Sunset in Jerusalem.

In cities and villages throughout Israel, life seems to come to a standstill on Friday afternoons.

As the cool of the evening sweeps in, the Shabbat (Sabbath) begins, the seventh day — a day of rest and holiness.

The Hebrew word for this seventh day is shabbat (שַׁבָּת), which comes from the root verb shabat (שָׁבַת), meaning to cease, desist, rest.

Many Messianic Jews and Gentile Believers in Yeshua (Jesus), along with sabbath-keeping Christian denominations, such as Seventh Day Adventists join millions of Jewish people in Israel and around the world by setting aside this seventh day as holy.  

They keep it holy in a variety of ways, primarily by ceasing from all regular work as one of the Ten Commandments instructs.

But is it important to keep Shabbat holy in the 21st century?

Jewish men and women stroll down Jaffa Road in Jerusalem on the Shabbat. (Photo by Nick Thompson)

God Worked for Six Days

Before understanding why and how God wants us to rest, we must first understand what it means to work.

“By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested [shevat—ceased] from all His work [melakhah—workmanship, creative activity].  (Genesis 2:2)

God had just finished creating the heavens and the earth and all that was in it.  That was His melakhah, one of the Hebrew words for work.

So, what is the melakhah (work) that God expects us to do for six days before Shabbat begins on Friday night? 

One Orthodox Jewish writer described it as anything that “represents a constructive, creative effort” and that demonstrates a man or woman’s “mastery over nature,” which God gave us in Genesis 1:28.

Even though the work that each of us does is on a much smaller scale than what God accomplished, He expects us to create and master the resources that He gave us.

In fact, God says He will make us prosper (be blessed) through the work we do.

“… the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hand that you will do.”  (Deuteronomy 14:29)

God even bestows blessings on the seventh day, itself.

A sunset over the Dead Sea in Israel. A day begins in the evening according to the Bible.  (Genesis 1:3–5)

God Blessed the Seventh Day and Made It Holy

To bless something is to grant it special favor, honor, and privileges beyond other comparable things.

First, God granted special favor to the seventh day by giving it a unique name — Shabbat.

Every other day in the Tanakh is designated as Yom (Day) Rishon (1), Yom (Day) Sheni (2), etc. just as God identified the days of creation as the first day, second day, and so on. 

However, Friday night to Saturday night is not called Day 7; it is just called Shabbat (Rest).

And God didn’t stop with giving Day 7 a unique name.  

What higher honor could He give this day than to designate it as Holy.

“Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.”  (Genesis 2:3)

To be holy is to be set apart, and that is exactly what the Shabbat is all about, being set apart.

The Sabbath is a powerful declaration that God is the Creator.

The seventh day has held a special place of honor in God’s heavenly calendar since the very first Sabbath of creation, before Adam and Eve even had a chance to disobey Him.

Whether or not Adam and Eve and the generations up to the time of Moses kept the Shabbat holy is up for debate.

But by the time God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He made it a law — the fourth of the ten commandments.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work [melakhah], but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work [melakhah]….  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”  (Exodus 20:8–11; see also Leviticus 23:3,32 and Deuteronomy 5:12–14)

Imagine the joy that the Israelites felt when they received that commandment.  They now only had to work 6 days!

As slaves in Egypt, they had been forced to work day in and day out. The Shabbat, on the other hand, offered them — and it offers each of us — an emancipation from the slavery of continual work, safeguarding the dignity of every worker.

Israel in Egypt (1867), by Edward Poynter depicts the enslavement of the Israelites under Pharaoh

Separating the Shabbat from Every Other Day

Setting the Shabbat apart from every other day protects our relationship with God, serving as a weekly reminder to us and it shows others that we belong to the Lord.  We must always keep in mind that people are watching us:

“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.”  (Isaiah 43:12)

To remember the Shabbat as a holy day (#4 of the Ten Commandments), the Jewish people recite a special blessing as Shabbat ends on Saturday evening:

“Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the Universe who distinguishes holiness from the ordinary, light from dark, Israel from the nations, the seventh day from the six days of work.  Blessed art thou, Lord our God, who distinguishes holiness from the ordinary.”

Also in Jewish tradition, to help distinguish the Shabbat from the rest of the week, Shabbat ends with a special Havdalah (Separation) ceremony which ushers in the new week.

In the image below, a braided candle (right) is lit, spices in an ornamental spice box (left) are sniffed by those attending, and the Kiddush blessing is made over a cup of wine (center).

Items used during the Havdalah ceremony.

We not only set aside the Shabbat for ourselves but for others in our care.  This fourth commandment reveals God’s great love and concern for the well-being of all of His creation and not just one class of people, since God says that even our working animals and employees (servants), are to rest on this holy day.

“On the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.”  (Exodus 23:12)

Here we see that God’s concern is not merely to rest but to restore our physical, mental, and emotional strength for the week ahead.

God did not create us to work every day, all the time.  Each of us needs a time of refreshing, otherwise we will burn out.

These reasons should be enough for a person to want to keep the Sabbath day holy.  But God gives still more reasons for doing so.

