Genesis 2:2-3

"And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation" (Genesis 2:2-3 RSV).

 

Question:

Please explain the metaphysical meaning of the word rest. God is omnipotent to rest. I have family going to a Sabbath church. I want to know how to interpret this verse. I have seen Col. 2:16-17.

Comment:

I have written often about the spiritual significance of the number 7. From this citation in Genesis all the way through to the final chapter of Revelation, there is an underlying recognition that the creative work that God seeks to do as us has a rhythm that corresponds to the number 7. Metaphysically, these seven 'days' of creation are, in fact, seven steps. 'Time' as we define it does not exist in the Omnipresence of the Divine, so we're not (necessarily) dealing with 24-hour units of time. The significance of the seventh day is that rest is an essential final step in the creative process. It brings the first six stages to completion. It can certainly be useful as an affirmation of the power of creation to mark the seventh day of each week as a period of rest. But, as Paul makes clear in Colossians, the Power lies in us, not in the observance.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed