We all know the story of Creation in Genesis 1. God spoke, and the heavens and the earth were formed, light came into existence, the oceans and the sky were separated, dry land formed in the water, plants and animals appeared on the earth, and God made man in His own image. That was Day One through Day Six. But what about the seventh day?
The Bible says in Genesis 2:1-2, "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." "He rested"—GOD took a break. Have you ever wondered why?
Why are there seven days in a week? You could say it's because God rested on the seventh day, and you'd be right, according to the words of Moses, who is believed to have been the author of Genesis. But really: Why are there seven days in a week instead of six? Why did God rest on the seventh day and leave it at that? Why did He bless the seventh day and not any of the others? Why isn't there an eighth day, and a ninth, and a tenth?
The truth is, God only rested from creating matter on the seventh day. Rather than continuing making things, God made time. He made a seventh day. And He made it for a reason.
Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." And Genesis 2:2a says, "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy." He didn't need a break. After all, He's God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the Lord Almighty, Creator of the universe. He could have stopped at Day Six and then rested for the next six days, giving us six-day weeks instead of seven. He didn't have to bless the seventh day. But He did.
See, God knew that Adam and Eve would rebel against Him in the Garden of Eden. He knew the world would turn away from Him. He knew that He would have to make a fresh start by drowning the entire world except for His faithful servant Noah (and his family). He knew He would have to send His Son to die for the sins of mankind. He knew the world would hate Jesus and have Him killed. He knew man would invent religion after religion to turn others away from Him. He knew that one day He would return to bring His people home to Him. He knew that not all of mankind would follow Him and be able to live with Him in heaven for eternity.
And He knew we would need a break. He knew that after five or six straight days of hard work, we would need a day of rest. So He blessed the seventh day. Not for His sake, but for ours. Jesus says in Mark 2:27, "The Sabbath was made for man."
But He doesn't stop there. He goes on to say in verse 28, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." The seventh day, the day of rest, didn't come into existence on its own just so we could have a break from a long six days of work. God made it for us. We should be thankful. God took us into consideration before we even existed. Before the world even existed. He had a plan for us, and He included our well-being in that plan.
I write all of this because today is Sunday. Today is Sunday, and I was in a bad mood earlier. I started thinking, "I need to cheer up so I don't bring anyone down at band practice tomorrow." Then I realized that today is the Lord's day. If I should be joyful on an ordinary weekday, how much more joyful should I be on the day the Lord blessed for me? Each and every day is a new creation. I should be thankful that God has given me another 24 hours of breath in my lungs, especially if those 24 hours happen to have been blessed for my sake.
So whether you celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday, I want to challenge you to do something. And this is a challenge for myself as well: Every Sabbath, put everything aside. Take a break from the hardships of life. Clear your mind of everything. Everything but God. The Sabbath is the Lord's blessed, holy day. Treat it as such. God made the Sabbath for a reason: it's a day of rest and a day for us to worship our Maker. So make it useful.
The Creator of the universe had us in mind in the beginning. Thank God!
Until next time, God bless!
Michael
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"I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." ~ 1 Timothy 2:8
"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to live is Christ and to die is gain." ~ Philippians 1:20-21
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