He wants us to have a day of delight and find joy in Him!

He wants us to be blessed.

Many of us delight in our work, hobbies, and entertainment.  But on Shabbat, God wants us to delight (oneg) in the holiness of Shabbat.

“If you keep your feet from breaking the Shabbat and from doing as you desire on My holy day, if you call the Shabbat a delight (oneg) and the Lord’s day honorable… then you will find your joy in the Lord.”  (Isaiah 58:13–14)

Today, oneg is the name given to the fellowship meal after a synagogue service, but God wants us to delight in much more.

Yeshua Heals the Blind and Lame, by James Tissot

He wants us to approach this day as if we are about to receive an exquisite, dainty, delicate delight, because that is what oneg actually means.

Even though resting our bodies is important, we are not to waste the day by doing nothing.  Rather, we are to be productive for the Kingdom — not by creating but by restoring.

Yeshua (Jesus) likewise didn’t create anything on Shabbat; He restored bodies and souls to new life, sometimes even resurrecting the dead.

We can restore our souls to God by going to services, studying the Word of God by ourselves or with others after services, praying and praising God on this sanctified day, as well as encouraging others to do the same.

“Blessed is the man who does [what is right], the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Shabbat without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”  (Isaiah 56:2)

Jewish Believers in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah begin their Shabbat dinner at

Should Christians Keep the Seventh Day (Shabbat) Holy?

The Shabbat has been observed in some form by the Jewish people at least since the Ten Commandments were given to Moses, while most Christians have come to believe that keeping the seventh day holy is no longer necessary.

This has been especially true since the Council of Laodicea in AD 360, which declared that Christians should work on the Sabbath (Saturday) and not work on Sunday:

“Christians should not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath, but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the Lord’s day [Sunday] and, if possible, not work on it, because they are Christians.”  (Canon 29)

To validate this day change, Christians point to teachings by Shaul (Apostle Paul) that seem to infer that Sabbath-keeping on the seventh day (Saturday) is no longer necessary.

For instance, Paul teaches that we may already enter a spiritual rest by faith in Yeshua:

“Since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. …  Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said.”  (Hebrews 4:1, 3)

Jesus at the Well (1910), by Luc-Olivier Merson

However Paul did not say that the Sabbath has been taken away as a special day of rest.  Yeshua (Jesus) plainly said that He came to fulfill the law (includes the Ten Commandments), not to abolish it.

“For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”  (Matthew 5:18)

In the Book of Acts, the first Jewish Believers kept Shabbat, visiting the synagogues on the seventh day of the week (Shabbat).  As well, Yeshua also kept the Shabbat and attended the local synagogue.

In addition to the first Believers keeping the Shabbat, they also had the tradition of meeting together for a meal on the first day of the week (Saturday night to Sunday night).

“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.  Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.”  (Acts 20:7)

Since the day begins on the evening of the prior day according to the Jewish calendar, the “first day of the week” might refer to Saturday evening, when the early believers met together in praise and fellowship after worshiping in the synagogue on Shabbat.

Believers in a Messianic congregation are dancing to the song “Mashiach,” which means Messiah.

Nevertheless, Paul also said that when it comes to appointed days of the Lord, “one person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike.  Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.”  (Romans 14:5–6)

So each person should prayerfully search the Scriptures and conclude which day is holy.

In Israel, Shabbat is the legal day of worship for the country, and in Jerusalem it is illegal for stores to be open.

Most of our readers live outside of Israel, and maybe their government or society forces them to work on Shabbat, so each person should do as their conscious renders.

As Paul said,  “Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Messiah.”  (Colossians 2:16–17)

Family and friends enjoy dinner on Erev Shabbat (Friday evening).

While society is by and large leaving behind the observance of a day of rest, most Believers would agree that it is important to set aside at least one day of the week as sacred to the Lord and as a day of rest.

It allows us to separate at least one day of the week to focus on the Lord and His creation.

“Let the peace of Messiah rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.”  (Colossians 3:15)

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PARASHA ACHAREI MOT (After Death)
Leviticus 16:1–18:30; Ezekiel 22:1–22:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9–20

“The LORD spoke to Moses after the death [acharei mot] of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD.”  (Leviticus 16:1)

Parasha Acharei Mot begins with God’s instructions for Aharon (Aaron), the Cohen HaGadol (The High Priest), regarding entering the innermost chamber of the Sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, with the ketoret (incense offering) and the preparations for the crucial once-a-year sacrifice on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

Preparing to lift the Torah scroll for the congregation to see.

This week’s Parasha emphasizes that it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”  (Leviticus 17:11)

For most of us, even religious Jews, this idea of blood atonement for sin seems foreign and archaic.  Moreover, in this day of do-what-you-think-is-right, even the basic concept of sin seems antiquated.

Still, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is a reminder that the problem of sin is just as real today as it was in the time of Moses.

According to Jewish tradition, Yom Kippur is the day God pronounces judgment, administering either the rewards for good deeds (mitzvot) or the punishments for sin.

