I’ve been writing off and on about the pattern found in Genesis that God established to bring life to this earth. We can look at this ‘blueprint’ as we put our talent, time, gifts, and energy to work each day.
Vision – God started with a vision, a plan. He said, “Let us make…”
Creating – Next, God got to work. He created, shaped and formed everything we see around us. He spoke “and it was so.” Created in God’s image, our words also have incredible power to create life or death around us.
Called – Each time God created a thing, he also told it what it was to do and be. Calling also separates something from what it is not. For example, God called the light day, making the distinction in purpose between day and night.
Blessed & Sent – The next thing God did was to bless and send. the plants and trees were to reproduce after their own kind. The fish, birds, and land animals were to reproduce after their own kind. Adam and Eve were blessed and commanded to multiply and increase, rule and subdue. With God’s Word, or command, is the ability and power to accomplish that Word!
God rested from all his work.
[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] And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:1-2
Today I have been thinking about the final thing we see in this pattern: God rested. What a funny thing for the eternal, infinite, powerful, all-knowing God of universe to do: rest. Because this is the way he designed us to work, he sets the precedent for rest. For six days we get to dream, create, name, bless, increase, multiply and rule. The seventh day, though, God has called holy, a day to be separate from all of our normal making-the-world-a-better-place endeavors. A day to remember the goodness of God, refuel, recharge, and be reminded that the last six days were all from, and for God.
Rest requires trust.
I have looked at the idea of rest in conjunction to seed time and harvest, but applies here, also:
Inherent to the idea of rest is the ability to trust. If we do not actually trust God with an area of our lives we will not able to rest in that area. Instead we will continue to strive to achieve, accomplish, fix, or maintain that area. Our bodies and minds need rest from our work, but this principle is more than just a physical one… [read more from this blog]
The word translated rested in Genesis 2 is the same word translated to Sabbath in other parts of the Bible.
God gives Moses instructions about the Sabbath in Exodus,
[13] “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Exodus 31:13
[16] The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. [17] It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested. Exodus 31:16-17
The Sabbath was to be celebrated for generations to come as a lasting covenant, a sign between God and his people that God alone makes people holy. Wow!
Do you have a day set aside every week to pause, to think about how great God is, to let him fill you, love you, strengthen you? These times are important to make a priority, so that we do not forget that it is God alone who makes us holy. It is God alone who made us right with him, and gives us grace to walk out this life as he desires. Church is a great place to begin your Sabbath day – worshipping God, hearing the Word taught, and sharing your lives with with other believers. It is very important that we set aside sacred, non-negotible times, such as daily communion with God, Sabbath rest, and church, to continue to grow into mature believers, conformed to the image of Christ.
There is so much more about the Sabbath that fascinates me … but maybe another day. I am out of words for today. 😉
thanks for reading,
