THE 34th SABBATH GATE MYSTERY and THE SABBATH AND THE RESTORATION OF OUR INWARD SELF
Lamed — Part V: IN + STRUCTURE
Opening the 34th Gate — What Is Being Built Within Us?
Six days have passed, and we have arrived at another Sabbath Gate. Throughout our journey through the thirties, Yahweh has been introducing us to the relationship between instruction and the development of the person receiving it. We have examined the Teacher and the student, the strength required to carry responsibility, the household and covenant relationship, and the importance of directing our actions according to what we have learned.
At the 33rd Gate, we examined how the activities of life can scatter our attention and how the Sabbath offers us the gift of remembrance. We explored the importance of directing our movement toward Yahweh and learning the ways of the Kingdom He takes pleasure in giving us.
Now, at the 34th Gate, we turn our attention inward.
What happens within us as we begin to receive Yahweh’s instruction? How does knowledge become understanding, understanding become wisdom, and wisdom begin to shape the way we think and live?
We often measure our spiritual development by what we know. We remember Scriptures, recognize commandments, explain principles, and discuss the lessons we have received. Yet our inward development also becomes clear and evident in how we respond to difficulties, exercise judgment, govern our emotions, and make decisions when people or circumstances challenge what we have learned.
The 34th Gate invites us to examine the inward structure through which our knowledge becomes active in our lives.
I. Lamed + Daleth — The Mystery of 34
In the traditional Hebrew numerical system, Lamed (ל) carries the value 30, and Daleth (ד) carries the value 4. Together, they represent 34.
Lamed continues our exploration of teaching, learning, and instruction. Daleth, the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, introduces the imagery of a door.
The Hebrew word deleth (Strong’s H1817) means door. A door provides access to a place and marks the boundary between its interior and exterior. A door may open to permit entrance or close to restrict access. Our minds work the same way. It provides access to our inward self and marks the boundary between what we let in and what stays out. An open mind lets in information and wisdom, while a closed mind keeps them out.
Within our teaching framework, this imagery helps us consider the relationship between receiving instruction and allowing it to influence our inward lives.
Consider a student standing at the entrance of a classroom. The student may hear the Teacher speaking from the doorway and become familiar with the subject being taught. But entering the classroom allows the student to participate more fully in the process of learning, examining, questioning, practicing, and developing understanding.
The doorway illustrates a transition in the student’s participation.
Likewise, we may hear Yahweh’s instruction and become familiar with His commandments, yet still need to develop the understanding and discipline to apply them consistently.
Lamed introduces us to the instruction. Daleth invites us to examine our willingness to receive that instruction into our inward lives.
The doorway is a symbolic illustration within our study. The imagery provides a way to explore the biblical subject of receiving wisdom and instruction.
And that brings us to a remarkable statement in the Book of Proverbs.
II. Fools Despise Wisdom and Instruction
Proverbs 1:7 (KJV) declares:
“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Notice that this Scripture establishes the fear of Yahweh as the beginning of knowledge. The Hebrew word translated fear, yirah (H3374), can express fear, reverence, and awe. Within this proverb, it identifies the proper reverence for Yahweh as foundational to acquiring knowledge.
The verse then introduces two essential qualities: wisdom and instruction.
The Hebrew word translated wisdom is chokmah (H2451), which encompasses wisdom, skill, and sound judgment. Wisdom involves understanding how knowledge should be applied.
The Hebrew word translated instruction is musar (H4148), meaning discipline, correction, chastening, training, or instructions.
Musar (instruction) introduces an important dimension of learning. Instruction involves the development of the person receiving it. Correction identifies what requires adjustment. Discipline develops the ability to act according to what has been learned. Training strengthens the capacity to apply knowledge with increasing consistency.
Consider the significance of this distinction. A person may possess considerable information and still make decisions that demonstrate poor judgment. Another person may have less information but exercise wisdom because they have learned how to apply what they understand.
Knowledge provides information. Wisdom guides its application. Musar develops the discipline necessary to receive correction and put instruction into practice.
This helps us understand why Proverbs warns against despising instruction. When we reject correction, we resist the very process that improves our understanding and conduct.
Proverbs 12:1 (KJV) declares:
“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.”
The relationship is clear. A willingness to receive correction demonstrates a genuine desire to learn.
Now, let us consider ourselves. How do we respond when Yahweh’s Word challenges an opinion we have held for years? What happens when His instruction reveals that a familiar habit, attitude, or way of thinking needs correction?
Our response to instruction reveals whether we are prepared to grow beyond what we already know.
III. The Etymology of Instruction — The Process of Building
The English word instruction comes through Middle English and Old French from Latin instructio, related to the verb instruere.
