Now,
it is the same Jesus the Beloved Son of God Who delivered the children of
Israel from Egypt and gave Moses His laws and statutes and reminded him saying;
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all
your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you
shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant,
nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your
gates: For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the
Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
We
know with all certainty that it is Jesus Christ Who created all things, because
we have received the following instructions saying; “In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning
with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made
that was made” (John 1:1-3).
Then
later we are told that, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of
grace and truth” (John
1:14).
Therefore,
it is Jesus Christ the Lord God of the Old Testament who created and
established the Sabbath in commemoration of the His creation, reminded Moses to
keep it holy, and reminded the Pharisees
that "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore
the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28-29).
Therefore,
the way one expresses and demonstrates his/her belief in Jesus Christ as the
Beloved Son of God, is by following the proclamation given by one of the three
angels to all those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and
people saying; "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His
judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and
springs of water" (Revelation
14:6-7).
The
way the Creator ordained that every nation, tribe, tongue and people to worship
Him, is by observing His Sabbaths. For thus says the Lord; “You shall keep My
Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:30).
The
Sabbath therefore is a perpetual sign between God and His people, a time which is
holy both to the Lord and for His people, for thus says the Lord, “Speak also
to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it
is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know
that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”
Therefore the children of Israel
shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as
a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel
forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the
seventh day He rested and was refreshed " (Exodus 31:13-17).
Here
we see clearly that the rationale or the objective for observing the weekly
seventh day Sabbath is to commemorate the creation of the world and to express
our gratitude and thanksgiving to God for His creation. And so we have been
admonished saying; “ If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing
your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of
the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding
your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself
in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and
feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has
spoken" (Isaiah 58:13-14).
The
Sabbaths is a sign to prove that the Lord is our God and the one who sanctifies
His people. For thus says the Lord; “Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to
be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who
sanctifies them: And, “I am the LORD your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My
judgments, and do them; hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me
and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel
20:12, 19-20).
The
Sabbaths as a perpetual covenant is for both Jews and Gentiles since they are
admonished to glorify God together with His people. For we have been admonished
saying; “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the
glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
"For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to
Your name." And again he says: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His
people!" And again: "Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all
you peoples!" (Romans 15:7-11).
Remember
also that, there remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has
entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Now to confirm the fact that the Sabbaths were ordained for all, this is what
the Lord says; "For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make
shall remain before Me," says the LORD, "So shall your descendants
and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to
another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship
before Me," says the LORD” (Isaiah 66:22-23).
Therefore,
if we truly claim to believe in Jesus Christ as the Beloved Son of God, we
should first and foremost demonstrate this belief by observing His Sabbaths and
give Him the glory and the honor that is due to Him as the LORD the Creator who created the heavens, the
earth, the seas and all that are therein.
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