This holiest day of the year, which is observed in the fall, reminds us that we are in desperate need of redemption through the blood of atonement.  No matter how hard we try to be “good enough,” we always fall short of God’s standards of perfection.

“For there is not a righteous man upon earth who does good and sins not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

Day of Atonement, by Isidor Kaufman

The Scapegoat for Sin and God’s Sign of Acceptance

God told Moses that on Yom Kippur, Aaron should cast lots for two goats.  One would be offered as the sacrifice and the other — the azazel (scapegoat) — would be sent alive into the wilderness.

“Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.  But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat [azazel].”  (Leviticus 16:8–10)

Azazel is a rare Hebrew noun meaning dismissal or complete removal.

To symbolize the entire removal of the sin and guilt of Israel, the High Priest is to lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel.  All their transgressions are laid upon the azazel, which is then sent away into the wilderness.

“The goat shall bear all their iniquities to a land which is cut off.”  (Leviticus 16:22) 

Sending Out the Scapegoat, by William Webb

The Removal of Sin

“In this way he [Aaron] will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been.” (Leviticus 16:16)

While ordinary sacrifices were limited to atonement for involuntary or unintentional sins, the special Yom Kippur sacrifice of a goat also atoned for willful sin.

The Prophet Isaiah foreshadowed a day when Yeshua would become the sacrifice that would remove all sin.

In the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53, he wrote, “And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all …  For He shall bear their iniquities.”  (Isaiah 53:6, 11)

In Hebrew, the use of the word iniquities in these verses means crooked and signifies a willful departure from the law (Torah) of God.

This prophetic portion of Scripture has been hidden from most Jewish people, even those who faithfully attend synagogue services.

The entire chapter, in fact, is not found in the yearly selection of Sabbath Haftarah (prophetic) readings.

Why?  Likely because it is impossible to miss that this Messianic prophecy describes the atonement that Yeshua made for us through the sacrifice of His own life.

Scroll of Isaiah

Those who do read Isaiah 53 see the connection to Yeshua.

Some Jewish teachers, however, downplay this important Messianic prophecy by claiming that these verses speak of Israel (not Yeshua) as a suffering scapegoat for the nations.

Of course, in a limited sense this is true.  The nation and the people of Israel have suffered greatly.  As a result of their rejection of the Messiah, salvation has come to the Gentiles; however, God has not forgotten them.  He has only temporarily afflicted Israel:

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

“And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:  The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”  (Romans 11:25–27)

A view of the square in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Numerous rabbinic commentators acknowledge that Isaiah 52:13–53:12 does refer to the Messiah and not to the nation of Israel.

The following references are taken from traditional rabbinical sources, such as the Talmud (oral law).

“He, Messiah, shall intercede for man’s sins, and the rebellious, for his sake, shall be forgiven.”  (Jerusalem Targum on Isaiah 53:12)

“… and when Israel is sinful, the Messiah seeks for mercy upon them as it is written, ‘By his stripes we were healed’ (Isaiah 53:5), and ‘he carried the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors’ (Isaiah 53:12).”  (Genesis Rabbah)

In addition to writings in ancient Jewish literature, other respected Rabbis have objected to the idea that Isaiah 53 refers to the nation of Israel.  Rabbi Moshe Kohen ibn Crispin (15th century) wrote these strong words:

“[In contrast to those] having inclined after the stubbornness of their own hearts and their own opinion, I am pleased to interpret the parasha (Isaiah 53) in accordance with the teachings of our rabbis, of the King Messiah … and adhere to the literal sense.  Thus I shall be free from forced and far-fetched interpretations of which others are guilty.”  (S.K. Driver and A. Neubauer, The Suffering Servant of Isaiah, p. 99)

A young Jewish woman kisses the siddur (Jewish prayer book) while praying at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

R. Moses Alshech (16th century) stated flatly:  “Our rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet [Isaiah] is here [ch. 53] speaking of the Messiah.”

Through faith in Yeshua, our sins are transferred to the Messiah, who became our Scapegoat (Azazel).

Only His death fulfills Isaiah 53, which describes God’s Suffering Servant, who like a lamb was led to the slaughter to bear our iniquities.

And because He was sinless, Yeshua came into the heavenly Holy of Holies in the capacity of the High Priest (Cohen HaGadol), not with the blood of bulls or goats, but with His own blood for our redemption.

“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”  (Hebrews 9:12)

The blood of bulls and goats could never fully remove sin, only cover it for a time.