The Latin verb instruere means to arrange, prepare, equip, construct, and teach. It is formed from in- and struere, with struere meaning to pile up, arrange, or build.
This history introduces a relationship between instruction, preparation, and the arrangement of something for a purpose.
Think about the process involved in learning a language. At first, the student encounters individual letters, sounds, and words. As instruction continues, the student learns how those elements relate to one another. Words form sentences, sentences communicate ideas, and ideas become increasingly complex.
Instruction helps the learner develop an organized understanding of the subject.
The same principle appears in mathematics, music, craftsmanship, or any discipline that requires knowledge and practice. Individual pieces of information become useful as we understand their relationships and learn how to apply them.
Instruction equips us by building understanding and preparing us to act purposefully.
Now, we shall analyze the components of the English word “instruction” in more detail.
IV. IN + STRUCT — Examining the Components and Rebuilding the Inward Person
Now, let us look more deeply into the elements IN + STRUCT, because within this expression, we start something significant about Yahweh’s guidance and the restoration of our inner being.
The Latin prefix in-, within instruere, carries the sense of in or upon. The element struct comes from Latin structus, from struere, meaning to build, arrange, or put together.
For our spiritual examination, we will use IN to represent the inner self, the inward person, and STRUCT to represent the process of building, assembling, and arranging the parts of something according to an intended order.
We encounter this historical element in familiar English words. To construct is to build or assemble something. To reconstruct is to rebuild or reassemble, often after damage or change. A structure is an arrangement of parts forming an organized whole.
Now consider what these meanings reveal when we apply them to ourselves.
We were created with an original purpose, and Yahweh established the divine order by which human life was intended to develop. Genesis takes us back to that beginning.
Genesis 1:26–27 (KJV) declares:
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
Consider the significance of this declaration. We were created in the image of God. Our beginning is connected to the purpose and intention of our Creator. Therefore, when we examine the inward person, we must also consider the original purpose for which we were created and the divine instruction that teaches us how to live according to that purpose.
But throughout human experience, things have happened to us. We have been influenced by circumstances, environments, experiences, teachings, and patterns of behavior that have shaped the way we think and live. Some of these influences have contributed to our development, while others have caused damage.
We need to understand what damage means in this examination.
Damage occurs when something has been harmed, weakened, impaired, or altered from its intended condition. Destruction goes further, describing something ruined, broken down, or deprived of what it needs to function.
Now apply these meanings to the inward person. When we lack the knowledge necessary to understand Yahweh’s ways, we can develop patterns of thought and behavior that lead us away from His instruction. Our judgment can become impaired. Our understanding can become distorted, and our actions can begin producing consequences that are destructive to ourselves and others.
This is why the words of the prophet Hosea are so important.
Hosea 4:6 (KJV) declares:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
Notice the declaration: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Yahweh links destruction to the lack and rejection of knowledge and the forgetting of His law. In its original context, this is a serious covenant indictment involving the Israelites and their priestly responsibility. It also gives us an important principle to examine concerning the consequences of rejecting divine instruction.
A lack of knowledge can leave us without the understanding necessary to recognize what is damaging us, what needs correction, and how to return to Yahweh’s intended order.
Consider how many decisions we have made without fully understanding their consequences. How many beliefs have we accepted because they were familiar? How many habits have we developed because we repeatedly practiced what we were taught by our surroundings?
When we lack the knowledge needed for wise judgment, we can begin building our lives on assumptions that fail to support the purpose for which we were created. We live according to the standard set by society instead of the standard set by Divine Order.
And this is where reconstruction becomes meaningful.
Yahweh’s instruction teaches us to see, rebuild what has been damaged, restore what has become disordered, and reassemble the inward parts of our lives according to His divine order.
Think about the imagery in Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones. Yahweh asks Ezekiel whether the dry bones can live, and Ezekiel acknowledges that Yahweh alone knows the answer. Ezekiel is trying to see if the bones can live again in the life Yahweh provides, and only Yahweh knows. Then, bones respond to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 37:11 (KJV) declares:
“Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”
Notice the condition they described: “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.”
The people are expressing a condition of destruction, devastation, hopelessness, and separation from being cut off from the knowledge of their parts. Yahweh then reveals His power to restore them.
Earlier in the vision, Ezekiel 37:7 (KJV) declares:
“So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.”
The bones came together, bone to his bone.
What a remarkable image of restoration! The scattered bones come together, each returning to its proper relationship with the others. The vision continues with sinews, flesh, skin, and ultimately breath, as Yahweh demonstrates His Power to restore life.
In its prophetic setting, this vision concerns the restoration of the whole house of Israel. Within our examination of the inward person, we can also recognize an illustration of what it means for scattered or damaged parts to be brought back into order.
Reconstruction requires understanding how the parts belong together. Restoration involves recognizing what has been damaged, what has become disconnected, and how the parts must be arranged to fulfill their intended purpose.
