Yep — I keep the seventh day Sabbath.
It has nothing to do with denomination –
it has everything to do with Who I worship and what He desires.
Here are the reasons why I keep – guard and observe – the 7th day Sabbath.
Reason #1: My Creator did
“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array. And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made.” – Genesis 2:1-3
Our Father, our Creator, set the pattern, the example, the principle for us.
A time to cease from work, a time to review, acknowledge, celebrate the beauty of the creation that He pronounced “good”. It belongs to Him from the very beginning.
The 7th day Sabbath honors, remembers, Elohim {God}, YHVH, as our Creator.
He blessed the 7th day and declared it holy, set apart to Himself.
The Sabbath distinguishes YHVH from false gods.
It identifies WHO we worship…
The Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Reason #2: It was reaffirmed in the Ten Commandments
“Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath of {YHVH} יהוה your Elohim.
You do not do any 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 יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.
Therefore {YHVH} יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.” – Exodus 20:8-11 (Deuteronomy. 5:12, too)
The 7th day is the sabbath of YHVH, not the Jews… but of YHVH.
The cattle were not Jewish, neither were the strangers,
yet, He commands them all to remember the Sabbath.
“Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as {YHVH} יהוה your Elohim commanded you. Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of יהוה your Elohim.
You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do. And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim {Egypt}, and that יהוה your Elohim brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. ” – Deuteronomy 5:12-15
The Sabbath reminds of the Exodus from Egypt,
which is an example and picture of His salvation.
Reason #3: Blessed
“Jew”, “NON-Jew”, stranger alike… is blessed in keeping this command.
“Thus said {YHVH} יהוה, “Guard right-ruling, and do righteousness, for near is My deliverance to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it, guarding the Sabbath lest he profane it, and guarding his hand from doing any evil…
… Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to {YHVH} יהוה, to serve Him, and to love the Name of {YHVH} יהוה, to be His servants, all who guard the Sabbath, and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant” – Isaiah 56:1-2, 6
“If you do turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My set-apart day, and shall call the Sabbath ‘a delight,’ the set-apart day of {YHVH} יהוה ‘esteemed,’ and shall esteem it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in {YHVH} יהוה. And I shall cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Yaʽaqoḇ your father. For the mouth of {YHVH} יהוה has spoken!” – Isaiah 58:13-14
It’s supposed to be a delight. It is His set apart day… esteemed/honored.
Reason #4: It will be observed in the time to come
“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me, declares {YHVH} יהוה, so your seed and your name shall stand. And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, declares {YHVH} יהוה. ” – Isaiah 66:22-23
Sabbath observance in the new heaven and earth…
… in the beginning… and in the end… what happened to in between?
Reason #5: It is a sign between Him and His people
“I am {YHVH} יהוה your Elohim. Walk in My laws, and guard My right-rulings, and do them. And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, to know that I am יהוה your Elohim.” – Ezekiel 20:19-20
It is HIS Sabbath, not any particular people’s.
It is a sign between Him and His people, that they/we will know HE is our God.
He ordained it, blessed it, set it apart, set the pattern for it,
commanded it, reminded of it, called it His, and blesses those that keep it.
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For those who are believers in His Son? He came to do the Father’s will…
“{Yeshua} יהושע said to them, “My food is to do the desire {will} of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.” ~ John 4:34
Reason #6: The Son – The Messiah – kept the Sabbath.
“And He came to Natsareth {Nazareth}, where He had been brought up. And according to His practice, He went into the congregation on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”
– Luke 4:16
“And they went into Kephar Naḥum {Capernaum}, and immediately on the Sabbath He went into the congregation and taught.” – Mark 1:21
“And Sabbath having come, He began to teach in the congregation.” – Mark 6:2a
Not only did He keep the Sabbath but He is Master of the Sabbath…
“And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Aḏam is also Master of the Sabbath.” – Mark 2:27-28
He was our example…walk as He walked…
“The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.” – 1 John 2:6
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And what of his disciples, apostles?
They observed it…
Reason #7: His disciples observed it
“But passing through from Perge, they came to Antioch in Pisidia,
and went into the congregation on the Sabbath day and sat down.” – Acts 13:14
“And when the Yehuḏim {Jews} went out of the congregation,
the gentiles begged to have these words spoken to them the next Sabbath… … And on the next Sabbath almost all the city
came together to hear the Word of Elohim.” – Acts 13:42,44
“And on the Sabbath day we went outside the city by a river, where there used to be prayer.” – Acts 16:13a
“And according to his practice, Sha’ul {Paul}went in unto them,
and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures” – Acts 17:2
“And he was reasoning in the congregation every Sabbath,
and won over both Yehuḏim and Greeks.” – Acts 18:4
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Yeshua {the Messiah} said…
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.
Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands,
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.” – Matthew 5:17-19
John tells us…
“By this we know that we love the children of Elohim,
when we love Elohim and guard His commands.
For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands,
and His commands are not heavy” – 1 John 5:2-3
I love Him.
