Part 2: God Rested

Order of Service:

Starting Prayer and Reading of a passage

Communion

Worship

Teaching

Fellowship / Discussion

Prayer time as a group

Review of past sermon

Current Sermon Position:

Gen 1:1-2:4 The generations of the heavens and the earth

Gen 2:4-5:1 The book of the generations of Adam

Gen 5:1-6:9 The generations of Noah

Gen 6:9-10:1 The generations of the sons of Noah

Gen 10:1-11:10 The generations of Shem

Gen 11:10-11:27 The generations of Terah

Gen 11:27-25:19 The generations of Isaac

Gen 25:19-37:2 The generations of Jacob

Gen 37:2-Ex 1:1 The generations of the Sons of Jacob

The Text: Genesis 2:1-4

Text: Genesis 2:1–4 “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 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. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.”

The heavens and the earth were completed and all their hosts

All things, in heaven and on earth, were created. Angels, life, all things in heaven and on the earth.

Nothing was dead.

Adam and Eve, and many of the created things were created aged.

The seventh day

God blessed it

God sanctified it

Old Testament impact:

The Sabbath was a sign and covenant:

Exodus 31:12–17 “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. ‘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.””

The Death Penalty was given for the disobedient:

The sabbath, in reflection of the 7th day, was used as a weekly day of rest

Exodus 20:9–10 NASB95

“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.

Leviticus 23:3 “‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.”

The Sabbath was to be regarded as Holy

Exodus 20:8 ““Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

Selected holidays refer to the Sabbath

The Day of atonement:

Leviticus 23:26–36 NASB95

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. “You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. “If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. “As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. “You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.” Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. ‘On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. ‘For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

Other holidays “Holy Convocations”

Leviticus 23:37–44 NASB95

‘These are the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day’s matter on its own day— besides those of the sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord. ‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. ‘Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. ‘You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. ‘You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ” So Moses declared to the sons of Israel the appointed times of the Lord.

The people should provide a sabbath to the land

Leviticus 26:34 “‘Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.”

How does the OT Law work for believers? The Law of Christ.

Matthew 5:17 NASB95

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”

James 2:8 “If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.”

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 2:21 ““I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.””

Galatians 2:16 “nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

The Old Testament Laws were Paradigmatic for the Nation of Israel

Not requirements for NT Believers

Examples of how to demonstrated love to God and others as paradigms

What does this mean for the Sabbath?

Mark 2:27 “Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

Application

How should believers value the Sabbath?

Look to the rest to come: Faithful Perseverance

Hebrews 4:1–13 NASB95

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.” Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Keep a day of rest, the Lord’s Day, as a sign of what is to come (Not a command from the OT, but a necessity from Genesis 2:1-4

We are not required under the Law to keep the Sabbath

We should continue with a day of rest as a holy day in reflection of God’s value for a day of rest

A Sabbath Day is not re-established in the New Testament like the other nine commandments, but it is a future hope we should keep (Heb 4)

The Sabbath is a shadow of the rest that is to come. It should remind us of what God is blessing us with in the life after the life before death.