Creation points to the Sabbath

[Hobie]

It is very clear in the Bible that at Creation, the weekly cycle was set up and we see Sabbath was made for man as the seventh day of the week. We find Christ making very clear that the Sabbath was made for man, and He declares that He is Lord of the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:8
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Jesus Christ is “Lord even of the Sabbath day" but the fulness of that statement needs to be understood by understanding who Jesus was. By identifying Himself as "Lord even of the Sabbath day," Jesus was, in reality, revealing that He Himself was the One who originally made Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. The New Testament is very clear that Jesus Christ is not just our Savior, but is also our Creator. Notice carefully:

John 1:3 All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that has been made.

John 1:10 He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.

Eph. 3:9 God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.

Col. 1:16 For by Him [Jesus] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Jesus is the Creator, the Jehovah of all the Bible. He is the Lord Jehovah that walked in the cool of the day in Eden. Jesus was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus was Jehovah God who gave the Ten Commandments. Jesus was Jehovah God who was in the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day. Jesus was Jehovah God who appeared to Moses in the fiery bush and declared I am that I am.

What Jesus claims about Himself - John 8:48-59
48 Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
49 Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.
50 And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
52 Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.
53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

With solemn dignity Jesus answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. Silence fell upon the vast assembly. The name of God, given to Moses to express the idea of the eternal presence, had been claimed as His own by Jesus.

Lets look at this story of Moses and the Burning Bush in Ex 3:14-15..

Ex 3:14-15.
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

Now scripture shows us even more clearly who Christ is.

Revelation 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Revelation 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Revelation 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Isaiah 41:4
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 44:6
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Jesus identifies Himself as the First and the Last, and look at who is the Savior:

Isaiah 43:11
I, even I, am the LORD ; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isaiah 45:21
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.

1Timothy 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

2Peter 3:18
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Philippians 3:20
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

Jesus is truly the Creator, Jehovah, the First and the Last, our Saviour and Lord of the Sabbath. It is His day of worship from Creation, the day of rest, made for man not man for the Sabbath..

Genesis 2:1-2
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 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.

The Sabbath was not just for the Jews, but for all mankind which the Creator gave us. Our Lord and Saviour shows us. Thus Jesus Christ is our Creator. The One who created, rested. Thus the Sabbath commandment, when correctly understood in the light of both the Old and New Testaments, points to Jesus Christ, the Creator .

 

[Hobie]

So at Creation, the weekly cycle was set up and Sabbath was given to us, as the seventh day. As the various days of the week were back then in ancient times called the first day, the second day, etc., all the way to the last day of Creation, the seventh day, for these were their Biblical names. So what does the weekly cycle tell us, well here is a good explanation..

"Society's seven-day calendar week is the only major rhythm of human activity that is totally oblivious to external nature. This so-called "social week" rests on mathematical regularity alone. We may casually assume that our week is really a division of the moon cycle. If that is our assumption, we forget that the lunar cycle is not a twenty-eight-day cycle, but approximately twenty-nine days, twelve hours, forty-four minutes and three seconds -- or 29.5306 days between new moons. A precise quarter of the lunar cycle amounts to the uneven figure of 7.38625 days. So any week using that true length would begin at different times of the day every time the cycle started. There is just no way to neatly divide the lunar cycle into weekly blocks of complete days.

Then what about the sun? Doesn't the cycle of seven relate to the center of our solar system? Again, no! The 7-day week is also independent from the annual solar cycle of 365 1/4 days. A "year" of 52 weeks would have just 364 whole days. Nor is the week in harmonic sympathy with the star year of 366 1/4 days. Star days or "sidereal days" are about four minutes shorter than solar days (an observer will see a particular star at the same position four minutes earlier on successive nights). In short, there are no known external rhythms in nature that could explain the near universal existence of the seven day social week.

