The Sabbath #24 – A Memorial to Creation

by Kelly McDonald, Jr.

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3).

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11).

When it comes to the Sabbath, we often discuss the need to abstain from work, rest, spend time with family, and gather with other believers. And we should continue to do these things.

What is often neglected in this conversation is that the Sabbath is a memorial to creation and the creator.

In Exodus 20:8-11, when God reminded the children of Israel about the Sabbath, He pointed back to Creation.

As discussed in Sabbath Meditation #22, humans have filled their lives with inventions in which we take delight. When the Sabbath was first given, humanity only had the delight of God’s creation. In fact, Eden means delight. The Seventh Day serves as an eternal memorial to that “very good” work of HIS.

Reminders of Him surrounded Adam and Eve. They still surround us.

I encourage you to incorporate an appreciation for God’s creation into your Sabbath observance. Look beyond the man-made world to those things which God made of His own sovereignty.

“For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands” (Psalm 92:4).

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).

Often the man-made world covers up or distracts us from the God-made world. But remember that even most things in the man-made world were made from those things which God originally created.

Selah.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org