Rest and Work
Genesis 2:1-3
Greetings:
Introduction: The word rest is forgotten by modern world. Work culture has overtaken everyone. Many have the Work-alcoholic spirit. I am busy, I was busy and I will be busy are the common words used in these days. But God was concerned about rest. Rest to our body, mind and soul. This month we will mediate on the themes rest and work, rest and worship, rest word rest and fellowship.
The first three verses of the chapter 2 of the book of Genesis is continuation of the previous narrative, and contain its Divine purpose. Shabbat means ‘to desist’. Shabbat is a Day of rest.
Joke:
A little boy was telling his mother about his role in a play that was being done at school.
His mother asked, "What is the role you will play?"
The boy responded, "I shall play the role of a husband," to which the mother replied, "Well, you go back and ask your teacher that you want a SPEAKING role!"
1. Working days (Genesis 2:1)
If you want to enjoy more, if you want to live long, if you want to be blessed in everything and every place then work only for six days. Close your office on Sunday. Retreat on that day. Change your course of action for a day.
The six creation-days, according to the words of the text, were earthly days of ordinary duration (Keil and Delitsch). God took six days for completion. No permanent change has ever since been made in the course of the world, no new species of animals been formed, no law of nature repealed or added to. They could have been finished in a moment as well as in six days. (Jameison Fausset Brown).
John Gill: Perfected and completed in the space of six days, gradually, successively, in the manner before related; by the word and power of God they were on the first day created out of nothing, but they were not perfected, beautified, and adorned, and filled, until all the creatures in were made by six days.
MacLaren: We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. God saw that it was good.’ His ideals are always realised. The divine artist never finds that the embodiment of His thought falls short of His thought.
Pulpit: With the creation of man upon the sixth day the Divine labors were brought to a termination, and his work to a completion. The two ideas of cessation and perfection are noted. Not simply had Elohim paused in his activity, but the Divine idea of his universe had been realized. The finished world was a cosmos, arranged, ornamented, and filled with organized, sentient, and rational beings, with plants, animals, and man; and now the resplendent fabric shone before him a magnificent success - God looked his creations and said "behold, very good." All creations were good but humanity was very good.
Jesus Himself said, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working (John 5:17). We are commanded to work six days. “He who idles his time away in the six days is equally culpable in the sight of God as he who works on the seventh” (Clarke).
What about your working days. Are they planned, executed accordingly or diverted and incomplete? God has created everything very thoughtfully and meticulously. There was a purpose in it.
On the first day God created the heavens and the earth, and light. On the second day he divided the sky and created the oceans. On third day he created the dry land earth, grass, fruit tree. On the fourth day, he created the lights in the heavens such as stars, sun and moon. On the fifth day he created the moving creatures, fowl. God blessed the creatures and fowls to fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the sea and on the earth. On the sixth day God created the living creatures, cattle, beasts, and creepers. Then on the same day God created Man as male and female. He blessed them to multiply, to be fruitful and to replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion over all creatures in the seas, on the earth, and in the air (Genesis 1:1-30).
There was a plan, there was priority and there was a purpose in doing things.
2. Resting Day (Genesis 2:2-3).
Yes, we are free from the legal obligation of the Sabbath, but not the importance of a day of rest. Exodus 31:17 says that on the seventh day God rested, and was refreshed (KJV), and on the seventh he ceased and recovered (LEB). God enjoyed over his completed work. He was satisfied. There was a job satisfaction. There was a feeling of completeness and purpose being understood.
