“Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.“ (Genesis 2:3)
GOD blessed the 7th day.
What is blessing?
GOD made a covenant with Abraham. A covenant is more than a commitment or promise. It runs so deep — like a marriage GOD makes an everlasting promise to Abraham…
Genesis 17:4-7 reads, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.” Read further into the chapter to grasp the entire promise GOD made with Abraham.
Everything that Abraham might do would be blessed. His family from generation to generation would be blessed. Those who would bless him and his people the Hebrews would also be blessed.
A blessing is an undeserved favour, a gift, a talent, a free pass to rest and comfort and peace.
GOD blessed the 7th day, making it holy and a blessing to man.
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
What is the Lord’s Day
As far as we Gentiles understand, Jesus rose on “Sunday” and so, although Sabbath was declared by the LORD in the Wilderness as the 7th day ie “Saturday” (based on scripture and the Hebrew equivalent), the established Church moved the official Christian day of worship from Saturday to Sunday during the 4th Century.
I can’t help wondering, when we moved the day of worship to the 1st day of the week, what is the blessing of the Sabbath day that we are missing?
From GOD’s perspective, He called one day to be holy, a day of rest, a Sabbath. That was the 7th Day and no one disputes that is what we call “Saturday” The Jews keep their Sabbath as Saturday even to this day. But the established Christian church, by-and-large throughout the world, is not keeping that 7th Day holy.
Are you aware the day of worship was moved from Saturday to Sunday? We can worship seven days a week, and that is grand! But it might be rare amongst Christians to be aware that The Lord’s Day is not the same day as the Sabbath day. When we worship at church on a Sunday that is not GOD’s Sabbath day.
Chosen because it was the day of Jesus’ resurrection, were we called to change our day of worship and rest?
GOD’s Sabbath Day
What does GOD make clear to those who hold onto the Sabbath — His chosen Sabbath — and make it a holy day?
In Deuteronomy 7:12-16 GOD says,
“Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your livestock. And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you…..”
And Deuteronomy 11:9, 14 reads,
“… and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’” & “… then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.”
Deuteronomy 28:1 is the culmination:
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.”
GOD offers abundance, prosperity, blessing, victory. peace.
Finally, we know GOD asks for obedience over sacrifice. All the sacrifices in the world are nothing to Him compared to an act of obedience. As it says in 1 Samuel 15:22,
“So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.”
And so the challenge
I challenge us all to make Saturday our personal Sabbath to the LORD.
When we obey we’ll learn His perspective and gain His wisdom. We don’t do it for the blessing but out of obedience. And we allow Him to respond as He will.