‘And Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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 (Genesis 2:1-3).’
It can be argued that these three verses under consideration in this study rightly belong to chapter 1 for they are a concluding summary of all that happened in that chapter. The work of creation has been completed and the Lord now establishes the seventh day rest that will become more apparent throughout the history of Israel in latter chapters of the Pentateuch.
Verse 1: As has already been mentioned we have here in this passage a concluding summary to that which has gone before in chapter 1. The work of creation has now been completed, regardless of what some modern theorists maintain in regards to progressive creationism, or the idea that the universe continues to be created. This verse informs us quite clearly that the work of creation was completed prior to the seventh day of history. In fact the writer goes to great pains to stress the fact that the entirety of creation was completed, being not content to tell us that the ‘the heavens and the earth were finished,’ but adding also that ‘all the host of them’ were also finished.
QUESTION: Did God actually need to rest on the seventh day? Explain.
NOTE: INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY QUESTION HERE: What is the significance of the seventh day as mentioned in Genesis 2:2,3 for man today? Explain.
Verses 2 and 3: Again verse 2 seems to be intent on stressing the actual completion of God’s work of creation, essentially repeating the thought of verse 1 (as does verse 3). In fact God is described as resting ‘from all his work which he had made.’
The question we now need to ask is just what kind of ‘rest’ is the Bible referring to here? Does it mean that God did no work whatsoever on the seventh day? Does it mean that God was worn out after His work of creation and needed a rest? Surely this cannot be the case, for He is omnipotent (Ps 121:4; Is 40:28) and His work of government and providence must have continued (Ps 104:29; Jn 5:17). The rest must surely be from his creative works, having completed them all (Ex 20:11; 31:17). It is more a statement of achievement, for there was no more ‘creating’ to be done.
God is also said to have blessed and sanctified the seventh day. What this means is that God separated this particular day to be set apart for special notice, for on it he rested from His creative work. This statement of blessing and sanctification of the seventh day marking it out as special was intended not just for that particular seventh day, but for all seventh days of the week as a perpetual declaration. Each seventh day was to be separated from the rest as a memorial that God had completed the work of creation in the six days.
However, it should be noted that there is no mention of Sabbath day keeping as noted in the Ten Commandments. The Sabbath day was not commanded by God to be kept until the time of Moses. What then is the significance of the seventh day for us? The significance is that it is a day that is to be remembered as the day that God rested from his creative work, having completed creation in six days.
INDIVIDUAL DISCOVERY
Is there any significance with man being formed of the earth in Genesis 2:7 as far as the theory of evolution is concerned? Please give reasons for your answer.
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To assist in the study of Genesis Aussie Outpost is developing The Outpost Study Bible and other Bible Study Aids. Links to these further resources are listed below:
http://particularbaptist.com/library/biblecontents.html
http://particularbaptist.com/library/bible_genesis2.html
http://particularbaptist.com/library/matthewhenry_comcontents.html
http://particularbaptist.com/library/matthewhenry_genesis2.html
http://particularbaptist.com/library/calvin_comcontents.html
http://particularbaptist.com/library/calvin_comcontents_genesisvol1_ch02.html
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23/06/2007
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