Yet, the importance of the seven-day week -- or heptad, a series of seven -- is monumental....Apart from the biblical record, historians have had difficulty placing the precise beginning of the seven-day week. It is simply acknowledged as an ancient practice of very early origin in the evolution of civilization."...The Amazing 7-Day Cycle (Part 1)

 

[Hobie]

The Sabbath was created at the very beginning of human history. In Genesis 2:1-3 we read that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. The Hebrew word translated 'sanctified' in Genesis 2:3 and 'hallowed' in Exodus 20:11 is qadash, a word meaning 'to hallow, to pronounce holy, to consecrate, to set apart for holy use.' In Mark 2:27, Jesus says: 'The Sabbath was made for man.' The Greek has an article before 'man,' so the phrase could be rendered, 'The Sabbath was made for the man.' This is basically points to Adam, the first man and representative of the whole race that descended from him.

There is no denying that God was here setting aside the Sabbath as holy time. Is it logical to believe that God first created man, then the Sabbath, and then failed to mention to man that the seventh day was holy time? Certainly not! God must have immediately explained to Adam all about His sacred seventh day. We might say that God preached a sermon to Adam and Eve on the first Sabbath of human history, telling them how to observe His day as He wanted it to be observed. Many have seen this..

"What could be the meaning of God's resting the seventh day, and hallowing and blessing it, which He did, before the giving of the fourth commandment, unless He hallowed and blessed it with respect to mankind? . . . And it is unreasonable to suppose that He hallowed it only with respect to the Jews, a particular nation, which rose up above 2000 years after." Jonathan Edwards.

"..the most judicious commentators agree that Adam and Eve constantly observed the seventh day, and dedicated it in a peculiar manner to the service of the Almighty; and that the first Sabbath . . . was celebrated in Paradise itself, which pious custom [was] transmitted from our first parents to their posterity." John Kitto

It is just not reasonable to think that God would make the Sabbath for man and then keep it from him for over 2000 years until Moses. The very fact that the seven-day week existed and is with us today, is good evidence the Sabbath also existed.

A week of seven days is frequently shown in Scripture. In Genesis 7:4 and 8:10 and 12 we see that Noah was acquainted with a seven-day week. Unless the Sabbath was their pivot of time, people then could not have used such a measure of days. In fact, the marginal rendering of Genesis 7:10 is 'on the seventh day,' a reference to nothing but the Sabbath. We may be sure that Noah, a just man who walked with God, knew about and kept God's seventh-day Sabbath.

In Genesis 29:27-28, we read that Jacob fulfilled a week for Rachel. The week here is not synonymous with the seven years Jacob served Laban for Rachel, nor does it mean seven years passed before Jacob married Rachel. The language shows Jacob married Rachel one week after he had married Leah, and then he served Laban another seven years..

In Genesis 50:10, we find that Joseph mourned for his father Jacob seven days, that is, one week. So Joseph knew about the seven-day week.

Exodus 7:25 mentions a seven-day period in the time of Moses just before the Exodus. This is certainly an exact week, for we read, 'seven days were fulfilled.' In addition, Numbers 12:14-15 mentions a seven-day period following Israel's departure from Egypt and before they arrived at Mt. Sinai.

Again, in Judges 14:10-18, we read that Samson's marriage feast lasted for seven days, another reference to the week.

Once again, in Job 2:13, we are told that Job's three friends sat and grieved with him for 'seven days and seven nights' a complete week.

So it is obvious that a seven-day week with the seventh-day Sabbath was familiar to the patriarchs from what scripture shows us.

 

[Hobie]

Here from my friend Amo is more on who Christ is..

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Christ created all things. This includes thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. There is no doubt but that the ten commandments is included in the above. Without question though, one of the commandments was created by Christ, and that would be the fourth commandment at creation. For when He had finished creation, He blessed and sanctified the seventh day (Gen. 2:2&3).

1 Cor 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

It was Christ who lead the children of Israel through the wilderness, where they received the law from the same. It was Christ that they tempted during the same, and were destroyed of the serpents. It has always been Christ who has dealt with humanity since the fall. He is the person of the Godhead through whom humanity and God are reconciled. There is no other name in heaven or earth whereby we must be saved.

