Sabbath

The Sabbath is a day of rest and worship observed by the Israelites as commanded by God. It is rooted in the creation narrative, where God rested on the seventh day after creating the heavens and the earth. The Sabbath is first mentioned in Genesis 2:2-3: "And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished."

The command to observe the Sabbath is formalized in the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. Exodus 20:8-11 states: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy."

The Sabbath serves as a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, as noted in Exodus 31:16-17: "The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it as a lasting covenant for the generations to come. It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed."

In the New Testament, Jesus addresses the Sabbath, emphasizing its intended purpose for rest and mercy rather than legalistic observance. In Mark 2:27-28, Jesus declares, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Feasts

The feasts of Israel are divinely appointed times of celebration, remembrance, and worship, established by God for His people. These feasts are outlined primarily in Leviticus 23 and serve as both historical commemorations and prophetic foreshadowings of future events.

1. Passover (Pesach): Celebrated on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan), Passover commemorates the Israelites' deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The feast involves the sacrifice of a lamb and the eating of unleavened bread, symbolizing the haste of their departure. Exodus 12:14 states, "This day is to be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD. You are to celebrate it as a permanent statute for the generations to come."

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread: Beginning the day after Passover and lasting seven days, this feast involves the removal of leaven from homes, symbolizing the removal of sin. Leviticus 23:6-8 describes this feast: "On the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread."

3. Feast of Firstfruits: Celebrated on the day after the Sabbath following Passover, this feast involves offering the first sheaf of the harvest to the Lord. Leviticus 23:10-11 instructs, "When you enter the land I am giving you and reap its harvest, you are to bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest."

4. Feast of Weeks (Shavuot or Pentecost): Occurring fifty days after the Feast of Firstfruits, this feast celebrates the wheat harvest and the giving of the Law at Sinai. Leviticus 23:15-16 commands, "From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD."

5. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah): Marking the beginning of the civil year, this feast is a day of rest and trumpet blasts. Leviticus 23:24-25 states, "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly announced by trumpet blasts."

6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur): A solemn day of fasting and repentance, this feast involves the high priest making atonement for the sins of the people. Leviticus 23:27-28 commands, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly and humble yourselves, and present an offering made by fire to the LORD."

7. Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot): Celebrated for seven days, this feast commemorates the Israelites' wilderness wanderings and God's provision. Leviticus 23:34-36 instructs, "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the LORD’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it continues for seven days. On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly. You must not do any regular work."

These feasts are integral to the religious life of Israel, serving as reminders of God's faithfulness and as opportunities for communal worship and celebration.Sabbath and Feasts

The Hebrews were required to keep:

1. The Sabbath Day (Exodus 20:8-11). They were not permitted,
   1. to leave their dwellings (Exodus 16:29),
   2. nor kindle a fire throughout their habitations on the Sabbath day (Exodus 35:1-3).

   The death penalty was attached to the violation of this law (Numbers 15:32-36).

2. The Sabbatical Year. They were to sow their fields, prune their Vineyards and enjoy the fruits of their labors for six years, but in The seventh year the land and the people were to rest (Leviticus 25:1-7). During the seventh year they subsisted upon the spontaneous Accumulation of the excessive crops of the sixth year (Leviticus 25:6,7,20-22).
3. The Jubilee. They were to number seven sabbaths of years, Forty-nine years, and on the tenth day of the seventh month they were To sound the trumpet throughout all the land; slaves were released and Every man returned to his possession (Leviticus 25:8-13). The price of everything in Israel was regulated by the distance from the jubilee (Leviticus 25:14-17).
4. The Passover. This feast originated in Egypt and was so named On the account of the passing over of the houses of the Hebrews by the Angel of death. In connection with it, and following it, they kept the Feast of unleavened bread (Exodus 12:1-29). The law of Moses, however, regulated the keeping of the feast. It was really eaten on the night of The fifteenth of Abib; the Hebrew day closed at sunset (Leviticus 23:32). They killed the paschal lamb at the going down of the sun on the Fourteenth of the month (Exodus 12:1-6; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). The feast of unleavened bread began with the passover and closed on the twenty-first day Of the month at sundown (Exodus 12:14-19; Leviticus 23:1-8). No uncircumcised person was permitted to partake of the paschal feast (Exodus 12:43-51). Special offerings were made at the feast consisting of,
   1. two young bullocks,
   2. one ram,
   3. seven lambs,
   4. and one goat,

   For each day during the seven days, aggregating seventy-seven animals (Numbers 28:16-25).

