Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians

The Beginnings of All Things Created
Lesson 14

The Institution of Sabbath,
the Seventh Holy Day of Rest

Works by the LORD GOD are done in His Time and in His Way, and there will be a conclusion to that Work. His Works have a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion.....and that conclusion occurs when the Works comes to the place of absolute perfection in time and place. Works of the LORD GOD, starting from the tiniest of things, and growing to the miraculous magnitude of finished Works of the LORD GOD, deserve to be considered and celebrated in holiness.

The Seventh Day is designated as a holy day of rest for that very reason. It is a time, a place, and a way for the men of the LORD GOD to consider with Him, the greatness of His Works.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31 AV)

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Genesis 2:1-3 AV)

The seventh day does not only describe the common known twenty four hour period, but also denotes the seventh space of time of the movements of the LORD GOD during His Creation. Each Day of Creation represents a specific creation act of the LORD GOD, and is used to help us understand His Works deeply.

Remember.....we're speaking not of a twenty-four hour period, but of a specific time where a specific action of Creation was started and completed by the LORD GOD. Notice how the LORD GOD does not create His Works in one time period, but rather in six time periods. Each time period Work is different in nature from every other time period Work. Each time period Work builds on the results of the last time period of Work.

The end of each time period of Work is not known by the LORD GOD until he reaches that place where he observes that His Work is good. The first time period of Work starts with the LORD GOD's contemplation and the last time period of Work ending in the creation of man in His Image, increasing His Glory and establishing His Preeminence, Omnipotence and Omniscience of the great I AM, the LORD our GOD.

When the sixth time period was over, and the LORD GOD saw that His Works had glorified Him and had realized the Perfect Will of His, He declared the work very good, and established a holy day of rest.

This pattern that the LORD GOD established in His Works of Creation is the same pattern exhibited over and over in His Word, when His Works are created. The Works of the LORD GOD are not created instantly in some magical and awe-inspiring bang. They began from His Thoughts and Will and develop in distinct time periods, one upon another, until the Works comes back to Him in glory, through their growth.

This pattern is important to all Christians who are doing Works of the LORD GOD through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christians must know that the Works don't start out big, grand and complete. They start out just as His Work of Creation started, with an idea, a contemplation, an expansion, a gathering together, a making, an allowance of growth, an observation of that growth, and the making perfect of those results.

Just as a tree starts out as a seed, and grows deep roots, and becomes green, and then finally produces fruit, so goes the Works of the LORD GOD, when He does them on His own, and when He does them through a faithful Christian. It is His Way.

Oftentimes, a Christian pretender will try to fool people by quickly producing magnificent results to awe their followers and make them believe that he has the power of God Himself. Sometimes, a young Christian or a tired preacher will think they are unworthy to do God's Works because they measure their success of accomplishment to a pretend Christian's performance.

The truth of God's Works is this...He has a specific pattern of initiating and accomplishing His Works. As Christians study His Word, they are able to develop the ability to feel this timing of God. It is as if a Christian has a spiritual clock placed inside him by God, and each effort required of them by Him to complete a Work is paced naturally according to His Will.

If it took six time periods for the LORD GOD to create His Works, and this same pattern can be seen over and over throughout His Word, then it stands to reason that a Christian is not about to perform even one of His Works in one time period! All Works of the LORD GOD are done in accordance with His timing and His pattern!

Understanding the timing and pattern of the LORD GOD's Works, allows us to have deep knowledge concerning the seventh time period that He established as a day of rest and holiness. It is important to keep this in mind, as you progress in the studies of the Seventh Day of Rest.

Just through the use of this specific word, we can visualize the great awe and wonder that God felt toward His creation. To cause such an intense response, we can know that the LORD GOD did not fully imagine the greatness His Creation would become from the first moments of light being shined on His precious Waters. It was a process, that developed and became in His time.

This word describing this intense blessing is first used when God created life for the first time after the pattern of evolution, and then again after He created man in the Image of Him. Both times, the use of this word shows the intensity of great affection that God felt for His creation. On the seventh day of rest, the LORD GOD once again felt that overwhelming feeling of love and esteem for the Creation He had completed, and honored all of His Work with His Blessing.

