God Rested
Text: Genesis 2:1-3
Core Idea: God rested so that we would know how to rest. Then, let’s recover this rhythm of life as we learn to work hard and rest peacefully, trusting in God’s sovereignty. May our rest refresh our souls and renew our love for the Lord.
INTRODUCTION
Well, after two weeks, we are back in the Book of Genesis. And so far, we learned that this world wasn’t created by random chance but that it was created by God, who simply spoke all things into existence. This is shockingly mind-boggling considering that we’re required to exert a lot of effort and energy to build anything, even if we have all the materials, tools, and instructions we need to put things together. But God, with nothing more than His will and His Word, created everything out of nothing. Implication? It means that He is not to be trifled with. We should never just casually enter His presence knowing that He is the Creator God, the Lord of lords, and the Author of our stories. Instead, we must respond with humble surrender and complete obedience. Now, something else we learned was that even though everything that has been made by God displays the wonder of His glory, human beings are unique in that we’re the only ones who have been created in the very image of God. And the implication of this truth is massive. First, it means that we who once did not exist will now live forever in eternity because we’re not just physical beings but also spiritual – we have souls. And if that’s not enough to blow your mind, it also means that all of us, without exception, carry dignity and worth that cannot be taken away because our value doesn’t come from our success or accomplishment. Our value is not determined by our intellectual, athletic, or artistic abilities, attained by our wealth or power, established by our race or gender. It’s simply given to us, for we’ve been created in the beautiful image of God. Of course, that image was distorted when sin entered the world – but the good news is that in Christ, that image can be restored again. In fact, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, you’re daily being transformed to be more like Him, who is the very image of God. Now, as much as the creation of mankind really was the climax of this story, there’s one more detail that the author wants us to see – which is what we’ll turn our attention to now. So, please turn your Bibles to Genesis 2:1-3. Let me read this for us.
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.
Amen. This is the Word of God for you today.
If you remember, God spent the first three days giving shape to the earth (separating the sky from the ground, gathering the waters so that the land would appear, making the earth fertile so that it’s ready to sprout with plants and trees) – and then He spent the next three days filling the earth (the sun, moon, and stars were created to guide the day and the night, sea creatures were created to fill the waters, birds were created to fly in the skies, and wild animals and livestock were created to move along the ground – and as I mentioned already, the pinnacle of God’s creation took place when He created mankind in His own image). All that to say, there was nothing that this world lacked. It was perfect. It was complete. And it brought great joy to God’s heart. So, on the seventh day, we’re told that God rested from all His work. Now, this doesn’t mean that God was somehow tired or exhausted. In fact, the Hebrew word that was used to translate “rested” literally means “to cease, to put an end to,” – which means that it would be more accurate to understand this to mean that God simply stopped His creating activity. Now, on a surface level, it seems like this passage is here just to inform us that God had stopped working because He finished all that He wanted to do. But in Exodus 20:8-11, we see that our text for today becomes the foundation for Sabbath – the day of rest for us. Listen to what it says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it, you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days, the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” It’s important to point this out because it shows us that there’s a deep connection between God’s rest and our rest. Then we can’t help but ask, “Why did God rest? What does God’s rest have to do with us?” Well, we’re about to find out. Let me share three reasons why God rested and how that impacts us.
