Rediscovering Rest Series

Last October, when Lucas and our daughter Megan still lived in New York, we drove to see them for a long weekend. Normally, we leave early in the morning for our east coast road trips, but that week we couldn’t leave until after lunch on Thursday. Our thought was we’d drive until we were tired, and then we’d get a hotel and drive the rest of the way on Friday. When we made it to Ohio, we started looking for a place to stop but found out there were no rooms available anywhere because deer hunting season had just begun.

We kept driving and because we were tired, we were even willing to spend the night in a “cockroach motel.” There was no room in these “insect inns” so we got back on the highway and kept driving even though we were tired. When we entered some hills and the white lines on the side of the road started weaving in and out, I knew we were in trouble. We finally found a rest area and pulled in.

We were delighted to find about 25 semi-drivers sleeping in their cabs, so we just pulled in next to them, locked the doors, and tried to sleep amidst the cacophony and aroma of diesel engines. BTW, I have a lot of respect for truckers who work hard to deliver items we need. While we saved some money on a hotel, we didn’t sleep much that night.

Have you ever been so tired you didn’t think you could go on? Some of you are experiencing that right now, as sleepiness and sermons seem to go together. That reminds me of a church bulletin blooper: “Mildred Smith is in the hospital and because she’s having trouble sleeping, she requests tapes of Pastor Jack’s sermons.”

We’re jumping back into our study of Genesis and today we’ll see how God established a rhythm of work and worship, of rest and refreshment into our lives. Lord willing, we’ll finish up Genesis 3 the weekend before Easter. Please stand so we can read Genesis 2:1-3 together. BTW, didn’t Pastor Justin do a super job last weekend teaching us the best is yet to come?

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

In the event you doze off, here’s a one-sentence summary of the sermon: Because God rested, we must rediscover rest to be refreshed.

Let’s begin with eight observations.

1. Since verse numbers and chapter divisions were added after the Bible was written, these three verses belong with chapter one because they serve as the capstone to the six days of creation.

2. The seventh day is mentioned three times. This is the only day given this kind of attention, showing how important it is to God. One could argue the last day is the best day.

3. There are three main verbs in this passage.

• “Finished” is used twice (1-2)

• “Rested” is used twice (2-3)

• “Blessed” is used once (3).

4. Each verb is explicitly associated with the seventh day.

• “On the seventh day God finished.” (2)

• “He rested on the seventh day.” (2)

• “God blessed the seventh day.” (3)

5. Each verb is associated with the completed creation work of God.

• “God finished his work that he had done.” (2)

• “God rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (2)

• “Because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” (3)

6. In each clause, God is the grammatical subject: “God finished…He rested…God blessed.”

7. The seventh day is the only day where we do not read, “there was evening and morning.” One commentor suggests this is because creation is complete while the seventh day continues.

8. Creation was called “good” in all its parts, but only the seventh day is called, “holy.”

Let’s walk through these three verbs to help capture the awe of what the Almighty has done. It’s my prayer that we will worship Him with wonder.

1. FINISHED: God always finishes what He begins. According to verse 1, the Creator has completely completed His creation: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” The word “finished” in verses 1-2 means, “to accomplish or complete.” The heavens are finished, the earth has been completed, and “all the host of them.” There are no loose ends and no modifications needed. This is a powerful argument against the error of evolution. God created His creation in six literal 24-hour-days. In contrast to Genesis 1:2, which described the earth as “formless and void,” the earth is now fully finished and furnished.