Works by the LORD GOD are done in His Time and in His Way, and there will be a conclusion to that Work. His Works have a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion.....and that conclusion occurs when the Works comes to the place of absolute perfection in time and place. Works of the LORD GOD, starting from the tiniest of things, and growing to the miraculous magnitude of finished Works of the LORD GOD, deserve to be considered and celebrated in holiness.

The Seventh Day is designated as a holy day of rest for that very reason. It is a time, a place, and a way for the people of the LORD GOD to consider with Him, the greatness of His Works.

This holy contemplation blesses the LORD GOD and gives glory to Him, and is the way that men of God can truly thank Him and experience the awe and wonderment for all His great Works that He has made.

That act of holy consideration of the LORD GOD’s Works is the way He knows how much you consider Him, love Him, and value Him. It is impossible to love the LORD GOD deeply, if you do not consider His Works in the holiness and reverence of a special day He has set aside, and declared holy, for this very purpose. The Seventh Day is the day to consider, contemplate, honor and bless the LORD GOD for all of His Work, because that is what He proclaimed the Seventh Day to be.

This Seventh Day of Holy rest, to allow contemplation of the His glorious Works was so important to Him, that He established it even further by including it in one of His Ten Commandments...

“1 ¶ And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20:1-11 AV)

A graven image is an idol made by a person that is regarded with reverence. A likeness is a phantom or a pretend portion of a real thing. The LORD GOD Wills that His People worship and serve His complete Divine Being. He does not want His people diluting His omnipotence by taking just a piece of Him, forming it into an idol, and calling it their God in representation of Him. He does not want His people making an idol of anything that He has created and offer their worship and servitude to it. He is a LORD GOD to His people that is to be worshipped and served in His completeness, without regard for any other thing that exists.

The LORD GOD demands His people to uphold His Name, His Honor, His Authority and His Character. To do this, requires God’s People to reject all things and all people who would falsely try to make Him to be less than He is in any way. This includes improper use of His formal name JEHOVAH, irreverent references to his common name LORD and GOD, as well as the misuse of words against His Being and the characteristics that are uniquely His alone, such as His Spirits, His holiness, His omnipotence and His omniscience.

When the LORD GOD gave these commandments to His People, He was telling them what actions were necessary by them to declare and acknowledge Him as their LORD GOD. This is important....
To be a god requires a divine and mighty rule
To be a subject requires the relinquishment of control in servitude

If they did not do these things He commanded, then He would not be their LORD GOD. He told all of His people.......Know Him by the Works He has done for them. I am you LORD GOD....and I will be your only LORD GOD....don’t be having any other gods....I am your ONLY LORD GOD. Don’t try to make any graven image......don’t take my name lightly and make it a nothingness.......

KEEP THE SABBATH DAY HOLY.......CONSIDER MY WORKS! The Seventh Day is the day for you to remember me and love me and give me glory for all that I have done for you.

There can be no doubt to the LORD GOD's intent when he instituted and commanded the Sabbath Day of Holy Rest. There can be no doubt as to why He did this because He links it to the seventh day of creation, and His Creation Works. There can be no doubt as to the blessings given by the LORD GOD for the Holy Sabbath Day, and the holiness of it, as a result of being hallowed by Him.

The LORD GOD has made specific provisions for His people to care for them on the Holy Day of Sabbath Rest. His efforts to provide for His people on this Holy Seventh Day are specifically addressed to Israel as they wandered through the wilderness for forty years. This portion of Scripture captures the provisions and expectations of the LORD GO so precisely, that we have included it here in it's entirety, and follow it with several key points gained from this Scripture.

“1 ¶ And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: 3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. 4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. 5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. 6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: 7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? 8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. 9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. 10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.”

“13 ¶ And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. 17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. 18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. 19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. 20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. 21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.”