Enough to obey.
Enough to observe.
Enough to honor.
Enough to identify.
It is not grievous.
It is a delight!
~ Christina
Christina Chronicles 
thank you so much. my husband asked me to prove to him that sat. was the sabbath and what we were surposed to do on it. this helped so much. again thank you.
HalleluYah, Valerie!
May Abba lead you together in Truth and unity! Blessings!
Language lesson, in Spanish, the seventh day of the week is called ” El Sabado ” with the accent, or stress on the first syllable. It is plain that the word in quotation marks is the same word as Shabbat, or in English Sabbath
This is just so beautifully written! ABBA bless and keep you….
Thank you, Mary Grace. Baruch HaShem YHVH! (Blessed be the Name of YHVH!) And may He bless and guard you, as well!
You ,Truly are blessed of The Father.
Thank you, HRC. HalleluYah, the Father blesses in His lovingkindness!
: )
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Excellent post! It reminds me of an article I wrote a while back on the same topic. So many biblical reasons to keep the 7th day Sabbath!
http://messianicpublications.com/robert-roy/reasons-to-keep-the-7th-day/
Thank you, brother! Yes, so many biblical reasons to keep it! Shalom!
Thank you Christina. Very well written and a good argument for keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day. Blessings to you and Shabbat Shalom.
Thank you, Michael! Praise to Yah!
Blessings!
I appreciate this lovely idea of keeping a weekly Sabbath. But as this is my first time reading your blog, I am wondering – do you keep the whole Jewish law with the same strictness? My husband and I are Bible scholars, and we understand the passages you quoted to be specific commands and promises to the Jewish people coming out of the Exodus. I totally agree that we must follow the Laws of Jesus, for example, loving our neighbors, but I do not agree with the idea of choosing some of the Old Testament laws above others. Do you avoid mixed fiber clothing? Do you keep Kosher dietary laws? Please know, I am not asking these questions as accusations – I just worry that followers of Jesus would put laws that were meant for a specific group of people at a specific time as hard and fast for all people in all times. This will lead to us becoming quasi-Jews and not the witness of JESUS and HIS ways to the world. At least, that is my concern – that the body of Jesus (the church) will focus on things like keeping the Sabbath instead of feeding the poor and sharing the gospel. What do you think? I can tell by your blog that you take your walk with God very seriously, so I honestly am interested in your opinion.
Greetings, Meadow!
I do, indeed, aim to keep (guard and do) all of the Commands of our Creator (the ones I am able to keep – for instance, I am not a man and, therefore, cannot be circumcised… etc…). 🙂
My understanding is that His Commands/Instructions are NOT for the Jewish people only… but for all of Israel – all of the tribes, including the dispersed – all of those that are grafted in and enter into covenant with Him.
The laws/instructions of Jesus (Yeshua) did not contradict, nor replace, the Father’s. He said he came to not do his will, but the Father’s. He said he spoke the Father’s Words. He was the example for us to return to the Father and keep the Father’s instructions/commandments.
There is nothing ‘quasi-Jew’ about it. We tend to associate the keeping of the Commands to the Jews (the tribe of Judah) because they are the main group of people that have continued to keep/guard the Commandments.
Jesus was a Jew. Jesus kept the Commandments.
May we walk as He walked.
Blessings! 🙂
I’m pleased to see the simple truth with which you responded to the post above. I also appreciate that Meadow is thoughtful and genuine in her questions to you. If we could speak this way to each other more often, we could all further an understanding of why we believe as we do – and hear our voices more clearly. I am a Sabbath and Holyday observer and saw your site via FB.
Thank you, Sam. I agree. May we all continue to learn to walk in love toward one another. Blessings!
The 7th day Sabbath was given to ALL mankind at creation, long before the first Jew.
Exactly, Bruce. Thank you 🙂
yes indeed so
Christina, a fellow FB friend recommended your blog because of my questions on exactly what you were sharing here, as well as what “Meadow” was sharing above. Thank you so much for sharing your heart on both aspects. I am in tears! What I struggle with is what the Lord is dealing with me, and I’m thankful that you were obedient to share it with us. God bless!
Thank you, Jackie, for sharing!!
Our Father is so good! Blessed be His Name! /
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I’m soo thankful to understand this time of grace. Following the law of the Spirit and not the instructions to Israel. 🙂
And I, too, am soo thankful to understand this continued time of grace… so that I may worship Him in Spirit AND in Truth, being part of His set-apart people, Israel. 🙂 May we all continue to seek Him with our whole heart.
Would love to hear your testimony. How Father led you into Sabbath keeping etc. I was born again almost 40 years ago. I had questions as I read years ago and didn’t bring them out just followed suite of other believers instead of really studying and getting others to really study not just overlook things. Does that make sense. Where are you from and do you go to a Messianic synogue?? I go to a Torah study which opens my eyes to alot that I haven’t seen or understood before. Father God is so amazing!!!