It was to set as an example for us to follow. God does not need a day off, but man needs to see the rest of God and know he can enter into it by the finished work of Jesus. The Divine rest from Creation, was a pledge of Divine Love to the whole world. (Cambridge Bible commentary). God sanctified the seventh day because it was a gift to man for rest and replenishment, and most of all, the Sabbath is a shadow of the rest available through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Ceasing to create is called resting. This rest of the Creator was indeed "the consequence of His self-satisfaction in the now united and harmonious, though manifold whole. This self-satisfaction of God in His creation, which we call His pleasure in His work, was also a spiritual power, which streamed forth as a blessing upon the creation itself, bringing it into the blessedness of the rest of God and filling it with His peace (Keil Delitstch)
Sha¯bat "rest."the institution of the day of rest, shaba¯t, on the cessation of God from his creative activity (Barnes). ‘This is the destiny of those who are My people; to rest as I rest, to rest in Me.’” (Boice)
Jesus told his disciples in Mark 6:31-32, come and rest a while. William Barclay says there are two extremists, one is working without rest, second is resting without work. Both are dangerous. Rest calls for relaxation, being away to a place where no one disturbs you. Rest is a must for the soul, mind and spirit. We are on a seven-day cycle because God is on a seven-day cycle.
God did not rest as one weary, but as one well pleased. Notice the beginning of the kingdom of grace, in the sanctification, or keeping holy, of the sabbath day. The solemn observing of one day in seven as a day of holy rest and holy work, to God's honour, is the duty of all to whom God has made known his holy sabbaths.’(Matthew Henry).
3. Seventh day or First day (Genesis 2:2 a.)
Most Christians are confused on which day we need to worship, on Saturday or on Sunday? Which is the holy day? Which is the best day for worship.
Old Testament laws point to Saturday as sacred, holy and pleasing to God. No work on Saturday but rest and merry in God. We must understand the seventh day as an ordinary day like any other day but (Keil and Delitsch) God “blessed” and “sanctified” the seventh day.
In other words, he invested the seventh day with the quality of highest value and advantage to those who observed it; stamped its observance with the seal of Divine approbation; and “set it apart,” as distinct from the other six days, for sacred purposes.
The observance of the Sabbath is found in the so-called Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20:22-23:33, E), which contains the earliest collection of Hebrew laws. Exodus 31:17 has the legislation (P) to the sabbath observation (Cambridge). Sabbath is an institution of the Almighty God. The higher purpose of this Scripture was to ennoble man’s weekly rest.(Ellicott). The day of resting refers to satisfying or appeasing the heart of the God (Cambridge). However, it’s true that the Sabbath of God has no evening, the creature is to attain at the end of his course, will be bounded by no evening, but last for ever.
It’s interesting to note the difference between the Babylonian shabattu and the Hebrew shabbath? (Cambridge). For Babylonian’s the 7th day is an evil day for men but favourable day to gods of babylonians Marduk and Sarpanitum. The 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days of a month are evil for men, because moon enters into a new phase. On those days kings, priests and physicians are not to perform their auspicious things. Shapattu refers to full moon in Babylon. (Dictionary of the Bible). The days are not blessings to the priest, doctors, kings. But at night, in the presence of Marduk and Ishtar, the king has to bring his gift and offer sacrifices so that his prayer may be acceptable” (Cambridge).
Hebrews sabbath had two significances, namely a day of sacred and a day of rest. Rebels were meted out with death punishment. But Jesus broke the sabbath and emphasised the importance of humanity than the Shabbat observance. He said that we can do the creative and profitable works, useful and beneficial works. He declared that sabbath was made for man not man for sabbath (Mark 2:27). So, Jesus emphasised that day must be used for building people.
His resurrection changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday, from Shabbat to Sunday. From the last day to the first day. Paul clarified in Colossians 2:16-17 and Galatians 4:9-11 that Christians are not under any obligation to observe the Sabbath. Jesus fulfilled the purpose and plan of the Sabbath for us and in us (Hebrews 4:9-11). Even the Jerusalem council doesn’t impose the observance of the sabbath on the gentile churches(Acts 15:29). Sunday is the Lord’s day. Day of celebration of new life. Day of God to fill us with his spirit, visions and missions.
The solemn observing of one day in seven as a day of holy rest and holy work, to God's honour, is the duty of all to whom God has made known his holy sabbaths.’(Matthew Henry).
Conclusion: Do you have a definite day of Rest? if not start from this week.
