Schoolmaster to Christ
GENESIS CHAPTER 2
Schoolmaster to Christ
GENESIS CHAPTER 2
Scripture Reading: Genesis 2 (KJV)
The chapter introduces two prominent subjects: "the seventh day" and "the river." The first of these requires special attention.
There are few subjects on which so much misunderstanding and contradiction prevails as "the Sabbath." The distinct commandment, to "keep holy the Sabbath day" will, Lord willing, come before us in our meditations on the book of Exodus. In the chapter now before us, no command is given to man; only the record that, "God rested on the seventh day." ‘Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made, and God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.’
Here we are simply told that God enjoyed His rest, because all was done, as far as creation was concerned. There was nothing more to be done, therefore, the One Who for six days had worked, ceased to work, and enjoyed His rest. All was complete; all was very good; all was just as He Himself had made it; and He rested in it. The work of creation was ended, and God was celebrating a Sabbath.
It should be observed that this is the true character of a Sabbath. This is the only Sabbath that God ever celebrated, so far as the inspired record reveals. After this, we read of God commanding man to keep the Sabbath, and man utterly failing so to do; but we never read again the words, "God rested;" on the contrary, the word is, "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). The Sabbath, in the strict and proper sense of the term, could only be celebrated when there really was nothing to be done. It could only be celebrated amid an undefiled creation – a creation on which no spot of sin could be discerned. God can have no rest where there is sin; and one has only to look around to learn the total impossibility of God enjoying a rest now. The thorn and thistle, together with thousands of other melancholy and humiliating fruits of a groaning creation, rise before us, and declare that God must be at work, not at rest. Could God rest in the midst of thorns and briers? Could He rest amid the sighs and tears, the groans and sorrows, the sickness and death, the degradation and guilt of a ruined world? Could God sit down, as it were, and celebrate a Sabbath in the midst of such circumstances?
Whatever answer may be given to these questions, the Word of God teaches us that God has had no Sabbath, as yet, save the one recorded here. "The seventh day," and none other, was the Sabbath. It demonstrated the completeness of creation work; but creation work is marred, and the seventh day rest interrupted; thus, from the fall to the incarnation, God was working; from the incarnation to the cross, God the Son was working; and from Pentecost until now, God the Holy Spirit has been working.
Assuredly, Christ had no Sabbath when He was on this earth. True, He gloriously finished His work, but where did He spend the Sabbath day? In the tomb. Yes, the Lord Christ, God manifest in the flesh, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Maker and Sustainer of heaven and earth, spent the seventh day in the dark and silent tomb. Has this no voice for us? Does it convey no teaching? Could the Son of God lie in the grave on the seventh day, if that day were to be spent in rest and peace; and in the full sense that nothing remained to be done? We need no farther proof of the impossibility of celebrating a Sabbath than that afforded at the grave of Jesus. We may stand beside that grave amazed to find it occupied by such a One on the seventh day; but the reason is obvious. Man is a fallen, ruined, guilty creature. His long career of guilt has ended in crucifying the Lord of glory; and not only crucifying Him, but placing a great stone at the mouth of the tomb, to prevent, if possible, His leaving it.
And what was man doing while the Son of God was in the grave? He was observing the Sabbath day! What a thought! Christ in His grave to repair a broken Sabbath, and yet man attempting to keep, the Sabbath as though it were not broken at all. It was man's Sabbath, and not God's. It was a Sabbath without Christ – an empty, powerless, worthless form; Christless and Godless.
But some might say, "The day has been changed, but all the principles belonging to it remain the same." We do not believe that Scripture furnishes ay foundation for such an idea. On the contrary, in the New Testament the distinction is maintained. Consider this remarkable passage:" In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week" (Matt. 28:1). There is no mention here of the seventh day being changed to the first day; nor of any transfer of the Sabbath from the one to the other. The first day of the week is not the Sabbath changed, but altogether a new day. It is the first day of a new period, and not the last day of an old. The seventh day stands connected with earth and earthly rest; the first day of the week, on the contrary, introduces us to heaven and heavenly rest.
There is a vast difference in principle. Celebrating the seventh day marks us as earthly, inasmuch as that day is, clearly, the rest of earth – creation rest; but when we understand the meaning of the first day of the week, we at once apprehend its immediate connection with that new and heavenly order of things, of which the everlasting foundation is formed by the death and resurrection of Christ. The seventh day appertained to Israel and to earth. The first day of the week appertains to the church and to heaven. Further, Israel was commanded to observe the Sabbath day; the church is privileged to enjoy the first day of the week. The former was the test of Israel's moral condition; the latter is the significant proof of the church's eternal acceptance. The Sabbath made manifest what Israel could do for God; the first day of the week perfectly declares what God has done for us.
