Holy Time
The word holy occurs in the Bible in different settings. People are sometimes referred to as holy; so are objects or time periods. The core meaning is "to set aside for a specific use." Priests were holy people because they were singled out for service in the sanctuary. They handled holy vessels and instruments, which were withdrawn from secular use for a specific ritual purpose. Similarly, holy days are marked by God for a specific purpose. Once they have been singled out as holy, they are no longer available for common use, because they have been destined for a higher purpose. The activities on such holy days must correspond with the purpose God has attached to such days.
We must "remember" to keep the Sabbath holy. Do we or does God make the day holy? What difference does that make? Gen. 2:3, Isa. 58:13.
"The Sabbath is a powerful testimony to the sovereignty of God. Only he can create, and only he can make something holy. This is why Adventists object so strongly to the change from Sabbath to Sunday as the Christian day of rest and worship. Without a clear divine mandate, such a development is nothing less than an affront to God."—Richard Rice, The Reign of God (Berrien Springs, Mich.: Andrews University Press, 1997), p. 403.
How does the weekly holy seventh-day Sabbath impact those who choose to obey the command to keep the Sabbath according to God's appointed day of holy time? Exod. 31:12, 13.
Keeping the Sabbath combines internal with external aspects. When our Sabbath keeping is only a matter of external behavior, following a list of rules, we have missed its true meaning. But, at the same time, our Sabbath keeping is visible to others. It tells other people that we are separate and different. It is a sign of our loyalty to our Creator and Redeemer.
| God wants His people to be "holy"; that is, He wants people who have consciously separated themselves from the things of this world. How should keeping the Sabbath help you in a concrete way to be "separate" from the world? How should the reality of the approaching Sabbath each week serve as a reminder to you, when facing temptations during the week, that we are supposed to be a holy people, a people separate from the defiling things of the world? |
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