A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek
20 February 2024
Reading From Leviticus 22-23
“There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.”
–Leviticus 23:3
God set the pattern for six days of work and a seventh day of rest when He created the heavens and the earth. In the book of beginnings, it is recorded that “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”[1] When the Ten Commandments were given in Exodus 20, God connected the pattern of six days of rest with the timeline of creation with this explanation, “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.”[2]
Some have speculated that the six days of creation are symbolic of much more expansive periods of time. In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter wrote, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”[3] This shows us that God exists outside of the confines of time and space, but because the pattern of six calendar days of work and one calendar day of rest is the pattern set in Mosaic Law for the sabbath and is connected to what occurred when God was creating the heavens and the earth, we must conclude that the days of creation were also calendar days. If God wanted to create everything in a millisecond, He could.
It is vital to the health and strength of our faith to be reminded that we serve the Almighty God who is all-powerful and more than able to create something out of nothing in any time frame He pleases and that Scripture is God-breathed and tells us that the work of creation in Genesis was done in six calendar days. Otherwise, Scripture is not trustworthy. We need something solid to build our lives on. Christ and His Word form that firm foundation. God didn’t need rest and relaxation. He set the pattern of six days of work and one day of rest for us. He tells us to rest because He knows it is beneficial for us and it honors Him to go against our 24/7, work around the clock culture.
One last observation that I have today regarding the sabbath is that not only was it a day of rest, which promotes wellness in every respect, but also that the seventh day was set apart to be part of a sacred assembly. In the New Covenant, which is what followers of Jesus are part of today, we are inspired to “not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”[4] Life is meant to be lived in community and for the eternal family of God, this means gathering together in sacred assembly to encourage, build up, and love one another. It’s so beautiful to see this concept taking shape thousands of years ago as the Tabernacle was assembled. We as individual followers of Jesus, are tabernacles of the Holy Spirit being built together as one great dwelling place where God lives by His Spirit. The Body of Christ is one mighty temple!
“God, help find ways of honoring Your sabbath. I pray that I will be faithful to rest and meet with other believers to recharge spiritually. Thank You for Your Word. You bring healing and wholeness to my entire being; body, soul and spirit. I’m grateful that You care about me and that You love me. Help me to show my love for You by obedience. Amen.”
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
–Hebrews 10:23-25
[1] Genesis 2:2-3
[2] Exodus 20:11
[3] II Peter 3:8
[4] Ephesians 5:18-20
Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God 
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