Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

[Flat Earth Kyle]

I am also a return missionary. For every "success" story out there you can find hundreds of stories where God didn't keep his part of the bargain. Some people quit jobs and find better ones. God has nothing to do with it.

Are you an atheist then? Do you not believe any more that God answers prayers and that He does not give a commandment to the children of men that he does not provide a way to keep that commandment?
I think I've figured out that you don't believe in the Book of Mormon anymore, but do you still believe in the Bible, or have you given up on that too?

What do you believe in?

 

[Flat Earth Kyle]

I wish I could say that as children of Israel as they traveled in the desert they never experienced any rough times while following God.
If it wasn't always for them I don't see why it should always be easy for us to just immediately find a better job after quitting an old job that required one to work on the Sabbath. It isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but one is always happier when they follow the Lord.

 

[zomg]

I'm in the process of redefining my beliefs.

 

[pwfaith]

Is it right or wrong to work / go shopping on the sabbath day?
I personally believe we shouldn't.

I think keeping it holy is something that takes place in the heart. Growing up I was so confused by this. My dad wouldn't let us go shopping or anything on Sundays b/c we had to "keep the day holy" and he didn't want people having to work so we could shop, however it was perfectly fine to stop at Hardee's on the way home from church for lunch. It was ok to make those people work so we could have lunch but not other people so we could shop. It was confusing to me. I finally prayed about it and researched it myself and decided I did not want to have that type of legalistic, hypocritical approach to this command. We keep the day holy, in our hearts by worshiping God and setting aside one day a week to truly focus on Him and study His word, no matter what the rest of our week has been like, this one day is set apart solely for this purpose. That's what it means to me at least.

 

[zomg]

I wish I could say that as children of Israel as they traveled in the desert they never experienced any rough times while following God.
If it wasn't always for them I don't see why it should always be easy for us to just immediately find a better job after quitting an old job that required one to work on the Sabbath. It isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but one is always happier when they follow the Lord.

In your opinion. If that what you said is true then why is Utah full of anti-depressant popping people?

 

[Flat Earth Kyle]

not everyone in Utah follows the Lord.

 

[averageJOE]

I wish I could say that as children of Israel as they traveled in the desert they never experienced any rough times while following God.
If it wasn't always for them I don't see why it should always be easy for us to just immediately find a better job after quitting an old job that required one to work on the Sabbath. It isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but one is always happier when they follow the Lord.

Why don't you give us a list of careers that do not require employees to work on the sabbath.

 

[sojourner]

Is it right or wrong to work / go shopping on the sabbath day?
I personally believe we shouldn't.

How, exactly, is that any different than playing tennis, mowing the lawn, driving the car, washing your hair, feeding the cat, changing the baby, going to a movie or turning on a light switch?

 

[Desert Snake]

How, exactly, is that any different than playing tennis, mowing the lawn, driving the car, washing your hair, feeding the cat, changing the baby, going to a movie or turning on a light switch?

Exactly. AFAIK traditional Jewish observance of the sabbath is much more strict than the modern christian idea of just "not working".

 

[Flat Earth Kyle]

I agree, I think people got lazy. Who and when did someone say we should stop doing that?

 

[james2ko]

How, exactly, is that any different than playing tennis, going to a movie

It's not any different than working, according to the principle in Isa 58:13:

Isa 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 day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,​

mowing the lawn, washing your hair, or turning on a light switch, driving the car?

Mowing the lawn is not an essential task. With some planning, it can be done on another day; cleaning and grooming our bodies is essential to maintaining proper hygiene and setting a good example to the world; light is essential in safely performing tasks around the home in the evening; in this modern age, driving a car is our primary mode of transportation. Jesus and His disciples walked to services on the Sabbath. Today, we drive to them..

feeding the cat, changing the baby,

These are essential tasks which can endanger the health or cause discomfort to those involved. Even the strict Pharisees lead their oxen to water on the sabbath (Luk 13:15)

The whole point of properly keeping the Sabbath is based on principles of love toward man and God. It is a weekly reminder of the millennial rest and rejuvenation the entire world will enjoy after Christ’s Return (Heb. 3:11; I Pet. 3:8). Some keep it different than others. Discretion is encouraged as long as they abide by scriptural principles; keep it in faith (Rom 14:23) and on the prescribed 24 hr period, God will honor it.

 

[pwfaith]

I wish I could say that as children of Israel as they traveled in the desert they never experienced any rough times while following God.
If it wasn't always for them I don't see why it should always be easy for us to just immediately find a better job after quitting an old job that required one to work on the Sabbath. It isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but one is always happier when they follow the Lord.

Seriously? Have you looked at the job market lately? My husband would LOVE to find a different job and has been putting applications in places, but nobody is hiring really. It's a tough time out there to find a job. I do agree that one is happier following the Lord. He has made a stand at his current job that he will not work on Sundays. But he has also earned their respect by making up that time by going in early, staying late and working on Saturdays sometimes, so they're ok with him not working on Sundays. However to say one can just quite their current job and easily find another is naive in this day and age.

I will say that I think God understands with some jobs, such as with Doctors, ER workers, EMS, etc. I would hope maybe they could rotate with other Drs and have some Sundays off though. But I honestly don't know if it matters what day is the "Sabbath". If it's a heart thing, it shouldn't matter if we keep Saturday, Sunday or another day holy, as long as we're doing it.

