Is it as many Christians claim, that observing the seventh day Sabbath, or Shabbat, is a "work of the Law," and thus a burdensome command that was, and ever should be, done away with?

The Sabbath. Is it a burden from which we should seek relief, or is it a blessing from above? Was it, is it, the Father's intent for the the seventh day Sabbath to be a gift to His people? Is it a blessing that most Christians have missed?

In a search for answers we note that the first commandment declares that we must, "Have no other gods" before our God, Yahveh Elohim. Further, we must love Him "with all our heart" (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 6:5). However, if we will be honest, all of us--without exception--fail to fulfill these fundamental requirements. Therefore, all who seek salvation by works are disqualified before they can even get to the fourth, "Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy," commandment. And, as the Apostle James said, "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). If one cannot truly keep even the first commandment, how much less can one ever hope to get to the fourth commandment.

Sadly, our Father has been forced to declare that, regarding mankind, "They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good" (Psalm 53:1). Thus does the Apostle Paul write in his letter to the Romans, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (vs 3:23). Thus does the Psalmist cry out, "If thou, O Yah, shouldest mark iniquities, O Adonai, who shall stand?" (vs 130:3).

The answer is that without the mercy and grace of our Elohim, none of us can get beyond the condemnation that comes from breaking His first commandment. Therefore, it is foolish for a Believer to even think of approaching observance of the Sabbath as though it were "by works." That we are "saved by grace" and not by "works," should be well understood as an elementary tenant of the Gospel of the Kingdom (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 6:1-17).

However, celebrating the Sabbath consists of something more than just works...

If we allow Scripture to define the Sabbath, we find that it predates the giving of the Law. The Sabbath goes back to the very beginning, marking the end of the six days of creation of our God. In the book of Genesis we read that Yahveh, our Elohim, created the world in six days, "And on the seventh day Elohim ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because in it He had rested from all his work which Elohim created and made" (vss 2:2-3).

The first thing we note about the Sabbath is that in it, our Elohim "rested" from His work. To "rest," is to shabbat, meaning to desist from exertion, to cease, and, to celebrate. Secondly, we note that He "blessed" and "sanctified" this day. To bless is to barach, to praise, to salute. To sanctify, is to kadash, to pronounce as being clean, consecrated, dedicated, hallowed (See Strong's Concordance, Hebrew words # 7673, 1288, 6942). Our Elohim also gives the reason why He set this day apart. He says it is, "Because, in it He rested from all His work."

From this we see that, in honor of the works of our Creator, the Sabbath was originally consecrated as a day of celebration.

Following this proclamation by Yahveh, and since we are "made in His image," and are part of the creation that He wants to "celebrate"-- when giving His "Instructions" to Moses, our Elohim said regarding His people: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahveh Elohim. In it you shall not do any work..." (Exodus 20:9-10).

Consequently, for the Father's "chosen people," (Deuteronomy 14:2; 1 Peter 2:9), the Sabbath also is a day in which we are instructed to rest from our works. It is to be a day that is to be set apart to Yahveh Elohim.