Remember Shabbat

Shabbat on the seventh day is to be remembered and not forgotten. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible written by Jeff A. Benner defines the Hebrew word for ‘remember’ as used in Shemoth (Exodus) 20:8-11 and Debarim (Deuteronomy) 5: 12-15 as (Strong’s #2142):

2121) Rkz% (Rkz% ZKR) ac: Remember co: Male ab: Memorial: A recalling of events of the past or to act upon a past event.

V) Rkz% (Rkz% Z-KR) - Remember: To remember in thought as a memorial or mention through speech. Also to act or speak on behalf of another. [freq. 233] (vf: Paal, Niphal, Hiphil) |kjv: remember, mention, remembrance, recorder, mindful, think, record| {str: 2142}

The house of Yisrael is to…

1.      Recall events of the past

2.      Remember them  in thought as a memorial

3.      Mention them through speech

…on Shabbat.

Many events have occurred in the history of Yisrael so what events are we to remember on Shabbat? YHWH mentions one past event specifically that establishes the significance of Shabbat in the following passage quoted from the Scriptures version:

Shemoth (Exodus) 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.  “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath¹ of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. Footnote: ¹There are other Sabbaths, but this is the weekly Sabbath.  “For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.

We are to recall, remember and mention through speech the creation account in Bereshith (Genesis) 1:1 through 2:4 when YHWH established Shabbat at the foundation of creation. YHWH completed His work of creating at the end of the sixth day and so we are to complete our work at the end of the sixth day. YHWH rested from His work on the seventh day so we are to rest from our work on the seventh day.

 YHWH has not given us specific details on how we are to remember… He has only told us to “remember.” Shabbat is a celebration… a party. The way I plan my party on Shabbat may be different than the way another person plans their party on Shabbat. Even though we are one people serving our Creator, we are also different and unique with different gifts and talents that can be appreciated in a spirit of unity. We can choose to read the entire account every Shabbat or we can simply acknowledge Him as the Creator of all things. We could focus on one aspect of the Creation account and offer prayers of thanksgiving for what He has given us. When we plan our own party, the actions we choose are generated from the thoughts and desires in our own hearts and minds. Even when we choose to do a preplanned Shabbat service developed by someone else, we are still examining the service and saying in our heart that this is how I want to honor the Creator.

YHWH also tells us to remember another past event on Shabbat in Debarim (Deuteronomy) 5:12-15 as quoted from the Scriptures version:

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 5:12 ‘Guard the Sabbath day, to set it apart, as יהוה your Elohim commanded you. ‘Six days you labour, and shall do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath¹ of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, so that your male servant and your female servant rest as you do. Footnote: ¹See footnote at Ex. 20:10.  ‘And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim, and that יהוה your Elohim brought you out from there by a strong hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore יהוה your Elohim commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

The Egyptian taskmasters did not allow the Yisraelites to rest and made them work very hard. Yisraelite masters are to remember what it was like under the power of the Egyptian and show compassion and mercy to their servants by allowing them to rest on Shabbat as well. Yisraelites are to remember their redemption when YHWH set them free from slavery in Egypt. Throughout time, Yisraelites looked at this from different perspectives. When they were in the Promised Land, they were thankful that YHWH had set them free to live in peace under the rule of the Torah. However, Yisraelites have been scattered throughout the world among the heathen nations living under the rule of nations who do not honor the Creator and His Torah. From this perspective, Yisraelites can remember their redemption and know that YHWH will set them free again from the oppressive nations ruling over them.

As a Christian, I thought the United States was a great place to live that allowed freedom to worship and serve the Creator. As a Yisraelite trying to live according to the Torah, it is very difficult. For example, most restaurants serve unclean foods presenting a risk of contamination of clean foods offered. Our food supply has been adulterated. Shabbat is a common day people use to plan events or schedule practices for plays, sports, dances, car washes, garage sales…All media encourages and glorifies sinful behaviors. If we were living in a completely Torah-observant community, we would not have to worry about going to restaurants and would not have to avoid them. Food would not contain harmful preservatives, coloring from unclean animals and genetically-modified organisms. Events would not be scheduled on Shabbat and media would be void of sinful behaviors. Living in the United States has become more oppressive for those of us who have chosen to live according to the Torah. Celebrating Shabbat gives us the hope that YHWH will someday set us free to live in the land of promise under a Messiah King who will rule according to the righteous Torah. He did it once and He will do it again.

For Yisraelites who believe Yeshua is the Messiah, Shabbat is also a time to remember the redemption offered through his death. The Torah provides the instructions that will set us free from the bondage of death. Here are the requirements for a kinsman redeemer.