· TO MODEL FOR US A RHYTHM OF LIFE
· TO RENEW OUR HEARTS FOR THE LORD
· TO POINT US TO THE GOSPEL
1) TO MODEL FOR US A RHYTHM OF LIFE
One of the things we can observe from the creation account is that God created a rhythm in our lives so that there’s a healthy routine in the way we live. Here’s what I mean. On day four, God said in Genesis 1:14, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.” This is interesting because it means that when Adam and Eve entered the Garden of Eden two days later, they stepped into a rhythm of life that was already established by the days, years, and seasons that governed the earth – and they naturally began to engage in a pattern of life in light of this rhythm. They woke up when the sun came up, and they slept when the sun went down. If they were there long enough, they would’ve sowed seeds in the spring and harvested in the fall. And who knows? They might have even celebrated their birthdays and anniversaries every single year. But there was one more pattern that God modeled for them – the rhythm of working and resting. Again, God did not have to rest – but He did to show that though work is good and important, rest is necessary for us because we are finite beings. We don’t have infinite energy like God does. We don’t have the means to give, give, give without feeling absolutely empty inside – we will get drained, exhausted, and burnt out. Some of the young people are thinking, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But trust me – you’ll find out soon. We are not invincible. We cannot operate like God. Without rest, we will break down. Then, knowing this, knowing our limitations, God wisely modeled for us a rhythm of life by working for six days and resting on the seventh day.
Now, if He wanted to, God could’ve made a world without a rhythm – sleep whenever you want, eat whenever you want, work whenever you want, and play whenever you want. But in His wisdom, He taught us to be in a rhythm because He knew that it would be good for us. Then this truth is something that we really need to heed because our lives are getting more and more rhythmless. In his book Crazy Busy, Pastor Kevin DeYoung writes, “The truth is that many of us are less busy than we think, but life feels constantly overwhelming because our days and weeks and years have no rhythm. Evening and morning have lost their feel. Sunday has lost its significance. Everything is blurred together. One of the dangers of technology is that work and rest blend together in a confusing mush. We never quite leave work when we’re at home, so the next day we have a hard time getting back to work when we’re at work. We have no routine, no order to our days. We are never completely ‘on’ and never totally ‘off.’ So, we waste time on YouTube for twenty minutes at the office and then catch up on emails for forty minutes in front of the TV at home. The biggest deception of our digital age may be the lie that says we can be omni-competent, omni-informed, and omni-present. But we cannot be any of these things. We must choose our absence, our inability, and our ignorance – and choose wisely. The sooner we embrace this finitude, the sooner we can be free.” Isn’t this so true? In fact, let me share one more quote – he said, “Let’s face it: people feel sorry for us when we’re busy. If we get our lives under control, we won’t seem nearly so impressive, and people won’t ooh and aah over our burdens. Many of us feel proud to be so busy, and we enjoy the sympathy we receive for enduring such heroic responsibilities.” Friends, does this describe you today? Are you intentionally keeping yourself busy because it makes you feel special? Do you feel like your value will somehow diminish if you’re not busy with things? If so, that is a lie from the enemy, for our worth is not found in what we do but in the simple fact that we have been created in the image of God. Brothers and sisters, this rhythm of life is a blessing that God has given us so that we can thrive in this world. We were made for work and rest. This is a gift. The world we live in will constantly tell us, “Keep busy and stay nervous,” but God says to us, “Trust Me and rest.” Who will you listen to today? Then, it’s absolutely imperative that we recover this rhythm.
Now, how do we recover this rhythm? There are a lot of things you can do, but here’s one thing you should consider – set boundaries. We need to set boundaries not to simply use that free time to be lazy but to be refreshed to serve the Lord again with grateful hearts. It’s okay to say no. I need to hear this as much as you do – but we don’t have to do everything. In fact, we can’t. Kevin DeYoung writes, “Jesus didn’t meet every need. Jesus knew the difference between urgent and important. He left people waiting in line to be healed. He left one town to preach to another. He hid away to pray. He got tired. He never interacted with the vast majority of people on the planet. He spent thirty years in training and only three years in ministry. He did not try to do it all. And yet, He did everything God asked Him to do. He understood that all the good things He could do were not necessarily the things He ought to do.” Then, pray for the wisdom to discern what is important and the strength to keep the boundary when the pressure is on.
