God made plans to Create an Awesome Universe. It was to be filled with lights and motion and energy. Wheel within the wheel, the Pinwheel Galaxies to move through illimitable space, at supersonic speeds, in perfect harmony and soundless glory. Stars, planets, moons, meteorites. Nebulae clouds of star-dust — to be lighted up in all sorts of shapes and rainbow colours. Breathtaking in splendour and glory.
That was the plan. Not many people realise it, but all what we see in the sky and earth and sea, was specifically made for us. Nothing was there before. Everything was made for our enjoyment by the good pleasure of our good God. He was preparing a gift! A gift of Love for the first human pair – Adam and Eve. They were to be created without a flaw and be perfect in every way. It pleased God to create them in His Own Image. They were to be placed on a most beautiful planet of them all. Here!
Have you seen the pictures of this Earth as seen from Space? An amazing blue jewel – decorated by swirls of white clouds – yes, breathtakingly beautiful – and alive.
Remember the Blood Moon a few years ago? Someone in Pentland showed me the pictures. Spectacular. Amazing. Among them was also a picture of a Blue Moon! As if dressed up to make us happy. Our Moon comes in red or blue or yellow or white or orange… Universe is filled with colour and glory!
Our God is a Lover of beautiful. And endless diversity. When He was Creating – He said, and it was! They just came. The light. The sky. The land. The grass and plants in all their splendour. In all their varieties. The Sun and Moon and the Stars. The whole Universe – filled with Galaxies and Power and Glory. He just said – and it was! The birds, the fish, the animals, and then the crowning act – the man and woman in the Image of God.
Wow!
God wanted human beings to be happy. He provided for their every need. Gave them a perfect environment which was filled with life and colours and motion and fragrances. Food in endless variety and perfect in tastes and flavours and appeals. Abundance of everything wherever they looked. God gave them a meaningful employment. The whole creation was dynamic, alive, moving in gentle, silent manner, to provide change and interest for pleasure and for enquiry. God was aiming to inspire awe and wonder in us, to draw from us gratitude and love and a sense of belonging to the family who loves us so. Only the All Powerful, All Knowing, All Loving God could have come up with something so beautiful, so grand and so perfect.
“Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:26-31 NLT
The next day was the seventh day. The multitude of heavenly beings came together to rejoice and to celebrate with their Awesome Creator God. To meet with Adam and Eve and share in their joy. To worship God in heavenly style. To sing and shout for joy. To praise God for creating something so amazingly beautiful.
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God had plans for the seventh day.
One part of it is to carry the memories of Him as our loving creator God.
Everything God made was in reference to the happiness of the first man and woman – Adam and Eve. Just try to imagine the splendour and riches of the newly created universe, and the freshness and glory of the young Earth as it came perfect from the hand of our loving Creator. No blemish in any direction we look. The profusion of greenery. The riches in colours. The scents in flowers. Fragrances in herbs and barks and fruits. The sparkling creeks – filled with playful water dwelling creatures… On its banks and grasslands – the animals, large and small, both, domestic and wild – grazing peacefully on soft green grassy meadows. They share gladly their green patch with others who were not given the size and strength as their own. The air is filled with happy flying creatures – amazingly adorned with feathers of colour and resonating with bird songs. Many of them were testing the feel of their newly made nests in the trees, and participating in this new exciting life from above. The precious stones of significant size and clear transparent beauty laying freely on creek banks and in its crystal bubbling waters. Thrilling the senses. Playing with splitting the light into its rainbow essence. Enhancing life.
And then the crowning work of God – Adam and Eve. Created in the Image of God. Observing everything with wonder and awe. Acquainting themselves with their perfect environment. With the creatures great and small. Expressing their gratitude and love to God their Father – who made this amazing splendour. This vision of beauty. This abundance of life – pulsating with His glory. With never ending joy and blessedness.
The sublime beauty of the young pristine world is the account of our history that must be told. The memories of its splendour would warm even the coldest heart. The Sabbath was given a charge to remember, but also to share this rich treasure during its sacred hours.
The second part of God’s plan for the Sabbath is to impart the richest and most meaningful gift in the relationship between heaven and earth – the haven of splendour, where heaven and earth touch in union of the spheres. Six days each week we may work and enjoy the created reality. But on the Seventh day God is offering us better. He is giving us a whole day as it is back in the Spiritual realms. Back with Him. In closest union with Him. Remembering and celebrating Who God is and what He has done. Immersed in His holiness.
“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:23-24 NLT
“It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. …”
Revelation 1:10 NLT
This Scripture above is from the apostle John when he was exiled to the island of Patmos as a punishment for preaching the Word of God. It was a Sabbath day, and he was worshiping God by immersing himself into God’s holiness, into the realms of spiritual reality of God and his Master Jesus.
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 NLT
“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT
Everything God does has a purpose. We know that He is the embodiment of love. Divine love. Heavenly love. That love is the other-centred love. That means that everything He does is for the benefit and the blessing of others.
So when He invites us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth – He had the benefits of those worshipers in mind. The blessedness of being with God in the Spirit realm is beyond human words to express. The knowledge of some things can only be be attained by experiencing it. And God generously offers that joy to those who want to worship Him. Sabbath was made for worship. It was designed for worship. It is blessed and made holy. And God makes Himself available to each and every worshipper – with great joy in His heart.
The second part of that joy is the spatial closeness to His children.
“… For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”
Colossians 1:27 NLT
God desires closest possible union between Himself and His children. Just look at this amazing Scripture which follows:
“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
Through the gift of His Holy Spirit, and through this union with Jesus – God Himself is united with us. Both God and Jesus Christ are in the Sabbath – and they long to share their presence with their children. It is not a coincidence that the Sabbath is perfectly placed to assist with this. Yes. God made big plans for the Sabbath. And this, what we are talking about is one of them. When God gives a gift, He gives it generously. Sabbath is a perfect gift.
The celebration and worship of that first seventh day was never to fade from our memory. So God said: “Remember”. Sabbath that comes back regularly at the end of each week is to carry those memories. To help us remember.
God is giving us a chance to see the Sabbath’s extravagant blessings and express our gratitude. It was to perpetuate our sense of kinship to God, and remind us that God is working on the Redemption which is to reunite us with Him. God is expecting our willing obedience, because its benefits are so obvious.
Oh, if only we would recognise “God’s ways”, and humbly follow …