Practica Prophetica

Ezekiel 20
²⁰ Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

There is, therefore, that about the Sabbath by which he who hallows it may know, not only that the Lord is God, but that the Lord is his God.

But to know God is to know not only that He is, but also what He is, for His name is not simply “I AM,” but “I AM THAT I AM,”—I am what I am, I am that which I am,—so that “he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him,”—must believe not only that He is, but also what He is.

Therefore as the Sabbath is a sign which God has set, by which those who hallow it may know that He is the Lord their God; it follows with perfect certainty that there is in the Sabbath that by which those who hallow it may find the knowledge of God.

What is in the Sabbath?

Let us, therefore, look at the Sabbath as God made it; and at what the Lord did in the making of it by which it became the Sabbath of the Lord. First, He created all things, then He ceased from His works and rested the seventh day; He then blessed the seventh day; He made it holy, and sanctified it. In the Sabbath, therefore, is:

1. The reminder of God as Creator. It is the reminder of His creative power manifested; for it is a sign between Him and His people forever, because:
   

   Exodus 31
   ¹⁷ …in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.

2. God’s rest:
   

   Hebrews 4
   ⁴ For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all His works.
   ⁵ And in this place again, If they shall enter into My rest.

3. God’s blessing:
   

   Genesis 2
   ³ [For He] blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.

4. God’s holiness: for He “hallowed” (made holy) the Sabbath day. But it is only the presence of God which makes anything holy. When Moses, attracted by the curious sight of the bush burning with fire yet not consumed, turned aside and approached to behold,
   

   Exodus 3
   ⁴ God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
   ⁵ And He said, Draw not nigh thither; put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground.

   That place was made holy ground solely by the presence of “Him who dwelt in the bush.” And as it is the presence of the Lord which makes holy; that which made holy the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord, was the presence of Him who rested the seventh day from all His works.

5. God’s sanctification: because He not only blessed the seventh day, but sanctified it,—set it apart unto the holy use and service of the Lord,—that His presence might dwell therein. For it is not merely the transient presence, but the abiding presence, the special dwelling of God in a place, which sanctifies; for it is written:
   

   Exodus 29 [margin]
   ⁴³ Israel shall be sanctified by My glory,…
   ⁴⁵ …I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

   Thus connected with the Sabbath there is the creative power of God; the rest of God; the blessing of God, the presence of God which makes holy; and the continuing, dwelling, presence of God which sanctifies.

And all this is precisely, and in order, what is found in Christ by the believer in Jesus.

Christ in the Sabbath

God’s rest is in the seventh day; and God’s rest is in Christ. It is impossible for God’s rest to be in antagonistic places; for as with God “there is no variableness neither shadow of turning,” God’s rest is the same wherever it may be. Therefore, God’s rest being ever the same, God’s rest in the seventh day, and God’s rest in Christ, is precisely the same rest. And this, being impossible to be in antagonism, is in perfect unity, and therefore demonstrates that the Sabbath is in Christ and Christ is in the Sabbath.

God’s Promises to the Believer

The Sabbath, truly understood, means all of Christ; and Christ, truly understood, means all of the Sabbath. And neither can be truly understood without the other. The Sabbath is God’s sign, and Christ is God’s sign. Christ is God’s sign spoken against, and the Sabbath is God’s sign spoken against; and all,…

Luke 2
³⁵ …that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Yet ever He is indeed “the glorious Lord” (Isaiah 33:21); and ever “His rest,” His Sabbath, is indeed “glorious.” (Isaiah 11:10).

Hebrews 4
¹ Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
³ For we which have believed do enter into rest…

Ezekiel 20
²⁰ And hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 20
¹⁰ The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.

Isaiah 56
¹ Thus says the Lord, Keep judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
² Blessed is the man that does this, and the son of man that lays hold on it; that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.

Isaiah 58
¹³ If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:
¹⁴ Then shall you delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.

Isaiah 66
²² For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.
²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, says the Lord.

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Other articles by A. T. Jones:

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2015 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Sabbath. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.