“22 ¶ And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. 24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. 25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field. 26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. 28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”

“32 ¶ And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. 34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.” (Exodus 16:1-35 AV)

“7 ¶ Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

“4:1 ¶ Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 ¶ Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:7-4:11 AV)

As in all things established by the LORD GOD, the Seventh Day of Rest that He instituted is implemented deeply in the greater scheme of His Will. As we see in Hebrews 3:7-4:11, the Day of Rest is spoken of in terminology that at first glance seems different in application. Careful study and contemplation of this Scripture, reveals a wonderful and glorious mystery given to His people that is based solely on the Seventh Day of Rest. Through this Scripture, we are allowed to see the final development of the Seventh Day of Rest. We are blessed to see the beginning, the middle and the promised end to one of the Instituted Wills of the LORD GOD.

We want to once again remind you that Heaven is not the end of the LORD GOD's reign. The present Heaven and Earth will be ending, and a new Heaven and Earth will be established by the LORD GOD. At a future point, the new earth will have the Israelite nation, (Jews) full participation, as we will learn in future studies. It is vitally important that you understand this point...

Jews will never be allowed to go to the present day Heaven, because it is a place of "rest" that the LORD GOD has sworn to keep them away from as a result of their refusal to understand His Ways.

So we have come full circle...the Institution of the Sabbath Day of Rest that we celebrate every seventh day will be implemented in our future as the "rest" we will receive in Heaven for a time as God's Will unfolds on the present earth. Faithful Christians have a place of "rest" waiting for them, prepared and sanctified by the LORD GOD for the purpose of giving them "rest" from the Works of the LORD GOD they accomplished while alive. He desires that His people have the same opportunity to revel in the glory of His Works, that He had at the conclusion of His six days of creation. It is the holiness of the Seventh Day, that was hallowed by the LORD GOD that allows us to have a place prepared for us in Heaven where we can "rest" before the new heaven and earth are established. Praise be to God!

This concludes the study of "The Beginnings of All Things Created." We hope you have received as much enlightenment from this new study as we have been given. We pray that you have received a big glimpse of the glorified holiness of our LORD GOD, and that you are able to praise and worship Him with the free giving of your soul that He deserves. We also hope that you are able to grasp and understand His Nature and Ways, allowing you to walk closer toward Him as a result.

THE LORD GOD is bigger than a television, bigger than a church, bigger than a city and bigger than the earth. People of this world try to encapsulate Him as a tiny being, ready to fulfill their every desire as long as they rub His bottle the right way through promises of being good. Contrary to popular belief, He does not help you cross a busy street, he does not reward good behavior with lotto tickets, he does not make the football fly over the goalposts in the last seconds of a game.
The LORD GOD does not sit in the heavens like some fabled Greek gods, and manipulate human lives in some sort of controlling game. He is not an old grandpa ready to give you hugs when you need them, and He is not the agent of death that sucks the life out of innocent people.

You must know the LORD GOD before you can love Him...He is worthy of your complete love through your soul, your heart and your mind. Through His blessings of guiding you through this study, you have been given a new love that most can never possess. Hold that graced filled love tightly, and allow it to grow, as He guides you further into His Mysteries and Things He Wills you to know.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...Praise Him all ye creatures here below...Praise Him above ye heavenly host...Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Cite Article Source

MLA Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L. "The Institution of Sabbath, the Seventh Holy Day of Rest." The Beginnings of All Things Created Jan 2005.   <http://www.guidedbiblestudies.com/002rest14.htm>.

APA Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L. (2005, January) "The Institution of Sabbath, the Seventh Holy Day of Rest." The Beginnings of All Things Created Retrieved   from http://www.guidedbiblestudies.com/002rest14.htm

Chicago Style Citation:
McFarland, Kathy L. (2005) "The Institution of Sabbath, the Seventh Holy Day of Rest." The Beginnings of All Things Created (January), http://www.guidedbiblestudies.com/002rest14.htm (accessed )

About the Author

Kathy L. McFarland is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and Author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She is a Religious Studies student of Liberty University, Hebrew language student attending Israeli taught Ulpan and a Homeschool parent teaching the things of God. She is also well-known as a child advocate of innocent children tortured and suffering from the abuse of sexual perversion, out-of-control violence, and pathetic neglect by a carnal world gone mad.

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