It is impossible to over-estimate the value and importance of Sunday, the Lord's Day. Being the day on which Christ rose from the dead, it sets forth, not the completion of creation, but the full and glorious triumph of redemption. Nor should we regard the celebration of the first day of the week as a matter of bondage, or as a yoke put on the neck of Christians. It is our delight to celebrate that happy day. Hence we find that the first day of the week was pre-eminently the day on which the early Christians came together to break bread; and at that period of the Church's history, the distinction between the Sabbath and the first day of the week was fully maintained. The Jews celebrated the Sabbath, by assembling in their synagogues, to read "the law and the prophets;" Christians celebrated the latter, by assembling to break bread. There is not a single passage of Scripture in which the first day of the week is called the Sabbath day; but there is abundant proof of their distinctness.
Therefore, why contend for that which has no foundation in the Word? Love, honor, and celebrate the Lord's Day as much as possible; like the apostle, seek to be "in the spirit" thereon; and let your retirement from secular matters be as profound as possible. But, while doing all this, call it by its proper name; give it its proper place; understand its proper principles; attach to it its proper characteristics; and, above all, do not bind on Christians observance of the seventh day, when it is our high and holy privilege to observe the first. Do not seek to bring Christians down from heaven’s rest, to a cursed and bloodstained earth, where there is no rest. Do not ask Christians to keep a day that our Master spent in the tomb, instead of that blessed day on which He left it.1
Many in the religious world conscientiously observe the Sabbath day; and while we honor their consciences, we simply seek a Scriptural basis for such conscientious convictions. It is not our intent or desire to wound a soul’s conscience – we seek only to instruct. However, we are not now occupied with conscience or its convictions, but only with the principle which lies at the root of what may be termed the Sabbath question; and we only pose the question, “Which is more consonant with the entire scope and spirit of the New Testament, the celebration of Saturday, the seventh day (the Sabbath), or the celebration of Sunday, the first day of the week (the Lord's Day2)?
We shall now consider the connection between the Sabbath, and the river flowing out of Eden. This is the first notice we get of "the river of God," introduced here in connection with God's rest. When God was resting in His works, the whole world felt the blessing and refreshment thereof. It was impossible for God to keep a Sabbath, and earth not to feel its sacred influence. But sadly, the streams flowing from Eden (the scene of earthly rest) were interrupted, because the rest of creation was marred by sin.
Yet, thanks to God, sin did not put a stop to His activities but only gave them a new sphere; and wherever He is seen acting, the river is seen flowing. Thus when we find Him, with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, conducting His ransomed hosts across sterile sand of the desert, there we see the stream flowing forth, not from Eden, but from the smitten Rock – apt and beautiful expression of the ground on which sovereign grace ministers to the need of sinners. This was redemption, not merely creation. "That rock was Christ," Christ smitten to meet His people's need. The smitten rock was connected with Jehovah's place in the Tabernacle; and truly there was moral beauty in the connection. God dwelling in curtains, and Israel drinking from a smitten rock, had a voice for every opened ear, and a deep lesson for every circumcised heart (Ex. 17:6).
Going onward, in the history of God's ways, we find the river flowing in another channel. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood, and saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37, 38). Here we find the river emanating from another source, and flowing through another channel; though, in one sense, the source of the river was always the same, being God Himself; but, then, it was God, known in a new relationship and upon a new principle. Thus in the passage just quoted, the Lord Jesus was taking His place, in spirit, outside of the whole existing order of things, and presenting Himself as the source of the river of living water, of which river the person of the believer was to be the channel. Eden, of old, was constituted a debtor to the whole earth, sending forth the fertilizing streams. And in the desert, the rock, when smitten, became a debtor to Israel's thirsty hosts. Just so, now, every one who truly believes in Jesus is a debtor to the scene around him, to allow the streams of refreshment to flow forth from him.
As Christians we should regard ourselves as the channel through which the manifold grace of Christ may flow out to a needy world; and the more freely we communicate, the more freely we receive, "for there is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." This places the true believer in a place of privilege, and, at the same time, the most solemn responsibility. We are called to be constant witnesses and exhibitors of the grace of Him on Whom we believe.
The more we enter into the privilege, the more we will answer the responsibility. If we are habitually feeding on Christ, we cannot avoid exhibiting Him. The more the Holy Spirit keeps our eyes fixed on Jesus, the more our hearts will be occupied with His adorable Person, and our lives and character bear unequivocal testimony to His grace. Faith is the power of ministry, the power of testimony, and the power of worship. We are made righteous by the faith of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Romans 3:21-24: ‘But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.’
If we are not living "by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave himself for us" we cannot be effectual servants, faithful witnesses, or true worshippers. We may be doing a great deal, but it will not be service to Christ. We may be saying a great deal, but it will not be testimony for Christ. We may exhibit a great deal of piety and devotion, but it will not be spiritual and true worship.
