Genesis 2 begins with, of course, day seven of creation—the day on which God “rests” or “ceases his work”. It reads:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. ~Genesis 2:1-3
Amid all the various scratchings next to Genesis 2 in my bible there is a note which references a Rabbi Genibah who lived around 300 A.D. At the risk of repeating an opinion formed 1,600 years after Genesis 2 was written, I’d like to share it with you:
RESTED – Genibah All the world had need of was the Sabbath
Over six days God has created everything, giving humans a place at the head of the table, the top of the heap, they are the king of beasts. God places his seal on humanity—creating them “in his image”—as God’s unique representatives unto the rest of creation, taking care of the animals, filling and beautifying the world that has been made for them. Everything was completed, working together in harmony. Everything was good… all that was needed was the Sabbath. In Biblical terms we call the seventh day, the “Sabbath” from the Hebrew word for “rest”.
Rabbi Genibah says that after six days of work all that is left to do is to rest with the Creator in fellowship with the Creator, enjoying what He has created.
Things did not stay that way, we know. When humanity gave up their place at the front of the line all of creation suffered. Because sin and separation and rest-less-ness have entered into the world, our relationship to God suffers, our relationships with each other suffer, and our relationship as caretakers of creation suffers as well. All because of the curse of sin.
But there is a day coming, and is in fact already here, where you and I and the earth itself can be at rest again. Zechariah describes is as:
A unique day, without daytime or nighttime—a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light.” ~Zechariah 14:7
The book of Hebrews calls it:
A remaining Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. ~Hebrews 4:9-10
All the believer has need of is to rest in Christ: to rest on the work Christ has accomplished for you at the cross; to rest on the work he is doing in you through the Holy Spirit; to rest he preparing for you in heaven; But maybe most of all, to rest on the providence and promises of God who is Lord of all, Creator of all. God is the one who keeps planets orbiting the sun. God is the one who feeds the birds and animals. God is the one who causes nations to rise and fall, and God is the one who works all things for the good of those who love him. [Romans 8:28]
When this becomes our perspective our anxieties and fears and stresses are put into a different light. You have nothing to do but rest in God.
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