This brings us directly to the meaning of STRUCT.
Imagine someone learning to construct a house. They must understand the purpose of the foundation, how the supporting elements relate to one another, how the rooms are arranged, and the importance of following an appropriate plan. Each component contributes to the completed building.
The foundation must provide support. The walls must be properly positioned. The supporting elements must work together. The arrangement of the rooms must serve the purpose for which the house is being built.
And if that house has been damaged, reconstruction requires knowledge of its original design, an understanding of the damage, and the ability to restore the parts to their proper relationship.
Now, consider ourselves as the house being restored.
As we receive Yahweh’s instruction, we must begin understanding the foundation of His teaching, the supporting principles He has established, and how those principles are arranged within His divine order.
His commandments teach us the principles by which we are to conduct our lives. His Sabbath provides an appointed time for remembrance, sacred assembly, and receiving instruction. His judgments teach us to recognize justice and righteousness. His statutes establish patterns through which His people learn to honor His ways.
These instructions work together as supporting elements in the development and restoration of the inward person.
We must become familiar with them, understand their purpose, and recognize how they relate to one another. Through that understanding, we begin learning how to arrange our thoughts, values, priorities, and actions according to the divine order Yahweh has established.
This is why the Sabbath becomes so important within our study of IN + STRUCT.
The Sabbath is an appointed time Yahweh has established for His people to cease from ordinary work, remember His ways, gather in holy convocation, and receive His instruction. It provides an opportunity to examine what has happened within us during the activities of life and consider what needs to be restored.
We have already examined regathering at the 33rd Gate. Now, we can understand another dimension of that process.
To regather the inward person is to begin bringing the scattered parts of our understanding, attention, values, and conduct back into their proper relationship under Yahweh’s instruction.
And this is where we can begin recognizing the relationship between the House of Yahweh and the Kingdom within us.
At the 32nd Gate, Beth introduced us to the house, the household, and covenant belonging. At the 33rd Gate, Malkuth introduced us to Yahweh’s kingship, His divine government, and the order established through His reign. Now, at the 34th Gate, we are examining how the principles of that divine government begin taking shape within our inward person.
Luke 17:21 (KJV) declares:
“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
The Greek word translated “within” can also carry the sense of “among” or “in the midst of,” and the immediate passage concerns Yeshua’s teaching about the Kingdom. In our spiritual application, we are examining how Yahweh’s authority and instruction are received and expressed through our inward lives.
The house becomes our illustration of the inward person, and Malkuth gives us the divine order according to which that inward house is to be governed.
Yahweh is teaching us how to develop the understanding necessary to govern ourselves according to His wisdom.
Consider the principle of justice. Learning that Yahweh commands us to act justly introduces a principle. But understanding how justice relates to honesty, fairness, responsibility, compassion, and our treatment of others helps us see how the different parts of that principle work together.
Micah 6:8 (KJV) declares:
“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Yahweh require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
Notice how these principles are brought together. Justice, mercy, and humility each contribute to the conduct Yahweh requires.
We begin with the knowledge of the instruction. Through understanding, we recognize the relationship between its principles. Through wisdom, we learn how to apply those principles appropriately. And through our actions, we demonstrate what has been developed within us.
This is how Yahweh’s instruction helps us understand the pieces, recognize their proper relationship, and bring our inward lives into greater agreement with His divine order.
We are learning how to rebuild after damage, how to correct what has become disordered, and how to restore the inward patterns through which we think, judge, choose, and act.
The purpose of this rebuilding becomes visible in our good works.
Matthew 5:16 (KJV) declares:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
The knowledge we receive must become active within us so that our conduct reflects what Yahweh has taught us. Our good works become visible expressions of the wisdom, understanding, and principles that have been developed through His instruction.
Instruction helps us understand the parts. Wisdom teaches us how those parts belong together. Divine order establishes their proper relationship. And our actions reveal the inward structure we are building.
This is the power we are examining through IN + STRUCT.
Yahweh’s instruction provides the knowledge necessary for us to recognize what has been damaged, understand what requires restoration, and begin rebuilding our inward lives according to His ways.
And now that we understand the process of building and rebuilding, we are prepared to examine the next word:
STRUCTURE — the arrangement of the parts into an organized whole.
V. From STRUCT to STRUCTURE — The Arrangement Within
Now that we understand the importance of rebuilding and reassembling what has been damaged, we must examine something equally important: How are the parts arranged, and what enables them to function together as an organized whole?
The English word structure comes from Latin structura, meaning building, construction, or arrangement. A structure consists of parts arranged in relationship to one another. Its stability and usefulness depend upon the nature of those relationships and the order in which its parts are organized.
