DAY FIFTEEN - BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE CREATION
“By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing.”
Genesis 2: 2
Reading: Genesis 2: 1-3; Isaiah 40: 28; Psalm 121: 4
The Genesis 1 creation account closes with the fact that God rested. Further details of His creation are offered in Genesis 2 but the creation itself, the primary account itself, ends with a reference to the seventh day.
The seventh day is mentioned three times in those verses. It is mentioned three times because it is that important. It’s a holy day. A day set apart. A day on which God rested. Why? Because everything He had set out to create was finished.
The verb rested is very interesting in the Hebrew (shabath). It does not imply any kind of weariness. It is not that God was worn out after a tough work week. In God there is no dissipation of energy, there is no law of entropy, there is no breaking down of matter, there is no disintegration in the absolute, ineffable, pure, holy power of God. What does rest mean then? It means cessation of work. God finished would perhaps be a better translation. Sabbath resting for us then means something similar. It’s a time to reflect, to look back on the work we have done in the week and feel satisfied. It’s a time to look at the work that God has done for us and feel at peace, well-cared for, provided for and secure. It’s a time to celebrate God’s goodness.
Prayer
Thank You Lord that everything we could ever need has already been provided for by You.
For the family
Explain
Explain briefly that God rested on the seventh day, that is He contemplated and celebrated all that He had made.
As a family you can do the same now, by watching
by Louis Giglio (it’s the short, 7-minute version)
