Sabbath To Rest or not to Rest

7th Day is different No introduction-Then God said Does not close with, evening and morning to indicate being over Only day blessed and consecrated by God The phrase 7th day is repeated 3 times and twice more with “it”

2:1 Their vast array Means: sun, moon, stars, and all inhabitants. Concludes what 1:1 envisions

2:2-3 Contain 4 lines with first 3 each possessing 7 words (in Hebrew) Midpoint of each line says “seventh day”

Literal Translation So God finished by the seventh day His work which He did And he rested on the seventh day from his work which he did And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it Because on it he rested from all his work which God created to do

Seventh Later in Israel the seventh was replaced by Sabbath God completed his work by the seventh day

His Work This phrase also occurs 3 times to emphasize creation was God’s alone The end of his work was related to completion and not exhaustion Rested means cessation of creative activity He abstained from work Note-Sabbath does not appear as a noun although sabat (ceased) does

7th Day Uniquely sanctified and blessed The day was devoted to him Exodus 20:8,11-remember the Sabbath and keep it holy No work to be done by human or animal-Exodus 31:35, 35:2

7th Day First ties to Sabbath or creation rest-Exodus 20:8-11, 31:17 Sabbath occurs as a synonym for seventh day Therefore the Lord has blessed the Sabbath and made it holy The seventh day of creation is viewed as God’s Sabbath

Israel In the wilderness there is a Sabbath where gathering of manna is suspended-Exodus 16:21-30 To Israelites Sabbath has existed since creation whether man observes it or not The seventh went beyond days to week and years The Sabbath was set apart as a special day of worship and celebration

Israel Sabbath also meant redemption to Israel God wasn’t idle in the garden but making skins to cover Adam and Eve Sabbath released humans and animals from work 4th commandment make up 2 versions for Sabbath for Israel: Celebration and Redemption

Which Covenant Are we under OT covenant? No. We are under the new covenant. Grace OT-Sabbath was Saturday We observe Sunday

Legalism Some Israelites went to far in observance Made up laws that God never intended Certain amount of steps taken Feeding of animals

Today Can we: Work, recreate, do household chores? Mark 2:27-Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not the man for Sabbath.” Matthew Henry-A privilege-God never designed it to be a burden to us What does this mean?

What’s the point? Remember what the point is: Rest and recover, Celebrate, remember God’s redemption, sanctify Ask yourself are you doing these things? If your normal work routine doesn’t change then you aren't resting-God intends for us to rest

Celebrate and Redemption Do you celebrate on the Sabbath? Do you worship corporately? Do you think of God’s redeeming grace and mercy every Sabbath?

Sanctify Do you set it aside as different? Is the Sabbath just any other day? For preachers, it may be Monday and you too But, we need a day to worship, rest and reflect

Sabbath Don’t have to be legalistic But, when we treat our normal day of worship and rest the same as other days we are wrong and living in sin If we are not intentional, then we will not sanctify the Sabbath