When we see a wedding ring on a young bride’s finger, we know that it is only a symbol of a covenant she made with her groom.We know that the covenant isn’t  just to wear matching rings, it goes much deeper. The covenant itself involves love, faithfulness and committment. We can compare the Sabbath we observe with the ring on the bride’s finger. The Sabbath is the primary sign that we walk in covenant with our Creator. ~ Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. (Exodus 31 NKJV)

Although the Sabbath is a beautiful outward symbol, what are the deeper aspects of the covenant it symbolizes? If we are preparing to be the bride of our Savior, shouldn’t we be aware of all our covenant involves? The Sabbath is just the beginning…our Creator has  “vows” for us to honor to be in covenant with Him! He is faithful to do His part, but the subject of grace has blurred the lines on our part. Simply believing on our Savior, we are told in Scripture, is not enough. The Bible says even the devil believes! (James 2:19) We certainly see much grace in a loving marriage, as we do in our relationship with God. That grace, however, is never to be used as an excuse to live outside of our covenant relationship. And so, there’s more to it than believing for those of us who are following the God who created us. We are to be honoring our covenant with Him, a phrase which commands an action, not just a belief system. Most marriage vows start out with “I take you to be my lawfully  wedded husband or wife.” Yahweh would have us lawfully in covenant with Him, as well. He, being the Creator of all, has given us those laws of His covenant. He even made a tidy “top ten” list for us! Sabbath is number four.

…And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.~
(Exodus 34)
…Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
(Exodus 20)

The wedding ring on the bride’s finger symbolizes that she has vowed to remain faithful and in covenant through better and worse, sickness and health, and the richer times or poorer ones,  until she is separated from her husband by death. Our Heavenly Father knows we’ll see all those kinds of times while we’re in covenant with Him, too. We can rely on Him to be faithful through all those times. And our covenant with Him doesn’t end at death! In many ways, that’s the true beginning!

As the rings are exchanged in the wedding ceremony. The man promises to cherish his wife, and the wife promises to obey her husband. Likewise, our Heavenly Father cherishes us

…He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
(Hebrews 13)
…And He expects us to obey Him, just like a bride vows to her husband. Over and over in Scripture we’re told… If ye love me, keep my commandments.
(John 14:15)

Married couples mark certain dates on a calendar. Dates that are significant to them, such as their anniversary, birthdays and even date night! Yahweh has a calendar with dates marked, too. Celebrations and memorials of the things that are important in His greater plan. We’ve been celebrating Christmas and Easter for so long, have we even considered that they are not commanded celebrations? Our Father in Heaven  has decreed certain Feast Days for us…the Sabbath is just the beginning! Many call these “Jewish” observances, but that’s not what Yahweh called them. He called them His Feasts.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
(Leviticus 23)
…Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.~
(Exodus 23)

The dates Yahweh consecrated are Pass Over, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Covenant is something our Heavenly Father does not take lightly. Our part is to keep His commandments and observances. They are all clearly listed in the Bible. The Emperor Constantine did us no good at all in 325AD, when he decreed all “Jewish” customs and Feasts illegal and ungodly. We are all connected to the House of Israel, whom Yeshua(Jesus) came to save (Matthew 15:24), either by bloodlines or by grafting, sometimes called adoption.  Even after the return of our Savior we will observe Yahweh’s sacred days.

…it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.~(Isaiah 66)

Our Creator has done some amazing things to show His covenant with us! Behold the rainbow, a covenant sign:

And I will establish my covenant with you, neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
(Genesis 9)
…For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
(Romans 11)

Just as wedding rings are only a symbol of a deeper commitment, there is so much more to walk out to our covenant with our Creator than just taking Saturdays off!  Please don’t take my word for it, study these things in your Bible, with eyes to see truth. These truths are what Jesus was talking about when He said, “Seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7) Our Creator is so amazing, He even wrote His laws on the tablet of our hearts!

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

(Hebrews 8)

The officiator of a marriage ceremony usually states, “What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” These are not his own words, they were first spoken by our Messiah in the Book of Matthew. He said that the couple are no longer two, but now one flesh. The same applies in a covenant relationship with Yahweh. We become one with His Holy Spirit inside us. We prepare now by walking in His Ways, for the Marriage Feast that is still to come with our Creator!

I leave you today with these thought provoking Scriptures…

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
~(Exodus 19)

…He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
(John 14)

…Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
(Revelation 22)

Posted by at 9:35 AM