Only Yeshua the Messiah, as the pure spotless lamb and the scapegoat, could pay the price for our rebellion and uncleanness.  He did so willingly, giving His life as the Korban (sacrifice) for our sins.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.”  (Isaiah 53:4–5)

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The Angel of Death and the First Passover (1897 Bible Pictures and 
What They Teach Us)

   
The Last Supper, by Jacopo Bassano

A lamb with its mother

 In 700 BC, the prophet Isaiah spoke of the fulfillment of Passover through the coming of the Passover Lamb, the Suffering Servant of God, who would become this curse for us and bear the sins of many:

 “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by His wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:5–6; see also Galatians 3:10, 13; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

 But Isaiah 53 is not the only prophecy about Yeshua.  We can know that Yeshua was this Suffering Servant and took our death penalty upon Himself as our Passover Lamb by carefully reading Passover Scripture that foreshadow Him:

 Foreshadow: Exodus 12:5 speaks of a spotless (unblemished) lamb to be used in the Seder.  Isaiah 53:11 further describes the coming Passover Lamb as being the “righteous servant.”
Fulfilled: Paul tells us that “God made Him [Yeshua] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Foreshadow: Exodus 12:22–23 describes how the blood of the lamb is used to cover the members of the household from judgment.  Isaiah 53:6 says the Messiah bore the “iniquity of us all.”
Fulfilled: Believers now “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body.”  (Hebrews 10:19–20)

Foreshadow: Exodus 12:6 says that the lamb is to be slaughtered between the evenings (sometimes translated twilight).
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:45–46 describes how Yeshua hung on the tree from the 6th hour to the 9th hour, which is before evening fell.  It is the same time that the Passover lambs were being slain for the Passover Seder.

   
The Three Execution Stakes

Foreshadow: Exodus 12:46 says that not a bone of the lamb is to be broken.
Fulfilled: John 19:31–36 states that when the soldiers came to break the legs of those condemned to die on the Roman execution stake in order to hasten their death, Yeshua was already dead.  Not one of His bones was broken.

Foreshadow: Leviticus 23:5 says that Passover is to be celebrated on the 14th of Nissan at twilight.
Fulfilled: Matthew 27:62 tells us that Yeshua died on the day of preparation for the Passover, which is Nissan 14, just in time for the Passover.

 When Yeshua became our Passover Lamb, He was cut off from the living for three days.

 Because of this indescribable sacrifice on our behalf, Believers will be resurrected to be with Him on the last day, just as Martha proclaimed about her brother Lazarus, “I know He will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”  (John 11:24)

   
Raising of Lazarus, by Carl Heinrich Bloch

 

 Yeshua Explains His Death and Resurrection

 Some have argued that what was an apparent resurrection of Jesus’ body had been manufactured by the disciples in accordance with what they knew to be the Messianic prophecies.

 But, in fact, they did not fully comprehend these prophecies until after the resurrection.  We can see this specifically in Luke’s story of the appearance of the Messiah on the road to Emmaus.  There on that road, Yeshua interpreted these prophetic writings to His disciples saying:

 “‘Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.”  (Luke 24:26–27)

 Even though Yeshua’s talmidim had witnessed Him revive many people from the dead, no one had been resurrected from death to eternal life.  Still, the idea of resurrection of the dead was not new.  The prophets had already declared it:

Prophecy: “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.”  (Daniel 12:2)

Prophecy: “Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise.  You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.”  (Isaiah 26:19)

Prophecy:  “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.”  (Psalm 16:10)

 Even with all this prophetic teaching, it did not fully penetrate the hearts and minds of the talmidim.  After seeing the empty tomb, Peter “went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” (Luke 24:12)

  
Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, by James Tissot

 Perhaps Yeshua explained prophetic Scriptures such as these:

Prophecy: The Messiah would be rejected: “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.  Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”  (Isaiah 53:3; see also Luke 17:25; 1 Peter 2:7)

Prophecy: The Messiah would bear the punishment and curse of sin under the law:  “For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was punished.”  (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4)

 In being “cut off,” the Messiah would be found guilty of a capital offense, greatly afflicted, and executed as the law states:  “If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole…”  (Deuteronomy 21:22; see also Mark 15)

 Prophecy: His hands and feet would be pierced and lots would be cast for His garments:  “Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.  All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”  (Psalm 22:16–18; see also Luke 24:40; Matthew 27:35)

  
The Garments Divided by Cast Lots, by James Tissot 
(Brooklyn Museum)

 Prophecy: The Messiah would pay the ransom price for our death due to sin: “Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?  Shall I redeem them from death?  O Death, where are your thorns?  O Sheol, where is your sting?”  (Hosea 13:14; see also Mark 10:45)

 Prophecy: Messiah would be raised from the dead on the third day:  “After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up.”  (Hosea 6:2; see also Mark 10:34; Acts 10:40)

 Prophecy: In His resurrection, Yeshua fulfilled the Feast of First Fruits held on Nissan 16: “Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.  For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20–21; see also 1 Corinthians 15:20)

 Though the disciples (talmidim) were familiar with the Scriptures, they did not yet connect the prophecies about the identity of the Messiah or His suffering and resurrection, even though Yeshua had prepared them for both when He told them:

 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.  They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.  On the third day He will be raised to life!”  (Matthew 20:18–19; see also Mark 8:31)

 Yeshua also compared Himself with the prophet Jonah, saying, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”  (Matthew 12:40)

 And, of course, there is the story of Thomas who when told by the others that they had seen the risen Messiah said: “Unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  (John 20:25)

  
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, by Caravaggio

 Once Yeshua explained the prophecies that foreshadowed His death and resurrection, the hearts of these two men burned; they hurried to the other disciples to proclaim, “It is true!  The Lord has risen.” (Luke 24:32–34)

 Similarly, when prophecies are presented and explained (as our Messianic Prophecy Bible will do) and hearts are open to receiving truth, the identity of the Messiah becomes clear.