We can observe structure in architecture, language, music, organizations, and systems of knowledge. A building requires a suitable foundation and supporting framework. Music depends upon relationships among rhythm, melody, and harmony. Language requires recognizable patterns through which words communicate meaning. Each component contributes to the purpose and function of the whole.
But what happens when the individual parts are present but arranged incorrectly? What happens when the supporting elements are out of position or when the parts that should work together begin functioning independently of one another?
Having all the necessary parts does not guarantee that we have established the proper structure. The parts must be arranged according to the purpose for which the structure was designed.
This is where we begin to understand the importance of divine order within the inward person.
Yahweh created us with the capacity to think, understand, reason, remember, choose, and act. Throughout our lives, we develop beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, intentions, and patterns of judgment. These inner elements influence one another and shape how we understand and respond to the world around us.
What we believe can shape what we expect. What we repeatedly think about can influence our emotional responses. What we value affects our priorities, and our priorities influence the decisions we make. Our decisions then become actions, and repeated actions can develop into established habits.
The inward person develops patterns of thought and conduct that shape how we experience and respond to life.
Some patterns have developed through careful learning and reflection. Others have formed through repetition, environment, experiences, or assumptions we have never examined. As we receive Yahweh’s instruction, we gain the opportunity to examine these patterns and understand how they relate to one another.
Consider what happens when our inner parts work against each other. We may know a commandment, while our habits continue leading us in another direction. We may understand the importance of patience while allowing anger to govern our responses. We may recognize the value of compassion while letting resentment influence how we treat others.
In each situation, the knowledge is present, but the relationship between knowledge, understanding, judgment, and action requires attention.
This reveals something important about the restoration of our inward structure. We must learn how the different parts of our inward lives are intended to function together under Yahweh’s instruction.
For example, knowledge of justice provides an understanding of what Yahweh requires. Wisdom helps us recognize how that requirement applies to a particular circumstance. Our values determine the importance we give to doing what is right. Our judgment helps us consider the appropriate response, and our actions demonstrate whether we have followed the instruction.
When these inward elements work together, our conduct starts to reflect the principles we have received and learned.
Divine order within the inward person develops as our thoughts, values, judgments, intentions, and actions become increasingly aligned with Yahweh’s instruction.
This brings us to an important principle concerning order.
1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV) declares:
“Let all things be done decently and in order.”
In its original setting, this instruction concerns the orderly conduct of the assembly. Yet it illustrates a principle worth considering within our present study: order involves arranging activities and responsibilities so that they function according to their intended purpose.
When we apply this illustration to our inward development, we can examine whether our thoughts, priorities, and actions are functioning according to the instruction Yahweh has given us.
The Hebrew Scriptures also direct our attention toward the inward person through the language of the heart.
The Hebrew word leb (H3820) can refer to the heart as the center of thought, understanding, intention, and desire, depending on context.
Proverbs 4:23 (KJV) declares:
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Consider the importance of this commandment. Yahweh directs our attention toward guarding the inward life because what develops within us influences what proceeds from us.
Our beliefs affect our understanding. Our understanding influences our judgments. Our judgments guide our choices, and our choices become visible in our conduct.
The arrangement of these inward elements matters because what governs us inwardly eventually influences how we live outwardly.
Now consider someone who has developed the habit of responding defensively whenever corrected. Even when correction is offered with good intentions, that person may interpret it as an attack. Their established response can prevent them from receiving valuable instruction.
Another person may have developed the habit of examining correction carefully, recognizing what is useful, and making appropriate changes.
The difference lies partly in the inward patterns each person has developed.
But consider this more deeply. What if the first person already possesses knowledge about humility, patience, and the value of receiving correction? What prevents that knowledge from influencing their response?
The knowledge has been received, but it has yet to become fully integrated into the inward structure governing that person’s conduct.
This is why Yahweh’s instruction must influence the way we think. His wisdom provides the principles through which we can examine our assumptions, evaluate our habits, and develop better judgment.
The process of establishing divine order requires us to recognize how the different parts of our inward lives are connected. When our thoughts are governed by one principle, our values by another, and our actions by still another, we experience inconsistency between what we know and how we live.
James 1:8 (KJV) declares:
“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
This Scripture introduces the problem of divided thinking and instability. In its immediate context, James addresses the person who wavers rather than asking in faith. Within our examination of our inward structure, it also invites us to consider the importance of aligning the principles we profess with the decisions we make.
What happens when we believe Yahweh’s instruction is true, yet continue allowing conflicting influences to govern our conduct? How can we develop a stable inward life when our decisions continually move between competing principles?
The restoration of our inward structure requires us to recognize which principles should govern our thoughts and how those principles should influence our choices.
This is where David’s prayer in the Book of Psalms becomes especially meaningful.
