Genesis 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see the ordering of the kingdom of nature, as God rests from the work of creation (Genesis 2:1, Genesis 2:2). The creatures made in heaven and on earth are called the hosts, or armies, of God. That means they are many, but also well ordered, trained, and under command. How great is their number, and yet each one knows its place.

God uses these hosts for the protection of his people and the defeat of his enemies, for he is the Lord of hosts, ruler over all these armies (Daniel 4:35). The heavens and the earth are finished works, and so are all the creatures in them. God’s work is so complete that nothing can be added to it or taken from it (Ecclesiastes 3:14). The God who began the work showed that he was fully able to finish it.

After the end of the first six days, God stopped his work of creation. In his providence, his wise rule and care, he still works always (John 5:17), preserving and governing all creatures, and especially forming the human spirit within us. Yet he does not make new kinds of creatures. In miracles, he has controlled nature and overruled it, but he has never changed its settled order or added to its basic rules.

The eternal God, though perfectly happy in himself, still took delight in the work of his hands. He did not rest because he was tired, but because he was pleased with the good he had done and the glory he had shown.

This also marks the beginning of the kingdom of grace, seen in the setting apart of the sabbath day (Genesis 2:3). God rested on that day and delighted in his creatures. Then he made that day holy and appointed us to rest on it and delight in the Creator. In the fourth commandment, his rest is given as the reason for ours after six days of labor.

The solemn keeping of one day in seven, as a day of holy rest and holy work for God’s honor, is a duty for all to whom God has revealed his holy sabbaths. This way of keeping the sabbath is the good old way (Jeremiah 6:16). Sabbaths are as old as the world, and there is good reason to think that the sabbath, first appointed in innocence, was kept by God’s people throughout the patriarchal age.

The sabbath of the Lord is truly honorable, and we have reason to honor it. We should honor it because of its age, its great Author, and the way the holy God himself first set it apart. We should also honor it because our first parents kept it in innocence in obedience to him. The sabbath is a blessed day, because God blessed it, and what he blesses is truly blessed. He has honored it, called us to bless him on it, and promised to meet with us and bless us on that day.

It is also a holy day, because God sanctified it. He set it apart from the rest of the days of the week and consecrated it to himself, for his service and honor. Many Christians believe that the sabbath we observe, counted from creation, is not the seventh day but the first day of the week. Still, since it is a seventh day, and since on it we celebrate the rest of God the Son and the finishing of the work of our redemption, we may and ought to trust this original sabbath appointment. We should also remember the work of creation and honor the great Creator, who deserves blessing, honor, and praise from all worshiping assemblies on that day.