GENESIS 2: On the Seventh Day…

DAY OF REST

It says in the Bible that, after creating everything, God “rested”.

(Genesis 2:1-2) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Was God even tired after creating everything? We know this is not the case. 

(Isaiah 40:26-31)  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

God did not rest because he was tired, but because the work he set out to do was already completed. There was nothing else to add. Everything was perfect just as he had done it.

The “complete” work of God goes beyond anything we can imagine. God did not only finish creating that which was in the past, but that which was to come. It may be difficult for us to comprehend this, because we are limited by time, but God is not. He transcends time, and everything he does is eternal. To Him the future is already done.

It is not by chance that there is a great resemblance between Genesis and Revelation. Where we begin, there is where we will end. From the beginning God created both what was at the time and what would come in the future. That is why he rested when he finished his work. There was nothing else to be done. Everything was done. From the beginning God designed the end of time, and everything that comes in between.

God has not forsaken the world. He has everything under control. How encouraging it is to know that God began his perfect work, and he will complete it. What greater rest could we have, than knowing that God is in control?

(Psalms 138:8)  The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

(Philippians 1:6) And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

A DAY BLESSED AND MADE HOLY

Ever since the first week of creation, God blessed the seventh day and made it holy.

(Genesis 2:3) So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

“To Make Holy” means to set apart. God set apart the seventh day (Saturday) for a special purpose.

(Leviticus 23:2-3)  Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.

The Sabbath is a divine appointment that God set with His People. It is a day that God chose to connect with his children. It is a day of open doors that connect Earth with Heaven (Ezekiel 46:1).

This should be a special day for us also. After completing our labor every week, we should stop and recognize that all our efforts would produce nothing without God. He is the one who has everything under control.  The good work he began from the beginning of creation, he will bring to completion and it will be evident in our lives. Oh, what great rest we find when we know this!

It is interesting that so many people resist the idea of “Resting”. It is perceived as a “restraint”, in contrast to the respite it is designed to provide. Maybe, deep inside, the reason for this rejection to the Sabbath lies in the fact that people refuse to give up control. They want to continue in their labor, since they depend on it, instead of letting go, trusting God and resting in Him.

The Sabbath is not a restraint; it is a day of rest. That is why Jesus said:

(Mark 2:27)  The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

In a previous study we learned that work is a blessing God gave to man. We are called to be productive. But at the end of the week we must stop and recognize that it is God that makes our labor bring forth fruit. We are not in control, God is.

(Exodus 20:8-11)  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

We rest when we know that God is in control, and that the work he began… he will bring to completion.