Genesis 2:3 “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.”
Notice God blessed a specific time, the day that marked the completion of creation. As the sun moon and stars were set as signs for days and months and seasons and years, so the Sabbath was made to be the sign that marks the rhythm of the weekly cycle. The blessing God put in the seventh day Sabbath comes with sanctification, which means that God made the seventh day holy and set it apart for a sacred purpose.
The first and second times God blessed, His blessings were directed to His mindful creatures as commands. He gave His third blessing to an inanimate, mindless, non-material dimension, and perhaps for that reason no command is expressed in the text. It makes sense however, that this blessing, like the first two, when brought into relation with mankind, would include a commandment. God blessed the seventh day so it would be a blessing to everyone who passes through it. But what good is a gift if you don’t even know it’s there? That is why God tells us from the get-go about the blessing of holiness that He put in the seventh day. What good is a check if you never cash it? If your best friend were to present you with a lineup of seven boxes and say “I put something special for you inside the seventh one,” would you keep lifting the other boxes and refuse to open the last one? Or would you throw the seventh box away? Don’t despise or neglect the blessing of holiness in the seventh day! God put it there for you!
The first and second times God blessed, His blessings were directed to His mindful creatures as commands. He gave His third blessing to an inanimate, mindless, non-material dimension, and perhaps for that reason no command is expressed in the text. It makes sense however, that this blessing, like the first two, when brought into relation with mankind, would include a commandment. God blessed the seventh day so it would be a blessing to everyone who passes through it. But what good is a gift if you don’t even know it’s there? That is why God tells us from the get-go about the blessing of holiness that He put in the seventh day. What good is a check if you never cash it? If your best friend were to present you with a lineup of seven boxes and say “I put something special for you inside the seventh one,” would you keep lifting the other boxes and refuse to open the last one? Or would you throw the seventh box away? Don’t despise or neglect the blessing of holiness in the seventh day! God put it there for you!
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