2) TO RENEW OUR HEARTS FOR THE LORD
Let’s look at verse 3, “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” It’s clear that the seventh day is special because even though other days were declared good, the seventh day is the only day that has been blessed and was made holy. Clearly, we’re to think differently about the seventh day compared to the other six. Now, what does it mean that this day has been made holy? This can be a little confusing because the word “holy” is often understood as being pure or morally good. Then how can a day be pure? Well, this tension can be resolved when we realize that the word “holy” in Hebrew literally means “to be set apart.” So, when it says that God made this day holy, it means that this day has been set apart for a specific purpose. What purpose? We read it before, but Exodus 20 tells us that we’re called to remember the Creator. Just as God rested from His work to delight in His creation, on this day, we’re to rest from our work to delight in our Creator. This is why God rested – to offer us an opportunity to reorient ourselves back to God.
Now, how do we do this practically? Again, there are so many ways to do this, but let me just share one – corporate worship. It’s true that many of the Christians in the West have cheapened the Sabbath day by coming to church with a consumerist mindset – wondering only about what they can get out of it. But, brothers and sisters, we must remember that today is not ultimately about us. Yes, we will be blessed, nourished, encouraged, and refreshed in the presence of God, considering that He’s the source of all good things – but that’s not the main purpose of corporate worship. Today is special because this is the day that the people of God get to gather together to offer up a worship that is fit for the King. It’s an opportunity to declare to God, to the world, and even to our own hearts that we belong to the One who created and sustains all things. So, we sing to the Lord. We pray to the Lord. We give ourselves to the Lord. We listen to His Word. We realign our minds and hearts to His truth so that we can live for the Lord – which means that corporate worship on our day of rest is absolutely essential to our walk with God. For Christians, this is not an option. It’s a glorious privilege and obligation that has been gifted to us by God as a means to bless us. Matt Merker writes, “We don’t ‘go to church’ to worship. We worship because we are the church. We assemble, not as individuals competing for our preferences, but as a unified people submitting to Scripture and glorifying God.” Then let me ask you, “Do you take corporate worship seriously? Do you come with a consumerist mindset, or do you come thinking about how you can best worship the King?” In my research, I came across this idea that corporate worship is like a family meal. I know that COVID has caused a lot of pain in our lives, but if there was one good thing that came out of it, it’s that we now better understand the value of community. It’s not good to eat by yourself all the time – there’s a special blessing that comes from eating together. I really love this imagery because when we eat together, we can’t always accommodate everyone’s individual preferences – but when we do this, what we gain is the joy of sharing the experience with one another, which always heightens our own joy. All that to say, friends, let’s not take our corporate worship lightly. It’s a God-given means to make this day holy.
Now, before we move on to my last point, let me quickly address three groups of people. The first group – those who work on Sunday because they have to make ends meet. If this is you, please know that I’m not in any way trying to guilt-trip you to quit your job so you can come to church on Sunday. I don’t know all that you’re experiencing in life – this may be something that you absolutely need to provide for yourself or your family. But one thing you can do is pray. Pray that your workplace will somehow work around things so that you can come and rest with your community on Sunday. Maybe even pray that God will give you a different job where it will enable you to keep the Sabbath day holy. Pray earnestly. Pray consistently – knowing that our God is our Father who desires to give us good things. The second group – those who say that it’s not possible to set aside their work. Students will insist that they have to study on Sunday to keep up, and working people will argue that they have to work every day in order to meet their quotas. But I want you to remember that there’s one more attribute of God we celebrate and honor when we choose to rest – His sovereignty. If God was not sovereign and gracious, I would understand why we should study and work without ceasing. But our God is sovereign. He is in control. All things exist and operate exactly according to His will – which means that we’re in good hands. He will take care of us. He will provide. Then enter His rest today and celebrate His sovereign grace. The last group – those who feel like Sunday worship has become a burden. Corporate worship for some people has become so busy that it’s robbing them of the very joy and rest that it’s meant to give them. I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.” Well, I feel like there are those who say this about our corporate worship – “I need a rest from a day of rest.” If this is you, first of all, I want to thank you for the sacrifice you are making for this church. But I’ll say this as well – maybe you need to take a break. Of course, this is not to say that you never have to serve again – because that would be to come with a consumerist mindset. Again, work is good – serving the Lord is good. But maybe you need to rest so that you can work and serve the Lord with a heart of worship. Now, you might be thinking, “But who will take care of the ministry in my absence?” Well, let’s pray that others will step up. But if that’s not possible, we can always think of ways to minimize or even cease that ministry for the time being. One thing I want all of us to know is that ministry is not supreme – your soul matters more. Now, maybe some of you are thinking, “Don’t say that Woohyun. What if they never want to serve again?” Well, I firmly believe that when the right time comes, God will convict their hearts again. Me guilt-tripping people will only go so far – but when the Spirit convicts people, they’ll also receive the power to faithfully carry out the call. “But what if everyone wants to take a break all at the same time?” Hopefully not. But even if that happens, I believe that God will make a way. Remember what Jesus said in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” We can rest because God is not like Pharaoh, who just says, “Work, work, work.” He is our Father. Do you believe that? All that to say, if you need to take a break, please don’t hesitate to speak to me or your leaders. It’s okay to do that. Let this day truly be a day of rest for your soul.
