Why did God create the Sabbath?
(Genesis 1:1-5; Ex. 20:8-17; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 58:13; Heb. 4:1-11) Blog 22-28 Aug. 2021
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: Rest is an essential part of human life. A person must properly deal with daily cares, leadership responsibilities, family matters, sin, depression, and sickness in order to have proper and sufficient rest. The Bible provides guidance in all these areas and more. The most important rest that we can experience is rest from trying to save ourselves. By trusting in the work that Jesus completed on earth we can experience perfect rest in that aspect of life.
Daily Rest
1. In what state was Planet Earth when God began the creation of life here? There was no life or form, but darkness rested on the watery sphere when God began to create life on this earth (Gen. 1:1-2).
2. Besides inviting Light into this dark earth what else was part of creation’s first day? The first day of creation included & began with the night (Gen. 1:3-5).
3. What purpose did the night serve for humanity in God’s perfect creation? The night served as a daily period of rest during which human beings ceased from work (John 9:4).
4. When sin entered this world what happened to nightly rest? When sin entered this world the daily cycle of night & day did not change, nor did humanity’s need for daily rest change, but rather the cares of this life increased crowding out daily rest, even when it was more essential than ever (Gen. 3:9-10; Luke 10:41).
5. When daily rest is neglected what are the results? The neglect of daily rest results in irritability, languor, depression, & disease (1 Kings 19:3-5).
Weekly Rest
6. How did God describe this newly formed earth at the end of the sixth day of creation? God said that everything that he had made was very good (Gen. 1:31).
7. When God finished his “very good” creation on the sixth day what else did he add? Having finished a “very good” creation God added a seventh day – a Sabbath (Gen 2:1-3).
8. Why did God create the seventh-day Sabbath? God created the Sabbath for humanity as the seal of perfection to his week’s work & as a blessed time of sacred rest in which we can remember that he is our Creator & the Maker of all the beautiful life that surrounds us (Gen. 2:1-3; Isa. 43:7; 58:13; Mark 2:27).
9. When sin entered this world what happened to weekly rest? When sin entered this world the weekly rest cycle of a Sabbath every seven days did not change, nor did humanity’s need for a weekly Sabbath change, but rather the added cares of this life tended to crowd out Sabbath rest, even when it was more essential than ever (Ex. 3:7; Luke 10:39-42).
10. What reform did God and Moses bring to the enslaved people of God in Egypt? Moses & God brought Sabbath reform to God’s people by instructing them to cease from labor every seventh day & God, by withholding manna on the Sabbath throughout the wilderness wandering showed it to be a valid continuing rest (Ex. 5:1-5; 16:28-30).
11. When God made an everlasting covenant with his people at Mount Sinai what covenant sign and seal did he include? In giving his people the Ten Commandment words of his everlasting covenant God included the sign & seal of the seventh-day Sabbath which he told them to remember on a weekly basis as a form of covenant renewal (Ex. 20:7-11).
12. Besides being a weekly reminder of God’s creation what else is the Sabbath to remind us of? The Sabbath is also to act as a weekly reminder of God’s redemptive activity on behalf of his people (Deut. 5:12-15).
13. When Sabbath rest is neglected what are the results? The neglect of Sabbath rest results in restless chaos & lack of communion with & worship of God (Rev. 14:11 lp).
Annual Rests
14. According to Hebrews 4 what additional kinds of rest does the seventh-day Sabbath represent? The weekly Sabbath is also a picture of resting in Christ’s finished work of redemption; a picture of the historical entrance of God’s people into Canaan rest; & a picture of the eternal rest that God’s people will enjoy when Jesus comes again (Heb. 4:1-11).
15. Besides a daily and a weekly rest, what other forms of rest did God give his ancient people? God gave the children of Israel three yearly periods of rest (Passover, Pentecost, Atonement/Tabernacles) when they were to leave their daily work and gather together for fellowship & worship (Ex. 23:14).
16. What additional periods of rest apart from the annual feasts did God also give his people? God also gave the children of Israel a Sabbatical Year of rest as well as a Year of Jubilee that came every fifty years (Lev. 25:1-13).
17. What should we learn from all the different rests (sabbaths) that God gave to his people? We should learn that God never intended us to overwork but rather established a rhythm of repeating rests (daily, weekly, semi-annually, every seventh year, & every fiftieth year) that with Jesus his people might be refreshed & spend quality time with God himself (Matt. 11:28-29).
18. When does God propose to terminate humanity’s weekly Sabbath rest? Weekly Sabbaths will continue throughout eternity so we should not be misled by any angel of light that says the Sabbath has been obliterated or changed to a different day (Isa. 66:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:14).