Sabbath Encounter
By: Sean and Ayelet Steckbeck
It is the Shabbat again and we are cleaning, shopping, cooking, and showering before the sun goes down. It isnt just any Shabbat, but the Shabbat before Passover that falls on Monday, the Great Shabatt in rabbinic tradition, which makes the cleaning all the more strenuous. Finally, after many hours of cleaning, Ayelet and I are ready to light the Sabbath candles after the Shabbat alarm went off in our Bnei Barak neighborhood here in Israel. Ayelet began to pray the traditional messianic prayer, Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheynu Melech HaOlam ShNatan Lanu Et Yeshua Or HaOlam Vtzivanu Lehiyot Or LGoyim, which basically thanks God for giving us Yeshua and commanding us to be a light to the nations. Something different happened this time though; Ayelet began to laugh in the Spirit and then laid hands on me. I felt the fire of God go through me and burn out all the want for personal gratification. We danced and worshiped there as the Lord met us. After eating the Shabbat dinner we asked the Holy Spirit to lead us in scripture study and felt to study from Isaiah 56 and 58 and ironically the God of Israel taught us a lesson about His Shabbat.
Before we dive into the scriptures, I want to address the center of Shabbat, the Lord of the Shabbat, Yeshua. He should always be the center! Too often many Messianics get carried away with the Shabatt itself, rather than the goal of Shabatt. We have often as Messianics given many Christians who have a real relationship with the God of Israel a bad taste about the Shabatt by missing to concentrate on the goal of Shabatt. I remember Ayelet asking many times from Gentile Christians to forgive her and the Jewish people for keeping this awesome blessing of Shabatt from them. Let us not forget the goal of the partition broken and the One New Man being established as both Christians and Messianics concerning the Shabbatt.
Isa 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isa 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isa 56:8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. ( KJV e-Sword)
Here we see an interesting word that Isaiah gives to the foreigners or to the Gentile believers. First we see the Lord giving encouragement to the Gentile believers who have joined the Lord not to feel separated from the Jewish people in the blessings that they will receive. It lists two requirements for this specific blessing 1.) to keep your hands from evil and 2.) Not to defile the Shabatt. The blessings are incredible though! 1.) That we will be joyful in the house of prayer 2.) He will accept our sacrifices. The greatest thing I got from these verses though is for us Gentiles: The blessing of Shabatt is for us too! Do we have to keep it as Gentiles for salvation or for even a good relationship with God? No, but that doesnt stop me from receiving its blessings. Are we missing out on both physical and spiritual blessings if we do not keep Shabatt, to say otherwise would be total ignorance of the scriptures. The main point is, we dont have to but we would be missing a great blessing. As Gentile believers in Yeshua, let us stop arguing about whether we have to keep the Shabatt and start rejoicing that Yeshua gave us the freedom as the One New Man in Messiah to take place in this glorious day!! As messianics, let us stop nagging the Gentile believers about the necessity to keep Shabbatt and start to show them the blessing of keeping Shabatt. Now let us get to the meat of the subject. What is the goal of Shabbat? .
Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
While I was reading this chapter about the fast God has chosen, this verse jumped out at me. I was pierced to my heart with Holy Spirit conviction. I had fallen in the trap that many secular Israelis fall into. I fell on the other side of the pendulum. Here in Israel many seculars feel that the Shabatt is Gods gift to humanity to relax and enjoy themselves. Yeshua said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, didnt he (I thought agreeing with them)? After reading this verse, no more! Here is a list of things that we are not to do on Shabbatt.
1.) Finding Our Own Pleasures
2.) Doing What We Desire
3.) Speaking Our Own Words
Here is the simple list of what to do on Shabbatt:
Delight Yourself in the Lord
The Lord spoke to me saying that He wants this day, from Friday night to Saturday night, for Him alone. He wants us to get alone with Him. He wants us to consecrate this time for intimacy in His presence. Yes, the door is always open for consecration and intimacy with God every day of the week; but those who have eyes in the Spirit will see the opportunity that God has set forth on this day. There is an anointing and blessing on this day. There is an open heaven on this day. It is not coincidence that John the Revelator was taken up in the Spirit on Shabatt (Revelation 1:10). There is even a prophetic anointing on Shabatt. I encourage each one reading this article to dedicate Shabatt for passionate intimacy with King Yeshua. Shabatt is not about not lighting fire. Shabatt is not about to drive or not to drive. Shabatt is not about even going to church or congregation. Shabatt is about being taken away in the Spirit, it is about rekindling your passionate fire for the Lord of the Sabbath.
Shabatt Tidbits From Ayelet:
Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed
One of the purposes of keeping the Sabbath is to testify to the world is that our God is the Creator. When we take the seventh day that God had blessed in a special way, we are saying by our action to the world that there is a King to this world and everything comes from Him alone.
