Gen. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. “Knees” in the dirt, soil in His “nails”, sun on His “back”, perhaps a sustained exhalation from His “lungs” to create His beloved – Adam. Very good! Done!
What did God do next? What did He do that weekend? He RESTED.
Rest for God? Why? Did He need it? Was He tired?
First of all, we know that God does not have a body like we do (John 4:24). The use of anthropomorphic language in the bible is so we have a chance to grasp the mystery of His being.
When Moses asked to see God as told in Exodus 23, God explained no one could see His “face” and live. He tucks Moses in the cleft of a rock, covers his face with His “hand” and then allowed Moses to see His “back”. He tells Moses that He will see His glory and His goodness pass before him.
Moses sees the wake of God’s goodness as His being passes by. Everywhere God goes you see the trail of how good He is. Look back – can you see it? Even yesterday – can you see the wake? Is this not GLORIOUS?!?
So a God without a body like men with a “face” that could kill? HE does not need rest.
He rested to model for us what we are to do. He wants man to do the same. He “hallowed” the day of rest – set it aside. This day is called the Sabbath. He rested and was REFRESHED, adds Ex. 31:17.
Notice that work and rest are in existence at the beginning of time before Adam and Eve fell from grace! Rest is not a concession for broken-down man, not a sign of weakness. Rest is enjoyed and intentional, even in a state of edenic perfection.
Gen. 2:2 links His work with His rest. Reading around this text you see the Godhead enjoying and declaring how good the work is. On this day of rest, savor the work you have done all week of “creating” - caring, tending, resolving, nurturing, referee-ing, wash-lather-rinse-repeat day in and day out on all of the above…
Who is resting? God is in community. He is with Himself, with His Son and the Spirit. They work together. They rejoice together. They are satisfied with their work. Then they chill together. You – you rest too! With your chickadees, roosters, hens – I am of course writing from the birdhouse…
Here’s more – the Sabbath is:
- every seven days (Ex. 20: 9 – 10)
- for a sign that we’re His – we are HIS birds. (Ex. 31:13)
- for us to remember God’s wake of goodness as it passed by over the last 6 days (Deut. 5:15)
- for us, not us for the Sabbath – in other words, it does not have to be a new measuring stick in your life – if your donkey falls in a pit on the Sabbath, go get it! (Mark 2:27)
- a picture of what heaven will be like (Heb. 4:1 – 11)
Now I know what real estate an ENTIRE day out of a week can be. I am trying to grow in this area. I’m not good at it, but I want to be. I mentally think of sundown Saturday as the end of my workweek thus the beginning of the Sabbath, and sundown Sunday as the end of the Sabbath. If the house is messy, it’s messy. My friend Sophia once said, if you want to see me, stop by anytime. If you want to see my house, make an appointment. Leftovers, planning ahead, or going out to lunch – that can take care of food. Just BEING, napping, reading, worshipping… remembering, savoring, accepting God’s invitation for His weekend plans.
His beloved,
Diana
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