Genesis chapter 1, I'll begin
reading in verse 1. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and
void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit
of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God
said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw
the light, that it was good. And God divided the light from
the darkness. God called the light day, and
the darkness He called night. So the evening and the morning
were the first day. Then God said, Let there be a
firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the
waters from the waters. Thus God made the firmament and
divided the waters which were under the firmament from the
waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called
the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning
were the second day. Then God said, let the waters
under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and
let the dry land appear. And it was so. And God called
the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called
seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth
bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree
that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself
on the earth. And it was so. And the earth
brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to
its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself
according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
So the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said,
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the
day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons, and
for days and years. And let them be for lights in
the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth. And
it was so. Then God made two great lights,
the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule
the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament
of the heavens to give light on the earth and to rule over
the day and over the night and to divide the light from the
darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and
the morning were the fourth day. Then God said, let the waters
abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly
above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.
So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves,
with which the waters abounded. according to their kind, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it
was good. And God blessed them, saying,
Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas,
and let birds multiply on the earth. So the evening and the
morning were the fifth day. Then God said, Let the earth
bring forth the living creature according to its kind, cattle
and creeping thing, and beast of the earth, each according
to its kind. And it was so. And God made the
beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according
to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according
to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our
likeness. Let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
on the earth. So God created man in His own
image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female,
He created them. Then God blessed them, and God
said to them, Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and
subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of
the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing
that moves on the earth. And God said, See, I have given
you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the
earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed. To you it shall
be for food. Also to every beast of the earth,
to every bird of the air, to everything that creeps on the
earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb
for food, and it was so. Then God saw everything that
he had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and
the morning were the sixth day." 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. Then
God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it
He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Amen. Well, last week we saw
specifically the creation of man on day six. Prior to that, we looked at each
of the days of creation in a sort of overview fashion. Previous
to that, a theology of creation, then sort of an overview of the
book of Genesis as a whole. Well, as we come to the text
tonight, we're going to take up chapter 2, specifically verses
1 to 3. There's a break in the narrative
beginning at verse 4, which we'll cover a little bit later on,
but tonight we're going to look primarily at verses 1 to 3 in
chapter 2. Sometimes you'll hear people
say that the Sabbath command was given at Sinai and it was
only for the Jews. I think our confession is more
correct when it speaks concerning the Sabbath, and it says that,
as it is the law of nature, that in general a proportion of time
by God's appointment be set apart for the worship of God, so by
His word and a positive moral and perpetual commandment Binding
all men in all ages, He is particularly appointed one day in seven for
a Sabbath to be kept holy unto Him. And now note what the confession
says, which from the beginning of the world to the resurrection
of Christ was the last day of the week, and from the resurrection
of Christ was changed into the first day of the week, which
is called the Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end
of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the
last day of the week, being abolished. So the confession rightly goes
to the beginning of the world, and they're reflecting what we
find here specifically in Genesis chapter 2, verses 1 to 3. The basic argument is that God
sets forth a divine pattern, and what He does, man is to follow
and I hope that you will be convinced of that as we move through our
study this evening. But as we look at verses 1 to
3, we see, first of all, a reference to the completion of creation
in verse 1, secondly, the rest of the Creator in verse 2, and
then the blessing of the seventh day in verse 3. But note the
completion in verse 1. The language of verse 1 in chapter
2 echoes the language of verse 1 in chapter 1. Notice in chapter
1, verse 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth. That's the overarching statement, and then the days,
or the rest of the narrative specifically, from verses 3 to
31, flesh out how God does that. He creates the heavens and the
earth and then he fills the heavens and the earth with the various
creatures that he makes. And 2.1 picks up on that, summarizes
the preceding, but then adds this, thus the heavens and the
earth and all the host of them were finished. what's called
an inclusio, the same sort of a statement in verse 1 of chapter
1, same statement in verse 1, chapter 2, with this addition,
all the host of them. And again, that simply refers
not only to the heavens and the earth, but everything God created
within the heavens and the earth. In fact, Calvin makes this observation. He says, instead of host, we
might not improperly render the term abundance. For Moses declares
that this world was in every sense completed, as if the whole
