YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

It had been a busy week. God had just competed six most productive and gratifying days. Everything in creation finished out to be exactly like He thought it would . . . and on schedule. Think about it. Never has so much been accomplished in such a short period of time. If you had created the universe, stars, planets, suns, moon, the earth, oceans, trees, grass, flowers, sea life, birds of every kind, animals and critters, and a man and woman in six days, wouldn’t you have a great feeling of satisfaction? Would you want a day off? Wouldn’t you want time to celebrate and enjoy it?

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning - the sixth day.

“Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And 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 1:31-2:3, NIV).

God celebrated the completion of a work that didn't have to be repeated, revised, or repaired. Not only did God have heaven to enjoy with the Word, all of the angels, now He had this newly created universe and the beautiful planet called Earth to feast His eyes on. It was a sight to behold and He was ready to stop and enjoy what He created. The sun set at the end of the sixth day and a Divine Rest began - the first Sabbath. It was time to celebrate human beginnings.

The seventh day is a memorial of creation that we celebrate every Sabbath. How do you think God celebrated this first Sabbath? He could hold a Bible Study and instruct the two people He had just created. They could sing songs of praise. He could walk by the streams and see the fish He had made, rub the ears of a dog, or pet a lamb. He could pick a peach off a tree and eat it or have a cold drink of great-tasting water from a brook. But the Bible doesn't tell us what God did on this first Sabbath other than He rested and was refreshed.

This was the Garden of Eden. It was the most beautiful and tranquil place on earth. Surely spending a Sabbath here where the temperature was perfect, the company was delightful, and the scenery awesome would have been a Divine Rest. How could it get any better? Even God was refreshed from His Sabbath rest.

Do you look upon the Sabbath as a day of can't dos? Have you felt that the Sabbath day prevents you from doing what you really want to do by placing arbitrary restrictions on you? If the
Almighty was refreshed from resting on the Sabbath after a busy week, what makes you think that you, a mere human being, won't benefit from having a day of rest? God gives us 24 hours each week to sleep, enjoy His awesome creation, allow our minds to feast on His Word, and to become just a little more like Him. We too can be refreshed as God was every seventh day.

There was nothing about God's creation that was arbitrary. It was all done with a well-thought out plan and a goal in mind. Keeping the Sabbath holy has long term and short term benefits for you. Isaiah 58:13-14 says, "If you keep the Sabbath holy, not having your own fun and business on that day, but enjoying the Sabbath and speaking of it with delight as the Lord's holy day, and honoring the Lord in what you do, not following your own desires and pleasure, nor talking idly - then the Lord will be your delight, and I will see to it that you ride high, and get your full share of the blessings I promised to Jacob, your father. The Lord has spoken" (TLB).

Are you tired of always playing second fiddle or maybe feeling like a second class citizen? Do you want a competitive edge in life? God says that if you'll keep the Sabbath day holy, He will "see to it that you ride high, and get your full share of the blessings." Sin always has consequences, and rewards follow obedience. Adam and Eve were given a choice. You too are faced with a choice if you will keep the Sabbath holy.

Playing ball on the Sabbath or going to the senior prom is very tempting. It looks as good as the forbidden fruit on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But never forget, Adam and Eve's world drastically changed for the worse because they made the wrong choice. If you haven't already, you'll soon be faced with a job decision of whether or not you'll work on the Sabbath. Again, the money you get from doing this may be as tempting as the forbidden fruit was to Eve. She never considered that she and Adam would get kicked out of the Garden of Eden and that she and every woman after her would experience painful childbirth because of her sin. Remember to count the cost before you choose to break God's Sabbath.

God created the Sabbath day out of love for you. Jesus, our Creator, is "the Lord of the Sabbath" (Luke 6:5). And He said, "The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). This rest is a gift to you - not just any seventh day, but the seventh day. Do you love God enough to set aside just one day in seven to spend additional time in prayer with Him, study His Word, and become more like Him? Choose right and enjoy the benefits!