 Despite their new understanding of Messianic prophecy, the talmidim still would not be empowered to boldly proclaim that understanding until the Feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) some 50 days later.  On that day, the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) filled the disciples, empowering them with greater prophetic insight and knowledge.

 On Shavuot, full of the Ruach, Peter explained to many hundreds of Jewish people how King David foresaw the Messiah’s victory over death through His resurrection:

 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.  But he was a prophet. … Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did His body see decay.

 “God has raised this Yeshua to life, and we are all witnesses of it.  Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.”  (Acts 2:29–33; see Psalm 16:8–11 for David’s prophecy)

  
Peter Preaches to the Jews at Pentecost, 
by Arthur A. Dixon

 David’s prophetic insight gives us all hope.  We, therefore, can proclaim in the words of Job: “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand on the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”  (Job 19:25–26)

 Because of God’s great plan of redemption as prophesied throughout Scriptures, Yeshua suffered for our sins and gained victory over both sin and death through His own death and resurrection.  Because of Him, we can enter into eternal life.

 As a bridegroom prepares for the arrival of his bride, Yeshua is even now preparing for the arrival of every Believer — both Jew and Gentile — into a glorious eternity just as He promised us:

 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”  (John 14:2–3)

 Come, Adon Yeshua.  Come!

  

 

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The Waters Are Divided, by James Tissot

“So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.”  (Exodus 3:8)

The Crossing of the Red Sea, by Nicholas Poussin

Seven Lessons Learned in the Long Way

Efficiency is king in this modern age.  The shortest, most direct route seems like it is always the correct way to go.

Let us consider some possible reasons why the shortest route may not be the best route for us, and why it was not the best route for the Israelites:

1. The shortest route would have taken the Israelites through hostile Philistine country.

   They were not prepared to encounter such hostility.

   “For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.’  So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.”   (Exodus 13:17–18)

   Moses left Egypt with an army of mostly broken souls who had spent the last eight to ten generations as slaves in Egypt.

   To reach Canaan, they would have to fight the Moabites, the Amalekites, and several other nations before actually having to confront the cities and tribes of Canaan itself.  The Hebrew tribes were in no condition at that time to undertake such a challenge.

   God sometimes brings us the long way because we are mentally, emotionally, and spiritually unprepared to face what awaits us along the short route or at the end of our journey.

A man hikes in Israel.

2. God wanted the Egyptians to know that He is the LORD.  Though God had a covenant responsibility to bring the Jewish People out of Egypt, he was also concerned about the spiritual condition of the Egyptians.

   “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.  But I will gain glory for Myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”  (Exodus 14:4)

   Likewise, when God takes us the long way, He may have in mind the salvation of others.

3. God planned to show His People His might one more time through the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army.  This forever settled in their minds that they were rid of their Egyptian taskmasters—never again would they be capable of dragging the Israelites back into slavery.

   The Israelites were free to worship and serve their Deliverer.

   God sometimes brings us through Red Sea experiences so that we will have a deep and lasting revelation of just how free we are in Messiah.

   “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

A 1919 Bible primer depiction of the Red Sea swallowing Pharaoh’s army.

4. God wanted His children to know that there is no turning back.  With the Red Sea now sealing off the Israelites’ route back to Egypt, they understood that the food and delicacies that they were fond of as slaves were now a memory.

   “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.”  (Numbers 11:5)

   In the dry place between bondage and the land of milk and honey, the Israelites would be tempted to grumble about their present circumstances and see their past through rose-colored glasses, misremembering and idealizing their enslavement.

   They desperately needed to have an encounter with God at Mount Sinai where they would receive instructions for a new way of life—on how to follow God through His written statutes and appointed leaders.

   When Believers are brought into a place of new life in the Messiah but are not yet living as a new creation, we need to learn to depend on the LORD daily, and resist the temptation to fondly reminisce about former lives lived in sin.

   God sometimes brings us through Red Sea experiences so that we will not turn back to our lives enslaved to the forces of the world.

The Egyptians Are Downed in the Red Sea

5. God took the Israelites on the long way because He had great plans for them.  He had plans to transform them into a holy nation by giving them His word in the form of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments, written by His own hand.  He planned to create a civil and spiritual society by giving them the Torah or Five Books of Moses, which He would dictate to His prophet.

   He not only took them out of slavery into freedom, he recreated a people who were, in every sense, free.  They were transformed from cowering fearfully before the Red Sea to courageously fighting to take possession of the Promised Land.

   In the wilderness, the People of Israel would have an opportunity to meditate, study, and encounter God’s Word in ways they could not on the short way fraught with continual battles.

   In our own wilderness, away from the distractions and noise of the short way, we often are more attentive to the voice of the Lord.  It is in this place that we have an opportunity to prepare for a transformation—a new beginning. 