house were well supplied and filled with its furniture. The
heaven without the sun and moon and stars would be an empty and
dismantled palace. If the earth were destitute of
animals, trees, and plants, that barren waste would have the appearance
of a poor and deserted house. God, therefore, did not cease
from the work of creation of the world till he had completed
it in every part, so that nothing should be wanting to its suitable
abundance. So verse 1, chapter 2 simply
highlights, summarizes, and then fleshes out with a bit more detail
what God does in terms of the creation. of the heavens and
the earth. Remember that this functions
not only for the edification and the strengthening of the
Israelites, but also it was a polemic. The gods of the heathen had various
gods for various aspects of the created order. But it's Yahweh
alone that makes the heavens and the earth and all the host
of them. And now notice the rest of the
Creator in verse 2. It says, 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. Now certainly we need
to understand when it says, and on the seventh day God ended
His work, which He had done, it refers to the previous account
with reference to creation. If you look specifically at John
5 for just a moment, John 5.17, the Lord Jesus makes a statement
concerning the work of His Father. We need to understand what Moses
is teaching us here in Genesis chapter 2, at verse 2, with reference
to the work of creation having been completed, or finished,
or ended. John 5, 17. Jesus answered them, my Father
has been working until now, and I have been working. So some
suggest that this is contradictory to what we find here in Genesis
2.2, that God finished, God completed, God ended His work, and yet Jesus
says in John 5.17 that my Father continues working. Well, I think
the text in Genesis is specific. I think it's clear. God ended
His work, which He had done, with reference to the creation
of the heavens and the earth and all the host of them. God
now enters into the work of providence. God does govern all his creatures
and all their actions. God does sustain all his creatures
and all their actions. God is active. Deists teach that
God made and then God left it. The God of heaven and earth,
however, doesn't just make it, but he sustains it, he keeps
it going, he continues to keep it on its axis and brings it
ultimately to completion. So when we see that there is
this rest from His work, it doesn't mean the absolute cessation of
all that is God. God continues to do what God
does, but in terms of the work of creation, by the word of His
power, in the space of six days and all very good, that work
was completed, that work was finished. And Moses tells us
specifically that He rested on the seventh day from all His
work which He had done. If you're there, you can turn
to Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31, another statement
concerning God's rest, and here we see that God was refreshed
when it comes to the completion of the creation week. Exodus
31 at verse 17, it is a sign between me and the children of
Israel forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and
the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. So those are terms that are ultimately
applicable to man. These are improperly predicated
of God. God does not weary. God doesn't
need naps. God doesn't build the universe
and then say he needs to take some time to get refreshment.
This is spoken in the manner of men. These are analogical
concepts designed to teach us something concerning God. And
the point here in Genesis 2.2 is not that God laid down for
a nap. The idea is that God looked approvingly
upon all that he had made. God found delight in the creation
that he had put together. John Owen says it was not a rest
of weariness from labor or the labor of his work, but a rest
of complacency and delight in what he had wrought that God
entered into." So you see, it wasn't rest or inactivity, or
he didn't stop for a glass of water, he didn't stop for a glass
of iced tea, he didn't stop to fan himself, but rather the language
is communicating to us in the manner of man something concerning
God's cessation from the work of creation in the space of those
six days, now he enters into this rest and refreshment which
we interpret as God's delight and holy complacency in the things
that he has made. Meredith Klein agrees. He says,
the Creator's Sabbath rest is much more a matter of taking
satisfaction and delight in His consummated building. And I think
that's how we understand verse 2. But this statement concerning
God's rest ought to lead us to a few conclusions. First, we
see the completion of His cosmic temple. Now, there are many who
have looked at scripture, and they've looked at the creation
account, and they have interpreted scripture with scripture, and
have come to understand that the earth, or the universe as
a whole, is a cosmic temple. If we define temple as God's
dwelling with men, then certainly that's what this cosmos is. God created this universe in
order to have fellowship with man. Not because he was needy,
not because he's dependent, not because man somehow completes
him, but according to his good pleasure. He made this universe
and all things in it for the purpose of cohabiting with man. And so the earth itself, or the
cosmos itself, is a cosmic temple. You see this in Isaiah the prophet,
chapter 66. God says that heaven is my throne
and earth is my footstool. There is this language throughout
scripture that indicates that God is over the entirety of creation. We're going to argue when we
go further in the narrative that Eden itself was a localized temple,
and that Adam's task was to expand that garden temple to encompass
the entirety of the earth. So you have this localized temple,
which is called Eden, or the Garden of Eden, but the universe
as a whole is a cosmic temple. And so what we find here is that
God has completed it. God has done what he had purposed
to do. Meredith Klein again. I will
just commend to you I'll commend to you a couple of books tonight
because we can really only scratch the surface. Meredith Klein's
book, Kingdom Prologue, a lot of it is really, really, really
lofty. It's a bit tough at some points
to get a hold on, but his stuff on Sabbath is pretty accessible
and it's most excellent. Another man by the name of G.K.
Beale. He has a book called A New Testament Old Testament Theology. Basically what he does is he
looks at the New Testament through the lens of the Old Testament.
I think I got the name wrong there. But he does stuff on the
Sabbath that's very excellent. And then Richard Barcelos has
a very accessible book called Getting the Garden Right. And
I highly recommend that. because he uses Beale and he
uses Klein, and he brings it down to a manageable level to
deal with the various concepts that we're going to be looking
at here in Genesis chapter 2. But Klein says, the cosmic structure
was built as a habitation for the Creator Himself. Heaven and
earth were erected as a house of God, a palace of the great
King, the seat of sovereignty of the Lord of the Covenant.
