... And He Rested
Notes
Transcript
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Rest. It’s something we all desire, but never seem to find. We get so busy—it seems like we move from one job or chore to another in an endless procession of busy-ness.
And for many of us, rest is something we feel guilty about even considering. We fear looking either weak or lazy if we were to stop doing and rest for even a moment.
But rest is important. As we just read, God rested.
But WHY did God rest? It’s not like he was exhausted.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
To be fair, it is possible to sleep and not get rest. Has anyone here ever experienced that? That just goes to show that rest is about so much more than getting enough sleep. It’s about giving your mind, body, and spirit the opportunity to reset and refresh.
When God rested, he didn’t take a nap. After all, he doesn’t sleep. What he did do was step back and take the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate what he created.
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.
The day when God rested became known as Sabbath, which literally means, “cease” or “desist.” It celebrates the day when God ceased creating the universe. As we read in Genesis 2:3
So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
God blessed the Sabbath and made it holy—specially set apart.
Rest is an act of obedience.
Rest is an act of obedience.
God commanded us to rest. We think we are honoring God by keeping busy and being industrious and productive, but in fact we are living in disobedience when we refuse to rest.
“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 to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
When God gave the fourth commandment, he explains that it follows his example of resting on the seventh day after working for six days. In other words, part of the reason God rested was to set an example to us. God knows our human nature is to overwork ourselves. So he commanded us to rest.
Rest is an avenue of growth
Rest is an avenue of growth
Going even further, if we are honest, the most common reason we stay as busy as we do is because being busy keeps us from having to face certain issues in our lives. So many people run from one project to the next at a breakneck pace, simply because they need to stay occupied so that they don’t have to think about situations that cause them emotional turmoil. But by staying busy and avoiding these issues, we never learn how to properly deal with these issues and the emotions that come with them. By keeping busy, we are refusing to let God help us grow emotionally and spiritually as we face life’s challenges. So God calls us to stop, rest, and learn to overcome our issues instead of running away from them.
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Rest is an affirmation of sanctification
Rest is an affirmation of sanctification
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.
Sanctification is a term meaning being made holy or purified.
When we view something as holy, we treat it as special. There are things in our lives we view as holy or extra special. It can be literally holy things like old Bibles that, no matter how old and torn up they may be, we can’t bring ourselves to throw away because it feels so wrong. It can be a certain day or time of year, like holidays or anniversaries.
In the passage we just read, God declares that his people have been sanctified, set apart as special and holy, and that he has given them the Sabbath as a sign of their sanctification. By keeping the Sabbath, they identify themselves as the people of his covenant. They are not like all the other nations who do not have a Sabbath day of rest. It’s the same today.
The world doesn’t have a Sabbath. There was a time when people respected Sunday as a day of rest. Businesses would be closed. But then they found that they could earn more money by having their shops open on Sunday. And, of course, we enjoyed the convenience of another shopping day. But then more and more things got added, until the day that had been set apart as sacred and holy became basically just another day—for everyone—and we Christians fell right in with it. So now we have jobs that schedule us to work on Sunday, and we risk losing our jobs if we don’t comply. We have sporting events. We have Sunday practices. The world throws more and more things at us to keep us from honoring the Sabbath, and we take it. In doing so, we spurn the Sabbath, reject God’s rest, and wonder why we’re weary.
As people of the new covenant, we have been sanctified by God. And God has given us this gift of the Sabbath. In doing so, he is saying that it is not only okay to rest, it is important to rest.
God wants us to rest.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
God knows that it is impossible for us to find real rest in and of ourselves. We work hard. Our bodies get weary. But we also carry burdens of worry, sorrow, fear, and regret. These intangible things weigh us down even more than the the physical burdens. We need rest from those things as well.
So he gives us a time to step away from the busy-ness of life, to pause and reflect on what is really important in life. He gives us an opportunity to slow down and catch our breath, to experience peace in the midst of our chaotic lives.
But more than that, God gives us the peace that comes through reconciliation.
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Knowing that we have been forgiven, reconciled, and sanctified through the blood of Jesus frees us from the having to carry the burden of regret. Learning to cast our cares on Jesus means that HE carries the burden, so that we can experience rest.
So the question is, how rested are you? Do you feel strong, alert, and ready to face what comes your way? Or are you tired and weary? Are you drained of strength? Does you mind feel clouded? Is your soul heavy? Are you in need of rest? If the answer is yes, then you need to find your way down to the altar right now.
Jesus said, “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.” So come. Give up the pride that is holding you back, fearing what others will think. We all need rest. God took time to rest. God commanded us to rest. God ordained a time for us to rest. Finding our rest in God identifies us as God’s children. So what in the world could be your reason to refuse God’s rest?
