IN THE BEGINNING PART 8

The Completion of Creation

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

Observing this pattern, we should find it no surprise that nearly every human civilization from that time until today has ordered its life around a seven-day week—even though most of them have had neither the book of Genesis nor significant contact with one another. This is a testimony, written on the human conscience, of the truthfulness of the biblical creation account.

The Lord Rested

Isaiah 40:28 “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

Psalm 121:2-4 “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

The Blessing and Sanctifying of the 7th Day

This is the first time in Scripture that something has been described as holy. God blessed the 7th day BY making it holy. To make something holy means to set it apart. This is a day that the Lord has set apart to commemorate His work of creation.

In brief, “bless” is the language of giving, while “declare holy” is the language of claiming. When something is blessed by God, it becomes a vehicle of his generous giving and an expression of his warm concern. When God declares something holy, he claims it for himself, taking it out of ordinary circulation (whether it is a place, a day, or an animal for sacrifice) and declaring it special.

Questions About the Sabbath

When was the Sabbath?

What are we required to do or not do on the Sabbath?

Are the Sabbath laws from the Law of Moses binding on us as believers in Christ?

Is Sunday the Sabbath for Christians?

The Sabbath in the Law of Moses

Sabbath Rules and Requirements

Exodus 16:29-30 “See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.”

See Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15...

Exodus 31:12-14 “And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.”

Exodus 31:17 “It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ””

Exodus 35:2-3 “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.””

Numbers 15:32 “While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.”

Numbers 15:35 “And the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.””

The aim of the Sabbath restrictions was to stop regular, everyday work—because if God had “set aside” the sabbath (Ex 20:11), the most obvious way of profaning it was to treat it just like any other day.

Feasts

Leviticus 23:1-2 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.”

Leviticus 23:3 ““Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.”

The chapter goes on listing other feasts with the same kind of language and restrictions. The feasts listed are Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Weeks (Pentecost), Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Booths.

Numbers 28:11-15 tell us about New Moon convocations. They were monthly celebrations that were treated as Sabbath observances.

Sabbath Years

See Leviticus 25:1-7 and Deuteronomy 15:1-18...

During the Sabbatical Year, Israelites were to forgive debts and allow the land to remain fallow.

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 “He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” (Jeremiah 25:11-12)

Year of Jubilee

See Leviticus 25:8-22...

During this year, economic debts were to be forgiven, land restored to families who sold in order to repay debt, and slaves sold to repay debt were to be liberated.

Purpose of the Sabbath

Psalm 92:1-15… A song for the Sabbath

It was a reminder that the Lord is our Creator.

It was a reminder that the Lord is the One who sanctifies us.

It was to day to worship the one who created and redeemed us.

It was a reminder that we need rest.

It was a reminder that we are dependent on the Lord, and He will provide for us.