And I think that's what's going on here, specifically with reference
to the rest of God. It speaks not only of His completion,
but it also shows or expresses His delight in what He had made,
and then it argues for the enthronement of God over all. is my throne,
and earth is my footstool." God is the enthroned Lord over this
creation, and this statement in terms of Genesis chapter 2.2
indicates that reality. James Hamilton says, God has
presented His building for Himself a cosmic temple. In this cosmic
temple, he places his image, whose task is to fill the earth
and subdue it such that the glory of Yahweh covers the land as
the waters cover the sea. So those are some things that
we receive from verse 2. Now note, as we move to verse
3, God engages in particular actions that have significance
for the creature. So we have this statement concerning
the completion of the cosmos, verse 1. We have this statement
concerning the rest of the Creator in verse 2, but the significance
of verse 3 means that what God does here has significance for
the creature. And I want to draw that out in
terms of Sabbath. We are supposed to learn the
doctrine of the Sabbath, certainly from Sinai. excuse me, but also from Genesis
chapter 2, verses 1 to 3. Now note the action of God in
verse 3. It says, then God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from
all His work which God had created and made. So we have the same
data that we have in verse 2. God rested after He created. But there are these additional
elements given to us in verse 3 that God blessed the seventh
day and God sanctified it. Now, three times seventh day
is mentioned. In all the other days of creation,
we find them mentioned once. Moses is doing something. I mentioned
that he brings the creation to sort of its pinnacle with reference
to the creation of man, because it's only man that's created
in the image of God. Nothing else is created in the
image of God. But Moses is also bringing us
to this place where we appreciate what God is doing on this seventh
day. We're appreciating, or supposed
to appreciate, God's Sabbath rest at this particular juncture. Now note, the Lord blessed the
seventh day. Beel says, with reference to
this idea of blessing, the Hebrew word for bless is normally restricted
to living beings in the Old Testament and typically does not apply
to something being blessed or sanctified only for God's sake. In other words, God doesn't bless
the seventh day only for His sake. Up to this point, God has
blessed. Notice in verse 22, and God blessed
them saying, be fruitful and multiply. You see, there is blessing
pronounced by God for the good of creature. Notice in verse
28, then God blessed them again toward man, and God said to them,
be fruitful and multiply. So, blessing will be used eventually
as pertaining to God by the creature to God, but so far in the creation
account, blessing refers to something that benefits the creature. Now,
follow the argument. We have a statement of God's
rest in verse 2. We have that statement repeated
in verse 3, but additional elements are added to verse 3. And those
additional elements that are added are for the creature. In
other words, when God blesses the seventh day, it's not God's
ownership specifically of that day only for Himself, but it
is also for the creature. There is benefit with reference
to this seventh day for the creature that has come from the hand of
God. Back to Beal, the Hebrew word for bless is normally restricted
to living beings in the Old Testament and typically does not apply
to something being blessed or sanctified only for God's sake. Accordingly, Genesis 2.3 appears
to be directed to humanity as a creational ordinance, more
on that later, to regard the seventh day of each week to be
blessed and set apart by God. Now, the book is actually New
Testament Biblical Theology. I sure messed that up, didn't
I? New Testament Biblical Theology. You see, this idea of blessing
is not just for God, it's also for man. And those who read the
Bible, and those who observe how God blesses, and those who
see what God is doing, would make that connection. Thus far,
creatures have been blessed. Now God comes to bless the seventh
day. Certainly the seventh day is
a creature, but the fact that this is in close union with the
creation of image-bearers, we ought to infer that image-bearers
reap benefit or blessing as a result of what God does here in Genesis
2.3. Also notice that he sanctified
it. So God blessed the seventh day
and he sanctified it. Now the vast majority of the
uses of sanctify or set apart refer to God, to people, or to
things. People are set apart or sanctified
for a special purpose unto God. Priests were set apart. Priests
were sanctified. Priests were consecrated so that
they could enter into the presence of God and serve Him. Things
were set apart. Things that were utilized in
the tabernacle, things that were utilized in the temple, they
were sanctified. They were taken from a common
use and given a sacred use. That's what the idea is with
reference to this sanctification. So out of the six days thus far,
none of them have been sanctified. They haven't been pulled from
common use into a sanctified or set-apart state. The seventh
day, however, has been. As well, when we use the word
sanctify or set apart or holy with reference to days, it's
only days associated with Israel's calendar, vis-Ã -vis Sabbaths
or festival days, feast days. Remember back in chapter 1, I
know this is going back a long time, verse 14. There we made
the observation in verse 14, let there be lights in the firmament
of the heavens to divide the day from the night and let them
be for signs and seasons and for days and years. I suggested
there that we ought to appreciate this is probably a reference
to Israel's calendar. It's not stars, constellations,
and reading your fortune based on the alignment of such things.
That's not how these heavenly bodies function in terms of signs
and seasons, and for days and years. They governed Israel's
calendar. They governed the festival days.