A stained-glass image of Moses and the Ten Commandments

6. God wanted to demonstrate to the Israelites that he could sustain them even in the wilderness.  He miraculously supplied this massive nation with water from a rock, Manna from heaven and even meat in the form of flocks of birds.

   God also wants us to radically rely on Him so that He will supernaturally demonstrate to us that He is our provider, even in the toughest of times.

7. God wanted a people who would trust in His leading.  The Bible reveals, however, that the Hebrew People whom God had been supernaturally delivering and sustaining, balked at entering the Land that He promised them.

   Of the twelve spies that entered Canaan, only Joshua and Caleb brought back a positive report.

   Joshua agreed with Caleb, who confidently proclaimed, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”  (Numbers 13:30)

   The others complained that the land was filled with the Nephilim, the fathers of the Anakim (a tribe of people living in the hills of Judah and Philistia), saying, “We saw the Nephilim there.  We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”  (Numbers 13:33)

Moses and the Messengers From Canaan, by Giovanni Lanfranco

Because the generation that God delivered from Egypt proved unwilling to follow God’s lead on their way to the Promised Land, they died before entering it.

Only Joshua, Caleb, and the second generation of freed Israelites were allowed to enter.

The wilderness-born children knew nothing of slavery, so they did not have a victim mentality, nor did they idealize enslavement.  Instead, they were trained for battle by sporadic confrontations with the many nations that attacked them along their 40-year journey toward Canaan.

This new generation of Israelites were raised up to know only the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses; they became an army of seasoned warriors ready to take the Promised Land and settle it.

We are also engaging in battles along our journey, growing in wisdom and improving our strategies as we shed worldly thinking, learn from God’s Word, and boldly progress toward God’s promises and blessings.

Reading through the Haggadah during a Passover Seder.  (Photo by Sandor Weisz)

Taking the Long Way Through Our Wilderness

We typically try to plan out our lives using a pre-set schedule of events.  The plan includes finishing college by this age, getting married by that age, purchasing a house before having children, etc.

Life often doesn’t follow our carefully planned itinerary, however.

Consequently, we may feel that we are wandering in a wilderness of our own, moving in a different direction than we had planned.

God knows us better than we know ourselves (or are willing to admit) and there can be many reasons that God takes us the long way through the wilderness.

For one, attaining our goals without proper spiritual growth can drive us further from God.

For example, some who have achieved their goals think that it is due to their hard work, wisdom, skill, education or talent.  They think that God had nothing to do with it.  They might be on a successful track in life, but they do not know that they are spiritually lost.

Another reason that God might be taking us through the wilderness is that it is a perfect place to learn how to depend on Him.

Others are in the wilderness because they disobeyed God’s leading, and now they are in a place where they must seek it.

If your wandering is because of disobedience, the answer is simple: turn toward God, turn toward obedience.

“Draw nearer to God and He will draw nearer to you.”  (James 4:8)

A woman stands on a mountain peak in Israel’s desert.

In the wilderness, we might feel that God is unnecessarily holding back from answering our prayers.

We ask Him, “Why, Lord.  Why?”

He answers by leading us to the parable of the widow who never gave up seeking justice (Luke 18:1–5).  He seems to be telling us to be persistent.

We might answer God with a bit of His own wisdom by quoting Proverbs 13:12: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

But God responds, “Be patient.  I am still doing a work in you.”

As the Israelites were led by the cloud during the day and the pillar of fire by night, we must allow God’s Spirit—that still small voice—to lead us through our wilderness toward His goal for our life, His Promised Land.

Bike riding in Israel’s Negev Desert.  (Go Israel photo by Alon Ron)

Comfort in the Wilderness

“Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.”  (Hosea 2:14)

As we celebrate the Passover, we are told in the Haggadah (the Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder or ritual meal) to believe that we, too, were freed from Egypt.

The God who performed all those miracles, who led His children through the wilderness, is the same One leading us today.

If God does not bring us on the shortest path to His goals—to the place that He has promised to bring us—then He has His reasons, and it is for our good.

It is our job to keep moving forward on His path, not ours.

So, as you journey, do not be anxious about tomorrow, but engage in what God is doing in your life today.  Yeshua (Jesus) promises:

“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”  (Matthew 6:25)

Passover Seder (photo by Rachel Barenblot)

God has in mind His best for us, and we should not lose faith at the sight of obstacles like the Red Sea or the battles we must engage in to reach our destiny.

Do not give up on what God has promised you, even though it seems slow in coming.

And though it may be the long, dry way, don’t cry to God about it—go forward.

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to Me?  Tell the people of Israel to go [nasa–journey] forward.’”  (Exodus 14:15)

Instead, he took them on a route that began a 40-year journey and involved the need for God to perfrom yet another miracle:  the parting of the Red Sea.

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Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach (The Intermediate Sabbath of Passover)
Exodus 33:12–34:26; Numbers 28:16–25; Ezekiel 37:1–14; Luke 24

“You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Chag HaMatzot].  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread [matzah], as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Aviv, for in the month Aviv you came out from Egypt.”  (Exodus 34:18)

An Orthodox Jewish boy eats a piece of matzah during Passover.

