Today, we focus on day seven of creation. All of God’s work was finished, completed in six days. And on day seven he rested.
Was God tired? No!
Isaiah 40:28 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired nor weary and his understanding no one can fathom.”
God didn’t rest because he was tired; God rested because he was finished. This is where God establishes the Sabbath day, the Sabbath rest. The word “Sabbath” doesn’t appear in Scripture until Exodus 16 where we read of the account of God’s provision of manna and quail in the wilderness. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much so they could store some for the seventh day.
Exodus 16:23 “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord.”
In Exodus 20, we see even more clearly the connection between God resting on day seven of creation and his commandment for his people to observe a day of rest, a Sabbath day.
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
A little side note…
Have you ever wondered why we have a seven-day week? There is no seven-day cycle in nature. There is no astronomical basis for it. The ancient Romans tried an eight day week. French revolutionaries tried to get rid of it; so did Russian revolutionaries. The government of Sri Lanka also tried to abolish the seven-day week in the 1960s. Yet, our seven-day week remains. Why? Because God established it! God worked for six days creating the heavens and the earth and he rested on the seventh. This is yet another reason why the days in the creation account cannot be eons or periods of time.
So Scripture is pretty clear about the Sabbath, right? We ought to start our Sabbath on Friday evening and observe it until Saturday evening. We should change our worship services to Saturday, like the Seventh Day Adventists. Hold on.
Colossians 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Shadows
Would you rather have a shadow or the real thing? We’re not satisfied with shadows. How many of you moms and dads were content will just the ultra sound photo - a mere shadow of the reality inside the womb? How many of you military spouses or parents were content seeing a shadow of your loved one after a long deployment? We don’t want to hug a shadow; we want the real thing!
A shadow heightens our anticipation though, doesn’t it? Because a shadow tells us that the object casting that shadow is nearby, is close at hand. But again, we don’t hug a shadow, we embrace the reality!
When it comes to religious festivals, celebrations or Sabbath days, these are merely shadows. Don’t settle for the shadows; look for the reality! It’s found in Jesus Christ!
The other thing about shadows is that light is necessary for shadows to appear. We need the light of God’s Word to show us the shadows of the OT.
Adam – a “pattern” of the one to come (Romans 5)
Flood – a shadow of the final judgment and destruction (2 Peter 3:3-9)
The waters of the flood and baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21)
The temple sanctuary – a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 8:5)
The high priests – a shadow of THE High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-5:10)
The OT Feasts – a shadow of things that Christ fulfilled or are yet to come
There are three shadows from the OT I would like to highlight this morning. Remember, these are merely shadows. The reality is found in Christ!
Shadow: The Old Covenant
Hebrews 10:1-4 “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The old covenant of the law and the sacrificial system are merely of a shadow of the new covenant found in Christ.
John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Hebrews 7:26-28 “Such a high priest meets our need--one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.”
You wouldn’t see a follower of Jesus Christ advocating the return of the sacrificial system. That would be like embracing the shadow when we already have the reality!
How about you? Are you hugging the shadow? Are you looking for peace with God through your own efforts and sacrifices? Endlessly striving for God’s approval?
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For me yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Do you want spiritual rest seven days a week, not just one? Find your rest in Christ. Not just on Saturdays, but every day of the week!
The law of the old covenant is the shadow; redemption through Christ is the reality! Don’t hug the shadow; embrace Jesus!
Shadow: The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Right after the first Passover in Egypt, God instructed his people to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, they were to eat bread made without yeast; no yeast was to be found in their homes.
In Scripture, yeast is used as a metaphor for those things that corrupt.
Matthew 16:6 “Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”
It’s significant that the Feast of Unleavened Bread comes right after the Passover celebration. God doesn’t save so that we can go on our merry way, doing whatever we want. He saves us and sets us apart for his purposes. We are to be holy, sanctified.
Hebrews 10:10 “…we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “This is the will of God: your sanctification.
Romans 6:22 “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness (sanctification) and the result is eternal life.”
Do you struggle with sin? Do you feel defeated? Find your victory in Christ. Not just for one week a year, but every day of your life!
The Feast of Unleavened bread is the shadow; sanctification through Christ is the reality! Don’t embrace the shadow; embrace Jesus!
These first two shadows point to present realities for those in Christ: salvation and sanctification. The third shadow points to a future reality.
Shadow: The OT temple
Hebrews 8:5 “They (every high priest) serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven.”
Hebrews 9:22-28 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”
Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
Hebrews 4:9 “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
Do you want a glimpse of this future Sabbath-rest?
Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’"
The OT tabernacle is the shadow; eternal life in heaven with God is the reality! Don’t hug the shadow; embrace Jesus who is the way, the truth and life – no one comes to the Father except through him!
So the Sabbath is a shadow of the realities found in Christ:
In Christ we find rest from our striving to earn salvation
In Christ we find rest from our striving to overcome sin
In Christ we have the hope of future rest from the work of this world
Are you hugging the shadow or embracing Jesus?