They governed the weekly Sabbaths. They governed and structured
life in such a way that you had common, ordinary, normal use,
and then you had sacred, set-apart, or holy use. In every case, the
day is clearly set apart for humans to observe when it comes
to a day being sanctified. Again, every use of sanctify,
set apart, is not simply for God's use, but it's also for
the use of the human, the creature, the image bearer of God, so that
he can reap the benefits of what Yahweh has done. So as we come
to Genesis chapter 2, verse 1, creation completed. Verse 2,
God rests with delight, with a holy complacency in the things
that He has made. And Genesis 2, 3 shows us what
God does in terms of a reciprocity to His image bearer. He blesses
the day and He sanctifies the day. And the creature is to observe
this and enter into a like rest on a weekly cycle the way that
God the Father or God the Creator, has set forth. So He is the divine
exemplar. And if you look at verse 3, it
says, then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Now note
the reason, because in it He rested from all His work which
God had created and made. This is the exact way that the
fourth commandment proceeds when it's given on Sinai. The call
to the people of God is to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it what? Holy, sanctified, set apart. And what is the reason given
to the creature as to why they're supposed to do that? For in six
days the Lord your God made the heavens and the earth and all
things in it, and then rested. You see, if we go to Sinai for
our Sabbath ethic and we don't go back to the creation account,
in many respects the Sinai Sabbath doesn't make sense. The Sinai
Sabbath makes sense because of what Genesis chapter 2, verses
1 to 3 teach us concerning God's pattern, God's paradigm, the
divine exemplar at creation. He not only finishes, but he
rests, he's enthroned, and then he carves out that sacred time
for the people of God to imbibe or to participate in what the
Lord has created for them. As well, there's an eschatological
dimension to Sabbath. The Bible is heading forth to
Sabbath. There remains, therefore, a sabbatismos or a Sabbath rest
for the people of God, according to Hebrews 4 and 9. Now, some
would argue, well, that being the case, there's no weekly Sabbath.
No, the eternal Sabbath is coming. That's the eschaton. That's the
glory of the age to come. The weekly down payment isn't
invalidated. The weekly down payment is a
foretaste of that eschatological goodness to come. So there's
eschatology in Genesis 1 to 3. The Bible is simply going to
amplify and going to expound and going to show how God brings
consummation what he originally gave at creation. There is a
lot going on in Genesis 1-3, and it's unfortunate that we
can only scratch the surface. As I said, I would suggest that
you get those books if you're interested in such things, because
it's really mind-expanding. I think that when you approach
Genesis 1-3, and you see Adam as a farmer, you learn a lot,
and it's a most blessed thing. But when you understand that
Adam's a priest, and he is functioning under God to expand a garden
temple. And the whole idea of garden
temple is God dwelling with his creatures. And then you see the
forfeiture with reference to sin, and then God not only not
bless man, but orchestrate a plan to redeem man and through the
second Adam bring to completion what God had originally intended,
I think it expands the vista of divine revelation and causes
one to say, wow, this is a much greater plan than I ever even
thought. It is most glorious. And as we
start to connect the dots with reference to temple, and Tabernacle
and New Jerusalem. I hope we can do some of that.
It really does hopefully expand one's vista concerning God's
purpose and plan in the world. So the reason for God's Sabbath
is because in it he rested from all his work which God had created
and made. Now, I want to draw out a few
applications. We may end early tonight, but
we may not. First, we ought to appreciate
the distinctiveness of Genesis 1-1 to 2-3. Genesis 1-1 to 2-3
is distinct. It functions as a bit of prologue,
not only to the book of Genesis, but to the entirety of the Bible.
Look at verse 4 of Genesis chapter 2. It says, this is the history
of the heavens and the earth. That history of is a Hebrew word. It's called Toledot. And it's
repeated several times at key places in the book of Genesis. And it is literally, this is
the history of. It's derived from a verb, which
means to give birth or bear. And it often precedes genealogies. So, what we have in 2.4 is, this
is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were
created. And now it hones in on the creation of man. Some
have seen two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2. I think you
could even say that as long as you qualify what you mean. You're
not dealing with some pre-Adamic race, and then Genesis 2 deals
with Adam. No. But the idea is that Genesis
1 gives us a general thematic statement of the creation of
man in the image of God. Genesis 2 hones in. Genesis 2
deals with the nitty-gritty. Genesis 2 shows us God fashioning
the man in his image. fashioning the woman from the
rib of the man and bringing her to him. So Genesis 1, general. Genesis 2, 4, and following,
specific. But this Toledot principle is
in chapter 5, 6, 10, 11, twice in 11, 25, twice, 36, twice,
and 37. As we meet sort of a new epic
figure in the history, we have a, this is the history of, or
these are the generations of. And so some have seen this and
recognized that 1.1 to 2.3 is sort of outside that. It's not
included in the, this is the history of. So Genesis 1.1 to
2.3 is sort of this prologue. It's this overture, to use the
language of Gordon Wenham. It's similar to the symphony,
but it's an overture. It has similarity, but it's thunderous. It's amazing. It's somewhat distinct
as it introduces what's going to follow in the music coming. And so Genesis 1.1 to 2.3 sort
of functions in that way. Wenham says the absence of this
heading, this toledot, in Genesis 1.1 and the distinctive style
of the chapter sets it off from what follows. Yet here the great
themes, or at least the presuppositions, of the subsequent narratives
are made explicit. If the divine word established
the world at the beginning, it will become clear that the same
word governed and directed the subsequent unfolding of sacred
history. So there is connection, but there's
also distinction between this section of narrative, 1.1 to
2.3. This is God. In the beginning,
he created the heavens and the earth. and all the host of them."
