Shabbat (Sabbath) is mentioned over 170 times in the Bible, one-third of those in the Besora Tova HaGeula (Good News of Redemption).

In the first book of the hebrew Scriptrures, in Bereshit / Genesis 2:3 tells us "God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy" as the final act of Creation.  It has been thousands of years since creation, and the holiness of the Shabbat day remains, whether we acknowledge it or not. Our calendars tell us that Saturday is the seventh day of the week and Sunday the first day.  Observant Jews still celebrate the Shabbat on the seventh day. Why? Because God blessed and sanctified it.

Before
God gave the Torah at Mount Sinai, He re-emphasized the weekly cycle by giving manna to the Israelites six days, but not on the Shabbat day (Shemot / Exodus 16:14-26). That weekly Shabbat is also mentioned in the Ten Commandments, "Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God."  When Israel was dispersed (Diaspora) all over the world, God’s timepiece went with them. The Shabbat is a reminder to all nations that God is the Creator. Our holy Rabbi, Maran Yeshua taught His followers, "Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat." (Mordechai / Mark 2:27) It is a day created, blessed and given by God, not just to Adam and Eve or the Jewish people, but to all mankind.  It was intended as a blessing for all.

Purpose of the Shabbat. Many people today do not believe in God or creation, choosing instead theories of evolution. Such wrong beliefs would disappear if people remembered the Shabbat. The Shabbat continually focuses our attention back to our Creator and his re-creative power in our lives. In the tempestuous turmoil of our lives, the Shabbat is a refuge where man may enter.  The Shabbat is a time of detachment from the world and an attachment to the Spirit of God. The Shabbat is the catalyst that keeps mankind’s relationship with the Creator a priority.  All the frustrations of this present world would be dispelled if man would find fellowship with the God of the Shabbat, who made the Shabbat for man’s spiritual renewal. It is a time for communion between the Creator and his creation. "If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, HaShem’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.  If you do, you will find delight in HaShem.  I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya’akov, for the mouth of HaShem has spoken." (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 58:13-14)

Creator of the Shabbat. The Bible through the merit of the Messiah created Shabbat. "In connection with Him were created all things – in heaven and on earth… Our holy Rabbi, Maran Yeshua said He was "L-rd even of Shabbat", Mark 2:28).  The fourth commandment reads, "For in six days, HaShem made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day He rested.  This is why HaShem  blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for Himself." (Shemot / Exodus 20:11)  Shabbat, indicaticates that the resting and separating took place at the same time as the making and blessing. In Shemot 20:9-11 the seventh day is already called the Shabbat. It did not become the Shabbat 2500 years after the creation of the world.