“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God[b] and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law and blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”
– Philippians 3:1-8a
The eighth day? C’mon pastor… we know a week has only seven days. The Beatles wrote a song about it though… remember … “Eight Days a Week”… something about love… which sounds pretty extravagant when one thinks about it. But what is this eighth day thing? Is it really in the Bible? What should any of us make of this?
It does go way back. Here are a few examples:
From Genesis 17:12… He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring… or…
Leviticus 23:36 …“For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.”
And then … Nehemiah 8:18… “He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.”
Plus Luke 2:21-22… “Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses at the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”
So it seems like there is an eighth day after all… and the good rabbi would ask… “what does all this mean?” How can the end of a week… seven days… have another day? An eighth day? Isn’t one an ending and the other a beginning? Well… maybe that’s the point… as in the big picture of life… all our days run together and the only time we stop and take a look around… is when we stop and take a look around… as that is actually what the ‘sabbath day’ … the 7th day… is all about… taking a rest from all the days running into each other… one after another… noticing there actually is a beginning and an end and then another beginning… giving us all an 8th day every week!
So think of it this way… as when the Bible reminds us of the pattern of creation… God created and then rested… seven days… and the eighth day it all got going… or when a baby boy is circumcised… on the 8th day and given a name… he now has an identity… and gets on with his life… and then Jesus being crucified for all his work on Sabbath’s eve… a day of preparation and rested on the Sabbath… that seventh day making his resurrection on Sunday … an eighth day event… causing everything to start over again… a new beginning for all who would choose to follow… meaning right up to today… we all are able to engage in an 8th day in life… week after week … being reminded of God’s ongoing presence and love for us all!
Faith matters!
