Jeremiah 17
¹⁹This is what YHVH said to me: “Go and stand at the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of YHVH, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. ²¹This is what YHVH says: “Take care for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²²You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers. ²³Yet they did not listen or incline their ears but stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.

²⁴“But it will come about, if you give your attention to Me,” declares YHVH, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ²⁵then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of YHVH. ²⁷But if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will set fire to its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not go out.”’”

In short, Father Yah told the people to follow the Sabbath—nothing else, just the Sabbath—and then the influence of that action will cause them to turn back to Him, His Instructions, and His blessings. He warned them they wouldn’t, and judgment (correction) came as a result. This made me wonder what would happen if all believers did this.

My Testimony

Back in 2009, when I got serious about seeking after the Lord, He did not call me to observe Sabbath, and when I did, negative things happened. I stopped and kept seeking after Him without either religion or church.

This year, however, I was inspired to listen to Jewish and Messianic Rabbis, others who are studying Hebrew, and read their teachings. I had done so before, but this was relentless, trying to understand where they stand and why they do what they do. I would not recommend doing this until you are strongly anchored in the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Jewish Rabbis, Rebbetzin, and psychologists I have observed thus far have an excellent grasp on human nature overall. The primary negative is when they get too deep into their other writings, their understanding of plain ol’ Scripture gets clouded. For example, when some say, “That for us, not them (goyim),” or “Wrong religion,” they ignore little details like this:

Exodus 33:19 YHVH said, “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show compassion to whom I will show compassion.”

Exodus 19:5-6 Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

Genesis 22:18 And in your seed [Abraham] all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

Deuteronomy 14:29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that YHVH your Elohim may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Jeremiah 27:6 And now I have handed all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have also given him the animals of the field to serve him.

Isaiah 44:28 It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he will carry out all My desire.’ And he says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.

Father Yah will correct them; it is not our responsibility. They are not hearing from Him right now, so have mercy and show grace to those who kept His Instructions on Earth as ordered.

The Messianics generally fall into two camps. The first one believes everyone should follow all 613 laws without question, creating a class of the Torah Observant Christians. The other group believes the 613 laws were for the Jews only; they either dislike the goy observing them, or they welcome Christians’ observation, especially on the feast days.

As for me, I favor those who inspire others to follow Torah and/or teach the symbolism of why they do what do. The ones who beat, “Torah, Torah, Torah,” over the listeners’ heads irk my soul, just like the Bible-thumping Fundamentalists do. That’s my problem, I understand, since I push for Scripture reading, praise with prayer, and not getting in the Holy Spirit’s way.

Once again, I decided to try to observe Shabbot and give up pork. The first few times were a bit difficult, since I am alone in this. Two Fridays ago, I woke up in the Spirit, full of revelation, and He gave me the energy to get all the food prepared. That encouraged me to continue. I am still not doing any feasts or holidays, however.

Does that mean I am becoming a Torah Observant Christian? No, and I hate labels. Certain laws don’t apply anymore, and He made sure of that by the Temple’s destruction and the rule of men He chose. Torah served many purposes and is still our tutor (Galatians 3:24) when we leave the Guidance Most Holy.

Do I have anything against people worshiping together on Sunday, or Wednesday Bible studies? Absolutely not! I am in a congregation right now. If only we could do it every day at any time, I’d love it, and so would He. Just do not call Sunday the new Shabbot. It isn’t.

Galatians 3:25  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Romans 6:14 For sin will not rule over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.

Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Do whatever the Lord leads you to do. Don’t make it complicated. Take heart that Yahshua will teach us all the best way to serve Our Father when He rules and reigns on Earth. Amen.