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Preparation Day – the Other Forgotten Day — 31 Comments

  1. I have been truly blessed by all the comments so far. My parents made it very special by preparing a very special meal before sunset. We looked forward to sabbath all the time. Be blessed saints.

    (12)
  2. Jim, that is an excellent question! And this is a very good place to ask it. 🙂

    Although I have not done a thorough study of this particular subject myself, I just recently read the conclusion from someone who had studied the matter: He concluded that the seventh-day Sabbath was unique in that it was preceded by a "preparation day." I'll have to find the source again, but perhaps someone else can help out.

    With the lack of evidence to the contrary, it seems the burden of proof would lie on someone who said that the sabbaths connected with various festivals were also preceded by preparation days. In my personal Bible study I have not run across such evidence.

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  3. I so agree with you Corinthia...Sabbaths back home were just as great...I miss all the churches coming together for lunch

    (4)
  4. Hello Rob, I concur about conversations on the Sabbath. My friends who are not of the faith, one in particular, will make sure to call before sunset on Friday because they know, unless it is an emergency, I will not entertain their calls. I also had the experience of "preparation day" growing up, and hearing my mother say, "Guard the edges of the Sabbath" so that we wouldn't wait until the actual time of sunset on Friday to turn off television and such, and Sabbath evenings, wanting the actual time of sunset to mean the end of Sabbath. Thank you Momma for teaching me about preparing for the Sabbath and keeping it and "guarding its edges". I look forward to seeing you again in the Kingdom where we can worship together once again on the Holy Sabbath.

    (15)
  5. I think we can assume that when God commanded that no work was to be done on a certain day that the people would have prepared for that in some way. The question is, however, did God ever specify a preparation day preceding a Sabbath other than the seventh day Sabbath?

    Other than the instructions given concerning the manna in Ex 16 which were about preparing for the seventh day Sabbath I can find none. In fact, the day before the Sabbath is not even named until we get to the New Testament. None of the feast Sabbaths in Lev 23 which lists the feasts calls for a day of preparation during those times.

    In Nehemiah 13 when the children of Israel were having trouble with the Sabbath again after the captivity Nehemiah simple ordered the gates to the city to be closed just prior to the setting of the sun (Nehemiah 13:19) which means that normal business could be done during the day before the Sabbath. So even then there doesn't seem to be a big to do about a preparation day even for the Sabbath.

    In the New Testament we know about the preparation day from texts such as Mat 27:62; Mk 15:42;Lk 23:54; Jn 19:14, 31, 42 where the day is considered, "the Jews' Preparation Day" (Jn. 19:42 NKJV) and, "the day before the Sabbath" (Mk. 15:42 NKJV). Because Jesus was crucified on the preparation day and the next day was to be not only the Sabbath but also the Passover it was also, "the Preparation Day of the Passover" (Jn. 19:14 NKJV). Since the Sabbath was based on a seven day weekly cycle and the feast days were based on a lunar calendar where the day came at different days during the week the two days just happen to coincide on the same day at the end of Christ's ministry. We need also to note here that the Passover lamb was to be chosen four days prior to the Passover (Ex 12:3, 6) and killed, roasted, and eaten in the evening of the 14th day of the first month (Ex 12:6-8) so there really wasn't a preparation day as such for the Passover.

    (7)
  6. Dear Momusa, I've read your story for the second time, I so enjoyed it, and envied your family's "heaven on earth". It sounds like a lovely place to grow up, and the idea of spending Sabbath with family and loved ones from week to week in such a setting... every child should have that experience. God bless.

    (5)
  7. Dear Soloe, I don't know where you live, but in case you are living in a part of the world where it sometimes gets very hot, and there is no air conditioning, this is my opinion:
    If water is freely available, it would seem to me that "delight" in the Sabbath would be greatly enhanced by not just taking one bath or shower, but by taking several. Dips in a river (that's not crocodile infested 😉 ) would be even better, I would think.

    For those taking only one bath a week (as was customary in many areas in times past), taking a bath on Friday before the sun sets is most appropriate in order to feel clean and be clean to greet the Sabbath.

