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Awesome Hands - part 140 Discussion

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Awesome Hands – part 140

"Lord of the Sabbath"

September 2, 2018

I oftentimes think back on my life, and how the Lord has directed my steps to the place I am now. I know we all do this even if it is simply thinking about yesterday or that past week that has come and gone.

Specifically pertaining to this study, I often think about where I have been in my beliefs and where it is I am now. This causes me to remember how it used to be to go to church on Sundays and Wednesdays and experience the things that we did during those times.

Of course, going to church on Sunday was required because it was by doing this we were not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, and most importantly, we were keeping the sabbath day according to my church upbringing.

I know keeping the sabbath is different in each denomination, so I won’t get into the specifics, but getting together on the “sabbath” was very important.

Our study today finds us looking at how the Israelites were instructed by Moses to keep the ten commandments as listed in Deuteronomy 5. This is a reiteration on what they had already been told, but the Israelites are about to embark on a crossing of the Jordan and they need to be reminded of these things.

In our study today, we will be looking at what the sabbath meant to the Jews in the old testament and what it means to the spiritual Jews in the New Testament. We will also look at the next mentioning of the word “yad”, which will tell us just how we are to look upon the symbol that the Lord has made us to ourselves and the world around us.

A covenant with “us”

 

Deu 5:1  And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
Deu 5:2  The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Deu 5:3  The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.

Obviously, I have emphasized the words used here with emboldening and underlining. I did this to show how it is Moses is addressing the people, who are alive and who are assembled before him.

It is this group of people who were given the admonishments to learn, keep and do the judgements that the Lord commanded.

If we inject ourselves into this scenario, and realize that we are spiritual Jews being given these same admonitions, then we will gain more knowledge of how to see the Lord’s judgments in our lives for what they are.

Specifically for this study, the next mentioning of the word “hand” or “yad” is found in Deut 5:15.

Deu 5:13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
Deu 5:14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
Deu 5:15  And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

If we can just remember the slavery we were in to our past circumstances, before the Lord brought us out with an outstretched arm, then we can deal with the current fiery trials we are in now.

Israel here is being told to keep the physical day of the Sabbath, which was Saturday to them, but we know that we are not bound by the law. We know this in many ways from scripture, but as a short recap, I will list out a few verses that illustrate this for us.

Heb 7:11  If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

The people received the judgments and statutes of the keeping the sabbath while “under the law”, but the priesthood is changed therefore the law is changed.

Heb 10:1  For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Being under the shadow, the Israelites were still required to keep that law, however we are not under the shadow in the New Testament but under the “Light of Christ” (my phrase) because we are no longer children under the Old Testament, but we are now sons under the New Covenant.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Gal 4:6  And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Gal 4:7  Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Just to make this crystal clear to those with eyes that see and ears that hear, Christ tells us who the Lord of the sabbath is. We also know that Jesus broke the sabbath and this was one of the reasons the Pharisees gave for crucifying Him.

Joh 5:15  The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Mat 12:1  At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2  But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3  But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4  How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

I will have mercy, and not sacrifice was something that Christ tells the Pharisees that they do not have.

Jesus said this one other time in a different way, which should tell us that this is an important lesson we should learn so that we can bring into captivity the Pharisaical mindset that can easily beset us.

Mat 9:10  And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
Mat 9:11  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?
Mat 9:12  But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Mat 9:13  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

This phrase, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice” is taken from Hosea 6:6:

Hos 6:1  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Hos 6:3  Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Hos 6:4  O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.
Hos 6:5  Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
Hos 6:6  For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hos 6:7  But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

In other words, don’t be like men who only look toward outward observances of what the law meant and taught, but look toward the inward man for what is needed to obey God and His statutes and judgements. Of course Israel in the flesh, and no one in the flesh, can obey God, but Jesus Christ in us can because …. wait for it .. He is Lord EVEN OVER THE TEMPLE, because He is GREATER than the temple.

Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Joh 2:16  And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Joh 2:17  And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Joh 2:18  Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Joh 2:19  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Joh 2:20  Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Joh 2:21  But he spake of the temple of his body.

What then do we do with this information? What is the significance of being the temple and the Lord being greater than the temple? It should be easy to figure out who the “temple of His body” is.

Hosea prophesied it perfectly. Here it is again:

Hos 6:1  Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Hos 6:2  After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Hos 6:5  Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

The Lord puts His words in the mouths of His prophets and we are all His prophets and prophetess’. His words slay those He puts us in front of, because we are the light of the world with His judgments in our mouths.

This point brings us to the next mentioning of the word “yad” in Hebrew.

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Deu 6:6  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deu 6:7  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deu 6:8  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
Deu 6:9  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Deu 6:10  And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
Deu 6:11  And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
Deu 6:12  Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Deu 6:13  Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
Deu 6:14  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
Deu 6:15  (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

It should be clear that we are the Light of the world, and the judgment of God come forth for out mouths. When those judgments come forth, it’s going to be very obvious that we have been marked by God and just like the hundreds of times throughout scripture that the commandments of God are brought forth, those bringing the message will be “hated of all men”.

The Lord tells us NOT to FORGET Him by paying attention to the things that had us in bondage and keep those we are sent to IN BONDAGE. The difference is that those we are placed before with the judgments of God do not even KNOW they are in bondage to the elements of the world!

Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

We’re all in the same boat. The difference between “us” and “them” is that when the boat is discovered to be sinking, and death is nigh unto us, we can walk on water!

It is when we are actually adopted sons of God that we need to be aware that we are given “houses that are full”, “vineyards with fruit”, “wells that have been already been dug”, all to make us spiritually well off. We need to be aware so that we do not fall into the trap of forgetting the Lord.

We do this by FEARING the Lord and NOT worshipping other gods. The first and foremost God we will all be drawn to worship is the god staring back at us in the mirror!

The way to avoid all of this is to recognize that our mind and the work we work with our hands are all done to glorify god and NOT to make graven images to worship.

That is what it means to have a sigh placed on our hands and in the frontlet of our eyes.

Keeping the sabbath is a commandment of God, but keeping a day each week is NOT what a Jew inwardly is told to do. Keeping the sabbath is keeping the things mentioned briefly in this study at the forefront of our minds and lives.

I am repeating several groups of scriptures throughout this study because they really bring home various points contained within the same group of verses.

Notice the work we are all to do:

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Jesus does the work in us, and this is our keeping the sabbath. We rest in Him, but in so resting we are resting from our own works that we would produce with our hands, and we are awaiting the direction of the Lord in whatever it is we are dealing with at that time.

Isaiah 58 sums this study up for us:

Isa 58:5  Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
Isa 58:6  Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Isa 58:7  Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isa 58:8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
Isa 58:9  Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
Isa 58:10  And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
Isa 58:11  And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Isa 58:12  And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isa 58:13  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14  Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

“Not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words” is finding rest and keeping the sabbath of the Lord for the Jew which is one inwardly.