Sermon Tone Analysis

One Thing that has Helped Me Understand the Bible so Much Better is:

Seeing it as a Unified Story that Leads to Jesus

You’ll Find Many Rules and Facts in the Bible

But the Bible is Not a Rule Book or a Book of Facts

The Bible is a Story

God’s Story

Our Story

And When We Recognize the Bible as a Story…

We Will Understand its Messages to Us Much More Clearly

One of the Best Ways to Recognize the Bible as a Unified Story is

To Recognize its Major Themes

There are Many Themes in the Bible

Many People, Places, Things, and Ideas that Continue to Pop Up and Play a Major Part in the Narrative

We are Spending a Few Weeks Looking at Different Themes

We’ve Already Looked at:

The Tree of Life

Babylon

Tonight We are Looking at…

Sabbath

What is “Sabbath”?

Sabbath is a Hebrew Word

When You Say “Sabbath” You are Speaking Hebrew (at Least Pretty Close to it)

It Comes From the Word that Means “to cease, stop, put an end to, rest”

The Sabbath is a Day When You Cease, Stop, Put an End to, Rest

The First Time We See this Day Being Referred to is Genesis 2:1-3

Genesis 2:1–3 (NASB)

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.

By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

We Get Important Information From this Passage

First, that the Day God Rested/Stopped Working was the 7th Day

Second, He Sanctified/Set it Apart From the Other Days

In What Way was this 7th Day Made Holy?

We Learn in the Law of Moses

Exodus 20:8–11 (NASB)

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”

It was Set Apart/Sanctified/Made Holy to Be a Day of Rest

It Wasn’t Just a Day for God to Stop Working and Rest

He Made it a Day Set Apart for All People to Stop Working and Rest

This Wasn’t Just a Suggestion By God

People Would Be Put to Death if They Worked On the Seventh/Sabbath Day

Exodus 31:14–17 (NASB)

‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you.

Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.

‘So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’

“It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

The Sabbath Rest was a Part of God’s Covenant with Israel

It was a Day to Celebrate that Covenant Relationship

It was a Sign of Those Who Faithfully Belonged to God

The Rainbow was a Sign of the Covenant Between Noah and God

Circumcision was a Sign of the Covenant Between Abraham (and His Descendants) and God

And the Sabbath Day was a Sign of the Mosaic Covenant Between Israel and God

Just as God Stopped Working and Rested on the 7th Day and was Refreshed…

His People Were to Stop Working and Rest on the 7th Day and Be Refreshed

God Wanted His People (Even Commanded) His People to Rest

The First Time We See “Sabbath” in the Bible is Not Actually in the 10 Commandments (in Exodus 20)

It’s Actually in Exodus 16:22-30 When God Provided for the Israelites in the Wilderness Manna to Eat

Exodus 16:22–30 (NASB)

Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one.

When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the Lord.

Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.

Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none.”

It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?

See, the Lord has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day.

Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

So the people rested on the seventh day.

They Were Not to Gather Manna on the 7th Day

Why?

Because God Provided Them with What They Needed for the 7th Day on the 6th Day

They Were to Rest,Celebrate, and Enjoy What God had Already Done for Them

It Takes Faith to Set Aside a Sabbath Day of Rest

You Must Trust that God Will and Has Already Provided for You

And You Can Only Truly Rest When You Truly Trust

Lack of Trust Produces Fear and Fear Produces Work

We Work in Fear Because We Believe We Must Provide for Ourselves

But True Faith Trusts that God Will and Already Has Provided

But the Sabbath Day Wasn’t the Only Sabbath Israel was to Keep Holy and Celebrate

There Were Also 7 Festivals that Israel was Commanded to Celebrate Every Year

Leviticus 23 Tells Us in Order What Each of the 7 Feasts/Festivals Are:

The Sabbath Day

Practiced Every 7th Day

Must Stop Working, Rest, and Worship

Reminder of God’s Rest After Creation

The Passover

Practiced on the 14th Day of the 1st Month

Then the Feast of Unleavened Bread for 7 Days

Must Stop Working and Worship

Reminder of Israel’s Protection and Salvation By God in Egypt, Freeing Them From Their Slavery/Work

The Feast of Firstfruits

Practiced After the Sabbath of the Week of Unleavened Bread

A Dedication and Celebration of the Harvest as a Blessing From God to His People

No Working

The Feast of Weeks

Practiced 7 Fulls Weeks and a Day After the Feast of Firstfruits (50 Days - Also Known as Pentecost)