Did you know there are some extremely difficult concepts to consider with regard to the biblical Sabbath?  I am not talking about mildly difficult here…
I’m going to show you some words of יהוה and then ask some very difficult questions.

Let’s take a look at the Sabbath in Exodus 20 and Exodus 31.
EXODUS 20
1 And Elohim spoke all these Words, saying,
2 “I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery…
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
9 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath 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.
11 “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.

EXODUS 31
12 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
13 And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.
14 ‘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.
15 ‘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.
16 ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to perform the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.
17 ‘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.’ ”
18 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.

First of all, let’s establish some basic facts.
Whose words are these? Are these statements made by a man, that we should question or doubt them?
No, we see in both passages that these are the very words of יהוה.
Shall we believe these words?
I for one accept and believe these words of my Creator, down to the very last letter and pen stroke.
I believe these words to be infallible.

With this idea in mind, that these are the words of יהוה and they are true and trustworthy, let’s ask some very difficult questions.

1.  Were these words temporary?  Were these words spoken with the intent that one day they would no longer be applicable?  Would He care about His Sabbath in ancient times, but not be concerned about it today?
What does יהוה say about it?
…throughout your generations
and again
…throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.

Well, that settles it.
Everlasting covenant, and for all generations.
I think it is safe to say His words are as serious today as they were in the time of Mosheh.

2. How important is the biblical Sabbath to יהוה?
“Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.”
He tells us to remember, don’t forget.
Most of humanity has forgotten, sadly.
He tells us to “set it apart”.
What does that mean? To be set apart?
קָדַשׁ qâdash, kaw-dash’; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):—appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self), wholly.

The biblical Sabbath is to be kept clean, holy, appointed, sanctified or sacred.
How do we keep it that way?
In my opinion, we keep it set apart by reading His words that describe the Sabbath.
We must keep it exactly as He has presented it to us.
That means we cannot change it.
We cannot decide for ourselves what it is, when it is, or how we observe it (if at all). We cannot decide if we are going to observe it sometimes, but not all the time.
If “our idea of Sabbath” does not match the Sabbath of יהוה exactly as He described it, then we have not kept it set apart.  We have changed it and defiled it. This is not a good thing…

3. How else is the Sabbath important to יהוה ?
Check out this very amazing blessing:
“…for it is a sign between Me and you”
And He clarifies this a second time:
“‘Between Me and the children of Yisra’ĕl it is a sign forever.”
Do you understand what is happening here?
יהוה is literally labeling us as His people.
We get to wear His mark of authenticity!!
Do you know why this is such a big deal?
It is because without this mark or sign, we are NOT His people.
יהוה establishes the definition that His people have this sign, so it makes sense that people WITHOUT this sign are not His people.
Am I wrong about this?
Am I stretching things that should not be stretched?
Am I making this more complicated than it really is?

Let’s have יהוה answer this question for us:
He says this:
“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.”
And this…
“Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.”
Does יהוה seem serious about this?
Or is He playing games?
Does He think “close enough is good enough”?
Or has He given us life-altering instructions here (literally, life altering!!)?

יהוה is so very serious about this that it will cost us our lives if we ignore His instructions.
During the time of a Torah covenant nation, it would actually cost your life to disobey:
Numbers 15
32 And while the children of Yisra’ĕl were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Mosheh and to Aharon, and to all the congregation. 34 And they put him in under guard, because it had not been declared what should be done to him. 35 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “The man shall certainly be put to death, all the congregation stoning him with stones outside the camp.” 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, as יהוה commanded Mosheh, and he died.

We do not live in a Torah governed covenant nation today, so being stoned to death for violating the Sabbath is not something we’ve had to worry about.
Nobody slinks around at the Mall on Sabbath, looking over their shoulder for an ancient-looking guy with a bunch of rocks.
Nobody goes to work on Sabbath, watching out for an angry Hebrew mob.
But יהוה says that we will die.
Did He tell anyone else this very same thing?
Genesis 2
16And יהוה Elohim commanded the man, saying, “Eat of every tree of the garden, 17but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall certainly die.”

Well, we all know how this turned out for Adam and Eve, right?
They went from being immortal to mortal.
They went from living with יהוה in His perfect Garden, to being banned to the cursed earth.
They went from bliss and perfection to knowing about sin and evil.
Then they died, many centuries later.
If we violate the Sabbath, not remembering it and not keeping it set apart, we will certainly die, just as יהוה says.
Will this death be physical in nature, or will it be a spiritual death as well, preventing us from being in the Kingdom of Heaven?
That is a good question, but I think יהוה has already answered this question.
“that being shall be cut off from among his people”
Being “cut off” from יהוהs chosen people does not sound like a good thing to experience.

Now, I’m going to ask even more difficult questions.
4.  What does this mean for people who have the scriptures and know about the ten commandments (which include the Sabbath) and choose not to remember it or keep it set apart?
Do we remember what יהוה said about His Sabbath?
Perpetual covenant.
For all generations.
That includes past generations.
That means people today.
That means future generations.
Every single generation is given this instruction and expectation.
יהוה makes His intentions known.  Very clearly.
How many countless millions or billions of people have come and gone from this earth without remembering the Sabbath and without keeping it set apart?
How many have worked, or made others work?
How many countless numbers of people all throughout humanity have not esteemed יהוהs instructions regarding the Sabbath?
What will be their fate?
According to יהוה, they are not His people, as they do not have the sign to identify them as such.
According to יהוה, they are cut off and not included among His chosen.
This is a big deal.

