The second in a three-part series Previously, we observed that
the Sabbath seems to commemorate not, specifically, God's
creation of the Universe, but His "resting" from that creation.
Why, we asked, is rest worthy of celebration? Why is "rest" a
reason to make a day holy for ever and ever? The question
becomes even more insistent when we remember that God deemed the
Sabbath to be special long before there was any nation around to
celebrate it. According to the verses in Genesis chapter 2, God
blessed and made the Sabbath holy immediately after creating the
universe. He shared that day with us only centuries later, when
the Torah was given, letting us in on His special secret. Thus,
the Sabbath was not crafted by God for the benefit of people ―
that only happened later. Rather, this island in time was
designed by the Creator "for Himself," as it were. Why would the
Creator be so personally committed to His own day of rest?
Exactly What Was God Doing on That Seventh Day? A clue comes
from the Biblical text whi