Title: Sabbath ordinance (Leviticus 23:1-3)
Contents Chapter 23 is an ordered list of the holy feasts of Israel. By keeping these feasts, Israel witnessed the saving work of the Lord who made them his people, realized that their lives depended on the Lord, and repeated the decision to dedicate their entire lives to God. The whole year and 12 months were witnesses to God, the Lord of history and time.
1. Meaning of Feasts Holy days are determined by God's command. It is because he is the master of the feast. Therefore, human beings can enjoy good days according to God's command. Feasts are also feasts of all Jehovah. The meaning of the feast itself is a feast, and its purpose is to glorify the name of the Lord. However, these are not just feasts limited to a specific person. It is a national event in which all people participate together. But that doesn't mean it's done randomly and indiscriminately. If a feast is the feast of the Lord, then all who take part in it must be celebrated with sacred and solemnity to please the Lord.
2. Sabbath ordinances Today's text records various ordinances of the Sabbath.
(1) On the Sabbath, we had to withdraw from all worldly things. “Six days you shall work, and the seventh day is the lunar Sabbath, a holy assembly. Do not do anything” (verse 3) is the basic ordinance of the Sabbath. The origin of the Sabbath can be found in God's work of creation for six days and resting on the seventh day. This holy resting day of God is to be commemorated forever by Israel.
(2) On the Sabbath, we must devote ourselves only to serving God. That day is a holy meeting. When that day came, all had to concentrate on prayer, hymns, and the reading of the law. Since God is the owner of the Sabbath, of course, only God must be glorified on this day.
3. The New Testament Sabbath The Sabbath recorded in the Old Testament law was restored to a more essential meaning in the New Testament era.
(1) Jesus and the Sabbath The stipulations of the law on the Sabbath were transformed into complex rules of various types in the hands of the rabbis. In other words, the Sabbath in its original meaning has been turned into a “regulation”. The spirit of the Sabbath, in which the glory of God should be revealed, has been engulfed by the various rules of the Sabbath. It was so serious that even a dying person could not be healed on the Sabbath. In John 5, the story of a man who had been ill for 38 years is recorded. Jesus healed a sick man who had been in pain for 38 years. People who knew him should be happy about this, but those people criticized him for not carrying a seat on the Sabbath. How stupid is this? Jesus was well aware of this folly, so he resurrected the basic spirit of the Sabbath. The Lord of the Sabbath is our Lord, and the Lord, the Lord, has made it clear that the Sabbath is not to keep the rules, but to keep the fundamental spirit.
(2) Christian Sabbath When Christianity broke away from Judaism as a new religion, the early Christians began to follow the example of Jesus and use the Sabbath as a way to promote their faith. Of course, Christians called this day Lord's Day, in honor of the day of his resurrection, instead of the Sabbath. At one time, Sunday and the Sabbath were kept together, but as Christianity clearly separated from Judaism, Sunday kept its unique character. From the beginning of A.D. 4C, in the Christian Church, Sunday took the place of the Sabbath. That is, in the New Testament, the Sabbath is focused on celebrating the resurrection of Jesus and revealing His glory. This is no different from the spirit of the Sabbath in the Old Testament, and it has become more evident in the New Testament.
4. The spiritual meaning of the Sabbath