2, 4 and following will start to focus in on the generations
of man, specific man, Adam being the first. So 1 deals with a
general statement concerning the creation of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2 starts to hone in and give us the nitty-gritty of how
God made them. and what He then required of
them in what we'll refer to as the covenant of works as we move,
excuse me, through Genesis chapter 2. So there is a distinctiveness
about Genesis 1.1 to 2.3. Secondly, we ought to appreciate
at this point the glory of the Creator. I mean, this God did
what he says he did here is absolutely incredible. In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth. Everything. There's nothing
that exists that's there apart from God. Things seen and unseen. It's this which drives the confession
of the Church. I believe in God the Father,
maker of heaven and earth. This is what we confess as God's
people. He made the world and all things
in it. By faith we understand it. Notice that specific procedure
in Hebrews 11.3. By faith we understand. We don't
come and first try to figure it all out and say, okay, I'm
going to believe now. No, it's by faith that we understand.
Scripture gives us the proper lens to interpret reality. It's Scripture that we ought
to utilize to interpret the world around us. It's not the other
way around. We don't try and interpret the world and then
argue to God. Remember that the Genesis 1.1
begins with God. It doesn't argue for God, doesn't
give us ten reasons why we ought to believe in God. It simply
assumes or presupposes God. In the beginning, God. He created
the heavens and the earth. That God is responsible for everything
that follows, not only in the Genesis account, but in the rest
of the Bible. Genesis 3.15 will be programmatic
after Adam and Eve plunge, or Adam plunges his posterity into
sin. God gives this promise in Genesis
3.15, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between
your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and
you shall bruise his heel. I don't think it's an understatement
to say that the rest of the Bible is commentary on Genesis 1 to
3. In other words, God made this world. He stationed Adam in it. He gave Adam a particular prohibition
that Adam disobeyed. As a result, Adam plunges his
posterity himself and his posterity into sin, and then God promises
a Redeemer. And the rest of Scripture fleshes
out the coming of that Redeemer. The rest of Scripture tells us
what Genesis 3.15 is all about. The very fact that he shall bruise
your head and you shall bruise his heel speaks of suffering. I would argue even death with
reference to the seed of the woman in order to bring about
this skull-crushing, decisive victory over the serpent himself
or over the devil. So Genesis 1 to 2.3 is a glorious
prologue to the rest of Scripture. Now, getting to Sabbath specifically,
in terms of the pattern for man. You know, we read this and we
say, well, I don't know if they would have figured out that they
should have Sabbathed. Well, remember, they would have
known that all too well because Moses wrote this. And, you know,
Steve just mentioned to me that he was, I told him what we're
going to be doing tonight. He said, oh, I just read Exodus
16. You know what's intriguing about Exodus 16? They Sabbathed. You know what's intriguing about
Exodus 16? It comes before Exodus 20. I know that's a breakthrough
of information for you tonight, but the argument that the Sabbath
was given at Sinai is untenable. The argument that the Sabbath
arose at Sinai is not biblical. In fact, it's interesting with
Genesis 4. At the end of days, these two
brothers brought their sacrifice to God. The new King James renders
it in the process of time. But the idea is at the end of
days, not at the end of the days of the earth, but probably at
the end of the days of the week. When would Cain and Abel bring
their sacrifice? It would be at the end of the
days of the week, right? It wouldn't be, you know, at
the end of all things, because they wouldn't be there. At the
end of the days of the week, they would bring their sacrifice.
Sabbath is built in. You see, God wrote the law on
our hearts, and this is the beauty of God's Word. It tells us that
man does not come from the hand of God as a blank slate. Man
came from the hand of God as a rational being. We saw that
last week. Adam didn't grunt and then put
together a few words, you know, go from this knuckle-dragging
Neanderthal, you know, I remember a farsighted cartoon where there's
cavemen sort of sitting around a fire and they're all putting
their you know they got meat and they're all putting their
hands in the fire to cook the meat and of course they're going
out and you know one caveman has a stick with meat on the
end and he's just sitting there roasting it and they're all going
hey maybe he's on to something there that's not what happened
Adam had the facility, competency, and ability to hear God, to speak
with God. There was no Neanderthal knuckle-dragging
stage of man where he grunted and groaned and pieced together
a few words and then started to write Shakespeare. No, he
comes from the hand of God as a rational, communicating being
that's able to hear data and able to act upon data. Presumably
up until the time that they take the fruit and plunge the race
into sin, or mankind into sin, there was just good converse
between God and Adam. It was a genuine temple. God,
man dwelling together in harmony, peace, and glory, and beauty.
So the idea is that these people would have known because they
already had Sabbath in place. Exodus 16, of course, Exodus
20. But notice, with reference to
the text itself, first of all, the close connection between
man as image of God and the rest of God. In other words, if God
rests, wouldn't it seem to follow that His image should rest? Especially
since God is creator and doesn't need rest. He doesn't weary.