I do not mean to exclude the Father, or the Spirit, by saying all the above was Christ, for where the Father, or Son, or Spirit is, there also are the other two, for they are all one. Only once have they ever been separated by the death of the Son for our salvation. They cannot be separated by time or space or anything else. Where one is, there the others are also, for God is omnipresent, and they are God. It is therefore impossible that only one of them gave the law to Israel, for they are one.

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He was first referred to as the angel of the Lord, and then plainly referred to as the Lord.

Exod 3:2-4 "2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I."

When Moses asked God in the burning bush who he should say had sent him to deliver Israel, Moses was to say that I Am hath sent you. When Christ was here on earth, he applied this same title, I AM, to himself.

Exodus 3 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

John 8 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus Christ himself was telling the Jews that He was the angel in the burning bush speaking to Moses, and therefore was God. This the Jews understood, which is why they picked up rocks to stone him. It was the angel of the Lord within the burning bush who applied the title of I AM to himself, Christ applied the same title to himself.

This Angel of the Lord that appeared to many during the old covenant was Christ, which is why the Angel is not just called an Angel, but plainly the Lord.

In any case, it is nonsense to argue that Christ did not give the law to Israel, as though any person of the Godhead could, or would do anything that all did not agree on, and would also do themselves. Moreover, they did do it themselves for they are God. What the Father, Son, or Spirit does, all have done for they are one.'

 

[Hobie]

So by understanding who Jesus was, we find the words in the Bible come alive with meaning.

Genesis 26:5
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Exodus 20:6
And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Matthew 5:19
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 23:56
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.

It is Christ the great I AM, the law giver, the Creator the Lord of the Sabbath who gave man the Sabbath from the beginning, and it has not changed. We also see that the Creator Himself kept the Sabbath day and as He gave it to mankind, Adam and Eve kept the Sabbath

 

[Randy Kluth]

It is very clear in the Bible that at Creation, the weekly cycle was set up and we see Sabbath was made for man as the seventh day of the week. We find Christ making very clear that the Sabbath was made for man, and He declares that He is Lord of the Sabbath.
Matthew 12:8
For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Jesus Christ is “Lord even of the Sabbath day" but the fulness of that statement needs to be understood by understanding who Jesus was. By identifying Himself as "Lord even of the Sabbath day," Jesus was, in reality, revealing that He Himself was the One who originally made Earth in six days, and rested on the seventh day. The New Testament is very clear that Jesus Christ is not just our Savior, but is also our Creator. Notice carefully:

I really don't know, but it's a good question. My thought is that Jesus was referring to the use of the Sabbath in the context of the Law when he said it was made for Man. It was an extrapolation from a rest made for God to a rest then made for Man *under the Law.*

I can't see, necessarily, that the Sabbath was originally made primarily for Man since it was apparently designed for *God's rest*--not for Man's rest. But it came to apply and then be designed, as such, to be made for Man, as well, since we were made in God's image. That is, like God we were intended to work and then enjoy our work in rest.

I suppose it could be said that the Sabbath was originally designed to be for both God and Man, since Christ was always intended to be made "Lord of the Sabbath." That is, Christ was not only the Creator of the world but also the heir of that same world, inheriting it after it was finished.

 

[Hobie]

I really don't know, but it's a good question. My thought is that Jesus was referring to the use of the Sabbath in the context of the Law when he said it was made for Man. It was an extrapolation from a rest made for God to a rest then made for Man *under the Law.*

I can't see, necessarily, that the Sabbath was originally made primarily for Man since it was apparently designed for *God's rest*--not for Man's rest. But it came to apply and then be designed, as such, to be made for Man, as well, since we were made in God's image. That is, like God we were intended to work and then enjoy our work in rest.

I suppose it could be said that the Sabbath was originally designed to be for both God and Man, since Christ was always intended to be made "Lord of the Sabbath." That is, Christ was not only the Creator of the world but also the heir of that same world, inheriting it after it was finished.

