2026 Pentecost Devotions I
Wednesday, May 27
Genesis 2:1-2:4a
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their multitude. 2 On the sixth day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.
4a These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
“… So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. …”
It’s apparent from Scripture that this passage is the foundation of the commandment about keeping Sabbath. As God rested on the seventh day, so the people of Israel were to rest on the seventh day. For the Hebrew people, that was Saturday. Pushing that forward into Christianity, it became Sunday because that was the day of Jesus’ resurrection and the designated day for worship.
The problem, of course, is that most scholars date the writing of the Creation story in Genesis 1 to a time later than the giving of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. In other words, which came first, the commandment to keep the sabbath or the image of God resting on the sabbath?
Obviously, there is no clear answer. What is apparent is that the people of Israel regarded the resting of God, whether in written or oral form, as a basis for the commandment to keep the sabbath. It finds its way into the explanation of the commandment both in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, both from the Torah.
What we make of this today reminds us that God’s intent was to provide one day of rest amid the seven-day week. Obviously, the foundation of that command is rooted in God’s love and care for God’s people. So, whether it’s Saturday or Sunday or another day, God’s command from the beginning was to set aside at least one day a week aside to rest from your labors. After all, that’s what God did.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of sabbath – a day of rest. Remind me that this is Your gift to us, revealing Your steadfast love and care for Your people. Inspire me to observe it this week and always. Amen.