Leviticus 23 mentions seven celebrations. Since seven is the number of completion, it’s an appropriate number for these holy days (aka holidays). Today, let’s look at the sabbath and what it means for us under the New Covenant.

Shabbat #1: Weekend

Sabbath, or shabbat (in Hebrew), occurred weekly. The word literally means “cease.” It’s a time where we stop our labor to remember that God reigns, and the world will continue spinning without us. It’s a day where we obey the Biblical injunction, “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Ps. 46)

When do we observe shabbat? Orthodox jews do sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. In Rom. 14:5-6a, we’re told “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord…”

From those verses, I draw that that the specific day isn’t important. A preacher is better off taking Monday as his day of rest. For some strange situations, perhaps people are better taking two, 12 hour Sabbaths during a week. As we are under the Law of the Spirit, He can speak what our Sabbath looks like.

But we generally need a specific time. Sometimes we just say, (more…)