More on God's Rest

The Bible tells us that God "rested" on the seventh day of Creation Week (Genesis 2:2-3). Whatever else it might mean for God to rest, we know it didn't mean he had to recuperate from all of the work he had been doing. There are plenty of other Scriptures which indicate that God does not get weary or tired. And he never sleeps. See Psalm 121:3-4 and Isaiah 40:28.

The rest of God on the seventh day signifies simply that he had finished the work of creation. There was no more creating to do. He had formed the expanse, the seas, and the land, and he had filled them with the work of his hands. Genesis 2:1 summarizes: "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array."

So the rest of God focuses our attention first on the completion of creation. As time goes along, we learn there is a dimension to God's rest that involves humanity in a very significant way. It becomes clear that yet another purpose of God's rest was for him to begin enjoying and interacting with what he had made. Since humanity was the pinnacle of all he had created, it's no wonder that humanity would factor in significantly to God's enjoyment and interaction.

The role that God intended for humanity to play in his rest was drastically altered by the Fall. Genesis 3:8 tells us that Adam and Eve "hid" from God after they fell. By the way, the verse begins by explaining that Adam and Eve "heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day...." It seems as though God's appearance in the Garden at that time was not something unusual. And it was for the purpose of encountering Adam and Eve in order to enjoy and interact with them. But, as a result of their sin, they hid.

When I consider the Fall of Adam and Eve in relation to the rest of God, it makes me wonder whether the Fall actually happened on the seventh day? I should mention that Day 7 of Creation Week is the only one of the seven that does not include the statement: "And there was evening, and there was morning--the ______ day." Some people think this indicates that the seventh day has never ended. I think it's more likely an indication of God's rest having never ended.

Though humankind's participation in God's rest was drastically altered by the Fall, the Bible teaches that God remains interested in people entering into his rest. This is where teaching on the Sabbath Day comes in. I plan to talk about the Sabbath Day and how we relate to it as Christians in two Sundays. In the meantime, let me encourage you to consider that God's rest teaches us that fellowship and interaction with him are among the chief purposes for our existence here and now.

More later on the end of Creation Week...