Valley View Baptist Church Pastor Curt Audet
6N656 Route 25 March 8, 2026
St. Charles, IL 60174 vvbcil.com
“God’s Gift Of The Seventh Day” (Genesis 2:1-3)
#5 in the message series Harbors For Our Soul
BI: The disciple of Christ is restored and recreated in the Sabbath rest.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 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. 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.” (Genesis 2:1-3)
Sure enough, God accomplished out of nothing all that you and I have ever known as the heavens and the earth. From everlasting to everlasting God is the almighty, all-powerful, creative Master of the universe. God existed from eternity past; He designed, determined and declared the world into existence.
Day 1 – God said, Let there be light! There was light! He established time and with it separated the period of Light from the period of Darkness. The lighted hours He called ‘Day’ and the darkened hours He called ‘Night’. From the evening—the oncoming darkness—to the rising light of morning became the first day. (1:3-5)
Day 2 – God separated all the water that He had created; a large space of sky—or, heavens—separated the upper waters—or, clouds and humidity and steam from the waters on the surface of the deep which was not yet formed. And there was evening and there was morning, the second 24-hour day. (1:6-8)
Day 3 – God formed the geography of land and seas upon the earth. He raised land into hills and mountains pushing the waters to the boundaries of lakes, seas and oceans. God made vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. (1:9-13)
Day 4 – God then spoke into being lights in the heavens to separate the day from the night. He made the sun, the moon and all the stars and galaxies. They were for light and for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. (1:14-19)
Day 5 – God filled the world with fish, birds, animals and insects of every variety each multiplying and being fruitful to spread over the whole earth. And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. (1:20-25)
Day 6 – God made humanity in His own image! He made His crowning creation and gave them the role of responsibility over all the earth as stewards. Male and female He made them! And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (v.26-31)
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 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. 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.” (Genesis 2:1-3)
God had finished creating the heavens and the earth. (2:1-2)
God rested on the seventh day from all His work. (2:2-3)
God blessed the seventh day. (2:3)
God made holy the seventh day. (2:3)
God gave this seventh day as a gift to you and me. Already He had made with great care and precision the designed details of the Creation. He made the entire world livable for the created humans to enjoy and to be the stewards over. Now what? He chose to set aside this 7th for specific use for His people that He had made just the day before.
- We are given a day to recognize God as our Creator. (2:2–3; Exodus 20:8–11)
The first day of each week we are given is Sunday. The last day is Saturday; the Sabbath. From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. This day commemorates the beauty of Creation; of the Heavens and the Earth! It is fitting to hike as our family has done many times at the dunes at Van Buren State Park in South Holland, Michigan.
You may know that Lake Michigan has a long series of sandy dunes stretching from Indiana Dunes north into the Sleeping Bear Dunes region. About 450 miles between Indiana and Michigan. The dune formations along Indiana’s shore north along Michigan’s western side are the largest collection of freshwater dunes in the world, with a variety of dune types. Nearly the entire coastline is adorned with a stunning array of sand dunes, offering a unique natural experience.
These dunes not only showcase God’s handiwork with breathtaking views but also support diverse habitats and play a crucial role in the region’s ecology and economy. Visitors explore these dunes through various parks and state recreation areas, where they can enjoy activities such as hiking, camping, and beachcombing. The dunes are a testament to the region’s rich history and natural beauty, making them a must-visit destination for nature enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers.
Over the years of our families’ vacations, we have enjoyed the Indiana Dunes, the Warren Dunes, the dunes at the Van Buren State Park where we participated in many Father-Son Campouts. Every visit is restful, peaceful from the moment we began to walk along Lake Michigan sandy dune harbors. Places to recuperate, restore and recreate. Just as God intended.
Literal and figurative Harbors for our souls. God’s Seventh Day has been designed for just this purpose. To admire, enjoy and experience His Creation. If you find Creation to be refreshing, this is because God created you and His Earth and Heavens to nourish, sustain and excite His human creation.
Here in Genesis 2, you’ll see there is no law that was made for the Sabbath. Just the joy-filled rest marked by this special day. By example, the Creator “rests” though no rest for the Lord is needed. His rest is simply ceasing from Creation. The Heavens and Earth are done! It is all very good!
The first law regarding the Sabbath came more than 1446+ years after Creation. After Adam and Eve, After Abraham and Sarah. After the 12 sons of Israel. In the days of Moses. He includes the 5th Commandment:
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons plus their four hundred years of slavery in Egypt to Moses, Aaron and Miriam never were operating under the ‘law’ of the Sabbath Day. Why? Because God made it as a principle of blessing to His people.
God was designing in this 7th Day a day of rest that recognized the Creator of Heaven and earth.
2. We are given a day to recuperate with physical refreshment. (2:2-3; Exodus 23:12; Mark 2:27)
Have you ever wondered why we operate our lives in a 7-day plan? 5 or 10 would seem to work well. Easier to count and to organize . Some ancient cultures had different week lengths. But nearly every society on earth uses a seven day week. Why? It fits the human body. Six days of work, rest; repeat. This derives from the Genesis 1 creation account. God loves His people. We already know that God Himself is not subject to getting tired, exhausted or overwhelmed. But He well knew that men and women would get tired.
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. [As you trust Him] 7 the Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 121:1-8)
God designed the Sabbath Day as a harbor for your soul. Jesus explicitly says this: 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, His disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” . . . 27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:23-24, 27)
In establishing a people for His own representation, He demonstrates deep care for the poor:
10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed. (Exodus 23:10-12)
3. We are given a day to remember God’s Covenant Sign for His people Israel. (2:2-3; Deut 5:12–15; Exodus 31:13-17)
12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” (Deut 5:12-15)
12 The Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”
4. We are given a day to restore in Christ’s spiritual recreation. (2:1-3; Hebrews 4:1–11; Matthew 11:28-30; Colossians 2:15-16)
Jesus never calls people to observe the day of the Sabbath. Still, He never erases it or abolishes, but rather fulfills it. The Sabbath rest established on the 7th day of Creation is an abiding principle and gift for the human week. Jesus then fulfills the Sabbath rest promise as we are born again, made alive and receive His forgiveness of sin. He then invites us to rest in Him. And to His rest by His grace. This ‘invitation to a Sabbath Rest’ spanned the first many centuries of human history. Even during the establishment of the Covenant Sign for the people of Israel, the prescription of Sabbath Rest was for all people.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-29)
4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Heb 4:1-10)
Conclusion & Application – The disciple of Christ is restored and even recreated in the Sabbath rest. We do well—not to view Sabbath as a vigorous and rigorous tedious eggshells to walk on—but instead a Creator-designed lief balance of rest in our week, and for our souls in our Savior. Look at more from Hebrews 4:
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:11-13)
The Apostle Paul wrote to the brothers and sisters at Colossae and even warned them about being drawn into something other than the salvation-rest we have in Christ. All the laws and festivals and even the Sabbath find their completion in Christ. Each of these is an illustrious shadow of the fulfillment in Christ.
“16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Hear and respond –daily—to Jesus’ Sabbath inivation: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
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