In Genesis 2:2, we read how God ended His work and rested. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart for rest. Jesus tells us the Sabbath was made for man, and He is the Lord of the Sabbath. The writers to the Hebrews and of Revelation also speak of rest. Today let us consider the Sabbath of Creation, the rest of Jesus and the rest of eternity.
The Sabbath of Creation
God built rest into creation by His own example. When He was satisfied with His work, He blessed the seventh day, and set it apart for rest. Then He rested. But it didn’t stop here. He used His finger to carve it into the Law of Moses. In Exodus 20, verses 8,9,10, and 11 are all assigned to the topic of rest. As God instructed Moses in the Law, He also included seasons of rest for man and the land, the gift of physical rest.
The Rest of Jesus
When Jesus ministered, the lawgivers scrutinized His every move. One Sabbath while walking through a grainfield, His disciples plucked the grain to eat causing a commotion among the Pharisees. Jesus referred them to King David and also to the priests who desecrated the Sabbath, and remained blameless. Jesus said, “In this place there is One greater than the temple.” Then He says, “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” “Come to Me, I will give you rest,” is His invitation to “those who labor and are heavy-laden.” He offers spiritual rest.
The Rest of Eternity
There was the rest of creation, and the rest of Jesus, but we read in Hebrews 4 and Revelation 14, of another rest. “There remains a promise of entering His rest.” “We who have believed do enter that rest.” Yet still he speaks of another. “There remains therefore, a rest for the people of God.” When we enter this rest, we cease from work as God did. The apostle John writes in revelation 14:13, “Blessed are the dead who die in the LORD from now on. “Yes” says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Today we have considered the Sabbath of Creation, the rest of Jesus, and the rest of eternity. May we find our rest in Him today who this Giver of rest: our physical rest, our spiritual rest and our eternal rest.