UNDERSTANDING AND LIVING IN GOD’S “REST” – I

Genesis 2:1-3; Exodus 31:17
Bob Bonner
November 16, 2003

Genesis 1-2 makes it really clear that God created us in His image and breathed His breath of life, His Spirit, into us that we might fellowship with Him as we join Him in ruling our world. His Spirit living in us not only gave us the ability to have fellowship with Him, but it enabled, empowered us to be able to rule the earth.

In the New Testament, Jesus declared, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” It should be obvious to all that from the very beginning, it has been God’s desire that we live meaningful, abundant lives in fellowship with Him, empowered by Him to do His will. But are you?

Below is listed several common characteristics of many Christians’ lives. As you think about these characteristics, answer this question: Do these characteristics describe what God intended when He created us in His image, to fellowship with Him as we rule in this world? Are these the characteristics of life that God wanted for the very first readers of Genesis, those Hebrews who had just left 400 years of slavery in Egypt, and now await entry into their Promised Land? Are these the characteristics of abundant life that Jesus Christ promised to those who follow Him? Characteristics such as:

-reacting to bitterness

-holding grudges

-refusing to worship Him with certain others

-impatience

-anger

-lack of forgiveness

-frustration

-anxiety

-worry

-fear of failure

-fear of rejection

-fear of loss of someone you love

-fear of loss of prized possessions

-uncertainty

-fear of death

-fear of future

-feeling insecure or inferior

-driven to accomplish

-striving to succeed

-stressed out

Again, I ask you to seriously consider the questions: Is this the abundant life God intended for us when He created us in His image? Is this the life experience He wants for those who are to rule/serve with Him here on earth? Is this what Jesus had in mind when Christ died for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God?

Consider these words of Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls”?

The answer to these questions is clearly “No!” So, what happened? Suffice it to say, our spiritual parents, Adam and Eve, sinned and then came the Fall. With the Fall, our spiritual enablement to walk with God and rule the earth died, along with that abundant and meaningful life God intended. And since that time, we have failed to understand and take hold of the life of “rest” as God has intended it.

Yet, even though we live in a fallen world, I believe it is possible to fellowship with God, to rule/serve Him and rest in Him and in His empowerment without the characteristics of this world dominating our lives. But how? The answer lies in first understanding what is meant by “rest” as it is used of God in Genesis 2:1-3. Only as we understand what it means that “God rested” can we then experience the abundant life God promised when we learn to live in and practice this very same “rest” in Him.

Let’s begin our study by reading about this rest as it is first spoken of in Genesis 2:1-3. We read, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts, and by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had done.”

Our goal for this morning is simply to understand what is meant by “God rested” and how it relates to us. Next week, we will look at how God expects His “rest” to be a part of our daily experience in our lives.

Sometimes the best place to begin in trying to understand what something means is to first clarify what it does not mean. Typically, when you hear that someone “rested”, or was “resting” what do you think that means? You think that they are tired, probably because they have been working hard. And the best known remedy for physical exhaustion is rest. Take a break. Stop work and catch your breath.

But if that were the correct meaning of this word as it is used here of God, what would that say about God? It would imply that the all powerful, omnipotent God got tired after creating the world in six days and had to sit down to rest and rejuvenate Himself. Would that make sense? Some would come to that conclusion when reading Exodus 31:17, which states, “...for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed.” But is that what those two verses teach? No.

God is limitless in His resource of power and energy. He never gets tired or worn down. So this word, “rested”, as it concerns God, cannot and does not mean the remedy to physical exhaustion.

What it does mean, is properly translated in Exodus 31:17, “...for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed.” The word “rested” in Genesis 2:2,3 is the same word used in Exodus 31:17, translated “ceased”. In it’s simplest form, it means ”ceased from a completed work.” Why it is translated in Exodus 31, differently than it was translated in Genesis 2, I don’t know. But it does not mean to rest as we understand rest.

Becky and I have a vegetable garden. During the growing season, we have a project about once a week to weed the garden. When we have finished that task, and see that all of the weeds are gone, we cease. We rest, or stop our labor because the task is completed, not because we are tired, necessarily. At its very basic root meaning, that is all that this Hebrew word for “rest” means, to cease from expending energy or effort.

However, as it is used here in Genesis 2, there is an added important component or meaning to this word, which is not only revealed by the context of verses around it, but this added meaning is verified by God’s use of this term in Exodus 31:17.

In Exodus 31:17, note the second word describing what happened to God on the seventh day, as a result of having ceased from His labor. We are told that He “was refreshed.”

