7 Feasts and a Fast – Weekly Sabbath

WEEKLY SHABBAT

Leviticus 23:1-4. This verse is reason we study Shabbat with the rest of the Feasts. God includes it along with all the other important days on His calendar.
FIRST MENTIONED in Genesis 2:1-3. God blessed and separated a certain amount of TIME to be holy. 24 hours each week to be Holy. The Shabbat was the pinnacle of God’s creation.
Shabbat is mentioned before the commandments were given at Sinai:- Exodus 16 The scripture says that it was a test! Exodus 16:4, 28.
Exodus 20:8-11. Remember. = Hebrew = zakar – to mark, recount, record, make to be remembered. [1] Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Observe + Keep = Hebrew = shamar – to hedge about (as with thorns), guard, protect, attend to, preserve, reserve etc. [1]
The Shabbat is the day to STOP. Stop doing and just be. It is a blessed day for everyone, equality for all, which is set apart by God and for God. It is a weekly celebration of God’s creation and also a celebration for God’s mighty deliverance from the slavery of Egypt. Deliverance so that as free people a day of rest is possible. WOW !! What a special day!
In Jewish thought the Shabbat is considered a foretaste of the idyllic world to come. Every week they long for a day when Shabbat won’t need to end. It foreshadows the seventh day of rest Christians are also looking forward to at the end of time.
The pattern is :- After 6 days work, the 7th is a sabbath of rest each week, after 6 years of working the land, the seventh year is rest for the land, after 6000 years, the seventh 1000 years will be a Messianic Era of rest. Psalms 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8. …with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. These thoughts have deep roots in Judaism and rabbinic writings.
There was approx. 2000 years from Adam to Abraham, approx. 2000 years from Abraham to Jesus birth and approx. 2000 years up till the present time. We are so close to the day of rest for this world! [2]

A SUMMERY OF GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS: –
Manna not available on the Shabbat.
No unnecessary travel. Acts 1:12. Approx. 2000 cubits outside a city.
All people, including foreigners and animals benefit by Shabbat.
Shabbat is a sign of the Mosaic covenant. **See below.
The penalty for not keeping Shabbat is death.
A perpetual covenant. It is to be kept forever
Rest even in busy times, including making the tabernacle.
No fire to be kindled.
The Shabbat is the first ‘Feast of The Lord’ mentioned.
Careful obedience brings long life, blessing, increase & good.
No buying or selling.
Gentiles keeping the Shabbat are accepted, joyful and blessed.
Isaiah 58:13-14. If the Shabbat is honoured there is great blessing.
Isaiah 66:22-23. In Messianic times everyone will keep Shabbat.
Ezekiel 44-46. Shabbat is mentioned as being part of the rituals of a new Temple in the future.
Exodus 16:4-36.
Exodus 16:29.
Exodus 20:10.
Exodus 31:12-17.
Exodus 31:14.
Exodus 31:16-17
Exodus 34:21.
Exodus 35:2-3.
Leviticus 23:1-3.
Deuteronomy 6.
Nehemiah 13:15-22.
Isaiah 56:6-8

JESUS AND SHABBAT.
Jesus was with God at creation, Genesis 1 :26 – Let us make then He rested from the workof creating on the seventh day. Jesus had a custom of attended the synagogue on Shabbat. Luke 4;16. Jesus said “I did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. Matthew 5:17-18. Jesus rested in the grave on Shabbat after his work of reconciliation was complete. Luke 24:1. Jesus said he is “Lord of the Sabbath”, (Matt 12:8), therefore the shabbat is his. Jesus got into trouble with the Pharisees for ‘violating the Shabbat’, or so it seemed. Sometimes it was himself, and sometimes his disciples, whom he was responsible for teaching. It seemed that he or they were doing something the Pharisees considered to be against the Torah rules for what could be done on the Shabbat. At issue behind these seemingly minor matters was whether a Pharisaic tradition had been broken. [2]

