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Speaker 1
So Terry is asking in how to keep Sabbath in Alaska. You say that you can move the Sabbath as an ester 9:16 to 19, but that is referring to PureM. The Sabbath is always the 7th day, Saturday. How do you explain this?
Speaker 2
Well, thank you Terry, so much for this great question. And I know the person that wrote the answer on Bible ask for I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t write this answer, but I know the person that did and I know exactly what they’re meaning when they wrote this. So how do you keep the Sabbath in Alaska on our website? So if you guys don’t know, we are more than just a weekly show. We are Bibleask.org. We have a whole library of Bible questions and answers. And so if you ever you’re bored or you just have a question and you’d like a Bible answer immediately, you can always go to our website bibleast.org. Or you can also we all have an app and so go ahead and check those out to see those answers to Bible questions because there’s a lot of answers out there. We actually have them in French, hindi, I know this one’s available in Hindi. Spanish. We’re trying to translate more and more. So it’s been pretty exciting. But to get to your question about keeping the Sabbath, yes, thank you so much to our director. The answer is shared in the comments.
Speaker 2
So if you want to go there yourself and look at this, if you’re watching, go ahead and follow that link in the comments below. So as far as what our answer on our website, was that in the case of people who live in Alaska, how do they keep the Sabbath? Because according to the Bible, Leviticus, chapter 23, verse 32, you know, Sabbath is supposed to start from Friday night sunset to Saturday sunset. And so that’s the typical weekly cycle of keeping the Sabbath. And that’s what it was, you know, in Israel for thousands of years. However, since the flood, I believe our earth has shifted a bit and things have changed. And people who live far up north enough in Alaska per se, there are days that last for months at a time. And so to keep this Tabith from sunset to sunset, that would be like for months. And so that doesn’t really make sense. And so what our volunteer or person who made this answer on the website, they basically said that we need to go back to the principle of what is a Sabbath. And so you look at Exodus chapter 20, verses eight through I believe it’s twelve, about remembering the Sabbath day.
Speaker 2
OCD eleven, the Bible verse in the Old Testament as far as how do we keep the Sabbath, it says remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six, they shout out labor and do all your work, but the 7th day is the Sabbath of Lord your God. So I don’t think what the author of this answer is saying in any way is that, oh, we just change it to whatever day works for you. I don’t think that’s what we’re saying at all. It’s still the 7th day. It’s just like the author was saying to maybe align your keeping of the Sabbath with the international dateline. So, you know, whatever the 7th day is where you are at in Alaska, that is the 7th day Sabbath. So, for example, you wouldn’t keep it from sunset to sunset because again, that’ll be months apart or months at a time. That doesn’t make any sense. Rather it’s that you keep the Sabbath according to what the 7th day is in that time frame. Because in Alaska, I mean, you’d still watch a clock do a 24 hours day. And so you’d, you know, keep it in line with your 24 hours day wherever you are at, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2
And so thus, you know, like I’m saying here, thus tabithkeepers living in those areas can rely on the cycle of day and night in 24 hours periods because it’s still there is still a 24 hours weekly cycle or daily cycle and it’s still a seven day week cycle even in those regions based on, like saying, the International Dateline. And so we’re not saying that in the book of Esther, chapter nine. This is talking about pure. This is basically a celebration that was held after Esther interceded for her people and they were delivered and there was great delivery for God’s people at that time. I think all that we’re saying is that just because you don’t keep the Sabbath as ideal as maybe you could have if you were living in a different region, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t accept your worship. And just like we’re saying again in Mark, chapter two, verse 27, it’s saying the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is supposed to be a blessing to mankind and it’s not supposed to be some sort of drudgery or something that’s basically that we have to be a slave to as far as things don’t work exactly as or ideally could.
Speaker 2
Does that mean we just throw it all away? Or does that mean we suffer because of it? No, we have to be reasonable. God says, come down and reason with me. Come, let us reason together. And so I think in this situation, we’re just saying that follow the best weekly cycle as you can and honor God on the 7th day, wherever you’re at, however, whatever time frame that works for as far as a 24 hours day in a seven day weekly cycle. And thank God, he is a reasonable God and a merciful loving God. And again, we always go back to first John for it. God is love. He’s not trying to be like, oh, well, you were supposed to keep the Sabbath sunset to sunset according to what works in this region of the world. And because you’re in this region, I don’t accept your savage keeping. No, as long as we’re doing our best based on our situation, that’s what God is calling us to do. To do what we know to do our best, given our circumstances. So we are not in any way saying that it’s not the 7th day, because it’s still the 7th day.
Speaker 2
It’s just you follow what the 7th day is according to where you’re at. So I hope that clarified your question. And yeah, just remember again, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. The next verse in Mark 228 jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. And so, as long as we’re worshiping that Lord on the Sabbath, that we can worship Him on, I believe that God accepts our worship. Do you want to get your thoughts on that?
Speaker 1
Yeah, I have another thought to add on that, which is just because you live in Alaska and the sun doesn’t set, doesn’t mean you don’t have to sleep. You still need to sleep in a 24 hours period for your body to function properly, to work properly. So my view is Sabbath works in the same sense there that 24 hours period is still in existence and still occurs, because much of the blessing of Sabbath also has to do with how our bodies are designed to function optimally. And taking that rest has a biological benefit to us. So, just like we need to sleep a period of time in every 24 hours period, that defines that that still exists.
Speaker 3
And the point of the Ten Commandments as worded aren’t there for us to look for technicalities to get out of them if we want to be really picky the one on Thou shalt not covet. It doesn’t talk about someone’s car, so God doesn’t make an exclusive list on everything he gave us a brain to reason with. As Tina said, when someone said, lord, what does it mean to love thy neighbor? Jesus gives a whole parable where he turns on a head and says what does it mean to be a neighbor? You should be a neighbor. Don’t worry about who is your neighbor, you be a neighbor to everybody. And it’s sort of these same principles where we need to think bigger, think of the greater principle there, and not just the letter of the law.
Speaker 2
Definitely. And again, even in the Fourth Commandment, that’s not where the stipulation of sunset to sunset is stated. That’s in another verse. Just saying this is the weekly cycle of a typical week. However, obviously the Bible is still right and that it is still the 7th day. It just depends on what situation you’re in, how that 7th it works because you’d still go to work at the same time the other five, six days of the week.
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In His Service
BibleAsk Team
