Genesis – First, God
We all know how it feels when a plan comes together, when a task is completed, when the project we worked on for months finally comes to an end. Our first thought after completion is usually rest. We pause life for a while and begin to reflect on how it all came together. Where do we get that inclination to rest and reflect? From God…of course!
Genesis 2
Heaven and Earth were finished,
down to the last detail.
2-4 By the seventh day God had finished his work.
On the seventh day
he rested from all his work.
God blessed the seventh day.
He made it a Holy Day
Because on that day he rested from his work,
all the creating God had done.
This is the story of how it all started,
of Heaven and Earth when they were created.
Adam and Eve
5-7 At the time God made Earth and Heaven, before any grasses or shrubs had sprouted from the ground—God hadn’t yet sent rain on Earth, nor was there anyone around to work the ground (the whole Earth was watered by underground springs)—God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!8-9 Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.
10-14 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.15 God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order.
16-17 God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”
18-20 God said, “It’s not good for the Man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.” So God formed from the dirt of the ground all the animals of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the Man to see what he would name them. Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name. The Man named the cattle, named the birds of the air, named the wild animals; but he didn’t find a suitable companion.
21-22 God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.
23-25 The Man said,
“Finally! Bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh!
Name her Woman
for she was made from Man.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh.
The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.
HOLY PAUSE
God continues to work. The Psalms says “he never sleeps”. He is always watching over us. Those words were written after the fall of Adam and Eve. Everything changes after the fall. At this point, all is well.Rest and reflection for us now means we must take time to recenter our focus on God, not on what we’ve done. Our imperfect lives are in constant renewal, refocus, refreshment in our relationship with God who gives purpose, inviting us to His work to save mankind from the sin that destroys us.
We must reflect and realize how much we are loved and how much more we need to love others like He loves us. God makes us holy. Only God.
What does God want? First question of each day. What does God want from me? What is God’s best for me?
Where does He want me to be?
Who does He want me to relate to today? What is His message that I need to tell today?
How does He want me to grow? Am I willing to keep growing in Him? Am I ready to obey…heart, mind and soul?
Am I ashamed of my sin and ready to ask forgiveness to be freed from it?
Do I see Him at work and praise Him with thanksgiving and awe in my heart? Who gets the credit for the work completed?
How grateful and blessed am I? Does it show in my behavior?
THIS is rest and reflection for us.God rested on the seventh day…He made it a Holy Day…And so should we for we are made in His image, in the image of God we are made.
In Jesus Name, Amen
*As we follow Jesus one day at a time, He will keep us in the center of God’s will. Real Christianity is not merely a religion; it is a relationship with a Person. That Person is Jesus.
God’s Holy Spirit is our Teacher and will lead us into an intimate relationship with the God of Creation, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)
