Sabbath Exclusivity
Sabbath observance isn't a free-for-all
Trigger warning: this is going to ruffle lots of feathers, but the truth must be stated unambiguously and unabashedly nonetheless. Surely “truthers” should appreciate that.]
Please understand.
The seventh day is the only sabbath. The seventh day begins at sundown on Friday and ends Saturday at nightfall. [Genesis 1:31, 2:1-3]
Sunday is a mundane workday. So is Friday. [Ibid 1:5,31]
The seventh day is the Lord’s sabbath, and was made holy only for Israel. It was not given to the nations.
“And you speak to the children of Israel and say: ‘Only keep My Sabbaths! For it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I, the Lord, make you holy.
“Therefore, keep the Sabbath, for it is a sacred thing for you...
“Thus shall the children of Israel observe the Sabbath, to make the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.
“Between Me and the children of Israel, it is forever a sign... [Exodus 31:13-17]
The Decalogue (or so-called “Ten Commandments”) was given only to Israel and to none other, as the first commandment makes abundantly clear:
“I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” [Ibid 20:2]
It’s to this people whom the Lord took out from Egypt that the fourth commandment was addressed:
“Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.
Six days may you work and perform all your labor, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, your God; you shall perform no labor, neither you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your beast, nor your proselyte in your cities.” [Ibid 20:8-10]
The nations are not included in this commandment.
Only Israel is rewarded for observing the Sabbath:
“If you restrain your foot because of the Sabbath, from performing your affairs on My holy day, and you call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord honored, and you honor it by not doing your wonted ways, by not pursuing your affairs and speaking words.
“Then, you shall delight in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the land, and I will give you to eat the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” [Isaiah 58:13-14]
Takeaway:
Sabbath observance is exclusively intended for Jews, descendants of Jacob/Israel, and for none other.
With all due respect to Charlie Kirk and other non-Jewish Sabbath observers.
If those people truly wished to honor the Sabbath, they would do all they could to encourage and facilitate the Sabbath observance of their Jewish neighbors.
That would truly give them a merit of participation in the Lord’s sacred day.
The other option is becoming a proselyte and joining God’s holy people [Ex. 20:10]. Even though s/he wasn’t born into the covenant, s/he nevertheless is commended to observe
This idea is underscored by Isaiah:
“Let not the son of a foreigner who joined the Lord, say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from His people’...
“For so says the Lord:...’the children of the foreigner who join with the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, all who observes the Sabbath from profaning it and who holds fast to My covenant.
“I will bring them to My holy mount, and I will cause them to rejoice in My house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon My altar...
“So says the Lord God, Who gathers in the dispersed of Israel, I will yet gather others to him, together with his gathered ones.” [Isaiah 56:3-8]
The only way for a non-Jew to actually observe God’s sabbath is by joining His people as a prosylete.
For all others, they should not cease from all labors (as defined by scripture), not on the seventh day nor on any other day:
“And the Lord smelled the pleasant aroma (of Noah's sacrifice), and the Lord said to Himself, “I will no longer curse the earth because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth, and I will no longer smite all living things as I have done.
“So long as the earth exists, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night, they shall not cease.” [Genesis 821-22]
“They shall not cease” is לא ישבותו lo yishbothu in original Hebrew. It also means “they shall not observe sabbath.” [See Sanhedrin 58b]
Nevertheless, Charlie was right for unplugging* on the sabbath. He should have unplugged all week long too.
That's certainly a value for all humanity, all of whom are created in God's image.
[*I.e. unplugging the device, removing oneself from the screen and from worldly involvement, and reconnecting to God]
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