Lunar Sabbath Rebuttal 4
Exodus 31:12-17 (NKJV) “And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. 14You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'””
In this passage we learn that profaning the Sabbath is a capital crime. We also learn that Sabbath is a perpetual covenant sign between Yahweh and His people forever. But yet again we see the Sabbath tied to Creation WEEK, not to the lunar month. And isn’t it amazing that Yahweh reiterated the Sabbath Law again, right in the middle of instructions on building the Tabernacle? Obviously, He did not allow the Israelites to work on the Tabernacle on Sabbath, even though the Tabernacle construction was a holy work. How wonderful is our Mighty One! This would have been the PERFECT TIME for Yahweh to teach Israel that the Sabbath is tied to the lunar month, but He did not do that.
Again in Exodus 35:1-3 (NKJV) “Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which Yahweh has commanded you to do: 2Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”” Here we are still in the instructions for building the Tabernacle, actually on the day of taking up the offering to build the Tabernacle, and Yahweh AGAIN reiterates the Sabbath day and relates it to the seven day work/Sabbath week, not to the Lunar month calendar. Are you beginning to get the picture of Sabbath? It was around BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER creation, and it will be around for all eternity, based on a work week of 6 days and resting on the 7th day. The lunar month calendar is for tying down and observing New Moon festivals and the annual seasonal Feasts of Yahweh, NOT for discovering and observing the seventh day Sabbath!
Now for the coup d’état. Exodus 40:1-2, 17 (NKJV) “1Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: 2“On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. . . 17And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.” Ok, so here we are about 10 ½ months after Israel had been resynchronized with Yahweh’s WEEKLY Sabbath schedule. Yahweh tells Moses to erect the Tabernacle on the 1st day of the 1st month in the 2nd year of the Exodus story. So, do you see anything wrong with this picture? Well, after repeatedly teaching Israel the importance of the seventh day Sabbath REST, here in Exodus 40 we see them feverishly erecting the Tabernacle on what lunar Sabbatarians would call a Sabbath day! By definition, if the 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th of each month is a Sabbath day, the 1st day of the lunar month IS ALSO a Sabbath day, a New Moon Sabbath. So the question becomes, why would Yahweh break His own commandment of the 7th day Sabbath rest? Well, of course, He wouldn’t and didn’t. Obviously, from Exodus 40, we learn that the 1st day of the lunar month IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY A SABBATH DAY.
So, you say prove it? Well, if you insist. As you know I found the Exodus to have occurred in the 1st month of the year 1584 BCE, based solely on the Manna Miracle, as described in Exodus 16 and Joshua 5:10-12. So the date of the Tabernacle erection project occurred on Abib 1, 1583 BCE. So, what day of the Shabuwa, or work/Sabbath week was that date? It was the second day of the week, or Monday, in our modern parlance!! Now you know why Moses and the children of Israel were not immediately slaughtered by Yahweh for NOT observing a so-called lunar Sabbath on that 1st day of the 1st month in the 2nd year of the Exodus!!
We will be observing Sabbath day rest for all eternity, right through the Tribulation and the Millennial reign of Yahshua on earth. Isaiah 66:22-24 (NKJV) “”For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,” says Yahweh, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says Yahweh. 24“And they shall go forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”” Colossians 2:16-17 (NKJV) “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah.” Does Isaiah 66 and Colossians 2 make more sense to you now? These two Scriptures are NOT TYING New Moons and Sabbaths together in some doctrinal teaching, they are distinguishing them as separate observances!! So please don’t judge me about my New Moon festival and Sabbath observances, they are but a shadow picture of my Messiah Yahshua HaMashiach, Who is my life, peace, and REST!
His grace be with you all in this New Year,
Gene Benjamin II
March 10, 2013 CE (Common Error, not Era)
Comments