Donna Dozier wrote her doctoral dissertation on the transition from Judaism to Christianity in the early centuries.  In it she discusses the shift from Sabbath to Sunday.  As part of the historical record, she provides the following citation: “There is a…

Two for One

Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Deuteronomy 5:12  NASB Observe – One of my dear friends sent me an article about the two Sabbath commands.  The other one is the more familiar verse, Exodus 20:8.  But if you read them side by side, you realize (especially…

How to Forget

“Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 Remember – The Sabbath is anti-American.  It interferes with the American way of life.  It interrupts the incessant desire to work, shop, travel and be entertained.  It stands in opposition to our personal priorities.  It removes us from the flow of our fast-paced, rat-race, do-it-now,…

The Rest of God

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy Exodus 20:8 Remember – The sin of insult. That’s what’s at stake here. You finally get the perfect job. It not only fulfills your heart’s desire, it also provides you with advancement, accolades and creativity. The head of the organization recognized your uniqueness and designed the job…

Remember

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy”  Exodus 20:8 Remember – Paul Meyer teaches that remembering involves spaced repetition.  If you want to remember something, you need to have it repeated at least six times over a specified period.  That’s why you can hear a great sermon or attend a fabulous lecture and a…