Why would God need rest, was He tired, did He go according to nature and go to sleep when it dictated it, of course not. It was to set up a special day, made for man, to commune with Him. And it was blessed and sanctified and made holy, and all for man, and Christ the Creator is Lord of it all. I think that is clear for all to see...

 

[Hobie]

But, we have then the adversary coming in and trying to set aside or shade what God had made for man at creation as the seventh day of the week. From Creation the various days of the week were called the 'first day', the 'second day', etc., but the adversary wanted to see if he could throw off the idea of a weekly cycle or the numbering so as to veil the seventh day, and by Roman times, non-Christians began calling them the day of the sun, the day of the moon, etc., in honor of different heavenly bodies. This was known as the "planetary week."

The Babylonians tracked the Sun, Moon, and the five planetary bodies they knew of and believed that each of these seven celestial bodies was ruled by a god or goddess. In the seven-day week of the Babylonian calendar, each day was influenced by a particular god or goddess.

Greeks from the Hellenistic period pick up the seven-day “planetary” week, naming the days after their own deities with Helios, Selene, Ares, Hermes, Zeus, Aphrodite, and Cronos. The ancient Romans adopted the seven-day week, basing the day names on the known planets, Sun, and Moon and their own deities.

Each day was ruled over by a different pagan god, but the most important of all gods was given the rule of the first day of the week, with the idea in mind that the first is always more important than that which follows it. The most important of all gods was given the rule over the first of the seven days. It was his day, the day of the Sun, and all the worship of the week centered on his day.

Now, although these names for the days of the week were new, the sun god wasn't, for his worship came from a devotion to that most powerful of natural objects. It was one of the most ancient forms of worship and is represented by solar disc images found on nearly every continent of our world. So Satan used a form that was known all throughout the earth, the heavens and its bodies, very sly.

By changing the names he could veil the seventh day in the cycle and at the same time bring in the worship of the sun as a substitute..

 

[Randy Kluth]

Why would God need rest, was He tired, did He go according to nature and go to sleep when it dictated it, of course not. It was to set up a special day, made for man, to commune with Him. And it was blessed and sanctified and made holy, and all for man, and Christ the Creator is Lord of it all. I think that is clear for all to see...

Are you a little "snippy" today? It's just a question. Some people argue whether angels can dance on the head of a pin, or if God can really "feel" anything, since He is a spirit? Well, since in Christ God became a Man at least He can feel vicariously through Christ!

So does God have emotions for us, His created People? I should think so, even though He is not Himself a Man. The Bible tells us God can be and feel anything He likes--He can do anything He pleases. Thankfully, in creating us His intentions were entirely benevolent!

So does God need rest? Certainly not if He lacks a physical body that needs rest. But who is to say that God didn't plan a time of "rest" following His work of creation, strictly to sit back and admire His work? Why can't God derive pleasure from work designed to give Him pleasure?

 

[1stCenturyLady]

Are you a little "snippy" today? It's just a question. Some people argue whether angels can dance on the head of a pin, or if God can really "feel" anything, since He is a spirit? Well, since in Christ God became a Man at least He can feel vicariously through Christ!

So does God have emotions for us, His created People? I should think so, even though He is not Himself a Man. The Bible tells us God can be and feel anything He likes--He can do anything He pleases. Thankfully, in creating us His intentions were entirely benevolent!

So does God need rest? Certainly not if He lacks a physical body that needs rest. But who is to say that God didn't plan a time of "rest" following His work of creation, strictly to sit back and admire His work? Why can't God derive pleasure from work designed to give Him pleasure?

If you read the OP and following posts, can you make a synopsis of what his point is? I'm not going to read the book.

 

[Randy Kluth]

If you read the OP and following posts, can you make a synopsis of what his point is? I'm not going to read the book.

I read the OP and have long heard from those who believed that God was above experiencing human needs, emotions, and sensations. It was thought, as far back as some of the ancient Greek philosophers, that Deity is far above the plane of human experience.

