“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. - Matthew 11:28-29
This morning we will wrap up our study of “Creation Week”. In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. They were formless and void. For 6 days He fashioned them into the beautiful creation that He intended and desired. Let’s play a simple game to review His creative work. I will name something and you tell me on what day God created it.
The Sky (Day 2)
Land Animals (Day 6)
Plants (Day 3)
Fish and Birds (Day 5)
Light (Day 1)
The Sun, Moon, and Stars (Day 4)
Dry Land (Day 3)
People (Day 6)
Great job! God made people last, as they were the crowning work of HIs creation. Then, as we will discuss in the following message, on the 7th day God rested. Turn with me to Genesis 2:1-3 and let’s begin.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 And on 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. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it. - Genesis 2:1-3
I. GOD RESTED, BLESSED, AND SANCTIFIED
After 6 days of creation, the heavens and the earth were complete. So also were the hosts of living things that God had made and placed in them, most notably mankind. God’s creative work was finished and on the 7th day He rested.
The Bible teaches that God is almighty. He never grows weary or tired, like we do (Isaiah 40:28). Even the tremendous work of creation was easy for Him. That said, if the LORD doesn’t get tired, why would He need to rest?
Well, the Bible doesn’t say that He needed to rest, just that He did rest. The Hebrew word used in this passage is shabat. While it is translated into English as rest, it also means “to stop or cease”. For example, when a lawyer finishes presenting their case, they say, “The defense or prosecution rests.” God didn’t rest because He was weary or exhausted. He didn’t need a day to recover His strength or reinvigorate Himself. Rather, He stopped creating because He was finished. He had completed His work, and it was “very good”.
Then God blessed and sanctified the 7th day because He had finished His creative work. It was a special day, unlike the previous 6, endowed with God’s divine favor. He set it apart, uniquely designating it as a holy day. In so doing, God established a precedent that is reflected in several ways throughout Scripture.
II. THE SABBATH DAY
Centuries later, when God chose the Children of Israel to be His covenant people, He gave them the 10 Commandments and the Law. The 4th of Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” The Jews were instructed to labor for 6 days, but to do no work on the 7th day, according to the pattern God established during creation. It was to be a day of worship, reflection, and rest (Exodus 20:9-11).
God intended the Sabbath day to be a blessing for mankind. Unfortunately, the Pharisees and other religious leaders added so many restrictions to this law that it had become a burden. They even used these man-made rules to attack and try to discredit Jesus, but He set them straight and reminded us all that God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
III. A PLACE OF REST
The Bible describes the Promised Land as a place of physical rest (Psalm 95:11). The Hebrew children had suffered as slaves under the cruel hand of the Egyptians for almost 400 years. Then they wandered about in the wilderness for another 40 years, disobedient to the LORD command. But finally, under Joshua’s command, God led them into Canaan and gave them victory over their enemies. Finally they could rest in their inheritance.
In much the same way, the Bible describes Heaven as a place of spiritual rest. As believers, we are called to do the LORD’s work here on earth. It can be exhausting and difficult. Sometimes we may want to give up. But God urges us to remain faithful and promises that, after our work is done, there is a place of rest for us. Just as God rested from His creative work, so also Christians will enter their rest when their works on earth are completed (Hebrews 4:9-11).
IV. JESUS IS OUR REST
Under the Old Covenant, people sought to attain God’s favor by strict obedience to the Law. They tried to earn their salvation by doing good works and keeping God’s commandments. However, this proved to be an impossible task because no person is able to perfectly keep God’s Law. We all fall short and succumb to sin. This was why God sent His Son Jesus to redeem humanity. Jesus lived a sinless life, something we could never do, thereby qualifying Himself as an unblemished and acceptable sacrifice before God. He bore mankind’s sin on the cross, died as our substitute, endured the penalty we were due, and attained salvation for all who would receive it. In Christ, believers don’t have to work for their salvation. Instead, they can rest in His amazing grace and serve God not out of compulsion or necessity, but rather out of love and appreciation for all He has done.
CONCLUSION
The theme of resting from your works runs throughout the entire Bible. God established this principle when He rested on the 7th Day after completing His creation of the heavens and the earth. Rest is a blessing from God, intended for our benefit, and just as we should work hard when it is time to work, so also we should take time to rest when it is time to rest.
Although God ceased from creating the heavens and the earth, He continues to uphold, sustain, and preserve them (Nehemiah 9:6). God is always actively working and engaged in the activities of His creation. We should not believe, as some wrongly do, that God created the universe and mankind only to abandon them, ignore them, or sit passively by and leave them to their own devices.
As we wrap up our discussion of creation, I want to make a final plug for the young earth position. The 4th Commandment states that people should work for 6 days and rest on the 7th, just as God did. This isn’t a logical statement unless God also worked for 6 literal days, not over millions or billions of years. Furthermore, the same Hebrew word for day that is used in the 4th Commandment (meaning a literal 24-period) is also used throughout Genesis 1 and the opening verses of Genesis 2. Finally, the phrase “and there was evening and morning” at the end of each day of creation suggests literal days.
Are you worn out? Have the struggles and worries of life made you tired? I want you to know that there is rest for your soul in Jesus Christ. He offers forgiveness and salvation to the lost. He provides strength and perseverance to the weary. Would you rest in Him today?
