The
Creation Completed
By Stephen
Terry
Commentary
on the January 19, 2013 Sabbath School Lesson
“Where
were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you
know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the
angels shouted for joy?” Job 38:4-7, NIV
Jews, Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Baptists,
Seventh-day Churches of God and several others find a special sacredness in setting
apart the seventh day, commonly called Saturday, for worship and reflection.
One of the reasons for doing so is found in Exodus, where we are reminded to ““Remember
the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a sabbath to the
Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or
daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner
residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11,
NIV
In this passage, this seventh-day worship is linked to
the concept of a six-day creation followed by a seventh-day Sabbath. Therefore
it would seem that one could not separate the idea of Sabbath observance from a
literal understanding of the Genesis creation account. However, Deuteronomy
gives an entirely different reason for observing the Sabbath. ““Observe the
Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to
the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son
or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any
of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male
and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt
and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the
Sabbath day.” Deuteronomy 5:12-15, NIV
So which account is correct? Perhaps both are. Perhaps
neither is. Perhaps there are far deeper reasons for a seven day rest cycle
that are not even addressed in the Bible. A Google search for the word “circaseptan”
will reveal over eleven thousand entries addressing the idea that mankind and
nature have some circadian style biological rhythms that operate on seven day
cycles. This may shed light on an age old question of where the weekly cycle
comes from.
Some have pointed out that while a year is roughly based
on the Earth’s transit around the sun, the month likewise is based on the moon’s
orbit around the earth, and the day is based on the Earth’s rotation, the week
is based on no discernible celestial mechanics. They reason therefore that the
only basis for a weekly cycle is the creation account in Genesis. But perhaps it
is only an assumption to believe that such a cycle must be based on the
movement of planetary bodies. What if the cycle is hard-wired into us? What if
the circaseptan cycle is something our biology demands as opposed to a
discretionary recognition of the creative acts of deity? At the very least,
this might free us from a too literal interpretation of the Genesis creation
account while still acknowledging the importance of a seven-day cycle of work
and rest.
This might also deliver one from a too literal
definition of Sabbath observance as well. Few today take the extreme views that
require that lights be turned on before Sabbath or they must remain on, or if
one wanted to carry a handkerchief on the Sabbath it must be pinned to one’s
garments so it could be considered a part of one’s clothing as opposed to an
extra “burden” which was prohibited. However, when one sees the Sabbath as fiat
to be understood and observed as opposed to simple recognition of what is, one might
seek to define every aspect of that commandment in order not to fail in
observance. But if the Sabbath is simply a part of what we are biologically,
then those biological rhythms will instruct us regarding the boundaries of what
we should or should not do. Perhaps this is what Paul meant when he wrote “…when
Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show
that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences
also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other
times even defending them.” Romans 2:14-15, NIV Maybe the Sabbath is written on
our hearts in the form of these septacircan rhythms.
When I look at Genesis and Creation, I see music and poetry.
Each day is like the stanza of a song with a repeated chorus of “And God saw
that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the (first
through sixth) day.” Like the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” each stanza
builds upon what has gone before. Throughout the stanzas of creation we move
from simple to complex. But within this overall theme we have a parallel poetic
development that appears to link the creation of the first day with the
luminaries of the fourth, the sea and sky of the second day with the fish and
birds of the fifth, and the dry land of the third day with the vegetation and
animals of the sixth. The overall theme ascends like a simple line while the
interior theme is more like a spiral staircase. Both of these ascend to the
pinnacle of creation—man.
Everything is made for man. Man is made in God’s image.
Man is given dominion over everything. Even the Sabbath was made for man when
God set it apart. Jesus affirmed this when He said, “The Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27, NIV Perhaps rather than being a
burden of obedience to be born while watching the clock and counting the moments
until one is free of that burden at sunset, the Sabbath was instead intended to
be a gift to enable man to address the needs of his circaseptan rhythms in a
context he could understand.
What a dramatic contrast the Genesis account must have
presented to the people compared to the generations of slavery they had endured
in Egypt. As slaves, they had little value beyond the labor they could perform,
but Genesis revealed that they were created to rule the Earth and everything on
it. The Sabbath of Genesis also revealed that all should be treated equally.
They had experienced inequality in Egypt but the Sabbath reminder in
Deuteronomy, chapter five, reminds them not to treat others the way they were
treated. Foreigners, servants and livestock were to enjoy the rest of the
Sabbath, too.
Some who take a more literal approach to Genesis and the
Sabbath would have us believe that God is sitting in heaven with nothing better
to do than to watch the edges of the Sabbath and if He finds transgressions, He
takes his sharpened pencil and writes their names down on a heavenly “naughty
or nice” list. His purpose for doing so is to build up a list of reasons to
exclude the “naughty” ones from heaven. Sadly some of these who watch the edges
of the Sabbath so closely are also those who think nothing of waiting at
someone’s door until sunset in order to not miss a moment of being able to
transact business. This perverts the meaning of the Sabbath. It was made for
man to be a blessing and not a burden. Perhaps this was why Jesus freely blessed
and healed on the Sabbath. The church leaders took a dim view of all the work
He was doing on that day, but as “Lord of the Sabbath,” (Matthew 12:8) He knew
its true purpose.
Unfortunately, few of the gifts that God has given to
man have not been used to oppress and control either man or nature. This is
true of the dominion man was given over the Earth and the same is true of the
Sabbath. Many of us know how unpleasant this can be. We may have known or even
lived with someone who is always pointing out our flaws to us, not with a
desire to help us, but in order to control us through guilt. A too literal
understanding of the Genesis creation account beyond its poetic affirmation of
man’s harmony with the cosmos can be construed by literalists as a tool for
judgment and control as well. When we turn it to such dark purposes, it is hard
to picture the angels singing for joy to the beautiful music of Creation. Perhaps
this is why God’s first words in the Bible were “Let there be light.”
This Commentary is a Service of Still
Waters Ministry
If you wish to receive these weekly commentaries direct to your e-mail inbox for free, simply send an e-mail to:
commentaries-subscribe@visitstillwaters.com
If you
want a paperback copy of the current Sabbath School Bible
Study Quarterly, you may purchase one by clicking here and typing the word
"quarterly" into the search box.