The river of God is presented to us in the last chapter of Revelation (Compare also Ezekiel 47:1-12; Zechariah 14:8). "And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." "There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High." This is the last place we find the river. Its source can never again be touched – its channel never again interrupted. "The throne of God" expresses eternal stability; and the presence of the Lamb marks it as accomplished redemption. It is not God's throne in creation, nor in providence; but in redemption. When I see the Lamb, I know its connection with me as a sinner. "The throne of God," might deter us; but when God reveals Himself in the Person of the Lamb, the heart is attracted, and the conscience tranquillized.
The blood of the Lamb cleanses the conscience from every speck and stain of sin, setting it in perfect freedom in the presence of a holiness that cannot tolerate sin. In the cross, all the claims of divine holiness were perfectly answered; so that the more I understand the latter, the more I appreciate the former. The higher our estimate of holiness, the higher will be our estimate of the work of the cross. "Grace reigns, through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." Hence the Psalmist calls on saints to give thanks at the remembrance of God's holiness. This is a precious fruit of a perfect redemption. Before a sinner can give thanks at the remembrance of God's holiness, he must look at it by faith, from the resurrection side of the cross.
Having traced the river from Genesis to Revelation, we now briefly look at Adam's position in Eden. We have seen him as a type of Christ; but he is not merely to be viewed typically, but personally; not merely as shadowing "the second man, the Lord from heaven," but also as standing in the place of personal responsibility. In the midst of the creation scene, the Lord God set up a testimony, and this testimony was also a test for the creature. It spoke of death in the midst of life. "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." Strange, solemn sound. Yet, it was a needed sound. Adam's life was suspended upon his strict obedience. The link connecting him with the Lord God3 was obedience, based on implicit confidence in the One, who had set him in his position of dignity – confidence in His truth – confidence in His love. He could obey only as long as he confided. We shall see the truth and force of this, more fully, as we examine the next chapter.
We here consider the remarkable contrast between the testimony set up in Eden, and that which is now set up. Then, when all around was life, God spoke of death; now, on the contrary, when all around is death, God speaks of life – then the word was "in the day thou eatest thou shalt die;" now the word is, "believe and live." And, as in Eden, the enemy sought to make void God's testimony, regarding eating the fruit; now he seeks to make void God's testimony regarding the Gospel. God had said, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. But the serpent said, Ye shall not surely die." And now, when Jesus clearly says, ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age...’ (NKJV); and when God’s Holy Word plainly declares "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”; the same serpent seeks to persuade people that everlasting life is questionable.
If you have not yet heartily believed and obeyed the Divine record, we beseech you to allow "the voice of the Lord" to prevail above the hiss of the serpent. "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
Footnotes:
1
See, carefully, Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:1-2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19, 26; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelations 1:10; Acts 13:14; Acts 17:2; Colossians 2:16.
2 This subject will, if the Lord permit, come before us again in Exodus 20; but we now observe that some of the offence and misunderstanding connected with the Sabbath, may be traced to the conduct of some who, in their zeal for what might be termed Christian liberty, lose sight of the place the Lord's Day occupies in the New Testament. To show their liberty, some enter their weekly avocations, causing needless offence. We do not hesitate to say that we respect the honest consciences of others, so, perhaps it’s enough to simply state that those who so conduct themselves may not fully understand the true and precious privileges connected with the Lord's Day. The good providence of our God has arranged for His people throughout the United States, Great Britain, as well as other countries to enjoy the Lord's Day rest. This is surely a rich blessing; for, if it were not so, man's covetous heart would probably rob us of the privilege of attending the Lord’s Day assembly. And who can tell what would be the deadening effect of uninterrupted engagement with this worlds traffic? Those Christians, who, from Monday morning to Saturday night, breathe the dense atmosphere of the maul, the market, and the workplace, can form some idea of it. Thus, it should not be considered a good sign when men introduce measures that publicly profane the Lord’s Day.
3 Observe the change in the second chapter from the expression "God" to “Lord God." This is an important distinction. When God is seen acting in relation with man, He takes the title “Lord God," – (Jehovah Elohim;) but until man appears on the scene, the word "Lord” is not used. We here point out three of several passages in which the distinction is strikingly presented. "And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God (Elohim) had commanded him; and the Lord (Jehovah) shut him in (Gen. 7:16). Elohim was going to destroy the world which He had made; but Jehovah took care of the man with whom He stood in relation. Again, "that all the earth may know that there is a God (Elohim) in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord (Jehovah) saveth," etc. (1 Sam. 17:46, 47). All the earth was to recognize the presence of Elohim; but Israel was called to recognize the actions of Jehovah, with whom they stood in relation. Lastly, "Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord (Jehovah) helped him; and God (Elohim) moved them to depart from him." (2 Chr. 18:31) Jehovah took care of His poor erring servant; but Elohim, though unknown, acted upon the hearts of the uncircumcised Syrians.
