05/14/2008
1So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. 2By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. 3God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.
Some interesting trivia:
A year is 365 days long, that is just over 52 weeks. (364 days is exactly 52 weeks).
A standard deck of playing cards has 52 cards.
There are 4 seasons
A standard deck of playing cards has 4 suits.
There are 13 weeks in each season
A standard deck of playing cards has 13 cards in each suit.
Could it be that the standard deck of playing cards was at one time a form of calendar?
The Sabbath day has long been remembered as the day that God rested. The Sabbath is the seventh day forming the period of time we call a week. And there is some debate over whether we are celebrating the Sabbath on the correct day. Religions have split over this very point. The Seventh Day Adventists at one time claimed that Jesus would not return to earth because people were worshiping on the wrong day of the week.
In the Old Testament, there are strict guidelines about what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. In the wilderness, the people were to gather the manna on the sixth day, enough for the Sabbath as well. Every other day of the week, they were only to gather enough for that day. They were forbidden from collecting manna on the Sabbath.
When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, He was condemned by the priests because He was “working.” And then the man Jesus healed was condemned for carrying his mat after being crippled from his birth.
“God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy.”
What then does this mean for us?
Mark 2:27 (HCSB)
27Then [Jesus] told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.”
I believe that the Sabbath was created for primarily one reason; to provide a time for which man could stop his endeavors and remember (worship) his creator. Let’s face it. We know that businesses would operate every single day of the year if they were allowed to. Exploiting human labor produces wealth for the business.
But in early days of farming and herding, it would be easy for the farmer or shepherd to simply continue his labor without a break. If you have ever lived on a farm, you know that there is always something that needs to be done; feeding animals, plowing here or there, harvesting, mending, and so on.
God knew that we need a break from our endeavors; a time to stop, slow down, and just relax. But it is also important for us to remember to spend time with God. In order to do this, we need to eliminate distractions, so that our focus can be clear and unhindered. How can the farmer focus on God if he is thinking about the fence that he will go mend as soon as he can? If he knows he is forbidden to work on this day, then he is freed from mental interruptions.
So the early Sabbath laws were intended to free the people from distractions for one day out of seven.
I don’t think *which* day of the week is as important as the fact that we take *one* day a week to worship.
I also believe that the year, seasons and so forth were designed by God around the week. Although Solar months do not line up with the weeks, Lunar months do. The early Hebrews (and many other cultures) used Lunar calendars. Solar calendars were not adopted until after Jesus’ time.
Nevertheless, whatever day you recognize as the Sabbath, it is important for you to make that day special. Stop your activities and focus your attention on God.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
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