Psalm 51:10 (KJV) declares:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
David’s prayer reveals a desire for inward renewal. He recognizes the need for a clean heart and a right spirit. His words direct our attention toward the condition of the person within and the importance of restoration that reaches beyond outward behavior.
Notice the word renew. Renewal involves making something new again or restoring it to a proper condition. Within this prayer, David seeks Yahweh’s work within him.
This gives us a powerful principle to consider: The restoration of our inward structure requires both the instruction Yahweh provides and our willingness to receive, understand, and apply that instruction.
We must be prepared to recognize what needs correction, understand the principles that establish proper order, and develop the discipline necessary to practice what we have learned.
As this process continues, the different parts of our inward lives begin working together more consistently. Our knowledge informs our understanding. Our understanding strengthens our judgment. Our judgment guides our decisions, and our actions begin reflecting the wisdom we have received.
This is the development of an inward structure governed by divine order.
And now we arrive at an important question for every student of Yahweh’s Word:
Are the different parts of our inward lives working together according to Yahweh’s instruction, or have we developed patterns in which our thoughts, values, judgments, and actions are moving in different directions?
This question prepares us for the next dimension of our study. We have examined the process of building and rebuilding through IN + STRUCT. We have now examined the arrangement and relationship of the parts through STRUCTURE.
And now we are prepared to bring these concepts together.
IN + STRUCTURE — The Restoration of the Inward Person.
VI. IN + STRUCTURE — The Restoration of the Inward Person
Now, we arrive at the central expression of our 34th Sabbath Gate:
IN + STRUCTURE
We are using this expression as a symbolic English teaching illustration, drawing on the historical relationship between instruct and structure. It helps us explore the idea of establishing order within ourselves. IN represents the inner self, and STRUCTURE represents the arrangement of our inward parts according to Yahweh’s divine order. This is our spiritual application of the expression of instruction.
We have examined how damage can occur, how a lack of knowledge can contribute to destruction, and why rebuilding requires an understanding of the original design. We have also examined how our thoughts, beliefs, values, judgments, and actions must function together as an organized whole.
Now, we must understand how Yahweh’s instruction begins restoring that inward structure within us.
Throughout our lives, we have acquired knowledge, opinions, beliefs, habits, and emotional responses. Some have developed through careful instruction. Others have formed through circumstances, repetition, cultural influences, or conclusions we accepted without examination.
These experiences have shaped how we understand ourselves, interpret Scripture, respond to others, and make decisions. Over time, certain ways of thinking can become so familiar that we accept them as correct without considering whether they agree with Yahweh’s Word.
When Yahweh’s Word enters our understanding, it gives us the opportunity to evaluate our inward patterns according to His wisdom.
Romans 12:2 (KJV) declares:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Notice the words “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The word “renewing” directs our attention to a process of change within our minds. Transformation becomes visible as our understanding, judgments, and conduct are increasingly shaped by the principles we receive.
This is where the rebuilding process becomes personal.
Renewing our minds requires our participation. We must be willing to examine what we believe, recognize what needs correction, make the correction, and then practice the instruction we have received.
Consider what happens when we study a Scripture that we have understood a particular way for many years. Perhaps our understanding came from something we were taught, something we heard repeatedly, or a conclusion we reached without examining the full context.
Then, through careful study, we discover that this Scripture teaches something different from what we previously believed.
At that moment, we have received an opportunity for correction.
But what happens next?
We must be willing to examine our previous understanding, recognize where it is incorrect, and correct our understanding according to what Scripture actually teaches. Then we must apply that corrected understanding to how we think, make decisions, and conduct our lives.
This is how instruction begins changing our inward structure.
Something that previously occupied a place within our understanding has been examined and corrected. The knowledge we now possess begins influencing our judgment, and our judgment begins directing our actions according to the instruction we have received.
Consider another example. We may have learned to respond to disagreement with anger because that response became familiar throughout our lives. But as we study Yahweh’s instruction concerning patience, wisdom, and self-control, we begin recognizing that our established response requires correction.
We examine the way we have been thinking, recognize the pattern that needs to change, and begin practicing a different response. Each opportunity to exercise patience becomes an opportunity to apply the instruction we have received.
Over time, what we have learned begins becoming part of how we think and act.
This is why inward restoration requires more than recognizing that something needs to change. Recognition identifies the correction. Understanding shows us what must change. Action puts the correction into practice.
And through continued practice, the corrected understanding begins taking its proper place within our inward structure.
This brings us back to Yahweh’s divine order.
As our understanding is corrected, our judgments can become more consistent with His wisdom. As our judgments improve, our decisions can reflect His instruction more faithfully. And as we continue practicing what we have learned, our actions begin revealing the changes taking place within us.