The Shabatt is also a prophetic picture of Yeshuas reign of peace. This is when the Lion will lay down with the Lamb. This is when there will be light and not darkness. This is when holiness will rule and there will only be good and not evil. Everything will be perfect. When we bless each other by saying Shabatt Shalom we are actually prophesying to each other that there will be a day in which everything will be complete, Shalem in Hebrew, according to the will of God. Acknowledging the Shabatt as a special day to go into the presence of God we are actually doing a prophetic act saying that one day our Messiah Yeshua will come and judge the world! We are prophesying that the Lion will lay down with the Lamb. We interceed for the kingdom rule on this earth in which King Yeshua will sit on His throne in Jerusalem. Everything will be perfect. This is the seventh day Shabatt rest.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Shabbat Shalom,
Sean and Ayelet Steckbeck
By: Sean and Ayelet Steckbeck
It is the Shabbat again and we are cleaning, shopping, cooking, and showering before the sun goes down. It isnt just any Shabbat, but the Shabbat before Passover that falls on Monday, the Great Shabatt in rabbinic tradition, which makes the cleaning all the more strenuous. Finally, after many hours of cleaning, Ayelet and I are ready to light the Sabbath candles after the Shabbat alarm went off in our Bnei Barak neighborhood here in Israel. Ayelet began to pray the traditional messianic prayer, Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheynu Melech HaOlam ShNatan Lanu Et Yeshua Or HaOlam Vtzivanu Lehiyot Or LGoyim, which basically thanks God for giving us Yeshua and commanding us to be a light to the nations. Something different happened this time though; Ayelet began to laugh in the Spirit and then laid hands on me. I felt the fire of God go through me and burn out all the want for personal gratification. We danced and worshiped there as the Lord met us. After eating the Shabbat dinner we asked the Holy Spirit to lead us in scripture study and felt to study from Isaiah 56 and 58 and ironically the God of Israel taught us a lesson about His Shabbat.
Before we dive into the scriptures, I want to address the center of Shabbat, the Lord of the Shabbat, Yeshua. He should always be the center! Too often many Messianics get carried away with the Shabatt itself, rather than the goal of Shabatt. We have often as Messianics given many Christians who have a real relationship with the God of Israel a bad taste about the Shabatt by missing to concentrate on the goal of Shabatt. I remember Ayelet asking many times from Gentile Christians to forgive her and the Jewish people for keeping this awesome blessing of Shabatt from them. Let us not forget the goal of the partition broken and the One New Man being established as both Christians and Messianics concerning the Shabbatt.
Isa 56:1 Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isa 56:3 Neither let the son of the stranger, that hath joined himself to the LORD, speak, saying, The LORD hath utterly separated me from his people: neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree.
Isa 56:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:5 Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.
Isa 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
Isa 56:7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
Isa 56:8 The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him. ( KJV e-Sword)
Here we see an interesting word that Isaiah gives to the foreigners or to the Gentile believers. First we see the Lord giving encouragement to the Gentile believers who have joined the Lord not to feel separated from the Jewish people in the blessings that they will receive. It lists two requirements for this specific blessing 1.) to keep your hands from evil and 2.) Not to defile the Shabatt. The blessings are incredible though! 1.) That we will be joyful in the house of prayer 2.) He will accept our sacrifices. The greatest thing I got from these verses though is for us Gentiles: The blessing of Shabatt is for us too! Do we have to keep it as Gentiles for salvation or for even a good relationship with God? No, but that doesnt stop me from receiving its blessings. Are we missing out on both physical and spiritual blessings if we do not keep Shabatt, to say otherwise would be total ignorance of the scriptures. The main point is, we dont have to but we would be missing a great blessing. As Gentile believers in Yeshua, let us stop arguing about whether we have to keep the Shabatt and start rejoicing that Yeshua gave us the freedom as the One New Man in Messiah to take place in this glorious day!! As messianics, let us stop nagging the Gentile believers about the necessity to keep Shabbatt and start to show them the blessing of keeping Shabatt. Now let us get to the meat of the subject. What is the goal of Shabbat? .
Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Isa 58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
While I was reading this chapter about the fast God has chosen, this verse jumped out at me. I was pierced to my heart with Holy Spirit conviction. I had fallen in the trap that many secular Israelis fall into. I fell on the other side of the pendulum. Here in Israel many seculars feel that the Shabatt is Gods gift to humanity to relax and enjoy themselves. Yeshua said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, didnt he (I thought agreeing with them)? After reading this verse, no more! Here is a list of things that we are not to do on Shabbatt.
1.) Finding Our Own Pleasures
2.) Doing What We Desire
3.) Speaking Our Own Words
Here is the simple list of what to do on Shabbatt:
Delight Yourself in the Lord
The Lord spoke to me saying that He wants this day, from Friday night to Saturday night, for Him alone. He wants us to get alone with Him. He wants us to consecrate this time for intimacy in His presence. Yes, the door is always open for consecration and intimacy with God every day of the week; but those who have eyes in the Spirit will see the opportunity that God has set forth on this day. There is an anointing and blessing on this day. There is an open heaven on this day. It is not coincidence that John the Revelator was taken up in the Spirit on Shabatt (Revelation 1:10). There is even a prophetic anointing on Shabatt. I encourage each one reading this article to dedicate Shabatt for passionate intimacy with King Yeshua. Shabatt is not about not lighting fire. Shabatt is not about to drive or not to drive. Shabatt is not about even going to church or congregation. Shabatt is about being taken away in the Spirit, it is about rekindling your passionate fire for the Lord of the Sabbath.
Shabatt Tidbits From Ayelet:
Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed
One of the purposes of keeping the Sabbath is to testify to the world is that our God is the Creator. When we take the seventh day that God had blessed in a special way, we are saying by our action to the world that there is a King to this world and everything comes from Him alone.
The Shabatt is also a prophetic picture of Yeshuas reign of peace. This is when the Lion will lay down with the Lamb. This is when there will be light and not darkness. This is when holiness will rule and there will only be good and not evil. Everything will be perfect. When we bless each other by saying Shabatt Shalom we are actually prophesying to each other that there will be a day in which everything will be complete, Shalem in Hebrew, according to the will of God. Acknowledging the Shabatt as a special day to go into the presence of God we are actually doing a prophetic act saying that one day our Messiah Yeshua will come and judge the world! We are prophesying that the Lion will lay down with the Lamb. We interceed for the kingdom rule on this earth in which King Yeshua will sit on His throne in Jerusalem. Everything will be perfect. This is the seventh day Shabatt rest.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Shabbat Shalom,
Sean and Ayelet Steckbeck