5. First of Each Month. On the beginning of each month during the Year they were required to offer,
   1. two young bullocks,
   2. one ram,
   3. seven lambs,
   4. and one kid of the goats (Numbers 28:11-15).
6. Feast of Weeks. This feast was known as,
   1. feast of harvest (Exodus 23:16).
   2. feast of weeks (Exodus 34:22),
   3. day of first fruits (Numbers 28:26),
   4. and Pentecost (Acts 2:1).

   This feast occurred fifty days after the passover (Leviticus 23:15,16 Deuteronomy 16:9-12). They began to number the fifty days on the morrow after the first sabbath of the feast of unleavened bread, or on the sixteenth Day of Abib or Nisan (Exodus 12:11-20; Leviticus 23:4-16). During this feast they offered,

   1. first, two wave loaves made of the first fruits of the land,
   2. seven lambs,
   3. one young bullock,
   4. two rams,
   5. one kid of the goats,
   6. and two lambs of the first year,

   Making in all thirteen animals (Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31).

7. Feast of Trumpets. This feast was held on the first day of the Seventh month of each year, and was characterized by the refraining of The people from work, and the blowing of trumpets (Numbers 29:1). During this feast they offered
   1. one young bullock,
   2. one ram,
   3. seven lambs of the first year,
   4. and one kid of the goats (Numbers 29:1-6).
8. Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was the feast of ingathering, And was third in order of the annual feasts (Exodus 23:16). It was inaugurated on the fifteenth of Tishri, and lasted seven days (Leviticus 23:33-44). It was kept as follows:
   1. The people dwelt in booths formed of the branches of trees in Commemoration of their temporary habitations during the journey Through the wilderness (Leviticus 23:34-44);
   2. it was inaugurated by a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:36);
   3. and when it occurred in the Sabbatical year, portions of the law Were read publicly each day to men, women, children and Strangers (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).
   During the feast they offered,
   1. seventy bullocks,
   2. fourteen rams,
   3. ninety-eight lambs,
   4. and seven kids,

   Or (70+14+98+7=189) one hundred and eighty-nine animals Altogether (Numbers 29:12-33). Special offerings were made on the eighth day consisting of

   1. one bullock,
   2. one ram,
   3. seven lambs,
   4. and one goat (Numbers 29:35,38).

Why the Passover is Said to be that of the "Jews. " Its ...
... bear; your fast and your holiday and your new moons and your feasts my soul ... And in
the legislation about the Sabbath in Exodus, we read, [5025] "And Moses said ...
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Whether the Nature of the Ceremonial Precepts Consists in their ...
... But there is evident reason for many things pertaining to the worship of God; such
as the observance of the Sabbath, the feasts of the Passover and of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the nature of the.htm

Dining with a Pharisee. Sabbath Healing and Three Lessons ...
... Bountiful feasts on the Sabbath day were common among the Jews; the food, however,
was cooked the previous day in obedience to the precept at Exodus 16:23.] 2 ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xc dining with a pharisee.htm

The Morning-Meal in the Pharisee's House - Meals and Feasts among ...
... would not be summoned by slaves, nor be received in such solemn state as at feasts. ...
the house would cut a piece from the whole loaf - on the Sabbath there were ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xii the morning-meal in.htm

Sad Fasts Changed to Glad Feasts
... Happy Sabbath! We hail thy coming with delight, and sing". "Welcome sweet day of
rest,. ... "The King himself comes near,. And feasts his saints to-day; ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/sad fasts changed to glad.htm

Whether the Third Precept of the Decalogue, Concerning the ...
... time seditiously in the theatre: and their womenfolk would do better to be making
linen on the Sabbath than to be dancing lewdly all day in their feasts of the ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the third precept of.htm

Christian Worship.
... So far as we know, they scrupulously observed the Sabbath, the annual Jewish feasts,
the hours of daily prayer, and the whole Mosaic ritual, and celebrated, in ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 52 christian worship.htm

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath Day and Defends his Act.
... prefixing the article to it, and calling it "the feast," for being the oldest"older
than the law and the Sabbath"and most important of all feasts, it was ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxxvii jesus heals on the.htm

Lisbon. SM The Sabbath Welcomed.
... The Sabbath Welcomed. (81) ... 2 The King himself comes near, And feasts his saints
to-day; Here we may sit and see him here, And love, and praise, and pray. ...
/.../lorenz/the otterbein hymnal/43 lisbon s m the sabbath.htm

The Sabbath Welcomed.
... SM Watts. The Sabbath Welcomed. ... 2 The King himself comes near, And feasts his saints
to-day; Here we may sit, and see him here, And love, and praise, and pray. ...
/.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/46 the sabbath welcomed.htm

Does God require Sabbath-keeping of Christians? | GotQuestions.org

What is the Sabbath day? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath? | GotQuestions.org

Sabbath: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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