HISTORY REGARDING SHABBAT.
The Biblical concept of a weekly day resting from work day purposes had no close parallel in the ancient world. A day in which there is equality for all, high and low alike, who are all entitled to rest on this set apart day which is holy and on which God is honoured was not replicated in other ancient cultures. What an amazing gift of grace!
Gentiles/God Fearers, celebrated the Shabbat with Jewish believers from the time of Jesus.
Acts 16:13-15, 17:1-4. When a majority of Jews in a synagogue did not receive the message of Jesus, Messianic Jews and God Fearers began to meet in a different location. Acts 19:8-10. Also, they sometimes gathered on Saturday evening (Motza’et-Shabbat) for teaching and breaking bread. Acts 20:7-12.
For 3500 years the Jewish people have kept the Shabbat wherever they have lived. This is a long time for any people group to maintain a religious practice, especially when for nearly 2000 years they were not a nation, but scattered all over the world. It is said, “It’s not so much that the Jews have kept the Shabbat, so much as the Shabbat has kept the Jews”.
The idea of a day off on a Friday, was adopted by Moslems last century.
A day off at regular intervals is now widespread in the modern world as cultures experienced
its benefits. [3]
Why did the Priests work on Shabbat? The Torah itself specifies that some commandments are more important than others. Keeping Shabbat is important, but the required animal sacrifices were more so, therefore the priests worked on Shabbat in order to offer them. [4]
These days any emergency takes precedence over the regulations of Shabbat, eg war, disaster, fire or life threatening emergencies.

HOW JEWS KEEP SHABBAT.
Jews love the Shabbat. It is thought of as a day of physical and spiritual delight. In their poetry the Shabbat is often described as a bride and nightfall the wedding hour. It is referred to as “Princess Shabbat” so that every Friday at dusk pious Jews read the love poetry of the Song of Songs.
The Shabbat is looked forward to with anticipation and fare-welled with reluctance every week. It is the one day a week children have their parents undivided attention. The Shabbat is a time to meet with God and others. This meeting is considered a sacred time.
The Jewish home has always been the most important place for building Jewish identity, so the weekly Shabbat, observed at home with close family, extended family and friends reinforces this with an atmosphere of rest, relaxation and rejoicing.
Preparation begins earlier in the week with food planning and purchasing, because everything must be ready by the time the Shabbat begins.
The house should be cleaned, the meals cooked, the table set, fresh flowers arranged, showers taken and everyone dressed for a celebration.
Entering the Shabbat is like entering a peaceful emptiness, to remove oneself from a life that is so full, which has the potential to overwhelm.
Shabbat begins at nightfall on Friday and ends 25 hours later at sunset on Saturday.

Procedure:-
Candle lighting. (The Nerot )
Just prior to sundown the mother of the family lights two or more Shabbat candles with a prayer. “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat lights”. The two candles are reminders of the command to ‘Remember’ and ‘Observe’ the Shabbat.
Then everyone goes to the synagogue to take part in a lively Shabbat Welcoming evening service. During which Psalms 29, 92,93, 95 – 99 are read/sung/chanted. On their return home, ‘Shalom Aleichem’, is sung as a formal greeting to the two angels which are said to accompany the family home.

The husband then blesses his wife by reading to her Proverbs 31 :10-31.
The wife reads Psalm 112:1-9 to her husband.
The children are also blessed each week, differing according to family traditions. Usually the parent/parents place one or both hands on the child’s head and, beginning with the eldest say:- ( for a boy), “May you be like Ephraim and Manasseh”. ( for a girl) “May you be like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.” Then the words of the priestly blessing from Numbers 6:24-26 are spoken. After the blessing, some parents take a moment to whisper something to their child, praising him or her for something he or she did during the week, or conveying some extra encouragement and love. Almost every family concludes the blessing with a kiss or hug.

