Title Genesis 2:1-3
Today's text teaches us a very important fact for our life of faith. First of all, what does the text convey? First, God, who made the heavens and the earth and all things in six days, finished all work and rested on the seventh day. Second, he blessed and sanctified the seventh day. Third, the reason why the seventh day was blessed and made holy is because on that day he rested after finishing all the work that God had created and made.
Some of these facts may seem irrelevant to us. Whether God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day, finished creation on the tenth day and rested the next day, or whether it took several days to create or not rested after completion, that I mean, some might think that has something to do with it. And there may be people who think that just because it is a day on which God rests, it is up to God to bless it, drink it, make it holy, or leave it alone, and it has nothing to do with us.
However, the facts presented in the text are not irrelevant to us. Because God directly related the seventh day to us. The fourth of the Ten Commandments that God gave to the Israelites through Moses was, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Then he said, “Six days you shall work hard to do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God, so you shall not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your maidservant, your livestock, or the stranger who stays within your gates. And while I the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day, therefore I the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:9-11). . Therefore, we, who believe that the Ten Commandments are commandments given not only to the people of Israel but also to us, are obliged to examine God's will regarding the Sabbath.
So, what does it mean to say, "On the seventh day God finished all that he had done, and on that day he rested"? The world he had made in six days was perfectly good, with nothing more lacking or wishing for, and so on the seventh day he did not create anything new, but by allowing all the worlds and all things he had created to take place and work in harmony with each other. I think it means that you enjoyed the results comfortably and enjoyed the satisfactory results.
Now here we have to think about what it means for us to say that God rested after work on the seventh day of creation.
First, there is rest after what God does, and the joy and happiness of enjoying the results of what he has done is followed.
Second, that God rested is for us rather than for God Himself. In fact, everything God does is for our rest and happiness. God does not need rest in any sense. God is not tired no matter how much work you do. It is not that God has nothing to do while resting. Also, God is always working for us and needs to be awake. What did the writer of Psalm 121 say? “He who keeps Israel will neither sleep nor sleep. The LORD is your watcher, and the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun by day will not hurt you, nor the moon by night. He will save you from all trouble, and he will guard your soul. The LORD will guard your entrance and exit from now on to everlasting.” (4-8)
Third, the meaning of rest is not simply doing nothing mechanically. Taking a day off, remembering that the things that made us live for the past six days and the things that enabled us to live while taking a day off today are all God’s work, looking back on the great and wonderful works that God has done for us, give God glory and worship and The true meaning of rest is to give thanks and praise, and to enjoy the results of the work of God's grace.
But what a wonderful and precious grace that God calls us on that day and invites us to share in the joy and peace of that day by telling us to “remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.” This is to consider us as God's companions. Keeping God's day holy should not be taken as a demanding, cumbersome, burdensome requirement or condition. It is a consideration to give us a comfortable rest, a will to take responsibility so that we do not have to worry about life even if we rest, and it is an invitation to peace and happiness from God. It is above all the election and calling to the life of the kingdom of God where we live with God.
But there are too many foolish people who refuse this invitation of God's favor and grace. Such people are among those who claim to be God's people. They are the ones who cannot fully dedicate one day a week to God. It is said that we dedicate a day to God, but the truth is that God gives us a day for free so that we can enjoy it the most for free. What does the word "holy" actually mean? is to differentiate. God distinguished the seventh day from the preceding six days. In verse 3 we notice that the words "blessed" and "sanctified" appear side by side. In order for the 7th, God's day, to be a particularly blessed day, it must be made holy. That is, it must be distinguished from other days. However, it is very wrong and foolish to not give this week's day entirely to God and to spend it for me in the world just like any other day.
Keeping the Lord's Day holy is the way to enjoy a blessed life and also a way to confirm that you are God's covenant people. God said to Moses: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Keep my sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you for generations to come, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. For it will be a holy day to you, and everyone who defiles it will be put to death, and everyone who works on that day will have their life cut off from among the people. Six days will work, but the seventh day is a great sabbath, holy to the LORD. Whosoever works in the temple must be put to death. So the children of Israel will keep the sabbath, and it will be an everlasting covenant from generation to generation. This is an everlasting sign between me and the children of Israel. It has rested." (Exodus 31:13-17) If we want to be God's people, we must know how to keep this Lord's day apart from other days.
Believing that everything God has done is good for us without exception is very important. It is wise to keep the day holy, believing that God's commandment to keep it holy was done to do us good. But the attitude we respect and follow will be even more precious, for one reason: God did it, not because it was good for us. The day that belongs to God, the day of the Lord, can be truly a blessed day when we are consecrated. To keep the Lord's day right is not only to bless one day, but to bless our whole life.
The World Cup soccer match will begin and the Earth will be heating up for a month. Even if the whole world forgets everything and falls into soccer fever, it should not be an obstacle to God's day and our faith to keep it holy. Even if the five-day work week system is established and the lifestyle of enjoying weekends and holidays spreads, we must not allow the Day of God to be violated. We should use the five-day workweek as an opportunity to better distinguish and better observe God's day. Until now, it was not easy to do Holy Week Sunday because there was only one day off per week, but we should be able to rejoice and be thankful that God has given us one more day of rest so that we can fully give one day of the week to God. The churches in Europe may have gotten sick and died because of the five-day workweek system and weekend vacation culture, but the Korean church should make a strong history for that reason. Making God's day holy and blessed one day a week is the greatest gift to us. Let us all receive this gift with gratitude and enjoy it.