Busy Day? More Like the Whole Week!

Genesis 1:31-2:3

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.

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you had a busy day today

"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John, lyrics by Bernie Taupin

Creation, it's the one thing that God does that we cannot do. There is a saying about the testament written in Hebrew: "People do, only the Lord is." This is because the only time the verb "to be" is used in the Hebrew text is the "I AM." Yes, you will find more forms of "to be" in English translations, but you won't find the verb in those places in the original Hebrew text.

A busy day? God had a busy week! So busy that on the seventh day God created rest. God created a day to be separate from all others to be used to recuperate from the week. How important is this for us? God rested! If God rested, and surely we are not as resilient as God, then of course we need to rest!

Exodus 20:11, dead center in the Ten Commandments, reminds us how important this is saying, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it." By the way, consecrated, or "made holy," is a fancy way of saying "set aside." The Sabbath day was set aside for rest.

We live in a society that is too busy for its own good. Many of our most common diseases are caused by stress. There is so much "keeping up with the Joneses" that we can't even keep up with our own obligations any more. The only cure is rest. You've had a busy day today, so remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.