What Does It Mean That God Rested On The Seventh Day?
Posted on: 7 December 2020
Even Peter the Apostle himself acknowledged that there are some things that Paul wrote that are "hard to understand" (2 Peter 3:16), so readers can be excused if they come to a similar conclusion about some other passages in the Bible. One of the statements that has given many people pause throughout the centuries is one of the first ones written in the entire Bible. In Genesis 2:2, after the Creation account has been mostly concluded (although much of it would be repeated in Genesis 2), the Bible says that God "rested" on the seventh day. What does that mean? If God is all-powerful, how did God "rest," exactly?
What Does "Rest" Actually Mean?
Before readers can understand what God meant by "resting," they must first understand what it doesn't mean. Genesis 2:2 does not say that God "rested" because He was tired; indeed, Isaiah 40:28 says that God is "not like man" in that He neither "faints nor gets weary." God is not bound by physical energy and exertion, so that verse can't say that God simply got tired and needed a break.
The word for "rest" in Genesis 2:2 also means "to cease or stop," so the alternative meaning—and the one that makes more sense, Biblically-speaking—is that God simply "stopped" from working. It makes sense, after all; He had created the entire world in six days and already declared it "good." Why should He keep working?
How Did God's "Rest" Impact Judaism?
In the Old Testament, the Jews understood what this concept of God "resting on the seventh day" meant in a very literal way. Incorporated into their laws was the concept of a Sabbath rest, which meant that they had to stop all physical labor of any kind and focus their minds on their family and God. Over time, it eventually became a day of religious observation; Paul the Apostle often entered the Synagogue on the sabbath to teach since he knew many Jews would be there as well.
By the end of the New Testament, God's Sabbath rest had transitioned to talk about the spiritual rewards of Heaven. Hebrews 4:9 says that "there remains a sabbath-rest for the people of God," which the context describes as coming after this life is over. The idea of God resting then, is not so much the idea of overcoming physical exertion, but pressing the reset button on your week so that you can focus your life on the things that matter the most in this life and the next.
Share