Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy

Christians get all bent out of shape when you tell them

Exodus 31:16....  Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.

and then couple that with

Romans 11:17....  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 

If we are grafted in to Israel, are we not, in a sense, Israel?  Certainly not ethnically, but we are children of Abraham, according to the promise.

If, then, the Sabbath commandment is "a covenant forever," did forever end?  The Hebrew word here meaning "forever" is "עוֹלָם" (Olam) which literally means the Universe... heaven and earth.  "Forever," in this case, ends when heaven and earth pass away.  When does Heaven and Earth pass away?  In Revelation 21:1.

Now, IF we are commanded to keep the Sabbath "as a covenant forever," what does it mean to "keep" the Sabbath?

The Torah prohibits 2 things on the Sabbath:  Doing work (Exodus 20:8), and "kindle(ing) a fire in any of your dwellings."  (Exodus 35:3)

That's it.  You're even allowed to go camping and start a fire outside of your tent if you want.  You just can't start a fire inside your tent.

How do we spend the Sabbath?  Please notice, nowhere in any commandment does it say we must assemble for regular worship on the Sabbath.  Jesus did it because every other day of the week was a daily struggle for survival... every other day of the week, everyone was out in the fields or in the marketplace... Shabbat (the name of the 7th day) was literally the only opportunity to gather anywhere.

But we're not commanded to "go to church" on Shabbat.  What are we commanded to do?

The Hebrew root for the word Shabbat is the three letters, שבת, Shin, Bet, Tav.  Those three letters mean, simply, "cease."  Stop what you're doing.  It's saying, every other day you work.  You work hard all day, every other day... today, you stop it.  Today, you rest.  Today, you take care of yourself.

How do you do that?

Play a video game.  Read a book.  Make love to your spouse.  Take a nap.  Invite friends over for coffee.

Literally, THAT'S what we're commanded to do.

Why do Christians fight against that?  We're like toddlers balling our fists and yelling at our mommies that no, we won't go to bed, when we're already too tired to stand up.  It's silly.

Ok, one more thing in this book of a rant before I close it:  What day should we "cease?"  Paul tells us not to let anyone judge us on account of our day of rest.  That is to say, it's nobody else's business.  What does that mean?

When I, as a Methodist, tell people I keep a 7th day Shabbat, I get judged.  "You know you don't have to do that, right?  You know Jesus set you free from the chains of Shabbat, right?  You know Jesus is our sabbath rest, right?"

I love my Christian brothers and sisters... I really do.  LORD bless them, they're doing the best they know how.  But they're judging me, in direct contradiction to what Paul said.  Paul didn't say "Move the Sabbath," Paul said "It's nobody else's business when you take your shabbat."

So if your job requires you to "cease" on a Wednesday, then you "cease" on a Wednesday.  But for heaven's sake, DO IT.  That's not a day for you to get caught up on work... that's a day for you to remember to rest.

As for me, I think it's pretty clear.  The Hebrews didn't have names for their days... the day we call
Sunday was simply known as "One."  Monday was "Two."  Wednesday was "Three."  You get the picture.

The only day that DID have a special name was the 7th day, which was not called "Seven," it was called "Shabbat."

So on the 7th day of each week, I rest from whatever labors I had the week before.  I try to focus my attention on heavenly things.  I listen to a few sermons, or I read more scripture than usual, or I set aside time for prayer.  And, if at all possible, I take a nap.

Paul said don't judge. =)