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Triumphant Week
The SabbathThe Seventh-Day SabbathGod commanded the Israelites to set aside one day each week called a Sabbath. It was to be the last day of the week, the seventh day, which is our Saturday. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." "Sabbath" does not mean "seventh day" but "day of rest," or more accurately, "holy day of rest." The seventh day, which we call "Saturday," is God’s chosen Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest. Many Christians, however, have selected Sunday to be the Christian’s Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a day of convenience. It was God’s day and not man’s day. Yes, it was made for man but it was not made by man. God always refers to it as "my sabbath." Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’” God commanded the Jews to keep the Sabbath inviolate because it was a sign, a symbol, to all the world of the covenant between God and Israel. The symbol of the covenant between God and Abraham and his seed is circumcision. The symbol of the covenant between God and Israel is the Sabbath. Other SabbathsGod also established other days of rest which are also called "Sabbaths." The Passover is called a Sabbath, a holy day in which no work may be done. In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. On the fourteenth day of the first month the LORD’s Passover is to be held. On the fifteenth day of this month there is to be a festival; for seven days eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. The Feast of Trumps is called a Sabbath: The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.’” (In the above scriptures, The King James Version says "Sabbath" in place of "a day of rest.") The Feast of Tabernacles had two Sabbaths, one beginning the Festival and one ending it. The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD’s Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.’” The Feast of Weeks had a Sabbath On the day of firstfruits, when you present to the LORD an offering of new grain during the Feast of Weeks, hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. The Day of Atonement was a Sabbath, On the tenth day of this seventh month hold a sacred assembly. You must deny yourselves and do no work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you— because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. Preparation DayIf no work could be done on a Sabbath, then how would one cook food or tend the cattle? Just basic living required some work to be done. God instructed the Jews to do all necessary work beforehand, the day before the Sabbath. “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days. The day before the Sabbath was the day to prepare what was needed on the Sabbath but not allowed to do on the Sabbath. This "Day of Preparation" is not mentioned in the Tanach, but by the time the New Testament was written, it was a common phrase among the Jews, being used in
"Preparation Day" was so common it had become the name of their "Friday." We say "Fri Day" and they said "Preparation Day." Because Preparation Day was used so commonly to mean Friday, we have a danger in thinking it meant "Friday" only. No, Preparation Day is the day before the Sabbath, both of the seventh day Sabbath and also of the feast day Sabbath. Why is this important? Because Jesus was crucified on Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath, the day before Passover.
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