The Seventh Day

At the end of the narrative of the sixth day, the Word says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude."  (Genesis 2:1).  It is all done.  Completed.  But, wait.  As we listen to the record of the seventh day we are surprised.  Apparently, what was declared finished is not yet finished.  There are a few finishing touches.  "And on the seventh day God finished the work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all the work He had done."  (Genesis 2:2). Interesting stuff.  Sent me to a commentary for some more insight.  Seems that finished could be translated "ended" which clears some of the linguistic dust.   

The bottom line of the seventh day is threefold.  One, the work of Creation was finished though there is a sense in which it is never finished.  Finished and not finished sounds a lot like the way God works.  Secondly, the seventh day was a day of rest.  Rest is as much a part of creation as work.  Here on the farm winter comes across not as season when things have died, but a season when the creation is resting.  Thirdly, in a manner unlike any other day, God blessed and hallowed the seventh day.  The seventh day is to be viewed differently and lived differently.     

How to live on the seventh day has been an issue through many generations.  We have gone from the "Blue Laws" which were in place in my childhood to the "Anything Goes" of the current era.  Each represents an extreme.  The seventh day at its core is a reminder that life within the creation is a thing of balance.  Ignoring the need for balance in our lives is something we do at our own peril.