 

[pwfaith]

I agree, I think people got lazy. Who and when did someone say we should stop doing that?

Stop doing what? Observing the traditional Jewish law on the Sabbath? I believe Jesus did, didn't he when the legalistic Pharisees criticized him for healing on the Sabbath?

 

[Shermana]

Stop doing what? Observing the traditional Jewish law on the Sabbath? I believe Jesus did, didn't he when the legalistic Pharisees criticized him for healing on the Sabbath?

A divine Healing ain't mining coal or pulling a plough. The Pharisees criticized him for not washing his hands too! It seems most people who bring up this part don't acknowledge the moral of the story: It's okay to heal a man and pull an animal out of a pit on Sabbath. To take this to the next step and say "It's okay to do whatever you want" completely ignores the intended moral of the story.

He also said to pray that you don't have to run on the Sabbath day. Though he also said "In the winter", it was not for the same reason.

 

[james2ko]

Seriously? Have you looked at the job market lately? My husband would LOVE to find a different job and has been putting applications in places, but nobody is hiring really. It's a tough time out there to find a job. I do agree that one is happier following the Lord. He has made a stand at his current job that he will not work on Sundays. But he has also earned their respect by making up that time by going in early, staying late and working on Saturdays sometimes, so they're ok with him not working on Sundays. However to say one can just quite their current job and easily find another is naive in this day and age.

I believe your husband is doing the right thing. Through my years of observing the sabbath, I found most employers will accommodate an employee's religious beliefs as long as the employee makes a concerted effort to make up the time. I am blessed to have a job that allows me to either switch my schedule or take the day off without pay. Which I've had to do on occasion.

I will say that I think God understands with some jobs, such as with Doctors, ER workers, EMS, etc. I would hope maybe they could rotate with other Drs and have some Sundays off though. But I honestly don't know if it matters what day is the "Sabbath". If it's a heart thing, it shouldn't matter if we keep Saturday, Sunday or another day holy, as long as we're doing it.

I would have to respectfully disagree, PW. If the precise day didn't matter to God, why did He get upset at those few ancient Israelites for gathering manna on that particular day? (Ex 16:26-28) Furthermore, at the very minimum, God wants us to keep holy or set apart at least one day a week, and thoughout the whole bible, He is very specific as to which day. He did not leave it to chance or speculation or leave it up to us to decide. Holy means set apart for sacred use. We, as human beings, should not change, question, or manipulate any person, place, thing, or space of time God has made holy. Those who did in the past, paid a heavy price.

In Exodus 3:5 God told Moses to remove his shoes for the place where he stood was holy ground. God designated only a certain piece of ground as holy, as having His presence. Moses did not question God. He simply took off his shoes. Moses understood it was God's presence which made the area holy. Similar to the ground around the burning bush, we are commanded, figuratively, to take our shoes off God's holy time--the seventh day--the time that points to Him and has His holy presence in it.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

The 7th day of Genesis has no close as the other six days do.

The apostle Paul showed that God's 7th day of resting from his creative works was still on going in Paul's day. -Hebrews 4vs1-11

 

[sniper762]

what part of "rested", past tense do you not perceive as not "closed"?

 

[sojourner]

It's not any different than working, according to the principle in Isa 58:13:

Isa 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 day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,​

Mowing the lawn is not an essential task. With some planning, it can be done on another day; cleaning and grooming our bodies is essential to maintaining proper hygiene and setting a good example to the world; light is essential in safely performing tasks around the home in the evening; in this modern age, driving a car is our primary mode of transportation. Jesus and His disciples walked to services on the Sabbath. Today, we drive to them..



These are essential tasks which can endanger the health or cause discomfort to those involved. Even the strict Pharisees lead their oxen to water on the sabbath (Luk 13:15)

The whole point of properly keeping the Sabbath is based on principles of love toward man and God. It is a weekly reminder of the millennial rest and rejuvenation the entire world will enjoy after Christ’s Return (Heb. 3:11; I Pet. 3:8). Some keep it different than others. Discretion is encouraged as long as they abide by scriptural principles; keep it in faith (Rom 14:23) and on the prescribed 24 hr period, God will honor it.

dudn't make any diff. The question was about "work" in general. Apparently the OP isn't interested in "principles of love toward man and God," only in "work in general."

 

[sojourner]

A divine Healing ain't mining coal or pulling a plough. The Pharisees criticized him for not washing his hands too! It seems most people who bring up this part don't acknowledge the moral of the story: It's okay to heal a man and pull an animal out of a pit on Sabbath. To take this to the next step and say "It's okay to do whatever you want" completely ignores the intended moral of the story.

He also said to pray that you don't have to run on the Sabbath day. Though he also said "In the winter", it was not for the same reason.

Jesus also said that the Sabbath was for humanity. His disciples reaped grain to feed themselves which equates in our culture, to going shopping.

 

[james2ko]

Jesus also said that the Sabbath was for humanity. His disciples reaped grain to feed themselves which equates in our culture, to going shopping.

I would tend to think reaping grain is equivalent to purchasing a sandwich in order to satisfy immediate hunger and going food shopping as the Israelites gathering manna on the sabbath--which displeased God (Ex 16:28)