This morning we will wrap up our study of “Creation Week”. In the beginning God created the heavens and earth. They were formless and void. For 6 days He fashioned them into the beautiful creation that He intended and desired. Let’s play a simple game to review His creative work. I will name something and you tell me on what day God created it.
The Sky (Day 2)
Land Animals (Day 6)
Plants (Day 3)
Fish and Birds (Day 5)
Light (Day 1)
The Sun, Moon, and Stars (Day 4)
Dry Land (Day 3)
People (Day 6)
Great job! God made people last, as they were the crowning work of HIs creation. Then, as we will discuss in the following message, on the 7th day God rested. Turn with me to Genesis 2:1-3 and let’s begin.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 And on 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. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it. - Genesis 2:1-3
I. GOD RESTED, BLESSED, AND SANCTIFIED
After 6 days of creation, the heavens and the earth were complete. So also were the hosts of living things that God had made and placed in them, most notably mankind. God’s creative work was finished and on the 7th day He rested.
The Bible teaches that God is almighty. He never grows weary or tired, like we do (Isaiah 40:28). Even the tremendous work of creation was easy for Him. That said, if the LORD doesn’t get tired, why would He need to rest?
Well, the Bible doesn’t say that He needed to rest, just that He did rest. The Hebrew word used in this passage is shabat. While it is translated into English as rest, it also means “to stop or cease”. For example, when a lawyer finishes presenting their case, they say, “The defense or prosecution rests.” God didn’t rest because He was weary or exhausted. He didn’t need a day to recover His strength or reinvigorate Himself. Rather, He stopped creating because He was finished. He had completed His work, and it was “very good”.
Then God blessed and sanctified the 7th day because He had finished His creative work. It was a special day, unlike the previous 6, endowed with God’s divine favor. He set it apart, uniquely designating it as a holy day. In so doing, God established a precedent that is reflected in several ways throughout Scripture.
II. THE SABBATH DAY
Centuries later, when God chose the Children of Israel to be His covenant people, He gave them the 10 Commandments and the Law. The 4th of Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.” The Jews were instructed to labor for 6 days, but to do no work on the 7th day, according to the pattern God established during creation. It was to be a day of worship, reflection, and rest (Exodus 20:9-11).
God intended the Sabbath day to be a blessing for mankind. Unfortunately, the Pharisees and other religious leaders added so many restrictions to this law that it had become a burden. They even used these man-made rules to attack and try to discredit Jesus, but He set them straight and reminded us all that God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
III. A PLACE OF REST
The Bible describes the Promised Land as a place of physical rest (Psalm 95:11). The Hebrew children had suffered as slaves under the cruel hand of the Egyptians for almost 400 years. Then they wandered about in the wilderness for another 40 years, disobedient to the LORD command. But finally, under Joshua’s command, God led them into Canaan and gave them victory over their enemies. Finally they could rest in their inheritance.
In much the same way, the Bible describes Heaven as a place of spiritual rest. As believers, we are called to do the LORD’s work here on earth. It can be exhausting and difficult. Sometimes we may want to give up. But God urges us to remain faithful and promises that, after our work is done, there is a place of rest for us. Just as God rested from His creative work, so also Christians will enter their rest when their works on earth are completed (Hebrews 4:9-11).
IV. JESUS IS OUR REST
Under the Old Covenant, people sought to attain God’s favor by strict obedience to the Law. They tried to earn their salvation by doing good works and keeping God’s commandments. However, this proved to be an impossible task because no person is able to perfectly keep God’s Law. We all fall short and succumb to sin. This was why God sent His Son Jesus to redeem humanity. Jesus lived a sinless life, something we could never do, thereby qualifying Himself as an unblemished and acceptable sacrifice before God. He bore mankind’s sin on the cross, died as our substitute, endured the penalty we were due, and attained salvation for all who would receive it. In Christ, believers don’t have to work for their salvation. Instead, they can rest in His amazing grace and serve God not out of compulsion or necessity, but rather out of love and appreciation for all He has done.
CONCLUSION
The theme of resting from your works runs throughout the entire Bible. God established this principle when He rested on the 7th Day after completing His creation of the heavens and the earth. Rest is a blessing from God, intended for our benefit, and just as we should work hard when it is time to work, so also we should take time to rest when it is time to rest.
Although God ceased from creating the heavens and the earth, He continues to uphold, sustain, and preserve them (Nehemiah 9:6). God is always actively working and engaged in the activities of His creation. We should not believe, as some wrongly do, that God created the universe and mankind only to abandon them, ignore them, or sit passively by and leave them to their own devices.
As we wrap up our discussion of creation, I want to make a final plug for the young earth position. The 4th Commandment states that people should work for 6 days and rest on the 7th, just as God did. This isn’t a logical statement unless God also worked for 6 literal days, not over millions or billions of years. Furthermore, the same Hebrew word for day that is used in the 4th Commandment (meaning a literal 24-period) is also used throughout Genesis 1 and the opening verses of Genesis 2. Finally, the phrase “and there was evening and morning” at the end of each day of creation suggests literal days.
Are you worn out? Have the struggles and worries of life made you tired? I want you to know that there is rest for your soul in Jesus Christ. He offers forgiveness and salvation to the lost. He provides strength and perseverance to the weary. Would you rest in Him today?