What about hobbies on the Sabbath?

[Servus]

Is it considered work to do hobbies on the Sabbath, like whittling wood, or painting, or sculpting, or knitting, or needlepoint etc?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

My pastor put it this way.

"It's ok to take a walk, but not a hike."

 

[Bob S]

It is according how legalistic one might be.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Most are in need of more rest (fatigue is a national problem).

Fatigue - National Safety Council (nsc.org)

 

[tampasteve]

One man's hobby is another man's job. I think it entirely depends on the context that the activity holds for you. Even most Orthodox Jewish authorities don't classify normal hobbies listed above as work unless they are your job.

 

[BobRyan]

Is it considered work to do hobbies on the Sabbath, like whittling wood, or painting, or sculpting, or knitting, or needlepoint etc?

It is a day that is sanctified - set apart for worship.
Lev 23:3 "a day of holy convocation"
Is 66:23 "from Sabbath to Sabbath shall all mankind come before Me to bow down"

So while it is true that we worship every day it is not true that every day is set apart for nothing but worship.

 

[Freth]

Is it considered work to do hobbies on the Sabbath, like whittling wood, or painting, or sculpting, or knitting, or needlepoint etc?

A hobby would be considered doing your own ways, finding your own pleasure, and potentially speaking your own words, on God's holy day.

Isaiah 58:13-14 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: 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.​

 

[OldWiseGuy]

The Sabbath command must be viewed in the light of the new covenant, as do the other commandments.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Is it considered work to do hobbies on the Sabbath, like whittling wood, or painting, or sculpting, or knitting, or needlepoint etc?

Whittling wood "could" be considered cutting and possibly creating...painting, sculpting and knitting are all acts of creation...if you want to go by the 39 Melakhot (39 forms of work) but some of it is just Halakhah. Especially IF there would be commerce involved in those actions...that would be considered as work.

 

[Mark Quayle]

Is it considered work to do hobbies on the Sabbath, like whittling wood, or painting, or sculpting, or knitting, or needlepoint etc?

From pocketknife carving to chainsaw sculpting is ok, but Mt Rushmore is a bit much. Thus saith Myself.

But seriously, to my conscience, anyway, it is question of freedom balanced against causing a brother to stumble. And what one might do alone or with other like-minded people isn't the same as doing the same thing in public view.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

From pocketknife carving to chainsaw sculpting is ok, but Mt Rushmore is a bit much. Thus saith Myself.

But seriously, to my conscience, anyway, it is question of freedom balanced against causing a brother to stumble. And what one might do alone or with other like-minded people isn't the same as doing the same thing in public view.

Wouldn't using a chainsaw be making a fire??

 

[pescador]

It is a day that is sanctified - set apart for worship.
Lev 23:3 "a day of holy convocation"
Is 66:23 "from Sabbath to Sabbath shall all mankind come before Me to bow down"

So while it is true that we worship every day it is not true that every day is set apart for nothing but worship.

Two out-of-context phrases don't mean much. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, not Saturday.

 

[tampasteve]

Two out-of-context phrases don't mean much. Jesus is our Sabbath rest, not Saturday.

Bingo. The verse from Lev does not say the day is set aside only for worship, but rather not to work. And the verse in Is is not even about Sabbath worship/rest, it is using the Sabbath as a measurement of the week. Thus is why it is important to read the entire verse and chapter, if not the book and Bible.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

Bingo. The verse from Lev does not say the day is set aside only for worship, but rather not to work. And the verse in Is is not even about Sabbath worship/rest, it is using the Sabbath as a measurement of the week. Thus is why it is important to read the entire verse and chapter, if not the book and Bible.

From month to month and week to week...but the words used are from Chodesh and from Shabbat

 

[tampasteve]

From month to month and week to week...but the words used are from Chodesh and fromShabbat

I am well aware
While they are used in that manner, they are not specifically about reserving the day for worship.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I am well aware
While they are used in that manner, they are not specifically about reserving the day for worship.

Ah, in that context

 

[BobRyan]

Two out-of-context phrases don't mean much.

The fact that a text may not fit your preference is not the definition of "out of context".

The point remains.

Jesus is our Sabbath rest, not Saturday.

That is not an out of context quote of scripture - it is not even quote of scripture at all.

 

[BobRyan]

The Sabbath command must be viewed in the light of the new covenant, as do the other commandments.

Jeremiah informs us of the New Covenant in Jer 31:31-34 saying that it writes the moral law of God known to Jeremiah and his readers "on heart and mind". And this is unchanged in the NT Heb 8:6-12

 

[Freth]

The language of the 4th commandment clearly implies worship.

Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy[1]. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed[2] the sabbath day, and hallowed[1] it.​

Isaiah defines the weekly Sabbath as worship in heaven.

Isaiah 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship[3] before me, saith the Lord.
​

If Isaiah defines the weekly Sabbath as worship in heaven, then we must consider Jesus' words in the Lord's Prayer. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus is calling for the Father's will to be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
​

Ezekiel defines Sabbath as worship.

Ezekiel 46:3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship[3] at the door of this gate before the Lord in the sabbaths and in the new moons.
​

Leviticus defines Sabbath as a holy convocation.

Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy[4] convocation[5]; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.​

Jesus reading in the synagogue on the Sabbath. The synagogue is a place of worship and reading is a convocation, and a study of scripture.

Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue[6] on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read[7].​

Footnotes
[1] H6942 to keep it holy; hallowed (qāḏaš): to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified, be separate
[2] H1288 blessed (bāraḵ): to bless, kneel
[3] H7812 to worship (šāḥâ): to bow down, prostrate oneself; before God in worship
[4] H6944 holy (qōḏeš): apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness
[5] H4744 convocation (miqrā'): convocation, convoking, reading, a calling together
[6] G4864 synagogue (synagōgē): an assembly of Jews formally gathered together to offer prayers and listen to the reading and expositions of the scriptures
[7] G314 to read (anaginōskō): to distinguish between, to recognise, to know accurately, to acknowledge; to read

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Jeremiah informs us of the New Covenant in Jer 31:31-34 saying that it writes the moral law of God known to Jeremiah and his readers "on heart and mind". And this is unchanged in the NT Heb 8:6-12

Hebrews 7
12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

19 For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.