In Part 1, we focused on a curious claim the apostle Paul made in his letter to the church in Rome. In Romans 1:19, 20 Paul wrote:
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
We saw that it is relatively easy to understand how God’s eternal power can be seen in the things that have been made. Now we turn to understanding how his divine nature can also be seen in the things he made.
David
David seems to echo Paul’s thoughts in Romans 1:19, 20. In Psalms 19:1-4, David writes:
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
David and Paul seem to agree that the heavens declare the glory of God, that His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. LEWIS – Is He Safe?
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, Susan and Lucy ask Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to tell them about Aslan, the lion in the story who is the Christ-figure. They ask if Aslan is a man, and Mr. Beaver replies:
”Aslan a man? Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the woods and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.”
“Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“That you will, dearie, and make no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”
“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (Original source unknown.)
The reader of the Genesis account would likely figure out that God is good – if God isn’t good, He would self-destruct – but the reader would have to wonder if He is safe.
Is there anything in Genesis 1 and 2 that shows that he is safe?
Eternal Power – But Divine Nature?
Returning to Romans 1:19, 20:
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Where do we see any hints about God’s divine nature in the things that have been made?
Creation Week Had 7 Days
In considering the creation historical account in Genesis, we speak of the events of creation week but generally forget that creation week was made up of seven days, not six days. Our yearly cycle and monthly cycle are anchored in recurring events in the natural world. But the week has no natural anchor – it is anchored in the creation historical account. Our week is seven days long because the creation week was seven days long.
During the first six days of creation, days 1 through 6, God “made” – “created” – all of the things we experience in our material world. During those six 24-hour days God made things of space, material things that occupy space. God made “things.” And God looked at all of this and said that it was good, even very good. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (Genesis 2:1)
The heavens and earth, and all the host of them, were finished, but God wasn’t done creating. There was day 7 to come!
“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.” (Genesis 2:2, 3)
God was still creating on the seventh day. The record does not say that He finished his work on the sixth day. It says He finished his work on the seventh day.
During the first six days, He made things. On the seventh day of creation, God made (created) holiness in time. God created a grand Cathedral in Time! It is instructive to note that the first holy object in the history of the world was not a mountain or an altar. The first time “holy” – qadosh – is used after creation, it is applied to time, the seventh day. There is no reference to anything in the things of space that are or were endowed with the quality of holiness.
After the heavens and the earth are established, one might expect a holy place to be created where a sanctuary would be established. But in the Bible, it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first. This act of creation, of the making of holy time was not just good, or very good – this act of creation was uniquely different from the first six days – it was blessed.
But why, why did God create holy time? Could it be that it was created so that His divine nature could be clearly perceived as Paul wrote in Romans, chapter 1?
Made For Man, The Key to Why?
The key to understanding why God created holiness in time, the Sabbath, is found in an easily missed passage in the Gospel of Mark. Matthew, Luke, and Mark each record the occasion when Jesus and His disciples were passing through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." All three of the accounts record the part of Jesus’ response where He said, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
Mark, however, includes what Jesus said immediately before the “lord of the Sabbath” response. Here is the full passage from Mark 2:
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath" And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (Mark 2:23-28)
Mark includes the words in bold font that are missing from Matthew and Luke’s accounts.
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)
This is a simple declarative sentence that is not difficult to understand. This simple statement is the key to understanding why God created holy time. Let’s unpack this verse.
Made For Man
What are the implications of, “The Sabbath was made for man”?
The first thing to note is that the Sabbath was “made.” It had a beginning, it did not always exist. Notice the parallel wording of the following two passages.
At the Creation (Gen 2:3):
“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, . . .”
In the law of heaven, the law of love (agape), codified at the emergence of Israel as a corporate nation (Exodus 20:11):
“. . . Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Notice that the passage in Exodus 20:11 does not say that it is now being made holy, but rather that is was made holy. This is clear in the fuller context of verses 8 to 12 where it is pointing back to the creation week.
Second, we will note that it was “made for man.” Most classical commentaries acknowledge that God created the Sabbath, holiness in time, on the seventh day of creation. None of those commentaries propose that He un-created it at some later time. A minority of commentaries insist that the Sabbath came into existence at Sinai. Mark’s passage itself easily settles the dispute.
In verse 27 of Mark 2 where it says that “The Sabbath was made for man”, the Greek word that is translated “man” is the word, anthropos (anth’-ro-pos) which means “man-faced, i.e., a human being.” We are familiar with the word, anthropology, which is the study of humankind.
Jesus is the “Word” through whom all things were made (John 1:1-3). He is the author of languages. He knew how to indicate Israel, as opposed to all humankind if that was what He wanted to say. The One who made all things said in a simple, declarative sentence that He made holiness in time for all humankind.
The minority commentaries that insist that the Sabbath is an artifact of Sinai and only for the Jews must also insist that Jesus got his words mixed up. He really meant to say Israel, but He had a slip of the tongue and said mankind.
We have seen that God created holiness in time on the seventh day of creation and we have explored the significance of Jesus’ comment that “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27)
In Part 3, the final part, we will unpack the significance of the second part of His statement in Mark 2:27, “not man for the Sabbath” and what it is that makes the Sabbath holy.
Len Cornwell graduated from Mountain View Academy in 1965, and received a B.S. in Aeronautical Maintenance in 1971. He received an M.B.A. in 1991 from Portland State University. He retired from his position as Coordinator for Safety, Emergency Response Planning, and Security at a large wastewater treatment plant in 2012. He currently lives in Ryderwood, WA.