The Gift of Sabbath
- shawnmariespry
- Oct 1
- 7 min read
“If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath,
from doing as you please on My holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable,
if you honor it by not going your own way
or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
then you will delight yourself in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the land
and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
~ Isaiah 58:13-14
A while back, after our fourth child was born and we were sucked into the vortex of parenting, a dear Christian friend got me thinking that by glossing over Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-19, particularly verse 18, I might be missing something really important.
I became a little obsessed with figuring out if Jesus had truly “done away with all that Old Testament law stuff” or was I just going along with some errant teaching and practice.
Raised in a Christian home and church, baptized at age seven and filled with the Holy Spirit as I matured into my faith journey, I had been comfortable with the fundamental Christian teaching on Matthew 5:17-18: the Law was given through Moses BUT grace and truth came through Jesus. Of course, Jesus fulfilled the law so now I don’t have to.
And then my diminutive high-school softball buddy Ruth, who I had grown to respect as a woman of faith, introduced me to the idea that maybe Jesus DIDN’T do away with all that Law of Moses stuff like we had been raised to believe he had.
In John 1:17, there is no contrast: the Law and Messiah are in harmony. And in Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus is very, very clear about what he came to do: “fulfill” and not “abolish”. And, heaven and earth have not passed away, so I should be busy keeping and teaching the commandments of God.
So I went on a journey. I had watched Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” and was cut to the quick: who really IS this Jesus and, if he is as Jewish as I think, why don’t his own people believe he is Messiah? The Holy Spirit swept me along, literally, on Pentecost—which I would soon discover, was actually the “Jewish holiday” (more accurately, a Biblical holiday) of Shavuot.
I found a local conservative synagogue and attended on Shavuot/Pentecost. I had never stepped foot into a Jewish place of worship before. I was a peculiar visitor but warmly welcomed. My mom observes that I can rarely go anywhere around town without knowing someone. Sure enough, at this random synagogue I chose, I ran into a friend who I knew from a local food co-op. She invited me to join a local weekly women’s Torah study.
When I left the synagogue that afternoon, I discovered that a storm had blown through town, knocking down power lines and leaving debris everywhere. The tongues of fire were in my heart, and I felt the enormity of Moses and Peter converging at Sinai and Jerusalem.
This was an absolutely perfect beginning to my faith’s vision quest. I was determined to figure out who my Messiah really is and if I was finally ready to own my faith in a new season of awareness of His Word.
I began studying with a Messianic (Jesus-following Jews) organization called First Fruits of Zion (FFOZ), digging deeply into the weekly parashah and haftara, readings from the Torah and the Prophets.
Extremely well-written and thoughtful commentary on these and New Testament readings began to open my eyes to this reality that God’s word is whole and connected and that though he came to fulfill God’s purposes, Jesus didn’t add or take away commandments and he tells me if I care enough to learn and obey, I will be blessed.
I came to understand the beauty of God’s commands and how they fit historically with Israel and how they are relevant today. Many of the commands can only be observed by certain people (priests, men, etc.) and many can only be observed in the land of Israel and only when there is a Temple in Jerusalem (sacrifices).
I began attending the weekly Torah study and was surrounded by well-educated, kind women who knew much more about Judaism and the cultural customs than they knew about the Torah. I was reticent to share all my Bible knowledge and tired not to stick out, but it became obvious that I was different.
The rabbi, who was extremely smart, kind, and welcoming, figured me out rather quickly and finally after a few months, took me aside to warn me that this was not a place to proselytize. I assured her that was not my intention. I gleaned and shared as the Spirit led.
One particularly telling moment occurred during a restroom break. One of the elderly women who had figured that I was a Christian, said, unprompted by me: “My mother used to say about Jesus…‘We’ll see.’”
I smiled, but in my head I thought, “Yes, we will all see him return on the clouds just as he went up after his resurrection and every knee will bow and tongue proclaim that He is LORD.” But the affectation that, “We’ll see”, is not faith. It is doubt shrouded in curiosity.