What do you think of, in English, when you think of someone being “refreshed”? There is a sports drink commercial that comes to my mind that illustrates what some think to be refreshed means. It is that commercial showing the sweaty face and body of an athlete, whose drops of perspiration take on the color of the drink they have just consumed after their work out. They guzzle that energy drink because their body has cried out to be refreshed quickly. The simulation of the drops of perspiration being the same color of the sports drink suggests that this is the quicker fresher upper that goes to all parts of one’s body that is crying out to be refreshed, and is thus satisfied.

That commercial is not far from the intended Hebrew meaning of “refreshed”, except our English word “refreshed” implies something that is not necessarily true of this Hebrew word. The English word implies that there is also a loss of something like a loss of appetite, loss of energy, loss of fluids or loss of something that must be replenished. The Hebrew word for refresh does not always imply a loss of something, especially as it is used in reference to God. God never lacks for anything or loses anything. He is always complete, filled up and ready to go.

So, what does this Hebrew word mean? Where did it come from ? This Hebrew verb “refresh” comes from the noun which is most generally translated in our Bibles as “soul”, “life”, “appetite” and “pleasure”. According to the THEOLOGICAL WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT (Harris, Archer, Waltke, p. 586-589) this word originally comes from words describing one’s throat and the breathing and exhaling of air that goes on there. In addition, this word is sometimes used in conjunction with having one’s appetite satisfied, resulting in the emotional state of joy or bliss. Therefore, what is meant by being “refreshed” is “an emotional state of satisfaction and celebration at the completion of a work.”

When used in Exodus 31:17, it describes God’s emotional state of joy or satisfaction that comes as a direct result of an action He has just finished. It describes how God felt after He stepped back, so to speak, and observed His completed creation. In human terms, He took a deep breath, like we would do through our throats, and exhaled with an emotional sigh of satisfaction and joy that His job of creation was not just complete, but well done. At that point, God was in an emotional state of triumph, celebration, joy and bliss. He was refreshed, in the Biblical sense of the word.

With the words that surround Genesis 2, one gets the distinct sense that God actually celebrated with Himself over His very good work. Although the words “was refreshed” are absent in the Genesis account of God’s completion of creation, God’s response of being refreshed are not. Five times God said during His work of creation, “It is good.” But when He finished it, He stepped back and observed all that He had created and emphatically stated, “It is very good!” When you read Genesis 2:4, upon the completion of creation, it says “Then God blessed the seventh day...” Although you don’t see the words “was refreshed” in Genesis, they are acted out in God’s blessing that day and declaring it “very good.” In Exodus 31:17, “was refreshed” summarizes God’s emotional state as described in Genesis 2 when He “rested” from His creation.

Hence, if you want the correct implication or meaning of the words “God rested” in Genesis 2, it would be “God’s emotional state of satisfaction and celebration at His job well done.”

Remind me, Bob, why is it so important to understand what it means that God rested?” Well, when was the last time you ceased from expending energy because your work was permanently finished and that led you to celebrate? How often do you work with others closely at a difficult task and rejoice during and after the job is done?

Before the Fall, when Adam and Eve were filled with God’s spirit, empowered by His strength, they worked in God’s garden, and finished projects that led to celebrating with God the work they finished. It was a life of work and ease together, because they worked in God’s strength, because they walked in perfect harmony with God. There was no wear and tear. It was start a job, finish the job, and celebrate with God. Do you do that?

Before the Fall, in Genesis 2:4, God tells us that He blessed and sanctified (literally set apart) every seventh day for something special to happen between Himself and those He created in His image - us. I believe that day was set apart by God so that Adam and Eve with God could share in corporate celebration as the result of completing a week of working with and for God, but not experiencing loss of energy, because He was enabling them to do the work. Hence, it was sheer pleasure working and serving God. There was no sense of stress; no sense of drivenness; no battles over whose agenda should be followed. It was a working with others where no jealousy or bitterness or being wronged existed. It was just sweet, purposeful and meaningful service with God. Then, periodically, stopping when a job was done and celebrating together with God. That was God’s plan before the Fall.

After the Fall, things changed drastically. Our work has never really ceased. We are continually driven to do something. Furthermore, when we do finish a project, seldom do we celebrate with God as to completing something He was directed us to do. We feel worn out because we choose to do it in our own strength, rather than being energized by God. Without Christ living in us, we have no chance of experiencing God’s rest and celebration on a daily basis.

That is part of the reason why that previous list of earthly struggles I mentioned in the beginning speaks to so many of your lives. The only way we can be rid of or at least lessen some of those struggles with bitterness, anger, stress, etc., is to enter into God’s rest - His empowerment through Jesus Christ. When we do, the resultant emotion of your soul will be to rejoice.

