The Sabbath That Became Ours
I began by asking a friend what the Bible says about honoring the Sabbath. I remembered several instructions: to remember and set the day apart, to cease from ordinary work, and to rest. I also remembered the prohibition against kindling fire in Exodus 35:3. But I wanted to understand the larger biblical picture and what faithful practice might look like in our home.
Learning to Set Sabbath Apart
I returned to the central Sabbath passages. Exodus 20:8–11 connects the seventh day with God’s rest after creation, while Deuteronomy 5:12–15 also connects it with freedom from slavery and rest for the whole household. These texts gave me more than a list of restrictions; they offered a vision of sacred time, rest, remembrance, and justice.
I also learned to respect important differences. Shabbat—from Friday evening to Saturday evening—is a covenantal practice at the heart of Jewish life, shaped through Torah, halakhah, liturgy, and family and community customs. Christians differ over how the Sabbath command applies today and over the relationship between Saturday, Sunday worship, and rest. Messianic communities also vary. Our family was discerning a Christian practice for our own home, not defining Shabbat for anyone else.
One practice that drew me was lighting candles before Shabbat. This is a Jewish rabbinic tradition, customarily led by women in many homes, though men may also light and practices vary. The most common explanation for two candles is zakhor and shamor—“remember” and “observe”—from Exodus 20:8 and Deuteronomy 5:12.
I encountered additional Christian and Messianic symbolism that connected candlelight with Jesus as the Light of the World and with Alpha and Omega. Those are Christian interpretations, not traditional Jewish explanations for Shabbat candles. I found them meaningful within my faith, but I wanted to name the distinction honestly.
I learned a Sabbath song online and began creating a small family devotional for our Friday evenings. It included Scripture, family-written reflections, and material inspired by traditions we were learning about. Where we adapted language toward our Christian belief in Jesus, I came to understand that our version should be identified as our family’s devotional—not presented as traditional Jewish liturgy or a Jewish Shabbat guide.
A Rhythm That Became Ours
We had tried many things over the years—game nights, worship nights, and spontaneous Bible study—but they often felt unstructured. Eventually, we settled into a simple flow: lighting candles, reading our devotional together, sharing dinner, finishing the last portion of the reading, and closing with dessert.
That rhythm brought peace and focus. It was ours—not because we had recreated every element of Jewish Shabbat, but because we had found an intentional way of honoring Sabbath at home within our own faith and family life.
The booklet went through several revisions. My husband shared ideas that added meaning and depth, and I welcomed them because this wasn’t only my journey; it was ours. We also learned not to add a practice merely because it looked beautiful or religious. We wanted to understand its source, respect its context, and be honest about whether we were receiving, adapting, or creating something new.
Returning to the Heart of Sabbath
That process brought me back to why we began. We wanted to set apart time for God while receiving Sabbath as a gift of rest, relationship, and delight. Honoring God and experiencing renewal were not competing purposes. Isaiah 58:13 speaks of calling the Sabbath a delight, and Jesus teaches in Mark 2:27 that the Sabbath was made for humankind.
When we kept God at the center without turning the evening into a performance, peace often followed. The structure helped us remember, but the structure itself was not the source of holiness.
Tradition did not need to replace Scripture, and appreciation did not require imitation. A simple rhythm could help our family remember God while honoring the living tradition from which we were learning.
Have you ever created a family rhythm inspired by something you were learning while taking care to respect its original community and meaning?
Continue the Journey