Instruction enters our understanding, establishes inward order, and becomes visible through our actions.
Now consider the significance of this process within the Sabbath.
Yahweh has established an appointed time for us to turn our attention toward His Word, receive His instruction, and examine the life we are living. During this sacred time, we have an opportunity to recognize what needs correction and gain the understanding needed to make those changes.
Then, over the next six days, we have opportunities to put that instruction into practice through our daily activities, responsibilities, relationships, and decisions.
The Sabbath provides a set time and opportunity to receive and understand the instruction. Our daily lives provide opportunities to apply it, correct our conduct, and develop the inward structure Yahweh is teaching us to establish.
And now we arrive at a question that every student should consider:
When Yahweh reveals something within us that needs correction, are we willing to change what we have believed, correct the way we have been thinking, and begin living according to the understanding He has given us?
Because the restoration of our inward person becomes visible through the changes we are willing to make. This is free will. What are you willing to change or do?
We receive the instruction. We examine our understanding. We recognize what needs correction. We correct it. Then, we practice what Yahweh has taught us until His wisdom becomes evident in how we live.
VII. The Sabbath — An Appointed Time for Inward Restoration
Now that we understand how Yahweh’s instruction enters our understanding and begins restoring the inward person, we must examine the importance of the time He has established for us to receive that instruction.
Leviticus 23:3 (KJV) declares:
“Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of Yahweh in all your dwellings.”
Notice the order Yahweh establishes. Six days are provided for the work and activities of life, and the seventh day is set apart as His Sabbath, a day of rest and holy convocation.
The Hebrew word miqra (H4744), translated “convocation,” refers to a calling together or assembly. The Sabbath, like all the Holy Days, provides an appointed opportunity for Yahweh’s people to gather, worship, remember His ways, and receive instruction.
Consider what this means within our examination of our inward person.
Throughout the six days, we encounter experiences that influence our thoughts, emotions, judgments, and actions. We interact with people, make decisions, respond to circumstances, and encounter situations that challenge our understanding. Some experiences strengthen the wisdom we have developed, while others reveal areas within us that still require attention.
The Sabbath gives us an appointed opportunity to examine those experiences through the wisdom of Yahweh’s Word.
Think about a situation in which someone has offended you during the week. Perhaps you responded with anger, spoke words you later regretted, or let resentment influence how you treated that person.
When we enter the Sabbath and receive instruction concerning patience, forgiveness, and the proper treatment of others, we have an opportunity to examine our response.
We can ask ourselves whether our conduct reflected the principles Yahweh has taught us. We can recognize what needs correction, consider how we should have responded, and develop a better understanding of how to handle similar circumstances in the future.
Psalm 119:105 (KJV) declares:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
The imagery of light helps us understand the purpose of instruction. Light allows us to recognize what is before us and see the direction in which we are moving. Likewise, Yahweh’s Word gives us the understanding to examine our decisions and recognize the changes we need to make.
But this process has another important dimension.
The Sabbath teaches us to examine ourselves while remaining receptive to Yahweh’s instruction. When we gather to study His Word, we may encounter a teaching that challenges an established belief, reveals a misunderstanding, or brings greater clarity to something we thought we already understood.
This is an opportunity for inward restoration.
Consider how many years a person may carry an incorrect understanding simply because it has never been examined. That understanding may influence other beliefs, decisions, and actions. Once clearer instructions are provided, you have the opportunity to amend the initial misunderstanding and reassess the conclusions formed from it.
That is why receiving instruction with an open, teachable mind is essential.
Proverbs 19:20 (KJV) declares:
“Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.”
The Scripture connects receiving instruction with the development of wisdom. It reminds us that learning continues as we gain understanding and apply what we have been taught.
Now consider the relationship between the Sabbath and the other six days.
During the Sabbath, we may discover that our thinking about a particular matter needs correction. We may gain a clearer understanding of a commandment, recognize a harmful habit, or learn a principle that changes how we view a responsibility.
The following six days give us opportunities to demonstrate that corrected understanding through our actions.
If we have learned patience, we can practice patience when circumstances become difficult. Once we have gained an understanding of justice, we can apply it when making decisions that affect others. If we have received instruction about honesty, compassion, or responsibility, we can demonstrate those principles through the way we conduct our daily activities.
When the next Sabbath arrives, we return to the appointed time Yahweh has established, bringing with us the experiences of another week and the opportunity to keep learning.
The Sabbath becomes part of an ongoing pattern of receiving instruction, examining our understanding, making corrections, and developing wisdom through daily practice.
But the significance of this appointed time reaches into the way we approach Yahweh’s instruction itself. We can enter the Sabbath with the expectation that Yahweh’s Word will teach us something worth carrying into our lives. We can listen attentively, ask questions that deepen our understanding, and seek wisdom concerning matters we have yet to understand.