    For those accustomed to taking daily baths or showers, it seems to me that there is no spiritual benefit in not taking one on Sabbath. We are supposed to be especially clean on Sabbath as we spend time with the Lord of the Universe, not especially sweaty or dirty. 😉

    (7)
  8. I couldn't agree more with you on the mental and spiritual preparation as opposed to the mechanical switch from 'activity' days to 'rest' day, which unfortunately is what most of us do today. We are so absorbed in the cares of the world - be they the hustle to get by or the pleasures that so often engulf us - that we are literally "cut off" from the source of our life: GOD.
    If we followed the admonition of Moses the servant of God, we would not find the contrast between the Sabbath and the ordinary days so sharp as to disorient us on the preparation day.
    Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord:
    And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
    And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
    And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest with them in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
    And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
    And thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house, and upon thy gates.' (Deut. 6:4-9)
    If indeed we made God's presence in our lives as ubiquitous as Moses intended, we would ALWAYS be walking in God's presence - all the days of our lives. In that case, the Sabbath rest would only come as a bonus - with all the attendant blessings. And the facility of modern life will all to clearly go to enhance and enrich our experience of the Holy day, a delight, and a pleasure: because we are used to not doing our pleasure even on 'secular' days.
    In Africa where we worship football (soccer), the tendency to dash from vesper service or even skip it altogether is such an indictment on the spirituality of God's children. The Voice of Inspiration has told us that football will in the last days be such a global idol believers could very easily fall prey to its alluring glamour and prestige. Even though I am personally not guilty of this one distraction, Heaven knows in what many other areas of life I fall rather so short.
    Let us learn to mold our lives in a manner that the Sabbath comes to us as a matter of course, prepared for it well before it arrives, and savor the lingering blessings that follow its passage after dusk.

    (11)
  9. [Moderator's Note: Please use full names when commenting. Thank you.]

    I am one of those who left the church at some point in my youth because of the discrimination I felt due to my parents divorce and my dad and step mom drinking and revelring openly for all to see. I wanted to serve the Lord, but somehow because of the exacting expectations of what an ideal Adventist family was, I was shunned by my peers at the instruction of their parents.So I do resonate with your comment my brother Kevin. Those days were not easy for a teenager from a broken home wanting to serve the Lord. Yet I am thankful that because of the foundation of Adventist teachings that I had had as young child, I could never fully blend in with the world. There was always something that held me back from blending with the world and I found no joy in worship in the many Sunday churches that I tried. So when it comes to my children, I am mindful to make it important to them that no matter what other people think of them or of us as a family, their personal relationship with God comes first and if they depend on Him completely He will show them how to handle those who criticize how they seem to relate with God. It is not to man's traditions that we are to be faithful, it is to God and His law. The hows of our worship will vary from person to person, home to home, and country to country but God's principles of love for God and for neighbor will never change. Those are the principles that should unite us and not divide us. Anything could have hapenned to me when I was out there in the world, and I do not wish any of my children to get out of the safety of God's church.

    (6)
    • I praised both your parents before they divorced because they had done their parts in teaching you the sacredness and the blessings of the sabbath. Your childhood knowledged of what they had taught you kept you rooted to the sabbath. So Ephesians 6:5 is right here with Proverbs 22:6. God bless you.

      (0)
  10. Hi Elizabeth,

    Ask your boss the sabbath day off in regard with sabbath. he will understand and grant the request.

    (0)
  11. Wow..this is my experience as well. i hafto get into the routine of preparation day for the children sake otherwise they will dread it. I have began, shunning out the tv out of my life and taking up more reading and also reading more christian books, bible, spirit of prophecy and once in awhile check out christian movies with a biblical message. And the sabbath keeping has been more enjoyable and less of a shock or a moment to dread. Only the preparation day i need to incorporate into my schedule better.

    (4)
  12. Remember rules and regulations that God gave us are for our good and salvation. The essence is that secular activities frequently practice on Sabbath hours will rob us of time needed to be spent knowing God.

    Infrequent (not planned) activities will not get you lost. God is merciful. Wash the dishes,but don't make it a habitual practice.

    (0)
  13. In my dairy farming past - as a youth - I used to milk the cows, wash up the milking machinery, and feed the cows their hay (in winter) on Sabbath. It had to happen every day or you did not have a dairy farm that worked properly. We did the essentials only. There are some things that are always going to need being done on Sabbath.

