THE TRIPLE TRUMPET BLASTS - Sabbath

THE TRIPLE TRUMPET BLASTS

Sabbath

On September 18th, God gives us the opportunity and privilege to stop our daily routines and celebrate His love and goodness. At sundown, the trumpets will blast to bring us to attention and usher in three of God’s feasts:

• Sabbath
• New Moon
• Tabernacles

Being in the seventh month of God’s redemptive calendar, these three together have tremendous spiritual and eschatological significance. Let’s investigate the meaning of each of these special holy days and glean their significance to our lives, beginning with the Sabbath.

The Sabbath:

God commanded His people to rest from their labors on the seventh day of the week. Regardless of our cultural traditions of worship, God’s calendar is clear:

“…the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work …For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Exodus 20:10-11.

• The Hebrew word for “rested” carries with it the sense of the victory which comes at the end of a battle. (Note: Joshua 1:17, Deuteronomy 25:19 and Psalm 23:1).

Could it be that on the Sabbath, God is instructing--no, commanding us to stop our striving and labor to look forward to the day when our battles will be over and we will enjoy the victory. In fact, God assures us that the battle is actually His (1 Samuel 7:47). Wow! Not only can we “rest” in that knowledge, we can rejoice in it!

• The Hebrew word translated “blessed” connotes the promise of being endued with power for success, prosperity, and longevity.

Therefore on Sabbath we can rest and rejoice in God’s promises to “daily load us with blessing” and that “goodness and mercy follow (literally chase) us all the days of our lives.” (Psalm 68:19, Psalm 23:6)

• The third Hebrew word, “hallowed,” comes from the root meaning to be holy, or to be separated unto holiness.

Consequently on Sabbath we can meditate on the wonder of God’s love that has separated us from the common, and transformed us to be holy as He is holy.

In summary, God gave the Sabbath to His people as a time when they might lay aside the cares and concerns of today to remember His goodness in the past, rejoice in His faithfulness in the present, and rest in His promises for our future. We need not wonder why Messiah Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:24)

Eschatological significance of Sabbath

The eschatological significance of the Sabbath comes through the prophet Isaiah. God assures us that one day, all nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate and worship:

“For as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord …

… it shall come to pass

That from one New Moon to another,

And from one Sabbath to another,

All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 66:22-23)

Ultimate and Eternal Rest

In today’s hectic world, people are all searching for the rest which the Sabbath foreshadows and God promises:

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10)

While God’s promise of the ultimate rest is available to everyone, only “the people of God” can enjoy that blissful state. The writer to the Hebrew people explains why Israel never experienced that rest:

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it …those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:2, 6)

The entrance to this perfect rest is faith:

• Faith in God and His provision
• Faith to obey His commands
• Faith in the only one who is rest – Jesus the Messiah of Israel and the world

Whatever the struggle, whatever the battle you are going through, as the trumpets blast on Friday 18 September, remember the promise of victory in Jesus and accept His invitation

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:27-30)