#212 Shadow of Worship

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come,so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

14 “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. Exodus 31:12-18 NIV

This is written in with the moral law and has become a stumbling block for many. I have come to a place in my life where I no longer want the interpretation of scripture that is convenient or based on my emotions. We live in a time where many believe in an origin without God, a creation without a creator. So rigid was the law here that its remembrance was inscribed in stone. The Bible also describes men's hearts as stone and a change of heart as requiring a new heart of flesh. 

25"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26"Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.…Ezekiel 36:25-27

I would never tell another person they are wrong for celebrating the Sabbath. If you desire to worship on Saturday, then by all means, but everything in the Old Testament is brought to clarity in Christ. The best way I have found to interpret scripture is not to pull from context what I like, "judge not lest ye be judged," that is one of my favorites. I acknowledge that God created the earth in six days and that He rested on the 7th. I acknowledge that I was born with a hard heart, and that I could not keep the law, nor without Christ and a change of heart please God. For me, it is not about a day in particular, for I do not wish to chase shadows. It is about the honor and glory of God, and knowing Him the way He reveals Himself to us. 

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. Colossians 2:13-19.