The Parasha (Scripture portion) for this Shabbat occurs during Passover week and begins by describing the holy days of Pesach (Passover) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot), which last seven days.

These two special events are most often blended into one and just called Passover, but there is a crucial difference between the two, which we will explore in today’s study.

During the Passover time frame, there are three distinct events that represent three unique spiritual states or conditions of the soul:

1. Passover represents salvation: we are saved from the wrath of God by faith in the blood of the Passover Lamb.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”  (John 1:29)

Yeshua (Jesus) was slain on Passover as the perfect fulfillment of the lamb that saved the Israelites on the very first Passover:

“And when I see the blood I will pass over you.”  (Exodus 12:13)

“The next day Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'”  (John 1:29)

2. Unleavened bread, also called matzah or the bread of affliction, represents sanctification.

Matzah is flat because it is devoid of yeast (chametz), which represents wickedness, pride and that which causes us to be puffed up or to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.

“Your boasting is not good.  Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are.  For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”  (1 Corinthians 5:6–7)

The matzah and wine of the ritual Pesach meal called a Seder (order).

Chametz is closely related to the Hebrew word chamutz, which means sour.  Yeast is a souring agent.  Likewise, sin causes bitterness in our soul.

“Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread [matzah] of sincerity and truth.”  (1 Corinthians 5:8)

The week of unleavened bread, therefore, represents sanctification accomplished through affliction, trials and testing, and the purging of pride in order to teach us humility and obedience by the things we suffer in our wilderness experiences.

“And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”  (Deuteronomy 8:2)

A tour group takes shelter from the sun under a lone acacia tree in Israel’s desert

3. First Fruits, also called Bikkurim in Hebrew, which occurs the day after the first day of Unleavened Bread (although there is some disagreement as to the timing), represents resurrection.

Just as the barley is offered up to the Lord as the first crop after winter, so Yeshua was also raised from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits.

“But now the Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  (1 Corinthians 15:20)

From these distinct elements within Passover, we can understand that between the events of salvation and resurrection is a process of sanctification.

Passover → Unleavened Bread → First Fruits

Salvation → Sanctification → Resurrection

A crop of barley in Israel

The Intermediate Sabbath—Losing Heart in the Wilderness

When the Israelites were delivered from Egypt, they also had to go through a sanctification process, which took them through the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.

Even though the Israelites entered into a covenant with God in the wilderness, and came to understand their identity as God’s treasured possession there, sometimes they responded to hardship and barrenness of the wilderness with discouragement.

In the wilderness, they also lost heart, lost hope, longed for Egypt, grumbled, murmured, and complained.

For that reason, all perished but two—Joshua and Caleb—who followed the Lord wholeheartedly and kept the faith.  The bodies of the other Israelites lay scattered across that vast wilderness.

Yeshua is Tempted in the Wilderness, by James Tissot

Even Yeshua spent time in the wilderness—perhaps the Judean or Negev Desert.  The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) led Him there to be tempted by the devil.  (Matthew 4:1–11)

Israel’s deserts are not an easy places to live—even with air conditioning!

The Negev is a land of snakes and scorpions; a place of great danger.  And yet, the wilderness is not a punishment, but a necessary stage in our spiritual journey.

It is often God who leads us into our wilderness experiences to humble us, to test us, to refine our faith, and to teach us perseverance and endurance.

If we come out of it alive, we do so “leaning on our beloved” instead of relying on our own strength or limited sufficiency.  (Song of Solomon 8:5)

The wilderness can be our spiritual university where we learn to trust in and depend upon the Lord, and only God knows how long that lesson will take.

The Torah is raised for all to see at Jerusalem’s Western (Wailing) Wall.

For Believers, in the vast space between salvation and the resurrection lies the wilderness, a dry and thirsty land where water is scarce.  That is where we are sanctified.

Because it is so easy to lose heart in the wilderness—our sanctification process—our response to the trials and challenges will determine how well we make it through to the resurrection.

Discouragement during our wilderness is an especially powerful weapon of the enemy because of its enfeebling, demoralizing effect.  This is not so with hatred, jealousy, fear, and other negative states that may cause us to act foolishly, to fight, or to run.  With these emotional attacks, at least we act.

Discouragement on the other hand, hurts us the most because it ultimately saps the energy right out of us, causing us to sit down, pity ourselves and do nothing.

Discouragement causes us to give in to the temptation of the enemy who whispers, “Just give up.”

Hopelessness is a very dangerous state of being.  In fact, Scripture tells us that “hope deferred makes the heart sick.”  (Proverbs 13:12)

Jewish men sort through prayer books (siddurs) on a table at the Western (Wailing) Wall in preparation for morning prayer.

When Hope Is Lost—The Day With No Name

The Scripture reading between Passover and Bikkurim is simply called “Intermediate Sabbath” (Chol HaMo’ed).  It doesn’t even have a name like the other parshiot.

