The Sabbath brackets the entire history and future of Earth. Our First Parents received the gift of the Sabbath as a day of rest to punctuate their work week and mark the passage of time.



Even though we must now trudge along in Paradise Lost, when we hear the birds singing, the wind in the trees, and crashing waves of the sea, we can hear the voice of the Creator if we listen carefully. As we contemplate the Power of God in nature, we can find comfort, for the power which created all things speaks life to our souls, also.

Sorry, in my rush I forgot a few phrases in the above intro:

Next to the Holy One, the LORD Almighty, a powerful being not made of flesh and blood and bone, we are mere grasshoppers, munching away on biological materials, imagining we are really something when we have tiny little thoughts about things we know nothing, especially our origins.

We may build tiny little spacecraft and circle the Earth or visit a moon or another planet, but next to the Creator who can journey from star to star, we are mere dust motes suffering from Arrogance and Extreme Pomposity. Someday mankind will be humbled, as the Ancient Writings warn, and we will all bow down before the LORD as his servants, helpless before his majesty and power.

Not surprisingly, selfish humans turned a great blessing, the Day of Rest, into a control issue. The original functions of the Sabbath were to provide a break from work, to provide some time to reflect on our Creator by contemplating his power and originality in nature, and, as a sign to set the LORD's servants apart from unbelievers.

Agents of Satan, really, the Religious Leaders and Creators of Man-Made Laws corrupted the Day of Rest with a long list of their own do's and don'ts, turning the experience of peace into a tedious mental checklist of infractions. Carry more than three figs or a bedroll on the Sabbath and you are now a Lawbreaker who has fallen into disfavor with God.

Only tyrants could concoct so many rules and regulations pertaining to what is and isn't work on the Sabbath. These little tyrants portrayed God as a hardhearted and cruel Tyrant Enforcer of the Law, just like themselves, just like Satan wished to portray God to humanity: a murderous, coldhearted tyrannical slave driver.

Although the Teachers of the Law followed Jesus with merciless hostility, he continued to ignore them, and instead kept the Sabbath according to the Law of God. Part of his mission was to sweep away the garbage of misunderstanding and restore Truth as it was meant to be. As long as Earth and stars endure, there will always be a Sabbath for man. When those who are chosen awaken in the Restored Kingdom of New Earth, there will be a Day of Rest to punctuate their workweek.

For some, mainly the priests, there is a work to perform in the service of the LORD, a work not permitted in secular life. This work of the LORD's was right to do on the Sabbath Day. In the next life, it will be clear to the chosen what to do on the Sabbath. Today, we can show the LORD that we are interested in obeying his command, embedded in his Code of Ethics, the Ten Commandments, by refraining from doing unnecessary labor for money, or, participation in worldly pleasures on our Day of Rest.

To provide food or clothing or shelter or comfort to the hungry, naked, homeless, or sick all lie within the parameters of Sabbath Keeping. To sit in a church every Sabbath morning in well-dressed comfort, accomplishing little or nothing while the world around us cries out in pain, may or may not honor the commandment.

To the Guardians of the Man-Made Sabbath, it was permissible to rescue an animal that had fallen into a pit because that animal was worth money to the owner. Ironically, those same Guardians of the Man-Made Sabbath Laws would rather let a human suffer than permit them to be healed on the Sabbath. Since there was no money it it for them, human suffering was nothing to them, unless of course, perhaps they were the ones seeking healing.

Thus,

Their false religion is clearly demonstrated by their blatant hypocrisy. Our Baloney Detectors should trigger an alarm every time we encounter a religion that exalts self and degrades the downtrodden or those who do not belong to that religion.

Every false religion teaches its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights. Conversely, The Gospel According to Jesus Christ places a high value upon humanity, teaching a tender regard for the wants and woes of man.

Already the Religious Rulers were dreaming of ways to destroy the man who saw them for what they really were, while he went about saving life and bringing about happiness. They spent the Sabbath harboring murderous thoughts while Jesus looked upon the afflicted with mercy and healing. Anger and hatred tend to lead us down the road to murder, in thought, if not in deed.



The Sabbath was made for man, but it belongs to Christ
It is a memorial of the creation of life on Earth.
It is a sign of Christ's power to make us holy.
It is a delight to those who receive Christ's creative and redeeming power.
It's a sign of the lost peace of Eden, but points to a Day of Rest in the next life.

Good post, AlienS.

Another excellent post! Good insights. All good as far as I'm concerned. Thanks.

No building in that day could hold the crowds following Jesus. Too bad he didn't have stadium with a microphone and loud speakers and instant replay screens, but he didn't really need them to communicate what he wanted to thousands of his listeners. I suspect his disciples repeated his words to those not within hearing range.



Jesus loved the peaceful scenes of nature, and to him each quiet retreat was a sacred temple. Jesus reached far more people with his Church in the Open Air than possible in the small, dark, synagogues of those days. This is where he chose to train his disciples, too, taking them away from the confusion of the city to the quiet of the fields and hills.



In looking at nature, we can learn valuable lessons about the Kingdom of God. We don't need to attend some costly sanctuary to grow closer to our creator:



A rest from the cares and confusion of this life, and, a time to study God's word and carefully think about it, these are what's needed for a Sabbath Rest.

The Sabbath Rest is worthless, though, if all we have is just a day to attend church, listen to a sermon, overeat at a potluck lunch, fall asleep at home, etc. We could turn the Sabbath experience into something so much better by doing what Jesus did. To transform a day of gluttony and lethargy into a more useful time should be our goal.

We could travel short distances with friends to parks or other natural areas to read and reflect on the life of Christ. This could be our version of the Church in the Open Air, the Lawn Chair Church. Dropping off a food box or basket along the way would be a pleasant surprise for someone in need.

Even a gathering in a backyard with trees and plants and flowing water might be more meaningful than wearing stuffy clothing in a stuffy building while listening to stuffy preachers preaching stuffy sermons. Sometimes our churches become more like prisons. That's when we need to escape to our Backyard Lawnchair Churches where we could learn much more studying among friends than listening to a lifetime of forgettable sermons.