My “Jewish journey” took me years. I only did the women’s Torah study about a year and then continued to dig deeply into the FFOZ studies, going through multiple years of commentary. The LORD answered my prayer resoundingly, opening my eyes to see the wonderful truths of His instruction. (Psalm 119:18)
Finally, I felt like my faith had teeth. My Savior didn’t change, I did! I began to understand what King David said as he wrote the Psalms, basking in the glory of God’s commands. As a non-Jew, I embraced the fact that I get to participate in observance (Leviticus 24:22) and rejoice as a member of one body in Messiah. (Galatians 3:28).
He opened my eyes to His amazing calendar, the Biblical appointed times. These are special days he set apart for rest and worship. God actually likes to hang out with us! Not only did he come—Immanuel—as Jesus/Yeshua—but from the beginning, he has been a master event planner, beckoning us to be with him, to remember, and to party. (Notice Yeshua’s very first miracle involved a party with fruit of the vine—John 2; and the beginning of eternity also begins with a party—Revelation 19.)
I began to embrace the seventh-day Sabbath, the weekly day of rest, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. I started to pay close attention to and celebrate His feasts and all their rich Messianic significance, with fulfillment in the spring holidays and foreshadowing in the fall.
I am overwhelmed at the joy that these times of refreshing bring to me. I can only imagine how the Father feels when he sees us showing up for His special events. Conversely, my heart has become tender to how He must feel when I don’t show up or care to pay any attention.
I am careful not to judge my brothers and sister in Messiah, asking the LORD to humble me and knowing full well that I am far from perfect. Perfect observance is not the goal. I spent years figuring out how to embrace this newfound knowledge and not alienate family. I did neither particularly well. It was messy. I was caught prideful and, by God’s grace, repented for bad attitudes and actions toward family.
That vortex of parenting was a fine time to get this awakening. But as Mordecai told his niece Esther, who knows, but that I had come to this place, for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14) I continue on this beautiful journey today.
And as cliche as it is, God’s timing is always perfect. Rabbi Paul tells us in the Book of Romans, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (verse 5:6)
God cares about time and be cares about us. He came to earth to keep His covenant with us that we could not keep with him. (Genesis 15, John 1) We—desperately wicked sinners (Jeremiah 17:9)—need a savior—THE SAVIOR, Yeshua Messiah (John 4:26)!
Despite what people like to believe, we are basically bad. Without God, we deceive ourselves that we we are basically good. Without THE truth of His Word—the Bible—we make up our own truth. This kind of thinking and acting is what leads to wrong thoughts and actions:
God didn’t create, everything just came into being on its own and the laws of nature are somehow holding it all together.
A fetus is only a human when we want it, so we can kill it if it is “unwanted”.
Anyone can change genders if he or she feels like it, so we can chemically castrate children.
The severely disabled, terminally ill and elderly are a burden, so euthanasia is acceptable.
Jews don’t have a right to the land of Israel, so their destruction is justified.
All paths lead to everlasting happiness, so I don’t have to obey a creator.
We cannot know how to think and behave rightly without God’s word—the Torah, which is the will and wisdom of God. His righteous instruction is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. (Psalm 119:105) Otherwise, truth is relative and we all make up whatever seems right. (Judges 21:25) If this is the case, why is pedophilia wrong? Can’t I love whomever I want in whatever way I believe is best?
I don’t get to decide what’s true and good and what’s not. We have an amazing God that has given us perfect instructions on how to live, love, work and rest.
Shabbat is a gift. It happens every week whether I observe it or not. God made it for me, not me for it. (Mark 2:27)
LORD, help me do as YOU please, and call Shabbat a delight and honorable. Help me not use it for my own way or pleasure or speak idle words. I want to delight myself in you and see others do the same!
Shalom and l’chaim/to life!
DID YOU KNOW?
Yom Kippur/The Day of Atonement Begins at sundown on October 1, 2025
Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists on Saturday, October 7, 2023. That year, that day was Shemini Atzeret/The Eighth Day, the final day of the High Holy Days, the culmination of Sukkot, when God asks us to linger with Him one more day (Numbers 29:35) to reflect on His precious promise to dwell with us forever!
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists murdered 1,195 people and abducted 251.
Today, forty-eight men and women are being held hostage by Hamas terrorists.
WATCH IT!
Truth Rising, a 90-minute documentary on civilization and God’s Truth
Philosopher/Historian Dennis Prager’s First Public Appearance Since His Accident that Caused Him to Be a Quadriplegic
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