God Works in Creation

God as Architect/Builder/Geometer/Craftsman, The Frontispiece of Bible Moralisee

Within the very first pages of Scripture, we find that at the beginning, God sets the example for human work and rest in his act of creation. God said let there be light/heaven/water/etc., and they were, “and God saw that is was good.” During the six days of creation, God is portrayed as first building three spaces for inhabitance: 1. light 2. sea and air 3. land and plants, and then proceeding to fill them: 4. the light gets sun and moon, 5. the sea and air get fish and birds, and 6. land and vegetation are inhabited by animals and humanity. This double triadic structure shows God working unencumbered by obligation or drudgery. His work described in this passage appears to be “more like play or the exuberance of the creative artist.” (Ryken, 120) God’s glorious creativity is to this very day clearly on display all around the world: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

It is hard to overestimate the significance of the fact that the Lord of lords describes himself as a “worker.” As you may recall from the previous post, we saw that in ancient Greek society, labor was disparaged and was seen to be only for the lowest of society. No nobleman, and certainly so self-respecting god, would tolerate being depicted as one who works. Greek poet Hesiod wrote that the “Gods [lived] free from difficult toil.” (Works and Days, as quoted in Ryken, 121) To the classical mind, all work was toil – a burden and affliction. But the God of the Bible is not ashamed to work – his work is full of joy.

After all of his creative work, amazingly, God rested. “And 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. 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.” (Genesis 2:2–3) Thus, in the opening of the biblical account of creation, we see work and rest in proper balance. 

But how do we make sense of the comment that the maker of heaven and earth “rested” from his work? Was he tired? Did his work push him to the edge of his abilities? No. God never tires. “The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary...” (Isaiah 40:28)

God rested to enjoy the fruits of his labor. We see him here relish the goodness of all that he made. In this example, he established a pattern for his people. God sanctified the day (made it “holy”) not because he was exhausted and needed to reenergize, but because it is fitting and good to celebrate the wisdom, beauty, and goodness of God and his work. This tells us that there is more to sabbath rest than merely utilitarian recovery from the workweek. Rest is more than deliberate cessation of labor, it is time dedicated to reflection and rejoicing.

Resources Cited:

Leland Ryken, Work and Leisure in Christian Perspective (Multnomah, 1987)