So far I am trying to think about and invite the Spirit to teach me what the Word of God says on this. I found 3 passages that seem crucial to me:
Before the fall in Genesis 2
Genesis 2: 15
The Lord God took the man and put him in
the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
John 4:16-17 Context: Jesus is healing on the sabbath and telling the healed man to carry his mat which he used to sit on (carrying the mat was forbidden)
16 So,
because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began
to persecute him. 17 In
his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this
very day, and I too am working.”
Hebrews 4: 8-11
8 For
if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another
day. 9 There
remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for
anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works (or labor),[e] just as
God did from his. 11 Let
us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish
by following their example of disobedience.
God I am confused. Work seems designed for good. It seems like man was made for it. Sabbath seems essential both for resting from the good work as you did God and for keeping you at the center God. So what am I supposed to take away from Jesus healing on the sabbath and telling the man to carry his mat which was forbidden by mans rules added to the sabbath law which was strict as set in the Word of God. Also God rested on the seventh day but then Jesus says God his Father is always at his work to this very day. Yet Hebrews says there remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God and in entering God's rest we will rest from our work or labor. But the idea of rest sounds temporary. Its a rest in between work at the completion of one work as God completed his work of creation and rested on the seventh day but then began a new work.
Continue to teach me about you and work and your sabbath rest and eternity.
Amen
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