Genesis 2

After God finishes his works of creation he then rests from all his works. Was God tired? was he weary from all that work? Did God exert energy in the creation and now needed to recharge? All of this should sound silly and unfitting to you knowing what you know about God.

No, God resting is his enthronement as King of his creation. He sits enthroned after the completion of his work. And in taking satisfaction in and ceasing from the work of creation, he blesses the Sabbath. The Sabbath is set above all other days as unique, special, and attended with blessing. Though Sabbath literally means to cease from activity, it positively does so much for us, one comm:: “ it helps structure our lives, it brings life into our social and political structures.” On another level, there are abundant spiritual blessings that are promise to those who set it aside as such( see Is 58). And it is for all of humanity. Israel really has nothing to do with it in one sense. Ex 20 heightens what was already there and is to aggravate sin in a way that drove the people to God’s promised Messiah.

As we know, Sabbath will take on a new form while principally remaining for NT Christians. As both a creation ordinance, and an expression of God’s character, there is no reason to believe it would be abolished in the NC. Jesus is the last Adam who succeeds as the last Adam and enters into His enthroned rest on our behalf and as forerunner. He has entered, and though we will enter it as our Leader brings all of his people in, yet we are not there yet. We have tasted it , we anticipate its fulness, but we are not there yet, and so we STRIVE to enter that rest. And there therefore remains a Sabbath rest for us.

As further attention is given to the creation of man, Moses introduces us to God’s covenant name YHWH. One of the staples of good Bible reading is to know that God always relates to his people via covenant. God is a covenant making and keeping God. There is no point in history where man is not under some covenant relation to God. It befits the diligent reader to consider where you are in Gods redemptive covenant history.

And Adam is given charge here as God’s first covenant head or representative. He is given dominion and authority as a King. He is given priestly function in his command to work and keep. He is a prophet as he is to pass on the Word of God to his wife and all their posterity. Adam is put into a covenant of works, and upon his confirmation in that covenant, he and all his posterity would have entered glory. All have sinned and fallen short of what? The glory of God Who was the first to fall short? Adam( there was something to attain). Christ is bringing many sons and daughters where? To glory. Adam was a type of the Christ to come you see. So it is no accident that God places Adam in the garden temple as the first prophet, priest, and king.

Again, there is so many rich gospel nuggets already in these very foundational first two chapters. And I’m going to say this now, and I’ll say it again. If you don’t get the garden right. If you don’t get Gen 1-3 right. You will get everything wrong. If you don’t get Adam as covenant head and representative, how will you get Christ right as the greater covenant head and representative of his people. There is Gen 1-3, and then the Divine commentary Gen 1-3, which is Gen 4-Rev 22. Everything after Genesis three is just an explanation and filling out of the first three Chapters.

Let us pray.