He doesn't grow tired. He doesn't need naps. Where creature
does need rest. Creature does need naps. He does
need to refresh himself. So the close connection between
the statement concerning God creating man in His image, Genesis
1, 26 to 28, to the rest of God in Genesis 2, 2 and 3. Again,
it's not a specific proof text that says, well, because of that,
but certainly as early readers, they should have seen, well,
God rested, we should rest also. Wenham again says the seventh
day is the very first thing to be hallowed in Scripture, to
acquire that special status that properly belongs to God alone.
In this way, Genesis emphasizes the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Coupled with the threefold reference to God resting from all His work
on that day, these verses give the clearest of hints of how
man, created in the divine image, should conduct himself on the
seventh day. In other words, if God rests
on the seventh day and I bear God's image, what should I conclude? Well, I think I should rest on
the seventh day. Secondly, the reference to God's
work. Notice in verse 2, and on the
seventh day God ended his work which he had done. Again, Gordon
Wenham. He's got a great commentary on
the book of Genesis. Work occurs three times in verses
2 and 3. It is the ordinary word for human
work, and it is therefore a little unexpected that the extraordinary
divine activity involved in creating heaven and earth should be so
described. In other words, word that is
used for our work doing whatever mundane task. That's the word
that Moses utilizes here with reference to God having completed
His work. Wenham's drift. I mean, something
so amazing, you wouldn't communicate it by this sort of super ordinary
word, work. I mean, when you go to work tomorrow,
and you do what you do, and then you consider what God did when
he did, it's not the same, is it? You know, today, you could
look back and say, well, I had a pretty good day at work. And
then you think about God creating the heavens and the earth, and
you think, that's kind of not work in the same sort of sphere. Back to Wenham. He says, it is
therefore a little unexpected that the extraordinary divine
activity involved in creating heaven and earth should be so
described. It may be, as Westerman suggests, that this word has
been deliberately chosen to hint that man should stop his daily
work on the seventh day. In other words, if God stops
He finishes his work of creation in six days, and on the seventh
day his work is stopped, and he rests. What ought his image-bearers
to divine from such a reality? Thirdly, the presence in the
narrative, and we'll see those as we move on, of what's called
creation ordinances. There are things that are in
the creation account that aren't necessarily do this type of commands,
but are nevertheless commands. In other words, some have observed
what's called the creation ordinance of labor in Genesis 2.15. God makes Adam work. It's a beautiful thing. Why should
men work? Because God instituted it in
the garden. Even if Adam is functioning as
a priest to extend the garden temple, that's work. Just because
it's not farming doesn't mean it isn't work. Priestly work
is work. And so this is what's called
a creation ordinance. 2.15 doesn't say, hey, Adam,
I'm going to give you a command now, and I want you to take up
this hoe, and I want you to beat back the brush, and I want you
to extend the garden temple. Now, in a sense, that's what
God says to him, but the creation ordinance of labor is there.
Same thing with what's called the creation ordinance of marriage.
There's no command to Adam, hey Adam, I'm going to establish
this thing, the civil magistrate is going to look after, and you're
going to find a woman, you're going to put a ring on her finger,
you're going to kiss the bride, and you're going to... No, there's
no command, it just happens. There are certain things that
happen at creation in terms of ethics that aren't necessarily
an imperative the way that you and I would command our children
not to put their finger in a light socket or an electrical socket,
but they are commands nevertheless, and Sabbath is one of them. What
God does has imperatival function for the creature. In other words,
it comes to us as an imperative. When we see Creator rest on the
seventh day, we should rest on the seventh day. Fourthly, and
we've already observed this, the fourth commandment. The fourth
commandment gives the same language, the same idea. The day is remembered
and kept holy. So the same language that is
used by God in 2-3. God blessed the seventh day and
he sanctified it at Sinai. The Israelites are commanded
to keep the day holy. That means sanctify it. The reason
given for that Sabbath commandment at Sinai is creation. And it rings with or echoes with
what God does in 2-3. So there is this sort of command
function there latent in Genesis 2 and 3. And then I would suggest
Jesus' teaching in Mark chapter 2. You can turn there. Mark chapter
2, where Jesus gives us clear teaching. Matthew 12 is another
place, a parallel passage, but, you know, Mark, it comes out
in a particular way that I want to observe here. I would suggest this is divine
commentary by our Lord on the creation account. And in Mark
2 at verse 27. He said to them, the Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the
Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." Now, that is a packed
statement, and a most excellent statement. And I think what Jesus
has in mind here is Genesis 2. It's not Sinai, because Jesus
does not say the Sabbath was made for the Jew. If he said
the Sabbath was made for the Jew, that would reflect Sinai,
Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5, Plains of Moab. It would reflect the
Decalogue. But the language that Jesus uses,
the Sabbath was made for man, not Jew. Now, there's an article
with man. Literally, Sabbath was made for
the man. We could interpret it as Adam
or mankind in general. Either way, it functions the
same. If it's mankind in general, absolutely. If it's Adam, then
it's mankind in general. Because what God does for Adam
in the garden is paradigmatic or a pattern of how God deals
with creatures. So Jesus says the Sabbath was
made for man and not man for the Sabbath. The second observation
is that this isn't true because Jesus says it. In other words,
this idea of Sabbath having been made for man didn't become true
when Jesus pronounced this. Does everybody get that? It's
not true because Jesus says it in Mark 2. It's true because
of Genesis 2.3, and Jesus is simply commenting on that. So
I've mentioned before, in Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us that
Adam was a type of him who was to come. He always was, even
before Jesus came. You know, you go back to Isaiah's
day and you think about Adam as a type of Jesus, it might
be a bit confusing. But when Paul tells us that Adam
was a type of him who was to come, it's not true at the time
that Paul says it, it's true at the time that Adam was. Does
that make sense? It's true that the Sabbath was
made for man at Genesis 2, 1 to 3. Not in the life and ministry
of Jesus when He makes this pronouncement. It's always been the case since
the creation of the world that the Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath. It doesn't take on this made-for-man-ness
when Christ says it, but rather Jesus says it because it's true
from the beginning. It was made for man. Again, I
don't know how you can get around that. To suggest that Genesis
2, 1-3 is not an imperative for man really calls into question
Christ's commentary or interpretation. It was made for man and not man
for the Sabbath. What else do you do with that?