Isaiah 48:17 (KJV) declares:
“Thus saith Yahweh, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Yahweh thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.”
Notice Yahweh’s declaration: “I am Yahweh thy God which teacheth thee to profit.”
The Hebrew verb translated profit here, ya’al (H3276), concerns benefiting or being useful. Yahweh identifies Himself as the One who teaches His people what is beneficial and leads them in the way they should go.
This brings us to the purpose of approaching the Sabbath as students. We are receiving instruction from the One whose wisdom teaches us what is beneficial for our lives. Every opportunity to gain understanding can prepare us to make better decisions, recognize what is righteous, and develop the conduct that reflects His ways.
The Sabbath is Yahweh’s appointed gift of sacred time, providing an opportunity for the inward person to receive the wisdom and understanding necessary for continued restoration.
As we carry that instruction into the activities of the following six days, the changes taking place within us become visible in the way we live.
The question now becomes: What evidence will our actions provide that we have truly received and understood Yahweh’s instruction?
That is where our next section begins: Becoming Doers of the Instruction.
VIII. Becoming Doers of the Instruction — The Evidence of Inward Restoration
Now we arrive at one of the most important responsibilities of every student who receives Yahweh’s instruction: becoming a doer of His Word.
James 1:22 (KJV) declares:
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”
Consider the significance of this commandment. Yahweh’s Word is His instruction, and James teaches us that receiving the Word carries a responsibility to put what we have learned into action.
Throughout this 34th Sabbath Gate, we have examined the restoration of the inward person. We have learned how damage, destruction, and a lack of knowledge can affect our understanding and the way we conduct our lives. We have also discovered how Yahweh’s instruction provides the knowledge and wisdom necessary to rebuild what has been damaged and bring our inward parts into divine order.
But now we must ask: What is the evidence that restoration is actually taking place within us?
The answer becomes visible in our actions.
When our understanding is corrected, our decisions should begin reflecting that correction. When our judgments are shaped by Yahweh’s wisdom, our conduct should demonstrate that wisdom. When we learn His commandments, our daily activities should increasingly reflect the principles He has established.
The instruction we receive must become the instruction we practice.
Consider someone who has learned the importance of speaking truthfully. That knowledge becomes active when the person chooses honesty, even when telling the truth is difficult. Someone who has learned the value of compassion demonstrates that understanding through the way they treat others. And someone who has received instruction concerning patience shows evidence of growth when they begin responding to challenging circumstances with greater self-control.
These actions reveal the changes taking place within the inward person.
This is why becoming a doer is essential to the process of restoration. Our actions show whether the knowledge we have received has begun to govern the way we live.
James continues this teaching in James 1:25 (KJV):
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Notice the words “continueth therein.” James directs our attention toward continuing in what we have learned. The student receives instruction, understands its purpose, and carries it forward through consistent practice.
Now consider what we have discovered about the Sabbath.
Yahweh has established an appointed opportunity for us to receive His wisdom, examine the inward person according to His Word, and gain the understanding necessary for correction and restoration.
Through receiving His instruction, examining our understanding, correcting what needs correction, and reflecting upon what we have learned, we develop the knowledge and discipline necessary to walk faithfully in His ways.
Then we become doers.
We carry the instruction into our homes, relationships, responsibilities, decisions, and everyday activities. The wisdom we receive begins shaping how we respond to others, how we exercise judgment, and how we fulfill the responsibilities of life.
The Sabbath provides an appointed opportunity to receive Yahweh’s instruction. Becoming a doer makes that instruction visible throughout the six days that follow.
And this brings us to the central revelation of the 34th Sabbath Gate:
Instruction enters our understanding, establishes inward order, and becomes visible through our actions.
The restoration of the inward person becomes evident as our thoughts, values, judgments, and conduct increasingly agree with Yahweh’s divine order.
We receive His Word. We develop understanding. We recognize and correct what needs correction. We put His instruction into practice. And through our continued walk, we demonstrate the good works that arise from the wisdom He has given us.
The evidence of restoration is a life increasingly governed by Yahweh’s instruction.
IX. The Closing Revelation — Lamed and Daleth: The Restoration of the Inward Person
As we close the 34th Sabbath Gate Mystery, we reach the end of our five-part journey through Lamed. Each Gate has contributed to our understanding of Yahweh’s instruction and the responsibility we carry as students of His Word.
At the 30th Gate, Lamed introduced us to the Teacher and the Student and emphasized the importance of receiving instruction. At the 31st Gate, Aleph introduced the strength and mental fortitude needed to carry responsibility. At the 32nd Gate, Beth opened our understanding of the house, the household, and our covenant belonging to Yahweh. At the 33rd Gate, Gimel directed our attention to movement, regathering, realignment, and the importance of remembering Yahweh, whose good pleasure is to give us His Kingdom.
