Enter God's Rest

"In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that was in them" (Ex 20:11). "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good . . . and there was morning, the sixth day" (Ge 2:2). "By Him all things were created . . . visible and invisible" (Col 1:!6). "In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor and was refreshed" (Ex 30:17). He "rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy" (Ex 20:11). Then God instructed "'the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work" (20:10). It was the cessation of construction because there is a peace associated with having completed the plan. "'It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute'" (Lev 16:31).

Historically God said, "'I have come down to deliver them [Israel] from the power of the Egyptians . . . to a good and spacious land'" (Ex 3:8). It would eventually transpire "'for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you'" (Dt 12:9). God then promised Moses, "'My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest'" (Ex 33:14). Furthermore, "'I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way to bring you into the place which I have prepared'" (23:20). He will "'bring you into the land of [several nationalities] and I will completely destroy them'" (:23).