And he links this making of man and this making of Sabbath together. So it was the case that man was
made, Sabbath was made. Man wasn't made for the Sabbath,
but rather Sabbath was made for man. And again, that ought to
cause us to reflect on Genesis 2, 1 and 3, 1 to 3, not with
disdain. I don't get this. I was saved
by God's grace and went right into a reformed situation. I
never got this antipathy towards Sabbath keeping. I never understand
why Christians are given a gift by God and they don't want it.
To me, it's a blessed, beautiful, wonderful thing. The Sabbath
was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. God didn't say,
I'm going to make you Imago Dei and have you just observe Sabbath. No, I'm going to make you in
my image, and then I'm going to show you what it is to rest
on the seventh day. I'm going to bless the day, I'm
going to sanctify the day, and I'm going to tie it with a bow,
and I'm going to hand it to you. And then your posterity is going
to rise up and say, oh no, we don't have to keep the Sabbath.
Oh no, the Sabbath isn't abiding for us. Oh no, we got to keep
nine of the ten commandments, but no Sabbath commandment. Where's
the antipathy? Why do we have such animosity
toward a good gift that God gives us? We weren't made for Sabbath
compliance. The Sabbath was made as a gift
given by God to His creatures. It's a beautiful thing. Why do
we complain? Why do we resist? Why do we say,
no, I don't want it? Or why do we dispensationalize
it and say, well, no, the commands were given to the Jews and they're
not for us. Again, we see all 10 commandments
prior to Sinai. We're going to see that as we
move through the book of Genesis. Why does God rain hell down on
Sodom and Gomorrah if there were no 10 commandments? Why does
God tell Cain, or why does Cain rather, know that he is worthy
of capital punishment? Because God made us in his image
and he put his law in our heart. And Romans chapter 1 tells us
that sinners know that God is, they know His eternal power,
and they know His Godhead, and they know, 132, that it's righteous
with God to judge sinners. We know that because we're created
in His image and we have His law written on our hearts. We're
going to see the Ten Commandments fleshed out prior to Sinai. Sinai isn't a brand new thing
in terms of law. Sinai is a codification, Sinai
is a summary, Sinai is a writing on tablets, what was already
given by God. As John Lightfoot said, Adam
had the same law in the garden that Israel receives at Sinai,
yet without the thunder and without the lightning. Same law. All
those things are present prior to Sinai. So Jesus' argument
is the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.
Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath. Intriguing
that he calls himself here Son of Man. Sabbath made for man,
Adam. Adam plunges posterity into sin. Son of man, Jesus Christ, comes
and he will take that plunged posterity in Adam and bring many
sons to glory. And in this particular situation,
Christ holds forth the Sabbath as a good thing given by God
for man. Royal says, God made it for Adam
in paradise and renewed it to Israel on Mount Sinai. It was
made for all mankind, not for the Jew only, but for the whole
family of Adam. And I would suggest any theology
of the Sabbath that does not begin in Genesis chapter 2, verses
1 to 3, is a defective theology of the Sabbath. This is the problem
of dispensationalism. This is the problem of New Covenant
theology. This is the problem of all non-reform
Covenant theology approaches to the Bible. You end up dissecting
the Scripture and applying things here and applying things there
and moving it over here and suggesting things like some do. Well, you
know, nine of the Ten Commandments are for us because they're repeated
in the New Testament. Well, brethren, if it's not repeated
in the New Testament but never done away with, we assume it's
binding. We don't conclude, well, therefore
it's no longer for us. And the three texts that everybody
stumbles on, Romans 14, Galatians 4, and Colossians 2, do not invalidate
the moral principle of the fourth commandment. It is overly simplistic
to see Paul there saying something about a day and concluding that
I can do whatever I want after I engage in my obligatory morning
worship, the rest of the day is up to me. Brethren, that is
to take the gift of God and say, you know what, Lord? I don't
want it. I know better what is good for me, and I'm going to
reject and resist it. And then I'm going to get really,
really sly and develop a theology that fits that particular model.