Now, at the 34th Gate, Daleth has introduced the doorway, bringing us to an examination of what happens when Yahweh’s instruction enters our inward lives.
Through our study of IN + STRUCTURE, we have discovered something important about the purpose of divine instruction.
Yahweh created us in His image, and His Word provides the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding necessary to restore the inward person according to His divine order.
We have examined how the absence or rejection of knowledge can contribute to damage and destruction, how our inward patterns can become disordered, and how receiving Yahweh’s instruction gives us the opportunity to rebuild what has been damaged.
And now we understand that restoration involves more than knowing what needs to be corrected. We must make the correction and allow that corrected understanding to govern the way we live.
This is the responsibility of the student who has become a doer.
Consider the significance of what we have learned about IN + STRUCTURE. Our thoughts, understanding, values, judgments, intentions, and actions are interconnected. Each contributes to the inward arrangement through which we conduct our lives.
When these inward parts begin functioning together according to Yahweh’s instruction, we develop greater consistency between what we know, what we believe, what we choose, and what we do.
This is the restoration of inward order: the rebuilding of our understanding and conduct according to the wisdom and divine principles Yahweh has established.
The Sabbath also plays an important role in this continuing development.
Every seventh day, Yahweh provides an appointed opportunity to turn our attention toward Him, receive His instruction, and deepen our understanding of His ways. Through that instruction, we become better prepared to recognize what requires correction and what must be developed within us.
Then, as we return to the activities of the following six days, we have the opportunity to demonstrate the understanding we have gained.
The Sabbath teaches us the ways of Yahweh, and our daily actions reveal how faithfully we are learning to walk in them.
Now consider the deeper significance of the doorway introduced through Daleth.
A doorway allows us to enter a place. In our teaching, it represents the opportunity to let Yahweh’s instruction enter our understanding and influence our inner person.
But entering requires a response. We must be willing to receive what is being taught, examine what we have previously believed, and make the changes necessary to bring our lives into greater agreement with Yahweh’s Word.
The doorway is open through instruction. The restoration takes place as we receive, understand, correct, and practice what Yahweh has taught us.
And now, as we complete this fifth teaching of Lamed, one last question remains:
If Yahweh has given us the instruction necessary to rebuild our inward lives according to His divine order, what are we prepared to change so that the image and purpose for which He created us become increasingly evident in the way we live?
This is the challenge and the opportunity before every student.
We have been given knowledge to develop understanding, wisdom to guide our judgments, and instruction to direct our actions. We have been given an appointed Sabbath through which we can continue learning the ways of the One who created us.
Instruction enters our understanding, establishes inward order, and becomes visible through our actions.
May we continue receiving Yahweh’s instruction with willing hearts, correcting what needs correction, rebuilding what has been damaged, and developing the wisdom necessary to live according to His ways.
May our thoughts reflect His truth, our judgments demonstrate His wisdom, and our actions reveal the good works that arise from a life increasingly governed by His divine order.
The Teacher has instructed us. The doorway has opened. The inward restoration has begun. Now, let us become the living evidence of what Yahweh’s instruction can accomplish.
The 34th Sabbath Gate has opened. The five lessons of Lamed have been given. And now, the instruction must live through us.
Shabbat Shalom!
Join Us at the 35th Sabbath Gate.
Our journey through the Sabbath Gates continues next week as we enter the 35th Gate and explore another dimension of Yahweh’s instruction.
The lessons we have received through Lamed will accompany us as we continue examining the Hebrew letters, the Scriptures, and the wisdom that teaches us how to live.
Continue the Journey
Isaiah 2:3 (KJV) declares:
“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.”
Micah 4:2 (KJV) likewise declares:
“And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.”
May we continue learning His ways and walking in His paths.
Enter the Wonderful World of Yahweh
A New Thing — New Beginnings, New Discoveries, and More!
Isaiah 43:19 (KJV) declares:
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
The new Yahweh’s Kingdom of Shalom website has officially launched! Explore our growing home for Scripture study, learning, music, publications, and community.
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Continue your study through Yahweh’s Bible School, where lessons and Scripture-centered learning help students develop understanding and grow in the knowledge of Yahweh’s ways.
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Carry the Instruction Forward — The Restoration Within
As we leave the 34th Sabbath Gate, may we continue developing the wisdom and understanding we have received. Let Yahweh’s Word guide our thinking, strengthen our judgment, and influence our daily conduct.
Receive the instructions. Develop understanding. Practice wisdom. Allow the inward person to grow.
The Gate is open, and the journey continues.
Peace and blessings from
Shabbat Shalom!
Yahweh rules, and we proclaim victory in Yahweh’s name.
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