Blessing of the wine. (The Kiddush)
The father begins the meal with the Kiddush:- “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the
universe, Who created the fruit of the vine”. The Kiddush is a reminder that the Shabbat
marks the creation of the world, that God created in six days and rested on the seventh. This
is why man must stop working on this day.

Shabbat bread. (Challah)
After the Kiddush, all hands are washed, then a special blessing is given over the challah loaves, which are hidden beneath a richly decorated cloth or napkin. ‘Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth’. The two braided loaves symbolise the two portions of manna which fell on Friday in the wilderness. Exodus 16. Then a Shabbat three course meal is served and enjoyed leisurely, with an abundance of distinctive Shabbat food, fine wine, stimulating conversation, singing and Jewish learning, often finishing late with a final blessing.
At the morning synagogue service, a portion of Torah is read aloud as a part of a year long cycle of reading. Different men may be welcomed to read from the scroll. This is followed by appropriate portions from the books of the prophets. A meal is served in the middle of the day, then as the day closes another meal is eaten, but because everything was prepared beforehand there is no work involved. Shabbat afternoon is reserved for family time, reading, sleeping, talking, walking or studying Jewish texts.

Separation of the holy from the ordinary/profane (The Havdalah)
The end of Shabbat is traditionally determined by the appearance of three stars in the night sky. A beautiful brief ritual named the Havdaiah takes place in the home, in the synagogue or in a group. Havdalah is a Hebrew word that means “separation” and it is the ritual that ends Shabbat, separating it from the start of the new week. It uses four elements to mark the moment Jews sadly say goodbye to the beauty of Shabbat. A multi-wicked candle is lit, this symbolises how busy lives stop and come together for Shabbat. A spice box of sweet smelling spices is passed around, which symbolises the lingering scent of the sweetness of Shabbat. Everyone drinks from an overflowing cup of wine, symbolising the joy experienced on Shabbat. The light, the spices, the wine, and spoken blessings all come together to help carry the Shabbat through the week until next Shabbat. The candle is extinguished in the wine to conclude the ceremony and as a final “goodbye” to Shabbat. After singing a couple of songs everyone wishes each other a “good week”, and they long for a day when Shabbat won’t need to end at all! [5]

WHY CHRISTIANS MOVED FROM SHABBAT TO SUNDAY.
In the New Testament times Gentiles who loved the God of Israel were called, ‘God Fearer’.
They were Gentiles who followed certain Jewish religious practices, but stopped short of circumcision. They attended synagogue and learned there, how to conduct their lives including keeping Shabbat. Acts 10;1-4,13:13-16,43, 16:11-15, 17:1-4,16-17, 18:4-8. 41-53 CE – Claudius expelled Jews from Rome, therefore the congregation in Rome included no Jews for a certain period. Acts 18:1-2.

In the first century, young churches also sprang up in cities outside the land of Israel, in the middle of a non-Jewish culture, and they were therefore not trained in thinking in a Biblical way.
The Apostles’ authority was not always regarded, even by church leaders, eg:- Diotrephes, and churches were being influenced by persuasive orators. 3 John 1:9-11, Jude. 2 Timothy 1:15. 70 CE Jerusalem sacked by Titus. The temple was destroyed. Many Jews scattered.

135 CE Bar Kokhba (self proclaimed messiah) led a Jewish revolt against Rome in Israel, which failed. The conqueror, Emperor Hadrian, passed laws forbidding keeping the Shabbat, forbidding circumcision and the study or teaching of Torah. He also banned Jews from living in Jerusalem and he sold so many Jewish prisoners into slavery that the market was flooded and Jews were sold at ridiculously low prices.

280- 337 CE, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity near the end of his life. He wanted to retain peace within his Roman Empire so he introduced a number of Christian feasts and simultaneously integrated them with existing pagan feast days. Eg:- Christmas Day – 25 December was considered the birthday of the sun god. Therefore it was thought that the Son of God would have his birthday celebrated on this day too. An Egyptian god Ra was already being worshiped on 25 December. During Constantine’s reign he released a number of anti-Jewish edicts, one was a prohibition to join Judaism. Also at punishment of death, all Messianic Jews had to sever all ties with Judaism. Christianity became the official state religion of Rome gaining political and religious power, finally becoming the Roman Catholic Church.

