Sabbath to YWHW שַׁבָּ֥ת הִוא֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה

We are in chapter twenty-three of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. שַׁבָּ֥ת הִוא֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה It is a Sabbath to the LORD or to YHWH. It is used 8 times in the Old Testament in 4 different forms, twice in our chapter. Let’s start in our chapter since it is used twice. Leviticus 23:3, 37-38 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. שַׁבָּ֥ת הִוא֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places … These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, besides the שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת יְהוָ֑ה [literally Sabbath of YHWH] Lord's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord. Exodus 16:23, 25 Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a שַׁבַּת־קֹ֛דֶשׁ לַֽיהוָ֖ה [literally Sabbath holy to the Lord] holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning … Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a שַׁבָּ֥ת הַיּ֖וֹם לַיהוָ֑ה [literally Sabbath day to the Lord] Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. Exodus 20:8-10 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a שַׁבָּ֣ת לַיהוָ֣ה [this is our phrase without the pronoun it] Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. This is also repeated in Deuteronomy 5:14. Leviticus 25:1-4 The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָֽה Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a שַׁבָּ֖ת לַיהוָ֑ה Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. We have already looked at our words for Sabbath, Seventh day, and solemn rest. The common theme in all of these is not doing regular work but resting so that you can connect with God. This is why our phrase stresses that this time belongs to YHWH the true, living, reality God. And Jesus helps us understand this in the New Testament as being the best thing for us because God created it not to become another day of work disguised as religious work. The sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath. When we stop to rest, reflect on how much God loves us and all he has done for us this changes everything. If we ever wondered how God’s people are to spend the time God assigned them for himself. This Psalm literally tells us. If we remember from previous references of the Psalms the titles of the Psalms are literally scripture itself. So, Psalm 92 specifically says that this Psalm is a song for the Sabbath לְי֣וֹם הַשַּׁבָּֽת This title is the first verse in the original Hebrew of this Psalm. I’ll close with this great example of how we can praise God on this special day. Today as God’s people in the church we gather on Sunday since this was the day our Lord Jesus rose from the dead. Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15 It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre. For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy. How great are your works, O Lord! Your thoughts are very deep! … The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.