Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Ten Sabbaths from God

The First Sabbath
Saturday
Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work that he had done.

Observations:
This is not a day given only to the Jews, but to all men. The time was long before the law was given to the Jewish people and there it is often repeated so I will not try to cite all the passages. But I think it important to note that it was given from the time of Adam.

The Second Sabbath
The Passover
Numbers 28: 16
On the fourteenth day of the first month the LORD’s Passover is to be held.

Observations:
At twilight the Jews were told to sacrifice (Exodus 12:6) the lamb. At twilight the Lamb of God began his burial in the New Testament. Supposedly the Jewish people all over Israel were sacrificing their lambs at the same time, not realizing that the time of sacrifice was over.

This day is no longer the most important Sabbath to the Jews, being eclipsed by the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). (This is according to my recent readings.) I find it really interesting that since they missed the coming of the Lamb of God on the Passover, they are now looking to the Day of Atonement which is properly the day which the Jewish people will recognize their sin and their Lord.

The Third Sabbath
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Numbers 28:17
On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast.

Observations:
This was a seven day long feast, but the first day they were to hold a sacred assembly and do no work. This is the forgotten Sabbath by Christians, for if Christ was to be buried just before the Passover, this meant there were two Sabbaths right next to one another in which no work was to be done. Careful examination of the scriptures show that Jesus was at the least buried two complete days, thus making Friday an impossibility for the crucifixion.

The Fourth Sabbath
The Feast of Weeks
Numbers 28:26
On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the LORD an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Observations:
This feast took place in the fall of the year and was to commemorate the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Ex. 34:22). Interestingly it also is one of three times of the year that men are to appear before the LORD.

The Fifth Sabbath
The Feast of Trumpets
Numbers 29:1
On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.

Observations:
Because there appears to be no reason for this feast day some Bible scholars
wonder if it is connected to the future coming of Jesus. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” (1 Thess. 4:15) Could the rapture of the church be at this time?

The Sixth Sabbath
Day of Atonement
Numbers 29:7
On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work.

Observations:
Today the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) is said to be the most holy day for the Jew. Could this be a day set aside for the repentance of Israel who knew not Jesus?

The Seventh Sabbath
Feast of Tabernacles
Numbers 29:12
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Celebrate a festival to the LORD for seven days.

Observations:
Yet another holy day in the seventh month for which there appears to be no reason. Are all of these three days yet to be made special by something significant happening?

The Eighth Sabbath
The Sabbath Year
Leviticus 25:4
But in the seventh year the land is to have a Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath to the LORD.

Observations:
Jews were to grow crops for six years, but on the seventh the land was to have a rest.

The Ninth Sabbath
The Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:9, 10
Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.

Observations:
All field labor is ended for this year. Slaves are freed. Land is restored to those the LORD had originally given it to.

The Tenth Sabbath
The Feast of Purim
Esther 9:27, 28
The Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants.

Observations:
I have heard from modern Persians (Iranians) that they have awful memories of these days when the Jews were allowed to freely slaughter the Persians.