God Demonstrates Sabbath

In the First Three Verses of the Second Chapter of Genesis, God Summarizes His creation of the world.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2:2 And by the seventh day, God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He “rested” from all His work which God had created and made.

Why Rest?

God doesn’t rest until he has completed His work, we rest because He has finished His work. Did you know that the word “Sabbath” and the word “rest” both come from the same Hebrew word? The two ideas are intimately connected.

A carpenter would be astonished – if not offended – if we started nailing boards on the exterior of the house he’d already completed. An artist would likely snatch the crayon out of our hands if we traced over lines he’d already drawn. I wonder how it impacts God to watch us scramble to add to what He has already finished.

What else has God Completed?

God has completed other things besides the creation of the heavens and the earth. Here are some examples.

• On the cross, Jesus completed the payment for our sins When we try to atone for our own wrongdoings, and so earn God’s love, we’re acting as if Jesus was wrong when He said from the cross ”It is finished.” [The writer of Hebrews calls our unnecessary effort “dead works.” (There’s no point in paying a bill that’s already been paid.)
• At the moment of our salvation, God completed our move from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son. He set us free from the Evil One’s ownership. When we act as if we’re still slaves to sin, we’re ignoring that we have a new King.
• God has given each Christian everything pertaining to life and godliness. He has made us complete in Him (Colossians 2:10.
• God has also already given us dignity, and worth. There is no need for us to work to achieve what God has already completed.

Happiness and Holiness

Read Genesis 2:1-3 again. Notice that God blesses and sanctifies this day of completion and rest. Bless means “happy.” Sanctify means to ”set apart as holy.” We honor the Sabbath by setting time apart to celebrate what brings happiness and joy. Our times of Sabbath – whether a certain day of the week or time set apart during other days – have a very specific purpose. Sabbaths are times we set aside to rest from everyday demands and instead immerse ourselves in noticing God’s completed gifts.
Sabbath times are truly holy times.

God Demonstrates Sabbath
© Lynne Fox, 2019
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