Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV)

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

There are two unique things about the seventh day – it doesn’t have an evening and a morning, and it’s declared holy instead of just good or very good.

Some commentators conclude from the lack of an evening and morning that the seventh day isn’t over. The problem with that view is that many of the things God does now (like answer prayer) bear a striking resemblance to work. Also, getting crucified doesn’t sound like rest to me.

Conversely, Psalm 95:11, which is quoted twice in Hebrews, indicates that God’s rest is ongoing.

Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

This hints that “my rest” means Heaven. That fits well with the seventh day being declared holy. Holy means more than good; it means separated unto God. Heaven is about as holy as it gets. It must be separated in some way.

It’s widely understood that heaven (AKA eternity) is outside of time. That reconciles the problem. We’re not living in the seventh day because we’re still inside of time. We see everything from our temporal point of view.

Heaven is something completely different.

We are incapable of visualizing the connection between eternity and our temporal world. The debate on how to interpret the days of creation isn’t going to be resolved – this side of eternity anyway. The answer is beyond our comprehension.

Some people are greatly troubled by this. Others can go about the task of serving the Lord without this issue interfering.

The goal isn’t to be “right” on complex issues of theology. There’s no chance of that anyway. The goal is simply to serve God.

Those of us (like myself) who can’t shake the desire to master these puzzles need to ask God to humble us and to make us comfortable with that humility. That desire to know more is not dangerous or even unhealthy; it’s just how some of us are wired. Still, it’s something that we must not let rule over us.

Those who are comfortable with limited understanding should thank God for that blessing. Please pray that the rest of us will learn to, “Let it go.”

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies