Why the Sabbath Was Established

                                                     by Jay Scher

 . . . continued from last week.

  The purpose for the Sabbath was stated clearly by the handwriting of Father יהוה Himself 
(Exodus 31:18) and preserved for us through His Holy Scriptures. Father יהוה again spoke the commandment to Moses, "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, 'Concerning the feasts of Father יהוה, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of Father יהוה in all your dwellings,' " Leviticus 23:2-3.Father יהוה has created the seventh day holy to Him. He rested on the seventh day. Why? Do you think He was tired? No, Father יהוה created, blessed, and sanctified the seventh day to give mankind a special time for rest and worship. "But, we must worship Father יהוה every day of our lives, not just once a week," you might be saying. You are absolutely correct. We are to keep Father יהוה foremost in our daily lives.Father יהוה has given us six days for ourselves, but the Sabbath has been set aside exclusively for a special communion between Father יהוה and man. Nothing must interfere in this weekly relationship. This is how Father יהוה intended it to be from creation and that is how it will be in the Kingdom. " 'And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me,' says Father יהוה," Isaiah 66:23.The Sabbath Signifies a Holy Bond with Father יהוהFather יהוה established the Sabbath by resting on it after the creation. He intended that all people do the same when He made rest on the seventh day one of the royal commandments. The Sabbath was to be a sign between the Creator and His creation. Read Exodus 31:13-14, "Speak you also unto the children of Israel, saying, 'Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations: that you may know that I am Father יהוה that does sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.' "Notice first that the Sabbath is a special sign "throughout all your generations." Anyone that works on that day will be cut off from Father יהוה's true people. The Sabbath, therefore, identifies the true worshippers of Father יהוה. Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is the difference between worshipping the Creator of this universe and worshipping a false, man-made mighty one. The pagans worshipped the sun god on "Sun"-day. Here, "sign" in the Hebrew means a monument, token or evidence. The Sabbath is a lasting memorial, evidence that those observing it are worshipping the true Creator.But some say, "I keep every day holy, not any one special day." Notice verse 15, "Six days may work be done; but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest..." We are commanded to work six of the seven days of the week and rest on the seventh. More proof that the Sabbath is to be kept forever is found in verses 16-17: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever." Perpetual means "permanent, lasting indefinitely."Is the Sabbath merely for Old Testament Israelites—"Jews"? "Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham..." "So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham..." "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Messiah יYeshua/Yehoshua. And if you be Messiah's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:7, 9, 28-29).Israel was given the promise that, if they would be obedient to Father יהוה's Sabbath, they would be treasured and blessed by Father יהוה, Isaiah 58:13-14. The promise is exactly the same for us as spiritual Israelites."Remember the Sabbath" is as important as "Thou shalt not steal," or "Thou shalt do no murder," Exodus 20. The relationships between man and Father יהוה never change. Father יהוה blessed and sanctified the seventh day, thus making it His Sabbath. He did not do this for any other day, nor did He undo it for the seventh. What Father יהוה does is for all time. He does not change, Malachi 3:6.Our Days Named After Planet Deities.  None of the seven days of the week are named in the Bible, except the seventh—the Sabbath. The other six days are merely numbered. The fact that the days of the week are named today is one obvious indication that our calendar is not in harmony with Scripture.The Jewish Encyclopedia tells us that the present names for the days of the week are derived from the Sabeans and Babylonians. Sabaism (from "tsaba," heavenly hosts) is the earliest form of false worship, according to Jamieson, Faussel and Brown Commentary. In Babylonia, the worship of the planets became popular. Stars were divided into two classes: stationary or fixed, and those that moved or wandered. Those that were thought to wander were the sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. These planetary deities were believed to be the principle rulers of the visible universe. They also were thought to rule the days of the week. "The first hours of seven successive days were thus ruled in turn by the celestial bodies...(Saturn, sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus)...after which the cycle repeated itself. Each day was named after the planet that ruled its first hour," Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Week" Vol. 12, p. 587.The ancient pagans worshipped the planetary deities in succession. Thus, our Sunday (sun's day) was named for the sun god; Monday (moon's day), moon god. The days Tuesday through Friday were named after northern European deities that corresponded to Roman planet gods, which also coincided with Babylonian gods (see chart below).Origins of the Names of Our Days English Saxon Latin Babylonian

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