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 25:47-55  ‘Now when a sojourner or a settler with you becomes rich, and your brother with him becomes poor, and sells himself to the settler or sojourner with you, or to a member of the sojourner’s clan, after he has been sold, there is a right of redemption to him – one of his brothers does redeem him, or his uncle or his uncle’s son does redeem him, or anyone who is a close relative to him in his clan does redeem him, or if he is able, then he shall redeem himself.  ‘And he shall reckon with him who bought him: The price of his release shall be according to the number of years, from the year that he was sold to him until the Year of Jubilee; as the days of a hired servant it is with him.  ‘If there are yet many years, according to them he repays the price of his redemption, from the silver of his purchase.  ‘And if few years are left until the Year of Jubilee, then he shall reckon with him, and according to his years he repays him the price of his redemption.  ‘He is with him as a yearly hired servant, and he does not rule with harshness over him before your eyes.  ‘And if he is not redeemed in these years, then he shall be released in the Year of Jubilee, he and his children with him.  ‘Because the children of Yisra’ĕl are servants to Me, they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Mitsrayim. I am יהוה your Elohim.

Adam sinned. Because of his actions, Adam was cursed for the rest of his life which inevitably ended in the death of his body. All children born to Adam are under the curses listed in Bereshith (Genesis) 3 as well as the penalty of death. The only part of Adam that was condemned to die was the part formed from the dust of the earth. The part of Adam that YHWH breathed into him continues to live. It is the spirit of man. Observe the following passages:

Bereshith (Genesis) 2:7 And יהוה Elohim formed the man out of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils breath of life. And the man became a living being.

Bereshith (Genesis) 3:19 “By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you return.”

What happened to the part that YHWH breathed into Adam? Is it the spirit of Habel (Abel) that cried from the earth after his body was killed by his brother Qayin (Cain) in Bereshith (Genesis) 4:10? Who were the voices crying out for justice when YHWH came down to judge Sodom and Gomorrah in Bereshith (Genesis) 18:20-21? Who are the souls crying out from under the altar in Revelation 6:9-11? Without a body, our spirits are trapped unable to express themselves. Through Adam’s sin, we have been placed in bondage.

Yeshua is the son of YHWH and brother to Adam who is also the son of YHWH. Yeshua satisfies the requirements in the Torah as kinsman redeemer. Likeness passes from father to son. Curses and death have passed to every child of Adam.

However, Adam was not the father of Yeshua so Yeshua was not under the curse of death.

Testimony demonstrates that Yeshua resisted all sin and did not incur his own death penalty. Yeshua took Adam’s place by his own freewill and paid the price for Adam’s sin. Because Adam’s debt has been paid, he and all of his children have been set free from the curses and death in Bereshith (Genesis) 3.

The life that Yeshua had now passes to the firstborn and the children of the firstborn. Yeshua is the Passover Lamb. When the first Passover occurred in the land of Egypt, all the firstborn Egyptians perished because they did not apply the blood of the Passover Lamb. If Yeshua did not come and pay the price of redemption, the firstborn and all of the children of the firstborn would perish. However, Yeshua did come and took Adam’s place. Death passes over the firstborn and all of the children of the firstborn which means that ALL people whether good or bad will be resurrected. Shaul confirms this understanding in Romans chapters 5-6 but here is one verse for you to consider.

Romans 5:18  So then, as through one trespass there resulted condemnation to all men, so also through one righteous act there resulted righteous-declaring of life to all men.

Daniel also confirms this understanding.

Daniel 12:2-3  and many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth wake up, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches, everlasting abhorrence.  “And those who have insight shall shine like the brightness of the expanse, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

The book of Revelation speaks of a first and second resurrection in which we will be reunited with our bodies.

Revelation 20:6 Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

If all people will be resurrected, what is the distinction between those who will be in the first resurrection and those who are in the second? The Torah tells us that Adam in his state of sin could not have access to the tree of life.

Bereshith (Genesis) 3:22-23 And יהוה Elohim said, “See, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...” so יהוה Elohim sent him out of the garden of Ěden to till the ground from which he was taken,

YHWH does not change. People who practice sin will not have access to the tree of life in the future either. YHWH solves this problem with the Torah. YHWH says the following through His prophet Mosheh (Moses) in the Scriptures version:

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 30:15-20 “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil, in that I am commanding you today to love יהוה your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess.  “But if your heart turns away, and you do not obey, and shall be drawn away, and shall bow down to other mighty ones and serve them,  “I have declared to you today that you shall certainly perish, you shall not prolong your days in the land which you are passing over the Yardĕn to enter and possess.  “I have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore you shall choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed, to love יהוה your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days – to dwell in the land which יהוה swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaʽaqoḇ, to give them.”

Those who obey the Torah will receive life and blessing and those who do not obey the Torah will receive curses and death. The Torah defines sin as transgression of the Torah.

Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 5:17  “And when any being sins, and has done what is not to be done, against any of the commands of יהוה, though he knew it not, yet he shall be guilty and shall bear his crookedness.

This is why the message from the very beginning has been to repent from sins and has been spoken by every prophet including Messiah Yeshua.

Matthew 4:17 From that time יהושע began to proclaim and to say, “Repent, for the reign of the heavens has drawn near.”

Luke 13:2-5  And יהושע answering, said to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they have suffered like this?  “I say to you, no! But unless you repent you shall all perish in the same way.  “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Shiloaḥ fell and killed them, do you think that they were greater offenders than all other men who dwelt in Yerushalayim?  “I say to you, no! But unless you repent you shall all perish in the same way.”

