"Sabbath" in Hebrew is in two words, and together they say: "and He rested".
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Genesis 2:1-3
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Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
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By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
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Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
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What is holy, is spiritual; of unseen quality.
The seventh day, God set aside as spiritual. This means the unseen qualities of God would be what happens on the seventh day. God rested, knowing what had been created in the physical was good. The seventh day in His rest, is where holiness, the unseen quality of spirit, is active.
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Gospel of Thomas, Saying 27:1,2
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"If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the (Father's) domain.
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If you do not observe the Sabbath day as a sabbath day, you will not see the Father."
Calendar days are not what makes a Sabbath. Calendar days are human. What makes the Sabbath the seventh day is, the earthly day set aside for spiritual reflection, celebration, and loving acts.
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Exodus 20:9,10
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Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
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but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.
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Our work is in the physical, but it uses our hearts and minds and souls to progress through our work. We can, and should keep the Father first in all we do. But still, our toil is necessary, and our relationships are necessary. So we work at them, and put our life into them, to sustain ourselves.
But our souls are of the same unseen quality that God is. The Sabbath gives us the ability to regain control over the toll this world takes on our soul. This is also considered fasting. It is considered fasting because we are denying the desire to act on what is placed in front of us. Instead of working reliant on the soul, we act from our soul- outward. The Sabbath, and fasting return us to our image of holiness. That fasting is considered 'seeking' the unseen qualities of God in our image(soul). This Sabbath rest is an expression of 'seeing' unseen qualities of God.
When the Hebrews were being fed in the dessert, the Lord gave them two loaves on the sixth day, so they would not have to go and collect a loaf on the seventh day. They were told to stay in, and not do as they wish, but obey the Sabbath and keep it holy. This is the same today. We must prepare for our Sabbath, and when it comes, and we have left something not done, we are to wait until the new week begins to complete it.
Above all, keep the seventh day a day to honor the unseen qualities of God. Do not say, 'I will not work, but instead will have others tend to me.' Do not say, ' I will not work, but will instead be at leisure, and celebrate my rest.' No. The Sabbath is not to be served by others, but to free yourself and others from the bondage of the world and its influence on your soul. The Sabbath is not to celebrate your rest, it is to celebrate and honor the holy.
What is holy, is spiritual. Recognition of what is holy, glorifies God. And obedience in keeping the Sabbath honors God.
What is considered holy would be acts of Love through you. Love of the Father, love for one another. These are holy acts, and recognize the unseen qualities of God.
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Luke 13:15,16
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The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?
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Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
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Jesus performed a healing on the day the Hebrews had kept as the Sabbath. They condemned the act because they considered healings as duties, which should be considered work. Jesus did that act of holiness, to show such acts as compassion, are themselves holy.
Again this confirms the understanding that the Sabbath is not religious, it is spiritual recognition.
Holy, unseen qualities are what celebrate creation on the Sabbath, the other six days are when creation requires what is holy to exist. So if we keep the Sabbath holy, the Lord spoke to Isaiah about how we will be treated:
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Isaiah 58:
13
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath, and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
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then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
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Amen.
So consider this; Can we call a day holy when the calendar is man made? No.
But, we can with a clear conscience, at the end of our responsibilities, say to the Father, "Tomorrow is the day I honor your rest Father. I have prepared for it, and I will celebrate your holiness in it, from dawn till dusk."
Because the enemy knows that the Father keeps all His promises. So the enemy will give you 10 days of work, or 4 days of work, or no work in your trial. He will keep your conscience burdened with guilt, so you will not honor the holy day. But the Father knows your thoughts. And your sincerity will be your defense.
So as you end your work, celebrate the holiness of the Father's rest. Prepare for it, and when it is upon you, obey it by only celebrating the unseen qualities of God. Returning light to your darkness, fasting from worldly and bodily influences.
Is not obeying the Sabbath an act of faith? Yes.
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