But it gets worse, even in Torah community.
How many folks do we know in Torah community who work on the Sabbath?
Or will go out to eat on the Sabbath, or go see a movie?
These sound like simple things, right?
No big deal, right?
If you or someone you know is nonchalant about the Sabbath, go back to the start of this study and begin again.
Go back and review what יהוה says about His Sabbath.
Go back and review what יהוה says will be the result of profaning His Sabbath.
Do you still want to work on the Sabbath?
Do you still want to go out to eat, or to the movies, or to the grocery store?
Do you still want to violate His Sabbath, and think it is not a big deal?
It is a huge deal!!

There is a way out, though.
The good news of the gospel tells us how to repent and be forgiven by Yeshua Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim!!
So that’s how it works, right?
Keep the Sabbath when convenient, and violate it when it is not convenient or desired.
And then just repent, right?
No, that is not how it works.
Yes, we are forgiven our sins when we repent and come to Yeshua.
But then we are expected to become a new creation, living not for ourselves, but for Him.
We are to separate ourselves from the World, because we are no longer of the world.
Do the scriptures tell us what will happen if we do not hold the Sabbath in high esteem, choosing to remember and honor it and keep it set apart?
Yes, we are told.
Numbers 15:30-31
30 But the being who does whatever defiantly, whether he is native or a stranger, he reviles יהוה, and that being shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of יהוה, and has broken His command, that being shall certainly be cut off, his crookedness is upon him.’ ”

If we know about the Sabbath and choose to defile it, because it is not convenient, or because we think it won’t matter once in awhile, consider these words of יהוה. If we choose to disobey intentionally, יהוה says that we revile Him.  That is how He views our disobedience.
What else does יהוה say?
“he has despised the word of יהוה, and has broken His command, that being shall certainly be cut off, his crookedness is upon him.”
יהוה says we despise His word if we break it on purpose.
He again says that being will be “cut off” which is bad.
And his sin remains upon Him.
Obviously I’m simply misunderstanding, right?
Obviously I’m making a bigger deal out of this than I should, right?
We are told how this is going to work yet again in the New Testament:
Hebrews 10:26-31
26 For if we sin purposely after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a slaughter offering for sins, 27 but some fearsome anticipation of judgment, and a fierce fire which is about to consume the opponents. 28 Anyone who has disregarded the Torah of Mosheh dies without compassion on the witness of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think shall he deserve who has trampled the Son of Elohim underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was set apart as common, and insulted the Spirit of favour? 30 For we know Him who has said, “Vengeance is Mine, I shall repay, says יהוה.” And again, “יהוה shall judge His people.” 31 It is fearsome to fall into the hands of the living Elohim.

This is a HUGE deal.
If we have the knowledge of the truth (in this case, an understanding of Sabbath) and choose to disobey the Sabbath instructions, then there no longer remains a sacrifice for us?
What sacrifice is this?
The price that Yeshua Messiah paid for our sins!!
That sacrifice no longer pertains to us, if we are nonchalant about the truth, about the instructions, about keeping the Sabbath (among other things).
Knowing the truth and choosing to disobey it is likened to trampling Yeshua underfoot!!
Are you seeing the strong nature of this language in the scriptures?
This is no small matter.
This is as serious as it gets!!!
If you know people who reject and disobey the Sabbath instructions, the 4^th of the 10 commandments, they need to know these things.
They need to have this spelled out for them.
This applies to the Christian church.
This applies to folks within our Torah fellowships and communities.
This applies to all.
For all generations.
A perpetual covenant.

Some people think I share these types of articles because I have no love for others.
That assessment could not be further from the truth.
I read the words of יהוה and believe them.
This causes me to have great concern for others, and out of love, I try to share this information with them.
They need to know.
They must know.
The harsh things I’ve shared in this article are not my own thoughts.
They are the words of the Creator of all things.
I’m not concerned with what you call Him:  God, Lord, Yehova, Yahweh, Yahuah, Elohim, Adonia, יהוה…
Pick any name that works for you.
These words I’ve shared are His words.
Do you believe Him?
If you do believe Him, do you need to repent and make any changes?
Do you need to encourage others to learn these things, or to take them seriously if they already know about them?
If so, share this because you love them, not because you want to criticize them.
That is where my heart is.

Please know that this article does not mean that I am trying to decide the eternal fate of others.
Yeshua Messiah, and only Him, has the authority to make such a decision.
I am simply reading the instructions of יהוה and sharing them with anyone who is willing to listen.  What happens between you and Yeshua Messiah and the Father is up to you, and not up to me.
I”m just here to encourage you to know these difficult things.
If you do not have the sign of belonging to God, Lord, Yehova, Yahweh, Yahuah, Elohim, Adonia, יהוה, then repent and go get it.
Let Him place His sign upon you, and wear it proudly and with confidence!
Protect it.
Remember it.
Keep it holy and set apart.
Just as יהוה tells us:  “…by all means.”