It has been said that, “Seven days without love makes one weak.” I would say along with that, “Seven days of God’s love makes the world in one week.”
The seven day period we call a week is significant in multiple ways in the Bible and to those who follow Christ. In
Genesis 1:1-2:3, God created the entire world out of nothing in six days, and then He rested on the seventh day, thus establishing the first week. The reason we have a week that consists of seven days is based on God’s creation of the world.
Later on, in
Exodus 20:8-11, God is giving the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel and He reminds them of this pattern of a week. He says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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.”
The people of Israel were commanded by God to keep up this seven-day rhythm of life. They would work for six days then rest for one day. In today’s culture, we often feel like we have it rough having to work for five days then getting the weekend off; back then they had to work for six days in a row! The reason for this pattern, again, was God’s creation of the world. The seventh day, on which they were to rest, was made holy as the
Sabbath day (click the link for more info on what
Sabbath is), and the Israelites were to do no work on that day.
The other significant “week” reference in Scripture is what’s known today as Holy Week. This is the week starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter. For Jesus, this week started with Him coming into Jerusalem with people praising Him and calling Him the King. It continued with Him sharing a special meal with His disciples, then being betrayed, tortured, and killed in a violent death on a cross. Fortunately for us, the week didn’t end there! The week completed with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and His conquering of death for all who believe in Him. One could say that Holy Week is the most important week for all who follow Christ, since the events of this week are what we base our faith on.
What can happen in seven days? God can create a universe. We can work and rest to honor God. Jesus can go from being hailed as a king to being humiliated and dying back to being a victorious king. What can you accomplish for God in your next week?
2 comments:
If God says to "Remember" the 7th day Sabbath to keep it holy, why have most Christian churches seem to have forgotten about it and keep Sunday instead. Do you think most Christian leaders understand about the Biblical Sabbath but don't want to rock the boat and instead follow man's traditions instead? Maybe they are afraid they would lose their leadership position.
Thanks for reading the post, Anonymous! The Jewish celebrated the Sabbath from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. After Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday (the first day of the week, according to the Bible), that became more important to the Christian faith, so because of that tradition we gather for community worship on Sundays. But, there is no Biblical requirement telling us on which certain day when we must observe the sabbath.
I have attended local church congregations that hold worship services on Saturday or on Sunday, and sometimes Wednesday as well. The important thing is that we take one day a week (whichever one that may be) to set aside for God.
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