364 CE. Because of antisemitism the Roman church at the Council of Laodicea, strongly discouraged keeping and meeting on the Shabbat, (canon 29) “Christians must not Judaize, (become like Jews), by resting on the Shabbat, but must work on that day, instead honouring the Lord’s Day”. (That is Sunday, the day the sun god was also worshipped, hence Sunday). They pronounced a curse from Christ on all who disobeyed. [6.]
There were many other such rulings and edicts over the centuries, which drove Christians and Jew apart. This resulted in antisemitism and also the Christian Church lost its connection to its Jewish roots.

In the Catholic Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, we read a question:- “By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?” Answer:- “The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.” It is unthinkable to a Jew, that humans can change God’s Eternal Torah. Malachi 3:6 ..’I, Adonai, do not change…’, Palms 89:34..’l will not violate my covenant or change what my lips have spoken’. Palms 19:7…’The iaw/Torah of the Lord is perfect’. When Christians neglected the Shabbat in preference to Sunday, Jewish Messianic believers found it impossible to continue fellowshipping together, because keeping Shabbat is central to the Torah given by God. Jewish Messianic believers became cut off from their own synagogue because they recognised Jesus as Messiah, and also cut off from Gentile Christians because they refused to change their day of worship to a Sunday. The split away from the Jewish roots of our faith and Hebraic thinking began. There is evidence, however, that even down to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Shabbat was continued in the Christian church everywhere except in “Rome and Alexandria”, [7]

Another reason Sunday is observed as a day for Christian communal worship instead of Saturday/Shabbat, is because the resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit both happened on a Sunday. [8]

Jewish commentator David Stern said, “I do not find the New Testament commanding a specific day of the week for worship. There can be no objection whatsoever to the practice adopted later by a Gentile dominated Church for celebrating “the Lord’s Day” on Sunday, … but this custom must not be read back into New Testament times. A Gentile grafted into Israel by his faith in Jesus as Messiah has himself come into the framework of Israel’s Torah/Law of Moses. Although what this Torah/Law of Moses demands of him differs from what it demands of a Jew.

A Gentile Christian should never think of himself as “free from the Law”, as many do. Christians should understand that everyone under the New Covenant has the Torah/Law of Moses to observe. Gentiles should obey what is relevant to them, Jews should obey what is relevant to them, Priests should obey what is relevant to them. Kings should obey what is relevant to them.

Dake’s Reference Bible lists 1050 New Testament commands which are to be obeyed by those who love Jesus. John 14:15 (If you love me, you will keep my commands.) The distinction drawn between Old Testament Judaism as a religion of law and New Testament faith as a religion of faith and love is unfounded. In both the Old and New Testament’s, Biblical religion is based on both love and law, both mercy and justice, it has always been so and it always will be. 2+