    But hard and fast rules are what kills the spirit of Sabbath-keeping. Jesus made that quite clear when the disciples were accused of breaking the Sabbath by plucking some grain and chewing on it on Sabbath. Jesus response was that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

    (6)
  14. Dear Anastasias,

    Perhaps you should ask yourself this question: "What will make the Sabbath a more enjoyable time with God for me and others?"

    I agree with Maurice that hard and fast rules are what destroy the spirit of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is about a relationship with God, and whatever comes between you and God detracts from the Sabbath. Whatever makes for a better relationship with God is in the spirit of the Sabbath. 🙂

    (2)
  15. Kevin, while I agree that going out to eat would certainly be much less work for us as the customer on Sabbath, it would most certainly be real 4th commandment forbidden work for the staff of the restaurant who would be preparing it for us and our benefit... We look at the strictness of the generations that preceeded us and say that they were "legalistic" and that their ways of doing things are now out dated and that we need to relax. But what if they were right and we are just being influenced by an increasingly worldy society that surrounds us? With each successive generation our church becomes more indistinguishable from the world. Yes we are saved by grace and that is the most important part, but our works ceraintly matter as well. Perhaps one of the devil's greatest deceptions is this modern idea that performing good works are not so important, leading us to compromise our way further and further into allowing sin into our lives... Anyways, I hope I didn't come across as judgemental or harsh. Not my intention 🙂 Like you said, everyone has to decide for themselves...

    (5)
  16. Joy awaits! Please read Exodus 19:5. Then John 3:16 and 1 Peter 2:9. And while singing (or saying) praises to God, turn and read Isaiah 58:1-14 and then 59:1-2. Then turn to John 14:15. Even more joy awaits! Read 1 John 1:4-10 and be sure to include 1 John 2:1-6! Praise God more while you read 2 Timothy 3:12 and Psalm 7:1. Sing with me: When we all get to
    heaven, what a day of rejoicing it will be! When we all see JESUS, we'll sing and shout the victory! Oh, Glory! (If you type the above scriptures into Biblegateway.com you can read them consecutively .)

    (1)
  17. By reading this post, I feel a step in my spiritual revival. Though it is not easy, let's pray for the spirit of God to give us powers to remember the preparation day for us to remember the SABBATH DAY and to keep it Holly in JESUS' Mighty Name

    (9)
  18. Amen thanks for sharing. Preparation is very important. How will we enjoy Sabbath if we have not prepare especially our heart? W/o your tent you can't camp and over nite. Same as the preparation day. God is so understanding that He gv us time to prepare for the Sabbath and also time for us to get ready for His second coming.
    God bless all🌷

    (7)
  19. This is true in order to have a successful Lords day or Sabbath you need to prepare,Thursday is it for me Friday too much of a rush,also refrain from making people work to so maybe they can Have the day off and go to church to. I have apologize to people for making the work on sundays.

    (5)
  20. Hi pastor William be blessed for the wonderful message about preparation day. I remembered my mum who used to teach as about Sabbath keeping, on Fridays we used to state preparing from morning no going to the garden because the Sabbath was coming. From 5.30 cooking and cloths for the Sabbath were ready for the day. My prayer is that to remember the Sabbath and the coming of Jesus Christ Amen.
    Be blessed all.

    (8)
  21. The three miracles on Sabbath.
    ---------------------------------
    (1)
    The special memories I have growing up in Jamaica as a child still lingers and oh how I missed those days. I'm from a big family my parent had nine siblings (including yours truly) and we were poor. In those days as vividly remembered my sweet Darling mother would prepare our dinner for Friday evening and the lunch for Sabbath would be separate. There were no ice box refrigerator if you please! My mother would cook Sabbath lunch and leave it in the outside kitchen and that food would be as fresh as it was just cook. Not to mention that it was cold and God preserved that food as He did kept that manna in the wilderness! She would bake two puddings, the larger one for our breakfast on Sabbath's and a smaller one for us to have after worship Friday evening. The smaller one was special because if after worship my older goes outside and do not find the small pudding his scope would be on the bigger one and that would spell trouble. He would come in the house and share that pudding with all of up. Mother was a darling! We would walk about 3 miles to church returned for lunch and then go back to church for MV meeting. (My mother would often calls is Young people's meeting) today it's AY. This was fun to us as children.(3) On a weekly basis we (as kids) would experience another miracle Jamaica which has tropical climate! Mangoes would when its in seasons (which to me was all years round). But there was this special mango tree that was always bearing. It so happened that on Sabbath when we were passing the tree in the morning as long as there's fruit on the tree they would appears green (not ideal for consuming. In fact we would not dare to climb that mango tree going to church mother would have "slay" us for soiling our clothes. And so we knew to walk circumspectly and pass the tree. Noticing the green mangoes. Upon returning from church for lunch a miracle would happen. We would each find ripe mangoes (thanks to my 2nd oldest brother).

