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Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
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1. Sabbath Study: Beginning with God’s Rest

God’s Image Study • Commandment 4: The Sabbath

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

— Exodus 20:8, LSB

We arrived at the fourth commandment. To examine it carefully, we will begin where the commandment itself directs our attention: God’s work and His rest.

Exodus connects the seventh day with creation, explaining that YHWH (יהוה) blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Understanding that connection requires us to return to Genesis. Read Exodus 20:8–11.

Before examining our rest, we must examine His

Genesis 2:1–3 brings several details together: the completion of the heavens and earth, God’s completed work, His rest on the seventh day, and His blessing and sanctifying that day.

Each deserves careful attention.

What work is described as completed? What does resting mean in this passage? Why is the seventh day blessed and set apart? How do later passages develop this account? Read Genesis 2:1–3.

We will begin with these questions and follow the wording before drawing conclusions.

The commandment reaches beyond one person

Exodus includes children, servants, livestock, and the sojourner within the gates in its instruction concerning rest.

The commandment therefore calls us to examine our responsibility toward those affected by our decisions. A person’s own rest cannot be considered apart from the work required of others. Read Exodus 20:9–10.

As throughout this series, we will keep Jesus’s connection between loving God and loving our neighbor before us. Read Matthew 22:37–40.

Following the passages into their purpose

Hebrews 4 returns to God’s seventh-day rest while discussing hearing, faith, obedience, and entering His rest. That connection gives us further questions to examine as the study develops. Read Hebrews 4:1–11.

Our Born Again Study and God’s Image Study will remain alongside this examination as we consider life from God, transformation, and the completion of His work.

We will pay attention to sequence, repeated language, and the relationships between passages, allowing each connection to be examined in its context.

Our next step

Before continuing through the fourth commandment in Exodus, we will begin a separate Sabbath Study under Genesis, starting with Genesis 2:1–3.

From there, we will follow the passages concerning rest and holiness. After establishing that foundation, we will return to Exodus and examine the commandment in detail.

Threads to Follow

  • Completed work: What does Genesis say God completed?

  • Rest and holiness: What does God’s blessing and sanctifying the seventh day establish?

  • Entering His rest: How does Hebrews connect the creation account with faith and obedience?

The books were opened…

🌿 By Maria Emilia

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