Genesis 1-2: Verse by Verse With Bible Study FellowshipSample

Seventh Day

God Establishes the Sabbath

Chapter 2:1-3 completes the creation account. On the seventh day, the Lord God rests. He celebrates the completed goodness of His work. He blesses the day and makes it “holy,” meaning He sets it apart for His special use. God does not rest because He is tired or out of ideas. God rests because His creation is complete and to set an example for humans to follow.

When we study our Bibles, we learn that it was after the Exodus when God delivered His covenant law for His people through Moses.1 In the law, God established the seventh day as the Sabbath. God ordained that one day each week should be given to celebrate the wholeness, excellence and glory of His mighty person and work. The Sabbath honored God as the source and center of individual lives and the community.

We Need Rest

By God’s definition, rest is more than recreation, sleep or mindless entertainment. True rest comes when we cease striving, and find peace and contentment in God and His provisions. Does your schedule intentionally include time to rest?

God wove our need for rest into creation. He set aside one day for us to rest, reflect, replenish and worship. Our minds and bodies cannot sustain constant pressure without intentional time to replenish. Our bodies and souls need time to breathe. We need time with friends and family to laugh and enjoy God’s provisions. Our spirits need dedicated space to stop activity and focus on God.

Our reluctance to rest may reveal we wrongly believe everything depends on us. When we rest from our work to focus on God, we acknowledge God’s sovereign control over us. We can truly rest when we fully depend on Him. We can stop “doing” because God never does.2

Will you regularly step aside from the world’s frantic pace to quiet yourself before our awesome God? Psalm 46:10 says it beautifully: “Be still, and know that I am God …” Knowing that God is God allows us to be still.

• Rest lets us think about His love for us.
• Rest lets us weigh our concerns and joys against what is right and true.
• Rest lets us surrender daily to worship and be refreshed.

God’s Design

God designed people not only to find replenishment in rest, but also fulfillment in work. Our physical bodies, minds, emotions and spirits need both. Do you find yourself in roles filled with pressure, isolation, boredom or strife? Do your daily tasks bring relational struggles or obstacles? Whatever your situation, God offers you an opportunity to reflect His image and find fulfillment in Him.

Questions

1. Compare and contrast God’s seventh day of creation with the other six.
   
   Insights: God finished His work of creation on days one to six, and then rested on the seventh day. He blessed the seventh day and set it aside as holy, as a reminder of His rest from the work of creation.
2. What does “God rested” mean?
   
   Insights: Responses may include: God did not create anything “new.” He actively enjoyed His creation by resting from His work.
3. What truths about work and rest are revealed in these verses, and how could you live them out through your actions?

Related Verses

1. Sabbath law at Mt. Sinai: Exodus 20:8-11
2. The Father and Son at work: John 5:17