REST

Passage: Genesis 2:1-7

Key verse: 3

NIV

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.(A)

2 By the seventh day(B) God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.(C) 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,(D) because on it he rested(E) from all the work of creating(F) that he had done.

Adam and Eve

4 This is the account(G) of the heavens and the earth when they were created,(H) when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth[a] and no plant had yet sprung up,(I) for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth(J) and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams[b] came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed(K) a man[c](L) from the dust(M) of the ground(N) and breathed into his nostrils the breath(O) of life,(P) and the man became a living being.(Q)

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Footnotes
  1. Genesis 2:5 Or land; also in verse 6
  2. Genesis 2:6 Or mist
  3. Genesis 2:7 The Hebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse 20).
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Seventh Day, God Rests

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and (A)all the host of them. 2 And (B)on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

4 (C)These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 When no (D)bush of the field[a] was yet in the land[b] and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man (E)to work the ground, 6 and a mist[c] was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of (F)dust from the ground and (G)breathed into his (H)nostrils the breath of life, and (I)the man became a living creature.

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Footnotes
  1. Genesis 2:5 Or open country
  2. Genesis 2:5 Or earth; also verse 6
  3. Genesis 2:6 Or spring
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

God finished creating the heavens and the earth in six days. On the seventh day he rested. God blessed this day and made it holy. Jesus said that God created the Sabbath for mankind (Mk 2:27). God knows that rest is necessary for us, and for all of creation.

Rest does not just mean having a day off work, but it may mean unplugging from social media and from anything that distracts us from true rest, where we can truly appreciate God and everything that He created. It is an intentional practice of being present with God, others, and oneself. What does rest look like for a parent who cannot simply pause everything? What does it mean to you?

Man was made from the dust of the ground and the breath of God. We are both physical and spiritual beings. We need both food and the word of God. We need both physical and spiritual rest.

Prayer: Creator God, you rested on the seventh day. May we seek true rest that you provide in body, mind, and spirit.

One Word: Rest.