Hi Summer! My sincere apologies for taking so long to respond. I’m not sure what happened. I think that somehow your comment got buried. Please forgive me.
I completely understand what you shared. I grew up Independent Fundamental Baptist – but didn’t really start walking with the Father until my early to mid 20s. I studied the Scriptures but most of what I read was through the lenses of theology and doctrine that I learned sitting under the feet of pastors and teachers… which is okay because I firmly believe that is where Father wanted me to be at that time.
When I studied on my own, I always read a certain passage in the Psalms to pray, asking Him to open my eyes, to teach me, to give me understanding, etc… And I prayed… begged, really… that He would show me His Truth and give me understanding.
I am sure there are many “little” things here and there that brought me to the realization of keeping the Sabbath… but the defining moment was when I committed to reading through the “Old Testament” – since we were using it as history in our homeschool.
I read the passages about the Sabbath and would look up, thank Him for giving the Sabbath to the Jews. Then I read how it was “HIS” Sabbath… so I looked up and thanked Him for giving HIS Sabbath to the Jews. This happened with quite a few passages.
Eventually, I got to Ezekiel and discovered that in the Millennial Kingdom that the Sabbath was still mentioned and being kept. … This was a “head scratcher” to me… wondering, of course, why we would do this if it was “done away with”…
So it sent me on a quest through the Scriptures to “prove” the Sabbath was done away with… and why it was now appropriately observed on Sunday…
I read ALL the Scriptures about the Sabbath and even read chapters before and after for proper context and such…
Yep, by the time I got to the end of Revelation, I wept in repentance… said I had no idea how to keep a 7th day Sabbath but that now that He had shown me the Truth, I was choosing to obey it…
After I began obeying, He began opening my eyes to many other falsehoods and replacing them with His Truth… and He still is. HalleluYah! /
How wonderful you have been blessed with a Torah study! 🙂
We are currently in Virginia and we have been blessed with a precious group of people to learn, grow and worship together. Yah is good.
May He bless you in your journey of seeking and obeying Him!
Dear Christina, I just recently discovered your blog site, and I enjoy your posts. I’m doinn a word search on the sanctuary;you seem to know the Hebrew language, so if you can will you give me the most used definition of: äyɩov hagiŏn
Thank you Wayne
Greetings, Wayne!
So glad you stopped by! I have not done an in depth study on the word sanctuary but hope you do find what you are looking for!
skipmoen.com and ancient-hebrew.org may be helpful resources!
Blessings!
Opps–I meant : doing
Hi Christina, I believe you forgot to tell all that the Sabbath was made at creation, and the Jewish nation did not exist until 2 thousand years later……
Hi Christina, I don’t know how much this will help, but possibly it could help others to understand more clearly: At one time before Jesus came to earth, there were 4 distinct laws.
# 1 Moral Law, The Ten Commandments
# 2 Civil Law,
# 3 Ceremonial Laws- to get them ready for the first return of Jesus
# 4 Dietary Laws, what we should and should not eat.
At that time all those living knew which law it was if someone spoke of it. The Ceremonial laws had in it other Sabbaths than the Seventh-day Sabbath. When Jesus was crucified the Ceremonial laws were done away with. This is where so many people get confused. They think the 7th day Sabbath was done away with but this is not so. God does not change, He wrote the Ten Commandments in stone, and they have never changed or been done away with. The Sabbaths other than the 7th day Sabbath were done away with.
When God created this world He gave us the Seventh-day Sabbath, and the Jewish Nation did not exist until 2000 years after creation. God chose the Jewish Nation to get the Gospel out to the world but they failed in doing this.
This means the Dietary law is still in effect, we have been told what we cannot eat, and now the world is full of Hospitals because so many are not following His dietary laws.
I guess I could go on and on, but I think this is enough for some to handle now.
hi christna. glad you know and keep the Sabbath like me. now I want to ask you what day you say jesus died? hope you don’t say good Friday? I know the true answer and I can prove it.
Hi Christina…I do not wish to become a seventh day adventist, but I would love to start keeping the 7th day Sabbath. Are there any other churches that observe the Sabbath and what else could I do to observe it. At the moment I am a non denominational Christian… thank you for any advice. Blessings!
Hi Glenys! I totally understand what you are saying. I am not a 7th Day Adventist either. HalleluYah, we were able to find local groups that believe the way we do and we are blessed with fellowship. We initially started by using the internet and googling words like “feast days” “Messiah” “Sabbath” and “Torah”. Later, we found a website or two that helped to connect people. In addition, we had a lot of online fellowship while we waited for “real life” fellowship. There are definitely people throughout the world that are returning to His Ways. It’s been so amazing to be part of and to witness this restoration!
If you would like to chat more about options and where to look for others, please email me at christina.itisyourlife(at)gmail(dot)com
Blessings to you and yours!
Thank you for sharing the Truth of His Word – may I quote you (cut and paste) into my blog “Torah Time for All” as a witness to my studies?
Absolutely! Thank you for visiting!