Sabbath

Sabbath by Dan B. Allender is part of The Ancient Practices Series.  A copy of the book was sent to me for the purpose of review by Thomas Nelson . 

"What would I do for a twenty-four-hour period of time if the only criteria was to pursue my deepest joy?"

That's the question that Allender asks in the introduction to his book.  He has many good things to say in the introduction like this:

"Perhaps one of the most radical gifts we can bring the developing Third World and the decaying Western society is the Sabbath.  Not a day off, but a day of celebration and delight.  The Sabbath is a day when the kingdom to come has come and is celebrated now rather than anticipated tomorrow."

And this:

"We live in a dark day, but it is still rare for someone to publically tout his or her violation of the Ten Commandments, with one exception - our debasement with busyness...Sabbath rest is not an option; it is a commandment...it is as wrong to violate the Sabbath as it is to steal, lie, and kill."

He goes on to explain in the introduction that the Sabbath is to be more than a day of "ceasing" but a day of delight and rest or "menuha" which is the Hebrew word for rest, "but is better translated as joyous repose, tranquility, or delight.  To the biblical mind Menuha is the same as happiness and stillness, as peace and harmony...It is the state in which there is no strife and no fighting, no fear and no distrust."

I was quiet disappointed in this book.  Like I say, the introduction was very good, but then the rest of the book was quiet redundant.  I found Allender to be very "wordy" and I had to step back from portions of the book asking myself "What exactly is he trying to say?".  I'm in no way saying that Allender was speaking heresy, but the book was full of stories of how he and his wife have "done Sabbath" rather than looking at ancient traditions and how they line up with the Bible, which is what I was expecting from the book.

Although I didn't particularly care for this book, I'm not saying it would not be worth looking at.  

Sabbath can be purchased at Amazon.com.














Blessings,
Jennifer