    (9)
    • Ripe mangoes are the perfect thirst quencher. I was on a hike one day in Montserrat (around the Soufrière Hills, which I believe no longer exist) and very thirsty, when I found a mango tree in the middle of nowhere filled with ripe mangoes. While I was up in the tree, I noticed a chameleon within arm's reach watching me eat mangoes. After my thirst was quenched, I bade it farewell as I climbed down the tree.

      Your story brought this event back to mind.

      (1)
  22. What a blessingg to return to old time religion and instald the proper use of Friday as the preparation day for the holy sacred Sabbath.

    Bertram C. Lavalas PhD.
    Servant of Jesus

    (3)
  23. today study was uplifting to my soul as a child sabbath preparation always started on thursday sitting aside time for the sabbath.GOD's day of rest,always i would prepare a special reading,song,what's most importing on the sabbath day is keeping it as God finger wrote his word to be kepted Ten commanments which is found in his Holy word first on the stones translated to the scholl also the Bible o,and i remember the Bible base ball card game my mother never forgot our recreration only game our parents taught us never to forget our farther ,the son,and the holy spirit which is the power with out it we can do nothing take our burdens to the LORD and leave them their and watch GOD change things my farhter GOD your grace and mercy has kept me you are good enough for me thank you farther.

    happy sabbath sis-EVANGELIST CLARITHE DAVIS(GEORGE)

    (3)
  24. The effort my father put into making a special meal was amazing. But I didn't like coming back from school to a messy kitchen. Children from the neighbourhood would come and sing on Friday evenings. This part I enjoyed a lot and it enforced a special bond between my family and neighbourhood kids. It is these memories that encourage me to continue keeping the Sabbath. As parents, we ought to create memories and positive rituals that will keep our kids going in the faith.

    (2)
  25. Happy Sabbath Bro. William! Thanks to you and fellow brethren for bringing back those earlier encounters. Thank God for the Sabbath! I look forward to Sabbath each week because my mind is at ease and even though sometimes some church activities does account for breaking the Sabbath. It's still the best day of the week for me. I recounted my childhood experience, growing up with my granny. Shoes were cleaned, clothing for church were laid out. We were very poor and so Sabbath lunch was light. Church was 8 miles away. At times we caught the 1st market bus and this would mean we were the 1st to get to church and most times the district was still asleep or we'd walk but still get there on before the doors were opened. Some of the songs are still my favorites and singing them back then as a child; I felt like God was soon to come. Just over the mountain in the promised land... They come from the East & West...Holy Day Jehovah Rest...and a few others. Just singing those songs made me feel that I was about to see God. There was more reverence then than now. No one was concerned about having lots of clothes and we sat quietly in church. There was no running & even small babies seem to understood the importance of stillness. The lessons were so pointed that I wish God would come quickly. From my recollections, the teachers deported themselves in such a way that when we were around them, we were orderly. Everyone looked like a christian. The attires we very modest and not even a babe or small child's arm was exposed. 95% of the women's head were covered and everyone walked with their bibles. Just sharing makes me emotional because I realized we have drifted so far from the mark. Although now I am grown and starts my preparation from Sunday & final bits on Friday, I realized that knowledge has increased but spirituality has declined. I miss those days & the fellowship. Our fellowship today isnt the same. We respected our leaders and the principle for which they stood. Lord bring me/us to the place where we/I first believed. Empower us with our first zeal!

    Happy Sabbath!

    (7)
  26. Thank you for a much needed reminder on the importance of preparation for Sabbath. And the blessing of keeping the Sabbath. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments. I'm thrilled to know there are still Sabbath keepers out there.

    (1)

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