It describes a time of hopelessness for Israel, wandering the nations without God’s blessing to protect them, as if they were living in a valley of dried up bones.

In our own valleys of dried up dreams and desires, when all hope seems lost, we wonder if everything has been in vain, if the sun will ever shine again in our grieving hearts.

Israel asked the same question in the Haftarah reading for this intermediate Sabbath.

The dry bones, which represent the whole house of Israel, say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.”  (Ezekiel 37:11)

A homeless man prays at the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem.

Sometimes we feel that we have been cut off from hope itself.  But so often when we feel the darkness is closing in on us, at that moment God is doing His greatest work.

Likewise, it is when Israel’s hope in itself is completely destroyed that God’s promise of restoration comes forth as a breath of life:

“Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the Lord…  And I will put My Spirit [Ruach] in you, and you shall live.”  (Ezekiel 37:13–14)

Ruach, the Hebrew word for spirit, is the same word used in verses 5 and 6 that is translated breath: “I will cause breath [Ruach] to enter into you and you shall live.”

A large group of women pray at the Western Wall during Passover.

In the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), Yeshua miraculously foreshadows the fulfillment of this Word.

Yeshua arrived four days after His friend Lazarus had died and been placed in the tomb.  Everyone’s hope in Lazarus being raised from the dead was completely lost.

Why did Yeshua wait for four days?  Jewish tradition holds that a person’s soul hovers around its physical body for three days, but after this time period, the soul leaves.

Therefore, the Jewish people who witnessed Lazarus’ death were convinced on the fourth day that the situation was completely and totally without any hope whatsoever!  Even the soul of the deceased had departed.

But Yeshua called out to Lazarus, TZEH HAHUTZAH!  COME OUT!

And Lazarus came up out of his grave and he lived!

One thing, however, needed to be done before Lazarus could come out of the tomb—the stone had to be rolled away.  Somebody had to do it and it wasn’t Yeshua.

The Raising of Lazarus, by Carl Heinrich Bloch

While He could have easily rolled it away Himself or even commanded the heavy stone to move and it would have obeyed Him, He called upon the people to participate in the miracle.

Yeshua said to them, “Take away the stone.”  (John 11:39)

Why?  Perhaps He wanted to teach us that we are not to be completely passive and expect God to do everything for us.

Maybe there is a stone standing between us and our miracle.

Perhaps, all that is needed is to draw upon the faith and strength within us to “take away the stone” under God’s direction.  Then we will witness God perform a resurrection in our own life!  Halleluyah!

The traditional site of the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany.  Like the people around Lazarus who thought Yeshua came too late, sometimes we find ourselves in an utterly hopeless situation where it is so tempting to give in to despair and depression.

This is exactly when we should be reaching out for a miracle to the One who said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”  (John 11:25)

Before our situation became hopeless, we may have been counting on God to show up to perform a miracle.  But it seems that He did a “no-show,” and the relationship or the business or the whatever we were hoping for died.

That is when deep disappointment sets in.  “Where was God?” we ask.  “Where was His power when I needed Him?”

We could sit there, looking at that stone, crying, and thinking it’s just too heavy or too hard to move—or we can just move away the obstacle, let God in, and see miracles come forth.

May we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and obey what He tells us to do to see that miracle happen—even if it doesn’t make sense or seems impossible in the natural.

The empty burial cloth

But We Were Hoping

Yeshua’s disciples also knew hopelessness and utter despair.

At Passover, after Yeshua’s death on the cross, it looked like all hope was lost and that the forces of evil had triumphed.  His disciples wandered about in confusion and sorrow.

They had hoped that this finally was the “real deal.”  After so many false Messiahs, they believed that He was truly the Mashiach who would redeem Israel from Roman oppression and restore the Kingdom of Israel.

After Yeshua’s execution, two disciples were traveling to a village seven miles from Jerusalem.  They walked together, chatting and reasoning about the event with quite sad demeanors.

But then Yeshua came near and walked with them along the road.  Still, their eyes were restrained and they did not recognize Him.  (Luke 24:16)

The empty tomb

Yeshua’s disciples had a certain expectation of how God was going to work things out.  But even though things didn’t happen the way they thought it should, this was God’s greatest triumph over darkness.

In their darkest hour, in their utter hopelessness, they couldn’t see that Hope was walking right alongside them!  For Yeshua is a Living Hope.  (1 Peter 1:3–4)

Isn’t this just like us when we’ve experienced a disappointment?  We’ve just got to find somebody to talk to about it.  We try to reason the thing out, to somehow make sense out of something that just doesn’t make sense.  This often only causes more sorrow.

When things don’t work out the way we had hoped they would, it could be that redemption is right there with us, walking alongside us.  Sometimes that Living Hope is right under our noses but we don’t perceive it because it comes in a form we didn’t quite expect.

In our darkest hours, we must remember that God never leaves us, for He safeguards our soul as we travel through the wilderness, where we are sanctified.

There, in our wilderness, our ultimate hope is Yeshua and His resurrection.

“You who are the Hope of Israel, its Savior in times of distress.”  (Jeremiah 14:8)

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