A Holy Day of Rest

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

A Holy Day of Rest

Date: Jan. 6, 2015

Passage

Genesis 2:1-7 (ESV)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

4   These are the generations
  of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
  in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.

5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 2:3

So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

First, the seventh day (1-3). God completed the work of creating the heavens and the earth in six days. God had nothing more to add or change. Everything, in its vast array, was exactly as God intended. On the seventh day God rested. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy. God does not need rest but he rested to set an example for us. We should work hard for six days and then have spiritual and physical rest on the seventh day (Ex. 20:8-11). This day of rest is called the Sabbath. God made the Sabbath day of rest for us. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. (Mk. 2:27-28)

Second, formed from dust and God's breath (4-7). God formed man from the dust of the ground. Man is weak. Man's value does not come from what he is made from but how he was made. God's touch and God's breath of life are what gives man his value. This is how man became a living being. God gave man both spiritual and physical life. God is the owner of all life, including man.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me life. Help me to honor you on the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

One Word: God rested and so should we

The Church in Antioch

Acts 11:19-30

Key Verse: 11:26

Today's Question

What is the reason for the fifth commandment?

See answer and references