Ahh, rest. Close your eyes and think about the word rest. We will each have a different view of what the word means to us. We all enjoy a good time of rest after a very busy day. We enjoy vacations with the idea in mind that we can rest. Many love the beach where they can sit beside the ocean and listen to the waves rolling in and crashing on the shore. We live in such a fast-paced world that we cherish any time we can rest. The way that we long for it and love it, you would think that we invented it, but rest was God’s design, not ours.
In the beginning, God created everything. All things were created in six days. In Genesis 2:2, he rested on the seventh day. He commemorated the completion of His creative work by instituting a sacred rest. This was not because God was tired; God never gets tired. Psalms 121:4 teaches us that God never sleeps, and Isaiah 40:28 teaches us he doesn’t get weary. Our God did not rest on the seventh day for His benefit, but for ours. He knows our abilities, strengths, and weaknesses better than we know ourselves.
Genesis 2:2 “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”
Psalm 121:4 “Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.”
Isaiah 40:28 “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.”
Mankind was not made with infinite strength. Our bodies were not made to go 24/7, even though we sometimes push ourselves to the brink of exhaustion. That is still not the reason God said to rest on the seventh day. The design was for us to set aside time to spend with Him. It was for worship, reflection, and time with Him. In verse 3, we are told He blessed this day of rest. The only way a day can be blessed is in how it is used. The consecration of this day is the blessing of it. We are to devote this day to Him.
Genesis 2:3 “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
In the New Testament, we worship on the first day of the week because that was the day Jesus rose from the dead. It was a glorious day to be celebrated. While the day of the week changed for worship, the principle remained the same. It is still a day to set aside work and anything that would hinder us from keeping our focus on God and His goodness to us. While there are certain jobs that require us to work some Sundays, we should set aside another day to spend with God. We should also let this be the exception, not the norm. Teach your children to observe the Lord’s day as a time to worship and celebrate the resurrection. Please do not allow them to take jobs that require them to work on Sundays. If they let their employer know when they fill out their application, it should not be an issue. If that is the reason they do not get the job, then so be it. God has something better. I am not writing this simply because it should be a principle we live by, but because it is the same guidelines we taught our boys. God never failed to have a job for them when they needed to work. It took a little more effort and faith to limit when they could work, but God always provided.
While there are no specific verses that limit your day of rest to Sunday, our example is set in several verses by early Christians, as they celebrated the resurrection of our Lord. In Acts 20:7, Luke teaches us that they gathered and also celebrated the breaking of bread, which most believe was the Lord’s Supper. In I Corinthians 16:2 Paul instructs them to take an offering on the first day of the week. This would indicate that they met regularly on the first day of the week
Act 20:7 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
I Corinthians16:2 “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”
If you study through the Bible, you will find that God commands us to take time to put away the laboring things of the world and use a day for Him. While every day is His and we should rejoice in all of them, we need to take time to worship with other believers, learn with other believers, and connect to bear and share the burdens of other believers. It is a time to shut the outside world out and focus on what is important to God. So what will you do this Sunday? Will you set aside that day for worship? While there is nothing wrong with having other activities that afternoon, it is very hard to focus and truly rest in the Lord if you are thinking about what is coming up rather than what the minister is saying. God is worthy of all of our time, but it is a command to give Him at least one day of your week. While the day of the week changed with the resurrection, the principle of the Ten Commandments did not. Think about it, take a stand, and enjoy your rest in the Lord.
Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
