Paul the Poke

Genesis 2:2-3 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

God has set the pattern of the work week. This pattern of a seven day week is wired into our being. The other facets of how we mark time have astronomical markers; the day (sun), month (moon), seasons (equinox) and year (completed monthly cycle). The week does not have an astronomical marker, it is different.

Our calendars work with seven day weeks, not five or eight or whatever. Man has tried to alter this concept of the seven day week. One example is the Soviets during the 1930’s. The comrades tried calendars with five day and six day weeks. The idea was for continuous work, 24 hours a day, non stop. The plan was for improved economic output. Somebody was working at all times, every day. The result was decreased productivity and more mechanical breakdown.

God did not rest because He was fatigued or exhausted. That tired argument is put to sleep in Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. The Sabbath is a notification that the creation is completed. His work is finished.

The pattern of rest on the seventh day is repeated over and over throughout the history of Israel. Here are just two of many examples.

Exodus 20:8-10 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.” Note all people and animals are included. It is a universal concept.

Exodus 31:16-17 “So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.” Due to the everlasting nature of this covenant, one gets the idea that the Sabbath will be reinstated in the future when Christ returns. Based on this verse, we should be observing it today.

By the way, God takes the Sabbath very seriously. This is not a warm, fuzzy McDonald’s jingle “You deserve a break today” mentality. Exodus 31:15b …whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. By this standard, how many of us would be around to read this? I know I would be gone. God is not asking us to do hard, physical labor or some unreasonable task. We are being asked “to rest” one time in seven days.

This entry was posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:37 PM and is filed under Creation with tags apologetics, creation, Genesis, God, Sabbath, sabbath day, week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.