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.”
Rest is important. In the beginning God called the people of Israel to rest, to have a “sabbath” rest, a day of rest every seventh day, or as we know it, every week. They added to that their feast days when they would gather with family and friends for a bigger time of rest. Israel had seven major feast days in the year. Today, America is facing a long Memorial Day weekend and for many it will become a “feast day” celebrated with family and friends. It is good!
In Genesis God shows us the importance of rest by taking time after He created everything to rest. A good question is, did God need to rest? And a follow-up to that question would be, why did God rest?
The theological answer to did God need to rest is no. God is God. He is beyond getting tired. He created everything in six days, but that doesn’t mean God was tired. God cannot get tired, He is God! God created light, and all the universe, the earth and all living things on it in six days, but no, God was not tired out from all that work. He simply spoke and things that were not, suddenly were. Sure, it took energy to create things, a lot more energy than we will ever be able to understand, but God is greater than His creation and making all that there is did not make God tired. He had energy to spare.
But, still, on the seventh day God rested. He had the first ever Sabbath, a day of rest. Then he called the people He had made, Adam and Eve, and told them to rest every seventh day as well, just as He had done.
So, if God did not need to rest, why did He? I think there are several reasons, and every one of them is something we can learn from to model our rest after.
First, God could have chosen to rest so He could enjoy what He had made. I learned from one boss that it is good to sit back after finishing a job and look at it and enjoy what you made. So, as part of His rest, God may have, and I think did, look at all that He made and simply enjoyed it. Enjoying our work and all of God’s creation should be a part of our times of rest. Go hiking, fishing, camping, to a park, to someplace and just sit back and enjoy God’s creation.
Another possible reason God rested was to spend time with His family. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit had just created Adam and Eve. A great way to get to know them would be for all five of them, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Adam and Eve, to spend a day together. And what a great way for us to get to know our families, by taking one day a week and important times through the year, to spend with them. We need time with our families, and they need us to spend time with them.
A third reason, and likely the main reason God rested on the first Sabbath Day, is to be an example to us. God did not grow tired from His work, but we do. He could enjoy His creation any time, but we get too busy in our lives and work to enjoy anything. God did not need to spend time with His family because He is with us always, but we need time with Him. God did not need a day of rest, but we do. So, one reason God rested on the seventh day was to show us that we can and need to have regular days of rest too. God rested to be an example for us in our need for rest.
Have a great weekend. Find some rest in it, enjoy His creation, and be with your family.
Pastor Gary.
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