And, I believe, God wants us to experience some of that daily right now. He calls that experience elsewhere in Scripture the ultimate Sabbath rest. That experience can only come when one is rightly related to Jesus Christ. Apart from Him, the experience of His rest cannot be known.

Unfortunately, many Jews and Christians alike have misunderstood what this Sabbath rest experience is to be. For many, it has been the keeping of a religious law that has done just the opposite of what God intended. Rather than bringing them life through an intimate relationship with God, the practice of the Law became burdensome and killed their spirits. Their souls did not find rest or ceasing, but drivenness instead.

What I am just going to introduce with our remaining time this morning, and carry on with next week, is how we can experience God’s rest in our lives today while living in a Fallen world. How can we experience God’s enablement and power to live and not get weary, but celebrate with Him daily?

To begin with, let’s return to Exodus 31. This passage was God’s instructions concerning the Sabbath, given to Moses who was to give it the Hebrews. It begins with verse 12, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. [meaning, “I am the One who has set you apart from all the peoples of the earth to be my people. I have rescued you from Egypt and plan to use you in a unique way to fulfill my plans on earth.”] Therefore you are to observe the Sabbath, for it is holy [“a day set apart from other days as something special”] to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever;...” Understand: God is not placing this commandment upon any other peoples but Israel. Israel was not to put to death a stranger who did not keep the Sabbath. They were only to put to death those Jews who refused to obey the Sabbath.

Then God adds His explanation of the purpose for the Sabbath. He says, “...for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed.”

The main purpose of the Sabbath was reflected in God’s example of what God did on the first Sabbath. To cease, stop, and step back to look upon His work and rejoice, because it is very good! It is to join in praise to God for His work. That was the main purpose for the Sabbath, to worship Him. To find life in Him. Not to simply stop all work and take a nap or go fishing.

It is important, when considering the Sabbath, to keep in mind this commandment to keep the Sabbath is not written to the Christian or the church, but these instructions specifically state three times that these Sabbaths were for Israel and twice it is said that it is to be a sign to the nation of Israel, a reminder if you will, that they are God’s chosen people.

Many people make the mistake in reading and believing that everything God said to Israel was also to be applied to the church. But the church and Israel are two distinct groups. In Ephesians 2:11-16, the apostle Paul makes it very clear that Israel and the non-Jews, the Gentiles were never able to be united into the same group. So God made a new body of believers called the church by removing the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, the Law. That Law of God was fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now God has birthed a new people called the church which is a completely different entity from the nation of Israel, an entity that no longer lives under God’s civil or ceremonial law.

As it concerns the practice of keeping the Jewish Sabbath, it does have some benefits and we can learn many lessons from it. For instance, one lesson we can learn from the Sabbath is that we need time for quiet meditation and the cessation from our physical labors to keep God in right relationship with all that we do in our lives. In addition, our bodies are yet to be redeemed and glorified, and thus, while we remain on this earth, our bodies need rest and restoration at frequent intervals.

However, keeping the Sabbath is not what brings life or true biblical “rest” as has already been defined to the Jew or the Christian. If it had brought the people the rest for their souls, then why did Jesus say to very devout and religious Jews who had been faithfully keeping the Sabbath what He did in Matthew 11:28-29? Hear again what Jesus said to those who had already been keeping the Sabbath. He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” The “rest” that Jesus is referring to here is the same “rest” spoken of by God, before the Fall in Genesis 2:2-3. Physical rest is not what Jesus or God ultimately had in mind when He established the Sabbath. That physical rest was only to be a shadow of the spiritual/soulish rest for our inner man. I will explain what I mean by that in more detail next week.

For now, take it by faith that before the Fall, Adam and Eve had that soulish rest and empowerment of God. But after the Fall, it was gone! Praise God, when Jesus came, He brought that soulish rest back. And it had nothing to do with keeping the Law of the Sabbath. How can we find Christ’s rest that those of us who are weary and heavy-lade desire for our souls? That’s what we will look at next time.

If inside you feel like God is speaking to your heart about finding His rest, His celebration and His empowerment, then tell Him you want it this morning. Just tell Him, “Lord Jesus, I’m tired of running my own life. I need You. I want to find Your rest. My load is heavy. My soul feels burdened. I need Your rest. Teach me to rest in You.” And He will begin to show you through His word, what this rest is all about. We will look at it in Hebrews 4:8-11 next time. If you want to prayerfully read ahead, God will show you some marvelous things.

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