Genesis 2 begins thus:
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” (v 1-2)
What is Rest?
Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story
How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective.
Why did GOD Rest?
We know that GOD worked six days to create the earth, everything in it and all that surrounds it. That’s what Genesis 1 tells us. Then He rested. But why? If GOD is GOD, surely He doesn’t sleep. Psalm 121:4 says, “Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Since Israel is GOD’s chosen people, it is He who “keeps Israel” — protects, watches over, counts the nation as His children.
So, what does Rest mean?
Firstly, note that Genesis 2:1-2 emphasises the completion of Creation by GOD. The work finished, He stopped working, creating. Instead, on the seventh day, He rested.
Rest is not working. Rest assumes stopping from work. But rest is so much more than relaxing, taking a vacation, ceasing from work.
It was the seventh day and it was the day of rest. It would become the Sabbath, the final day of the week, the day to keep holy. The seventh day, the first day after all of Creation was completed, marked the end of one week leading to the beginning of another. This would come to give structure to Mankind’s time.
Still Rest means even more
Leviticus 22:3 is one of many scriptures that refers to the Sabbath, “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.”
It is a holy day, it is GOD’s day, it is a day of ‘solemn rest’. GOD takes this rest day very seriously.
In Psalm 95, the Creator is quoted,
“For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
This suggests GOD is ensuring the Hebrews suffer consequences for their disobedience.
Hebrews 3 reiterates this same consequence of rebellion, “So I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’”
What is the rest these rebels do not receive or enter?
Further study reveals What is Rest
Rest is intimacy with GOD. It is peace of mind. It is living in the anointing and covering of the Holy Spirit. Rest is freedom from anxiety, stress, fear or worry. It is a rest in the heart of Man as well as in the body. It is contentment, closeness with GOD. It is peace.
GOD’s offer
GOD supplies all our needs. He also offers us relationship. We can work to satisfy our need for productivity. And we can rest to enjoy the consequence of that productivity. And in that rest, we can commune with GOD. And that is the ultimate in rest. Hallelujah!
All this first expressed on Day 7 of His marvellous Creation!