3) TO POINT US TO THE GOSPEL
Verse 2, “By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.” This tells us that the world God created was perfect and good – there was nothing more to add. This is significant because it means that when Adam and Eve were created, their first full day was a day of rest, not a day of work. Don’t get me wrong – they did work. Work is not a result of the fall, but it has always been part of God’s wonderful design for us – which, by the way, is something we’ll talk about in more detail next week. But the first day in this world for Adam and Eve was a day of rest to enjoy God and His finished work – something to which they made no contribution. It was a day to reflect and rejoice in His work. Then, from the very beginning, they were taught that they were completely dependent on God’s gracious care and provision, not on their own work.
Then, in the same way, this day of rest (which for many of us is Sunday as the church gathers together) is meant to remind us of God and His finished work through the person of Jesus Christ. Just as the work of creation was finished, the work of salvation is finished because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. If you’re not familiar with what this means, let me quickly summarize the gospel for you. The Bible tells us that we all have sinned against this holy God. Even though He created us to be in a loving relationship with Him, we rejected Him because we wanted to be the King over our own lives. We wanted to call the shots. But because of our sin, this unbridgeable chasm has been created between God and us – and all of us, without exception, were destined to receive the wrath of God as the penalty of our sin. But because of His great love for us, God gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn. 3:16). On the cross, Jesus received the fullness of God’s wrath on our behalf so that we may be forgiven and go free, so that we may be brought back into the presence of God and be called the children of God – which means that there’s nothing else for us to add. The work of salvation has been made complete through Christ. No wonder Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” just before He took His last breath (Jn. 19:30). We can rest because He worked. We can lay down our prideful busyness because He laid down His life for us. Then, friends, don’t waste your rest – instead, rest in Christ so that you’ll truly be refreshed in your soul. Let the gospel truth saturate your mind, captivate your heart, and transform your life, knowing that our true rest can only be found in Christ alone. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Then come to Christ today – and find rest for your soul.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, God rested so that we would know how to rest. Then, let’s recover this rhythm of life as we learn to work hard and rest peacefully, trusting that our God is sovereign over our lives. May our rest refresh our souls and renew our love for the Lord.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) In what ways can setting boundaries help you honor both work and rest? Can you identify any areas in your life where you need to create better boundaries so that you can recover a healthy rhythm in your life again?
2) How does gathering for corporate worship help renew our hearts and reorient us toward God? How can we shift from asking, “What can I get from worship?” to “How can I best worship the King?”
3) What do you think it means to rest in the finished work of Christ? How can we remind ourselves of this truth throughout the week?
4) Have you ever felt overwhelmed by ministry or responsibilities to the point where you needed a break? How can we help others serve joyfully without burning out? Which aspect of Sabbath rest (physical, emotional, or spiritual) do you feel most in need of right now, and what’s one step you could take toward that rest this week?