JAN 14

Genesis 2:1-3
Memorise Isaiah 40:28
“and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made”

And so after all that God did in the first six days of the universe’s existence, the Bible tells us that God rested on the seventh day. What does it mean when God rested? Does it mean He ceased completely from any involvement in the world? Did He only rest for one day? Or is He still ‘resting’? Actually, why did God even need to rest at all? Was He so tired out from creation that He needed a break? Would this cause us to question God’s ability and sovereignty?

We must first understand that God can never tire. He is infinite in His power, ability, greatness and might. He is “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary” (Isa 40:28). The word for rest in the Hebrew, ‘shabath’, does not always need to refer to the rest that comes from the result of weariness. Instead it can simply mean a ceasing or stopping.

Thus what is described here is God ceasing from the work of creation, for all that needed to be done was now complete. This does not mean that God has now ceased completely from any activity at all, for we know that He is still actively involved in His creation and in the lives of His people. Instead what we understand is that the work of creation was finished, and therefore God would no longer be creating or making anything else.

Through this act of God ceasing, the seventh day then became an example for man, in that God blessed and sanctified it to be the Sabbath day of rest for man’s benefit. This is God’s way to regulate man’s activity, knowing that he certainly needs time for rest and refreshment, to be apart from the vigour and toil of the week, to have a day in seven where he would gather to remember his Creator and honour Him. That is why in the fourth commandment, we are told to cease from our labour, and observe it as a hallowed day, set aside for the Lord. Exodus 23:12 explains this concept clearly, telling us that we are to work for six days, but then to rest (shabath) on the seventh day. During this day, our ox and ass may rest (not shabath, but the Hebrew word ‘nuach’ which means to rest and settle down), and people in our midst may be refreshed. Indeed the Sabbath law is a wonderful gracious provision from God for our spiritual benefit!

Thought: God does not need to rest, but we certainly do!

Prayer: Lord, I thank You for the provision of a Sabbath rest.