Genesis 2:1-3
2 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.
Creation grows in value at every stage with the climax being the seventh day. With his work complete, God stops and rests. This seventh day is blessed and set apart from the others. It is to be a holy day.
I think that it is fair to say that God didn’t ‘need’ a break. He wasn’t tired out and had to stop and put his feet up. So, why would he take a day off?
Firstly, because Sabbath is a joy. He does not rest to regenerate energy so that he can work again. He rests so that he can spend time in his creation and enjoy what he has. He does not rest so that he can work again, his work leads to a day of rest. Sabbath was a foundational purpose of his creation.
Secondly, because Sabbath is necessary. The Sabbath is a law in the Bible. It is not a law like ‘don’t go too fast in a 30mph zone or you will get a fine.’ It is a ‘what goes up must come down’ kind of law. We need to stop. I once heard someone say that if you don’t take a Sabbath, the Sabbath will take you. I think that is true. We are not machines and we are not created to just work. When we lose the Sabbath, we lose something of our human-ness.
Thirdly, because Sabbath sets the tone. The Church changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday because they wanted to remember every week that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. We begin the week remembering resurrection. Our challenges and struggles are preceded every week with hope. Sunday is the first day of the week and so we begin every week with worship, teaching and encounter. By starting with Sabbath, it changes how we approach the rest of the week.
Finally, because Sabbath is about priority. God sets aside a day to meet with his creation. He is waiting to meet with us. The Sabbath is not a ‘day off’, nor is it a spa day. It is a holy day. It is set aside from all the others because God wants to be present with His creation (that’s us!). In a world where every part of your life seems to shout for attention and demand something from you, God invites us to set aside the first day of our week to worship and spend time with him. We make God our priority and not an afterthought.
Sabbath is the first gift to God’s creation. Before he sends them to work for him and to steward creation, their first responsibility was to set aside a day. The Sabbath is the primary discipline of the Christian life.
