THE SABOTH DAY OF CREATION
Day 7th
Day 7th
Gen 2:1 2:2 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 had made. Gen 2:3 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.
On day one the creation came into being and there was a judgment made about its unfinished nature (formless void and darkness). Then Light was created, declared Good, and separated from the darkness, and named: Day and Night. Evening and Morning were established, becoming the 24 hour pattern of which the following days would conform to, 2nd through 7th. In the 2nd day through the 6th, all the rest of God's planed work would be completed with as many more judgments of Good. The whole finished work then being judged Very good at the completion of the 6th day.
Chapter 2 starts by recapping the whole 6 day work introducing the Sabbath rest of God. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. The firmament, waters above and below; the dry land and seas; grass herbs and trees; sun moon and stars; aquatic and avian life; and finally terrestrial life and mankind, all filling out the purposed and planed work. The host of them referring to all the living forms inhabiting heaven and earth. Good, good, good, good and very good being the divine judgement and appreciation of the progress and completion of God's plan. The beginning of the same plan of which salvation is also a part: Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Finished, then: and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. Rest is an interesting thing. Finite things tire, grow weary or weak, expend themselves and require rest. The eternal Son, incarnate in Jesus Christ, grew weary and rested. What could it mean for God to rest, other then to stop from His working? And as He continues to exert His omnipotence in actively holding the creation together, it must simply mean: he stopped the Planed stepped and staged work of the 6 days. But in that stopping from work, God has made a pattern of work in six then rest in one.
So it must be in regard to that pattern, or type, that God adds: 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. The one day of rest following the six days of work, He blesses, decrees goodness for, and devotes it to His exclusive and special use, sanctifies it. Giving to man His stated purpose in it so doing: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. The words created and made, being for the word create: H1254 בָּרָא bârâ' baw-raw'. And for the word made, H6213 עָשָׂה ‛âśâh aw-saw'. Each of these words are used over and over in the 6 days of work narrative.
Sanctified or hallowed is a special condition of things devoted to God. A condition that must be respected and not polluted or defiled. Without controversy, this 0ne in Seven pattern was given to the nation of Israel to follow and to keep in the law of Moses for all the weeks of their national lives. And not without divine results: blessings if they kept it and judgement if they did not. Was it also for all mankind, though not by law, but simply by example? The seven day weeks are a universal historical anthropological fact. Most cultures designating the seven days of the week by the names of the visible moving objects in the heavens: Sunday, after the sun; Tuesday, after the planet Mars Tiwesdæg; Wednesday after Woden, the planet Mercury; Thursday after Thor, the planet Jupiter. Friday after Frigg, the planet Venus; and lastly, in the English, Saturday, after Saturn. Most all languages and cultures name the days after these 7 visible moving objects in the heavens using the god's or planet's names in their own languages. In Hebrew the names are the days ordinal number, hence the 7th is a Sabbath (rest), and the ordinal number is
H7637 שְׁבִעִי שְׁבִיעִי shebı̂y‛ı̂y shebi‛ı̂y sheb-ee-ee', sheb-ee-ee' Ordinal from H7657; seventh: - seventh (time).
Saturday is shebı̂y‛ı̂y, the Sabbath, a day of rest, shâbath, in Israel today. Sunday is the 1st of the week in the creation cardinal number One. The 1st day of the week is the day Jesus rose from the grave, also the day the early church gathered to exhort one another, celebrate the LORDs table, teach and lay in store tithes and offerings. Saturday is a day of realized completion and rest from labor, whereas, Sunday is a day of light and separation from darkness (a good day for Christians to meet together and venture forth to serve the LORD).
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
DGB
