THE HISTORY OF REST

Genesis chapter two builds off the last statement found in . God made everything, all matter and space, stars and solar systems, and then spoke into existence all plant and animal life. Then, crowning His creation, God created a man and woman, His image bearers, to be co-rulers with Him, spreading God’s glory all through creation as they worshipped Him. The sixth day of creation ended, and before it ended God pronounced it “very good.”

Then chapter two picks on on the seventh day. God has created everything in the universe, given plants, animals, and humanity their respective tasks, and then the Scriptures tell us that God did something unimaginable. He rested. Our goal this evening, then, is to look at the History of Rest. Remember, Genesis is a book of foundations. It provides us with so many “firsts,” and these have enormous implications for believers today.

God created everything in six days. The Scriptures say, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished...” The word for finished implies a finality, like a waterskin being emptied, grass perishing, or being consumed away. God’s creative work ended. God finished His work, He completed His task, and He rested. Please hear what the Scriptures are not saying. Moses, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is not saying that God was tired and needed a day off. Remember, as we learned last week from chapter one, God has almighty power. There is no shortage of His energy. If we were to say that God was just getting started we would demean His unlimited power.

I. THE PATTERN SET BY GOD- 2:1-2

A. Pattern: Six and One

Dangers of not resting:

“Why has a practice that enjoyed universal acceptance among American Protestants from roughly 1776 until 1960 virtually disappeared in the last half of the twentieth century? The explanation is usually attributed to the rise of leisure activities and professional sports, the changing character of work wrought by the industrial revolution and technology, and the triumph of the automobile that brought weekend resorts within reach of the middle class. In sociological terms, what happened was secularization, especially a secularized view of work and rest (read: leisure).” [D. G. Hart and John R. Muether, With Reverence and Awe: Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002), 63-64.]

According to an article on WebMD, there are 10 effects of sleep loss:

“Sleepiness Causes Accidents”

Three Mile Island, Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1986 Chernobyl meltdown

“Sleep Loss Dumbs You Down”

“Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Serious Health Problems”

heart disease, heart attack, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes

“Sleepiness Is Depressing”

“Lack of Sleep Ages Your Skin”

“Sleepiness Makes You Forgetful”

“Lack of Sleep May Increase Risk of Death”

“Whitehall II Study” of 10,000 British civil servants over two decades, people who cut sleep from 7 to 5 hours or less doubled the risk of death from all causes, including doubling the risk of death from cardiovascular disease

“Sleep Loss Impairs Judgment, Especially About Sleep”

[Camille Peri, “10 Things to Hate About Sleep Loss,” WebMD, 13 February 2014, https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/10-results-sleep-loss, accessed 13 January 2020.

B. Pattern seen throughout Scripture

II. THE PURPOSE GIVEN BY GOD- 2:3

A. The Sanctity of the Sabbath—holy

B. The Two-fold purpose of the Sabbath- worship and rest

III. THE PROPHECY UNSPOKEN BY GOD- 2:3