Following is a diagram illustrating a failure to repent:

Following is a diagram illustrating repentance:

Repentance from sin causes people to automatically obey the Torah. Those who repent and have joined themselves to YHWH are included in the house of Yisrael. the prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) says the following:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 56:6-8  “Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to יהוה, to serve Him, and to love the Name of יהוה, to be His servants, all who guard the Sabbath, and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant – them I shall bring to My set-apart mountain, and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their slaughterings are accepted on My altar, for My house is called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” The Master יהוה, who gathers the outcasts of Yisra’ĕl, declares, “I gather still others to him besides those who are gathered to him.”

Foreigners who join themselves to YHWH, who guard Shabbat and takes hold of His covenant will be accepted into the house of Yisrael. Now let us examine the significance of the two resurrections. The Torah states that a Hebrew slave serves six years and then is set free.

Debarim (Deuteronomy) 15:12-18  “When your brother is sold to you, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, and shall serve you six years, then let him go free from you in the seventh year.  “And when you send him away free from you, let him not go away empty-handed. “You shall richly supply him from your flock, and from your threshing-floor, and from your winepress. With that which יהוה has blessed you with, give to him.  “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim, and יהוה your Elohim redeemed you. Therefore I am commanding you this word today.  “And it shall be, when he says to you, ‘I do not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, because it is good for him with you, then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Do the same to your female servant.  “Let it not be hard in your eyes when you send him away free from you, for he has been worth a double hired servant in serving you six years. And יהוה your Elohim shall bless you in all that you do.

The collective Hebrew nation throughout time will be set free after serving 6000 years which will also be a year of Jubilee. This is the first resurrection. I believe this is the significance of the Feast of Trumpets which occurs on the first day of the seventh month according to the Creator’s calendar. Exactly, at the end of 6 months, the trumpet sounds. Hebrews will not serve one second less or one second more than what is required by the Torah. The rest of mankind will be resurrected after the 7000 years when the second week is completed. This is the second resurrection. The 7^th millennium is a period of rest and peace in which the Torah will be the law of the land. Observe the following passage from the Scriptures version:

Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 2:2-4  And it shall be in the latter days that the mountain of the House of יהוה is established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills. And all nations shall flow to it. And many peoples shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of יהוה, to the House of the Elohim of Yaʽaqoḇ, and let Him teach¹ us His ways¹, and let us walk in His paths¹, for out of Tsiyon comes forth the Torah¹, and the Word¹ of יהוה from Yerushalayim.” Footnote: ¹His ways, His paths, the teaching and the Word of יהוה are used synonymously. And He shall judge between the nations, and shall reprove many peoples. And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither teach battle any more.

The Torah of YHWH will go forth from Tsiyon when the Messianic kingdom is established in the earth. If people oppose the Torah and resist the laws of our Creator, then how can we have peace and rest during the millennium when Yeshua will rule by the Torah? I do not think those who oppose the Torah will partake in the first resurrection. When you look closely, the Shabbat on the seventh day is a promise or a shadow of good things to come as Shaul says in the following:


Colossians 2:16-17  Let no one therefore judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths – which are a shadow of what is to come – but the Body of the Messiah.

YHWH tells us that Shabbat is the sign of the Hebrew people… the children of Israel.

Shemoth (Exodus) 31:12-18  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,  “And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign1 between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart. Footnote: 1The only sign of יהוה setting us apart, the only sign of the everlasting covenant, is His Sabbaths, one of them being the seventh day Sabbath. This is repeated in Ezek. 20:12 & 20.  ‘And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people.  ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.  ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.  ‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever. For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ” And when He had ended speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Mosheh two tablets of the Witness, tablets of stone, written with the finger of Elohim.

The 7^th of anything in the Torah is a period of rest and is set-apart…distinct from others. The 7^th millennium will be no different. The first six thousand years were ruled by Adam, the Sabbath millennium will be ruled by Yeshua. The Shabbat is the sign demonstrating submission to the Torah, giving the observer access to all of the promises offered. The Torah is very specific. Only Hebrew servants are released after six years. The year of jubilee applies only to the nation of Israel… those who observe the Torah or those who have repented from their sins.

If the Torah is nailed to the cross as some teach, then there is no year of Jubilee or promise of release after six years. There are no blessings or promises of life in a land of peace. The Torah is the only law on the planet throughout time that has offered genuine freedom and restoration and it is available to all nations. Kepha (Peter) said the following to Cornelius the centurion which proves what Yeshayahu (Isaiah) said in chapter 56:

Acts 10:34-35  And opening his mouth, Kĕpha said, “Truly I see that Elohim shows no partiality, but in every nation, he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

YHWH accepts anyone from any nation who fears Him and does works of righteousness which is obedience to the Torah. Let us praise YHWH for providing a son that would qualify as a redeemer and let us thank Yeshua for laying down his life willingly so that we may live. Let us eagerly celebrate Shabbat on the 7^th day knowing that our complete redemption is near.