OUR RESPONSE.
Shabbat can be a spiritual time of renewal…reading our Bible, Christian books, taking a walk, relaxing.
Shabbat can be a day of freedom from the work required for our economic and material security.
Shabbat can be a time to enjoy family and friends.
God rested, so shouldn’t we imitate Him and rest?
God blessed and made the Shabbat holy, so shouldn’t we imitate Him by appreciating it and separating it from the ordinary every day work day?
If God blessed the Shabbat can we reverse it? Numbers 23:20.
If we are looking forward to a period of 1000 years rest with Him, should we ignore the weekly rest He has already given to us as a rehearsal?
Remember keeping Shabbat has nothing to do with salvation. We are saved because of the righteousness of God, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and our trust in Him. Any other way is
legalistic.
We will be judged by what we do after salvation. Revelation 20:12 tells us that books will be opened including a Book of Life from which the dead are judged according to what they have done. Malachi 3:16.
Writer Rob Bell penned these words: –
The Sabbath. [9]
Sabbath is a day when my work is done, even if it isn’t.
Sabbath is a day when my job is to enjoy. Period.
Sabbath is a day when I am fully available to myself and those I love the most.
Sabbath is a day when I remember that when God made the world He saw that it was good.
Sabbath is taking a day a week to remind myself that I did not make the world and that it will
continue to exist without my efforts.
Sabbath is a day when I produce nothing.
Sabbath is a day when I remind myself that I am not a machine.
Sabbath is a day when at its end I say, “I didn’t do anything today”, and I don’t add, “I feel so guilty”.
Sabbath is a day when my phone is turned off, I don’t check my emails, and you can’t get hold of me.
How is it that Sabbath, which is a ritual command, is in the middle of moral commands? [3]
“You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through ail your generations …” Exodus 31:12-17 in ancient covenants the centre of a treaty would bear the symbol or sign of the King (*suzerain), which might have been related to his chief god. However, no representation of God could be made in ancient Israel ( Exodus 20:4). Therefore the representation would not be a symbol, a picture or an idol, but a unique cycle of life. Only Israel had a seven day cycle of weeks. Hence, the whole of the commands are part of a covenant with Israel. So, to spurn
the Sabbath as a covenant sign was to spurn the covenant.
* Suzerain:- A feudal lord, a supreme or paramount ruler, a state having supremacy over another but which provided protection for the subject people. Example:- Israel’s covenants with the Gibeonites. Joshua 9.
The seal of the Noachide covenant is a rainbow. Genesis 9:12-17.
The seal of the Abrahamic covenant is circumcision ( foreskin for the Jewish males and
hearts for Gentiles). Genesis 17:9-14.
The seal of the Mosaic covenant is the weekly Sabbath. Exodus 31:12-17.**
The seal of the New Covenant (Messiah’s covenant) is the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13. 3.

Summary:
1. The Sabbat was made for all mankind in the garden.
2. it was written in stone at Mt Sinai and was commanded to be kept forever.
3. It was a sign forever between YHWH and His People.
4. Jesus kept the Shabbat as did his disciples.
5. Everyone will keep Shabbat after Jesus returns.
6. The early Gentile church fathers, who hated the Jews, stopped keeping the Shabbat on Saturday and started keeping it on Sunday because of anti-semitism.
7. The Roman Catholic Church admits changing it.
8. There is nowhere in the scriptures that prophesies of such a major change of what God called eternal or even a debate in the New Testament. [10]

Sources:-
1. Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. 2142, 8104
2. Jewish New Testament Commentary. By David Stern P763, P 44, 89. 2+ = P200
3. The Feasts of the Lord (YHWH). By Marcia Malthus.
4. Jewish New Testament Commentary. By David Stern. P 44. 5+ P298.686.688
5. www.myjewishlearning.com
6. Wake Up. By Arno Lamm & Emile-Andre Van Beckevoort. Page 121-127
7. sabbathtruth.com
8. D.L. Shaw
9. Velvet Elvis. Page 117-118.
10. Jim Staley passionfortruth.com

Other Sorces:
Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum
(Based on Dr. Fruchtenbaum’s “The Feasts and Fasts of Israel: Their Historic and Prophetic Significance”)
Ariel Ministries

Shane Willard Ministries

Jenny Milmine 2025.

0. 7 Feasts and a Fast – Introduction
1. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of Passover
2. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of Unleavened Bread
3. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of First Fruits
4. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of Pentecost or Shavuot
5. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of Trumpets
6. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Fast of THE DAY OF ATONEMENT/ YOM KIPPUR
7. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Feast of Tabernacles
8. 7 Feasts and a Fast – The Weekly Sabbath Feast
9. 7 Feasts and a Fast – Other Information


Other slides in this module: