When God finished His creation, He rested. This devotional reading looks at how we are to take one day a week to worship Him.
Nuggets
- God rested from creation so that it could produce.
- The seventh day has been declared Shabbat.
- Shabbat was not a Ten Commandment thing — it is a creation thing.
God rested on the seventh day, but the seventh day has not ended. That means we are to continue to worship Him.
What did God have in mind?
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Celebrating Creation’s Story series
God Rests on the Seventh Day
“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation” (Gen. 2: 2-3 NLT)
God rested from creation so that it could produce.
We can’t think that God is weary. It is more He ceased from His work because — as we said — the work was completed.
God’s creation wasn’t supposed to sit around and do nothing. “Then God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth’” (Gen. 1: 22 NLT).
God created the His creation so it could multiply and replenish itself. Disciples replenish themselves by seeking God.
Bradford gave us an interesting piece of information. He wrote, “What the Hebrew sages say it most points to is quitting your normal activities; it doesn’t mean that you necessarily stop doing everything.”
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That is so different than what the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, though. They followed oral traditions.
Many of the oral traditions dealt with Shabbat infractions. The Mishnah identified restrictions on 39 kinds of labor. Many of them dealt with food preparation.
They didn’t stop there. Restrictions went from how far a journey could be to lighting a candle.
To me, Jewish people had to focus too much on keeping the letter of the law. These restrictions didn’t lead people closer to God, as Jesus taught. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath’” (Mk. 2: 27 NLT).
What doesn’t lead us to God, leaves us away from Him.
God Blessed the Sabbath
The seventh day has been declared Shabbat.
Yes, God instituted Shabbat to be celebrated on the seventh day of the week. (Remember this starts Friday night at sundown and continues through Saturday night at sundown.)
Humankind did not create Shabbat in order to take a break from the stress of this world.
God instituted Shabbat and blessed it by making it about salvation. This is the one day set aside for us to seek God. We rest from most of our normal activities to focus on Him.
This speaks to salvation and sanctification. It gives us the time to strength our relationships with Him.
We can’t think that the moment of salvation is all there is. After conversation, we have to work out our salvation through sanctification.
That is where we grow closer to God. We become more like Him.
One thing we have to recognize is that God isn’t just calling us to put aside sin on the Sabbath day. We are to take our focus off this world, too.
As The Protoplast said, “Sabbath rest is found in beholding the face of God. Sabbath occupation is found in serving Him.”
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We are to focus on God. We are to be content where He has placed us.
Think about it a second. Where was humankind when God gave us the Sabbath? We were in the Garden of Eden — our place of Heaven on earth.
We haven’t gotten to Genesis 3 yet. Humankind hadn’t fallen yet, so we were still perfect in God’s image.
And we still needed a Sabbath day.
I love what Eden said. (Yeah, great name.) He wrote, “Better to wait in Paradise with God and the Sabbath, than go to find a lower happiness elsewhere.”
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Isn’t that what may worldview people do today? They are looking for happiness anywhere but with God.
God Declared the Sabbath Holy
"... And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation” (Gen. 2: 2-3 NLT)
Shabbat was not a Ten Commandment thing — it is a creation thing.
God gave humankind the Sabbath from the first week of creation. I don’t think it was an accident that God rested on the seventh day. Seven is the number of completion and perfection.
The day was consecrated and set apart to be holy. God’s Word talks about it many times.
- “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy” (Ex. 20: 8-11 NLT).
- “He told them, “This is what the LORD commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow” (Ex. 16: 23 NLT).
- “They must realize that the Sabbath is the LORD’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day” (Ex. 16: 29 NLT).
- “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the LORD. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death” (Ex. 35: 2 NLT).
- “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the LORD’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live” (Lev. 23: 3 NLT).
- “You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath” (Ex. 35: 3 NLT).
- “Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!’” (Mk. 2: 27-28 NLT).
- “And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath’” (Mt. 12: 11-12 NLT).
- “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the LORD will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Isa. 58: 13-14 NLT).
Remember what Jesus said? “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved” (Mt. 5: 18 NLT).
On each of the previous six days, the proclamation was made that the evening and the morning completed each day. It closed the events.
No such proclamation was made for the seventh day.
Everyone must worship God. It isn’t a Hebrew thing. It isn’t a Jewish thing.
Worshiping God is an Adam thing. All of us came from Adam.
It is interesting that this is the only day of the week that the Hebrews named.
There will be no end to worshiping God. We will continue on throughout eternity doing that.
We have a tendency to misunderstand what it means to be holy. We tend to think anything coming from God is holy.
But that isn’t right, is it? We definitely know it isn’t.
Only God can declare something holy based on whatever criteria He uses.
Making the Connections #1
So, if God hasn’t told us to stop resting/worshiping Him on the seventh day of the week, why are we worshiping Him on the first day of the week?
Yes, the change was made to honor Jesus’ resurrection. But did God tell us to change it and is it really the equivalent of Shabbat?
God hasn’t told us in His Word to stop worshiping Him on the seventh day. In fact, the Lord’s Day is only seen once in God’s Word. “It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit …” (Rev. 1: 10 NLT).
But then, did that mean then what it means now – the day of Jesus’ resurrection?
Conway thought it was okay. He argued the change of day makes no change in the amount of our time which God has sanctified.
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Boardman’s point may have piggybacked off this. He wrote, “… the final cause of the Sabbath is to sabbatize each day and make all life sacramental. And Jesus Christ being our true Sabbath, Jesus Christ is also our true rest — even the spirit’s everlasting Eden.”
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Yes, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. “So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” (Mk. 2: 28 NLT).
To me, that reads daily. “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me’” (Lk. 9: 23 NLT).
Making the Connections #2
No, we are not under the Law. “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!” (Rom. 6: 14-15 NLT).
But grace does not give us license to sin or to not walk with Him. “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6: 8 NLT).
How can we walk humbly with God if we do not honor Him on Shabbat?
Making the Connections #3
We’ll get to Cain and Abel in a few more devotions, but we have to remember that both worshiped God and sacrificed to Him. One sacrifice was accepted, one wasn’t.
We have to worship God the way He has ordained.
Making the Connections #4
God gave very specific instructions on how to observe Shabbat.
Well, God has given very specific instructions on how we are to live every day.
- “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6: 8 NLT).
- “Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me’” (Lk. 9: 23 NLT).
How Do We Apply This?
- Sabbath rest should focus on our strengthening our relationships with God.
- Be content where God has placed us.
- Use Sabbath rest to evaluate our spiritual condition.
- Use Sabbath rest to dive into God’s Word by utilizing time, thought, and prayer.
- Spend time in God’s creation.
- Serve another disciple.
- Write your own devotion or your reflections on your Bible reading.
- Spend time with other disciples.
- Listen to Christian music.
- Enjoy being in the House of the Lord.
- Complete weekly responsibilities in order to ensure a Sabbath day of rest.
- Retain the content of Sabbath studies so that it can be implemented in our lives during the next week.
- Let Sabbath rest prepare us for eternal rest.
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Father God. Whether we celebrate Shabbat or the Lord’s day, let us seek Your face. Let us seek to keep Your Will in all things, but especially in how we worship You. Amen.
What do you think?
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