Friday evening began Shabbath for our family. Shabbath is our day of rest and restoration mentally, physically, and spiritually. We take the time each Friday evening as a devotion to God. We reflect on the past week, thanking God for His mercies and blessings, and we also remember who God is. As Christ said, we were not made to fulfill Shabbath; rather, Shabbath is made for us, that we might be restored in the peace of God's presence. We find that this time set aside each week unifies our family and brings such a sense of peace to last into the coming week.23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn.
24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?
26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (KJV, Mark 2:23-28)
Here is a look at our table before we began Shabbath:
For the actual Shabbath service, we use the two candlesticks, the Bible, the bread, and the cups. The paper is our "guide to Shabbath" of sorts that reminds us of the order of the service and each part's significance. After our ceremony, we will enjoy our already prepared Shabbath meal on our finest dishes (my great grandmother's china passed down to me).
Perhaps another post will detail how we have our Shabbath service and the significance of each part. For now, this post will do. :-)
God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel
