Sabbath (eBook)

To rest does not mean to cease all activity.

Bestselling author Dan Allender presents an insightful and fascinating look at the origins and purpose of Sabbath. Serving as volume three in The Ancient Practices Series, Sabbath examines the key issues of this oft-misunderstood day of the week.

This 'day of delight,' as instituted by God, has become a dirge for millions of believers. For many, it is simply a break from the busyness of the work week. So, what keeps us from properly understanding, sanctifying and celebrating this important day? Allender looks at not only the history of this discipline, going all the way back to ancient Israel, but also at the modern manifestations and misunderstandings of its practice.

Allender bases his premise on the Hebrew word for rest, Menuha, which is best translated as joyous repose, tranquility, or delight. It is through this lens that he resurrects this lost definition of what it really means to rest.

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What would you do for twenty-four hours if the only criteria were to pursue your deepest joy?Dan Allender's lyrical book about the Sabbath expels the myriad myths about this "e;day of rest,"e; starting with the one that paints the Sabbath as a day of forced quiet, spiritual exercises, and religious devotion and attendance. This, he says, is at odds with the ancient tradition of Sabbath as a day of delight for both body and soul. Instead, the only way we can make use of the Sabbath is to see God's original intent for the day with new eyes. In Sabbath, Allender builds a case for delight by looking at this day as a festival that celebrates God's re-creative, redemptive love using four components:Sensual glory and beautyRitualCommunal feastingPlayfulnessNow you can experience the delight of the Sabbath as you never have before-a day in which you receive and extend reconciliation, peace, abundance, and joy.The Ancient PracticesThere is a hunger in every human heart for connection, primitive and raw, to God. To satisfy it, many are beginning to explore traditional spiritual disciplines used for centuries . . . everything from fixed-hour prayer to fasting to sincere observance of the Sabbath. Compelling and readable, the Ancient Practices series is for every spiritual sojourner, for every Christian seeker who wants more.