Genesis 2:1-3
Categories: Bible Study LessonsGod gave Israel the privilege of being like Him (Genesis 1:26) in another point. God rested on the seventh day so Israel is privileged to rest on the seventh day as well. Israel was to be different, distinct from the nation from which they had been delivered and the nations that they were to live among. They had been seven-day-a-week slaves. Now the God that delivered them mandated a day of rest and said it was because God rested. This was so important that God enforced this law among them (Numbers 15:32-36). They were not to become a nation of taskmasters. They were not to be oppressors like the Egyptians. They were to reflect the nature of God in this. God rested, so Israel rested; man, beast, servant, foreigner, woman, child, everyone. See Exodus 16:22-30; Exodus 20:8-11; Exodus 23:12; Exodus 34:21; Exodus 35:2-3; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12-14