No, Reformed or Covenant theology looks at the entirety of Scripture
and yields things like what we have in our Confession of Faith.
It's a beautiful statement. From the beginning of the world
to the Resurrection, it was the seventh day. From the Resurrection
of Christ to the end of the world, it's the first day. And there's
reasons for that. We simply don't have time. I
would encourage you to come. You know, we just actually went
through Sabbath in our Confession study, so it'll be another, what,
25? Another year, not years, 25 years,
but we're going to be in chapter 28. So we got to come all the
way back around to chapter 22. Actually, we don't have to do
that. You can go on sermon audio. We dealt with, I think, four
messages on the Sabbath. So it's not like, wow, we never
talk about this. Some of you are probably saying
that's all we ever talk about. It really isn't. The confession,
we do go through that every other week. We deal with the doctrines,
and it's a good thing. I think getting that doctrine
into the matter of our soul, the marrow of our soul is a good
thing for us. But there are reasons why the
day changed, and we can argue that. later on or at another
place or another juncture, you can listen to the messages there
on Sermon Audio. But the point is, is that Sabbath
did not originate at Sinai. Sabbath originated at creation
with the Creator, who gives us this pattern of Himself in verse
2, and then He takes pains, not pains literally, but He blesses
and He sanctifies the day, not first and foremost for his own
benefit. Certainly there's symbol, certainly
he's enthroned, certainly cosmic creator is over the cosmos, and
he's ruling, and he's reigning, and he's governing, and he's
doing all that sort of thing, but he's doing this for the good
of the creature. He blesses it, he sanctifies it, and he shows
by his own practice and habit what his creature is supposed
to do. I think if we get this, and I
think if we develop, by the grace of God, a high regard for the
Sabbath, I think it does reflect well, not only on us seeking
to honor God, but on the knowledge of the Scripture. The Bible is
clear on these things. It's not, wow, I can't piece
it all together. It's pretty clear. who've gone
through the Confession on a few occasions or read books on the
Sabbath, it's not this outlandish thing. You know, 200 years ago,
everybody just believed this. It was dispensationalism that
carved up the Bible. It was dispensationalism, you
know, in the 1830s that said, oh no, the Decalogue is for the
Jews. It has no bearing for the Gentile
church. Well, come on. How do you maintain
that in light of the New Testament? What shall we say then? Shall
we nullify the law, destroy the law? No, rather we establish
the law, Romans 3.31. When Paul wants to define what
love looks like, where does he go? To a Gentile church, he goes
to the Decalogue. I mean, brethren, this idea that
the Ten Commandments were for the Jews, and this Gentile sort
of phase of the Church doesn't have the Ten... It's just nonsensical. It is not biblical. It is unfortunate that so many
have been duped by that system and just swallow it wholesale.
Now, to the credit of, you know, the modern DSPI teachers, they
say, well, nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated. Thankfully, I'm
glad that they're inconsistent and they'll at least hold out
to us that we can't commit adultery. I mean, that's nice of them,
isn't it? You know, I mean, they parent or they go to the tax,
Romans 6, 14. We're not under law, but we're under grace. That
can't mean I can go commit murder or adultery. It can't mean that.
Does it? No! We're not under law as a
covenant of works. We're not under law as a straightjack. We're not under law as an approach
to God. We're under grace. But that doesn't
mean we get rid of the law. The law has a function within
the context of the Christian life. Now, having said all this,
something as offensive as resisting, rejecting, and throwing away
the gift is a Pharisaic approach to the Sabbath. Where did Jesus
throw down more often than not with the Pharisees? It was on
the Sabbath. Because they were fastidious. They were legalistic. They were
of the school, well, man was made for the Sabbath. God made
man in his image so that he could obey the Sabbath. Jesus says,
no, that's not the way it's supposed to be. So a high regard for the
Christian Sabbath ought never to lead us to a Pharisaic finger-wagging,
pointing down our noses at everybody else, and holding ourselves up
as if we're the high and lofty and holy one. Now certainly,
we want to esteem the day, we want to seek by the grace of
God to keep it in our own lives and in our own conduct, But we
better watch against this whole idea of a checklist morality
and this approach to judging everybody who doesn't do things
the way that we do them. Jesus had very harsh words for
the Pharisees of his own day when it came to that approach
to the Sabbath. So those are some thoughts on
Genesis 1 or 2, 1 to 3. God willing, in two weeks, nobody's
going to show up next Wednesday night. If you do, it's on you.
But in two weeks, we'll start looking at the Garden of Eden.
Well, how about if I close in a word of prayer? Father, thank
you for your Word and thank you for this great section of Holy
Scripture and the consistency that we find from Genesis to
Revelation. We ask that you would help us
in our Sabbath ethic, help us to see the benefit, to see the
gift character of it. Help us to see that it was not
us made for it, but it made for us. And may we see it as a great
blessing in our lives to cease and desist from our own things,
our own thoughts, our own works, and to rest in our God on the
day that he is blessed, on the day that he is sanctified. We
pray that you would go with us now, bring us together on the
Lord's day, that we may worship you, that we may praise and honor
and glorify you. And we ask through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
