The Sabbath and Seven Days of Creation

We live in a day of Biblical illiteracy. Much more attention is paid to to secular publications, be they political, 'scientific' or mere entertainment. So it's no surprise what sources have the greater influence on our thinking. The Bible is no longer held to be a self-definitive document. When people encounter difficult passages, or concepts at odds with prevailing worldly sentiment, the tendency now is to rationalize scripture to make it harmonize with what one already believes. This is, to say the least, a dangerous trend. If scripture flows from a logical, consistent God, then it is only by other scripture that His words can be interpreted.

Example: well-meaning Christians now frequently interpret the six 'days' of Genesis 1 to be "periods of time," based on an expansive view of the Hebrew word 'yom.' In doing so, they are trying to allow wiggle room for a much longer period of creation--one that might line up with prevailing secular views of the age of the earth. There's good gramatical reason to believe this theory of 'yom' is incorrect, but the definitive rejection comes from the violence it does to the context of other scripture:

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:9-11

These words are part of God's instructions in the Ten Commandments. It's reasonable to assume the Creator knows how long He took to create...and He's certainly not instructing people to work six "eras" or "epochs" before resting. Yet the same word--yom--is used that is present in Genesis.

There is much about scripture that is difficult and challenging. It's a document that can be read repeatedly for a lifetime and yet never fully mastered. Should we expect any less from a God of infinitely greater wisdom? So how do we respond? Do we "cherry pick" what seems right to us, leaving or obscuring the rest? Or do we humbly approach it, asking the Author for HIS interpretation to brush aside our own?

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2