The Sabbath
Read Genesis 2:2, 3 and Exodus 20:8–11. Why is the seventh-day
Sabbath related to Creation? How does this connection impact how
we keep the Sabbath?
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It is precisely because “God ended” His works of Creation that
He instituted the Sabbath. The seventh-day Sabbath is, therefore, the
expression of our faith that God finished His work then, and that He
found it “very good.” To keep the Sabbath is to join with God in the
recognition of the value and beauty of His creation.
We can rest from our works just as God had rested from His. Sabbath
keeping means saying yes to God’s “very good” Creation, which includes
our physical bodies. Contrary to some ancient (and modern) beliefs,
nothing in Scripture, Old or New Testament, denigrates the body as evil.
That’s a pagan concept, not a biblical one. Instead, Sabbath keepers are
grateful for God’s creation—which includes their own flesh—and that is
why they can enjoy the creation and why they take care of it.
The Sabbath, which marks the first “end” of human history, also is a
sign of hope for suffering humankind and for the groaning of the world.
It is interesting that the phrase “finished the work” reappears at the end
of the construction of the sanctuary (Exod. 40:33) and again at the end
of the building of Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 7:40, 51)—both places
where the lesson of the gospel and salvation had been taught.
After the Fall, the Sabbath, at the end of the week, points to the
miracle of salvation, which will take place only through the miracle of
a new creation (Isa. 65:17, Rev. 21:1). The Sabbath is a sign at the end
of our human week that the suffering and trials of this world will have
an end, as well.
This is why Jesus chose the Sabbath as the most appropriate day to
heal the sick (Luke 13:13–16). Contrary to whatever traditions the lead-
ers were stuck in, by the Sabbath healings Jesus pointed the people, and
us, to the time when all pain, all suffering, all death, will be over, which
is the ultimate conclusion to the salvation process. Hence, each Sabbath
points us to the hope of redemption.
By resting on the Sabbath day, how are we experiencing the rest
and salvation that we have in Jesus now and that which will be ful-
filled, ultimately, in the creation of the new heaven and new earth?