The Order of Rest
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He has made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it He had rested from all his work which God created and made. Genesis 2:2-3 Hebrew World translation
Rested – Who rests and who works? If you grew up in Babylon, you were taught that the gods created men so that they could rest while men did the work. The duty of Man was to serve the gods in order that the gods would not have to do the work of taking care of creation. There was no rest for the wicked, and that included everyone born of a woman.
But Israel was different. Israel was commanded to participate in God’s rest. Israel was not to work when God rested. Why? For the answer, we need to reconsider the framework of the creation story.
Hebrew creation is about order. It is not about the victory of good over evil or the battle between rival divinities. It is about the safety and security provided by one sovereign Lord of all creation. It is about His arrangement of the universe so that everything works together as it should. The creation story is about control and nothing epitomizes control more than the ability to stop maintaining it all. In other words, rest is the clearest and strongest metaphor for the fact that what God did is working perfectly. No more tinkering is needed.
Israel is commanded to acknowledge and honor God’s ultimate perfection in creation by resting with Him. Two important distinctions emerge from this Hebraic point of view. First, of course, men do not work for God. God does not need the ministrations of men in order to find rest. He creates all that is necessary for a perfect world. Unlike other ancient views about the gods, men are not required to benefit YHWH. In Israel, men work for their own prosperity and provision. Secondly, men are not commanded to actively engage in God’s rest – to do something that will facilitate His rest. Instead, they are commanded to share in God’s rest; to rest themselves in honor of His perfect creation and His absolute control. God stops because nothing more needs to be done. We stop because we honor a God who has finished all of it. If He rests, so can we. His control guarantees that the world will not fly apart if we take a day off. In other words, by ceasing to work on the Sabbath, I acknowledge my trust in His control. It is more than a mental construct. It is a behavioral, practical, visible sign that I trust Him.
Walton points out that there is no other civilization in human history that has such a provision. There is nothing like the Sabbath to be found anywhere else than in Israel. Shabbat is a day unique to the God of the Bible, a day unlike any other, a day of literal trust in His order.
If our frenzied activity cannot be set aside for this sanctified day, what does that say about our trust in the one we claim to worship? Does it mean that we still subtly need to take charge? Does it mean that we dishonor Him when we think we are so important that we cannot rest? And what does it say about a religious culture that ignores this visible sign of trust in God? What does it say to the pagan world when we cannot let go for fear that something won’t get done? Whose world is that kind of world?
Topical Index: Sabbath, shabbat, rest, Genesis 2:2-3, control, trust
From Creation, to Calvary, to the Church and to His complete Coronation as King of kings and LORD of lords- God has a plan. From start to finish- amein!- He is the G-d, not of chaos and confusion, but the G-d of clarity and completion. “Let all things be done decently and in order”- has been, is and will be G-d’s plan of the day.
“What does it say to the pagan world when we cannot let go for fear that something won’t get done?”
There are many who are willing to live by Sabbath observance — provided it is limited to one day per week — and provided others are willing to break the Sabbath so they are not inconvenienced on their day “of rest”.
But . . . YHVH also required a Sabbath year — a whole year of rest. This required planning and saving — a commitment to the future. Jubilee, another Sabbath year, followed immediately after a Sabbath year, creating two years of rest.
Sabbath year, however was more than a year of resting from labor. It was also “rest” from the demands of man’s economic actions. Thus, the lender was to forgive all debts in the seventh year, thus allowing borrowers to escape the “bondage” of debt payments (Prov. 22:7)
Jubilee went a step further and “rested” the economic clock by ensuring property was returned to the family. This maintains the family’s posterity, since property and family are always tied together. By bringing land contracts to and end, it provides a new start for the new generation in property management.
It seems we have a really long way to go to get our act together on this one. To see Sabbath as “only” one day in seven misses the bigger picture and YHVH’s broader requirements on how our lives are to be governed.
The current economic crisis is the outcome of a willingness to not only forget Sabbath — day, year, and Jubilee — but especially the Sabbath requirements on debt limitation. Add to this a failure to keep and apply just weights and measures (Lev. 19:35) in money, and you have the deadly mix called “the modern economy.” And no amount of government legislation can fix this. The solution will be individuals who no longer live by the game rules of the “modern economy” because they have discovered that “man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of ADONAI.”
Well said, Ian. Very good points. I think we’ll finally get it right when Messiah returns to reign from Jerusalem. May it be soon and in our day.
LOVE the kangaroo!!
When the people around Yeshua wanted to know when the kingdom of God was going to arrive, he told them a parable with the instruction, “do business until I come.” This seems to indicate that it is important to do those things He has given us to do while we are waiting. ANd Skip drew attention to these in the last few days from Matt 28: make disciples, baptize, teach – the three imperatives of the Great Commission.
From Creation, to Calvary, to the Church and to His complete Coronation as King of kings and LORD of lords- God has a plan. From start to finish- amein!- He is the G-d, not of chaos and confusion, but the G-d of clarity and completion. “Let all things be done decently and in order”- has been, is and will be G-d’s “plan of the day.”
We too, love order because we are made in His image and in His likeness. Do you prefer a messy house- or one in which there is a place for everything and everything is in it’s place? (Kids, pick up your toys, and clean up your mess!)
Cosmetology, (the “ordering” of your face) is a multi-billion dollar industry. When G-d orders our lives and we submit unto His ordering- there is shalom. There is rest and there is peace when we (finally) surrender in totality to the LORDship of Messiah Yeshua. When G-d has (no matter the situation or circumstance, -no matter the time or place) has our complete “Yes”- “Here Am I”- there is rest.
We (who are His) rest in His full, final and free (to us!) finished work on Calvary’s tslav. “It is finished” – He cried with His last breath. I have completed (in full) the work I was sent to do. And friends when it was done- He sat down..- until His enemies- (all of them) be made His footstool.
Victory over death, sin and the grave has been accomplished. His victory is our victory if we are found “in Him.” This rest is available to all and to any, but we must “avail” ourselves of it. Similar to the power outlet found in many homes- this available power is only put to use once we plug in to it. In His words- “Come unto me and I will give you rest”. Where is this Canaan-rest found? Dear friends- we know the answer- now to avail ourselves- we must go to Him. -“Bring Him to me..”
’Tis the grandest theme through the ages rung;
’Tis the grandest theme for a mortal tongue;
’Tis the grandest theme that the world e’er sung,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
He is able to deliver thee,
He is able to deliver thee;
Though by sin oppressed, go to Him for rest;
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
’Tis the grandest theme in the earth or main;
’Tis the grandest theme for a mortal strain;
’Tis the grandest theme, tell the world again,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”
’Tis the grandest theme, let the tidings roll,
To the guilty heart, to the sinful soul;
Look to God in faith, He will make thee whole,
“Our God is able to deliver thee.”