Christianity itself views Deity as transcendent, and as such, impassible in His essence. But the whole notion of God having an all-powerful Word indicates that God can create finite ideas through which He can experience both humanity and human sensation.

I think it's worth noting that God Himself is portrayed in the Bible as experiencing anthropomorphic sensations, which I do not think violate His "impassibility." He is simply routing His Divine experience through the scope of His Word, allowing Him to express His interests using anthropomorphic terms.

Would God want to finish a work? Yes. Would He want to appreciate His work after finishing it? Yes. Therefore, a Sabbath "rest" for God is entirely appropriate, as indicated.

 

[1stCenturyLady]

I read the OP and have long heard from those who believed that God was above experiencing human needs, emotions, and sensations. It was thought, as far back as some of the ancient Greek philosophers, that Deity is far above the plane of human experience.

Christianity itself views Deity as transcendent, and as such, impassible in His essence. But the whole notion of God having an all-powerful Word indicates that God can create finite ideas through which He can experience both humanity and human sensation.

I think it's worth noting that God Himself is portrayed in the Bible as experiencing anthropomorphic sensations, which I do not think violate His "impassibility." He is simply routing His Divine experience through the scope of His Word, allowing Him to express His interests using anthropomorphic terms.

Would God wants to finish a work? Yes. Would He want to appreciate His work after finishing it? Yes. Therefore, a Sabbath "rest" for God is entirely appropriate, as indicated.

Thanks.

 

[Hobie]

Are you a little "snippy" today? It's just a question. Some people argue whether angels can dance on the head of a pin, or if God can really "feel" anything, since He is a spirit? Well, since in Christ God became a Man at least He can feel vicariously through Christ!

So does God have emotions for us, His created People? I should think so, even though He is not Himself a Man. The Bible tells us God can be and feel anything He likes--He can do anything He pleases. Thankfully, in creating us His intentions were entirely benevolent!

So does God need rest? Certainly not if He lacks a physical body that needs rest. But who is to say that God didn't plan a time of "rest" following His work of creation, strictly to sit back and admire His work? Why can't God derive pleasure from work designed to give Him pleasure?

His purpose was to make something for man, a gift which He made holy

 

[Randy Kluth]

His purpose was to make something for man, a gift which He made holy

Yes, that was part of His purpose, to do something for us. But primarily, God does things for Himself, since He is Lord and Creator. All the purpose comes from Him and for Him. We come a very, very distant 2nd!

 

[Hobie]

I read the OP and have long heard from those who believed that God was above experiencing human needs, emotions, and sensations. It was thought, as far back as some of the ancient Greek philosophers, that Deity is far above the plane of human experience.

Christianity itself views Deity as transcendent, and as such, impassible in His essence. But the whole notion of God having an all-powerful Word indicates that God can create finite ideas through which He can experience both humanity and human sensation.

I think it's worth noting that God Himself is portrayed in the Bible as experiencing anthropomorphic sensations, which I do not think violate His "impassibility." He is simply routing His Divine experience through the scope of His Word, allowing Him to express His interests using anthropomorphic terms.

Would God want to finish a work? Yes. Would He want to appreciate His work after finishing it? Yes. Therefore, a Sabbath "rest" for God is entirely appropriate, as indicated.

I don't know of any Bible scholars who would say such a thing.

 

[Randy Kluth]

I don't know of any Bible scholars who would say such a thing

The issue isn't "what you know." The issue concerns what *is known.* The transcendence and the immanence of God are well-known matters. You have to study.

In fact, the whole sense of Divine Revelation and the Incarnation screams of these matters. Liberal Theologians and Religious Skeptics tend to want to create a divide between what is claimed about God and what can actually be experienced from God.

They don't experience God the way believers do, and so based on their shallow experience of God deny that believers can have such experience either. You need to ask yourself a few questions:

Do you experience God? Does your spiritual identification with God allow you to feel emotions? Do you feel righteous indignation along with God, for example? Do you feel love and compassion for people the same way God does?