Behold, How Exceedingly Good It Is :: Genesis 1:1-2:3

[Prayer]

O Lord, we praise thee that you are the Creator, Giver, and Sustainer of all. Grant us your good gifts of peace ... the peace of Sabbath rest, the peace that has no end. In your eternal rest, enliven us to do all you have prepared for us to do, receiving and giving, in Jesus’ name.

[Introduction]

As we close in on the end of the church year ... (there are only two Sundays left) ... It seems only fitting that we return to the beginning. So today, the Word for our meditation is from the beginning. In Genesis, we’re afforded the opportunity to behold all that God has done and is still doing ... to behold the repetition ... to behold the order ... to behold, how exceedingly good it is. 

Moses writes, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light (vv 1-3).

So it began, just as God said. He spoke, and it came to be. And it was good. It was orderly. 

And God said, let there be a [vault in the heavens]. ... And it was good. ... And God said let the waters be collected under the heavens, and let there be dry land. ... And it was good. ... And God said let the earth sprout. ... And it was good. ... And God said, let there be lights ... to separate day and night. ... And it was good. ... And God said let the waters swarm with fish ... and let the birds fly. ... And it was good. ... And God said let there (be animals on the earth). ... And it was good. ... And God said let us make man. ... And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was exceedingly good. ... And on the seventh day, God finished the work he had done, and he rested. ... And God blessed the seventh day and consecrated it because on it He rested (vv 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 31; 2:2-3).

1.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, isn’t it amazing ... the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ... the heavens above, the earth below, you and me, all in order? 

God created and called. God saw and separated. God gathered and gave. He illuminated and enlightened. He placed and planted. He breathed and blessed. He rested and rejoiced. With every stroke, every evening and morning, from the tiniest grain of sand to the farthest reaches of the cosmos, from single cells to intricate hands, God’s loving labor was “exceedingly good.”

Everything he does is good, because God is good. And it all ends with his rest. He works so that we can work. He rests so that we can rest. He did it in redemption when Christ was crucified, died, and was buried. And He is still doing it in your consecration through the Holy Spirit. He’s constantly overcoming our weakness, interceding for his saints, raising us into eternal life with Christ ... according to his will, which is good. And this gives us rest. 

BEHOLD, HOW EXCEEDINGLY GOOD IT IS.

It was NOT necessary for God to do any of this ... first, to create ... then to redeem ... and finally, to sanctify, or consecrate or make holy. But that is what he did and does ... exceeding out of his divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in you and me.

The pinnacle of God’s good creation, of course, is man and woman ... you and me. He created us in harmony, first with him, and also with each other. As Paul says in Ephesians (1:2-10): He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ ... all according to his purpose ... to unite all things in Christ. He has given you and me our body and soul, eyes, ears, and all our members, our reason and all our senses, and still takes care of them. He gives clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, land, animals, and all that we have. He richly and daily provides us with all that we need to support this body and life. He defends us ... guards us ... protects us. And for all this it is our duty to thank and praise, serve and obey him. 

And behold, it was exceedingly good, he said.

2.

Until we got our hands on it, anyway. 

The good and perfect rest that was created by God and given to man was broken with the Fall. Although scripture doesn’t tell us exactly when WE corrupted it all, I bet it was right after God rested. Man and woman then went to work thinking they wanted to know something less than good. Man and woman went to work longing for something of their own. And in the process, man and woman went from a continuous state of rest to a life of hard labor and pain, sweat and shame. Our perpetual rest and perpetual praise has since been lost to death and decay. 

3.

But God is exceedingly good. He loved us in this way: he returned to his exceedingly good work. 

Though man and woman were literally dead in their sin and trespasses, separated and divided ... not only from God but from each other ... He came calling and re-creating. The new man, Christ Jesus found us, regathered us, and reunited us. He began breathing new life into our dead and dying bones. He began washing us, and feeding us, and blessing us, and leading us. He gave us his Word ... literally himself. He planted a new tree of life for us ... in another garden no less (Jn 19:41). 

At Golgotha, Jesus suffered on the cross ... doing the work we couldn’t bear. And after passing over our sins into death, Jesus began his rest so that we could rejoice. As Saint John tells us, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb. ... So they laid Jesus there (Jn 19:41-42) ... to rest.

And now it is finished ... that is, the work of redemption. 

Jesus, the Word of Creation, has brought healing to the creation that we broke. And the Creator, who came in the form of a creature to recreate us into his image, had begun the work of sanctification to reunite himself to us and each other. He buried our shame ... and rose from the dead. And he is now giving us new life through his resurrection glory so that everything is exceedingly good once again. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, he is risen! 

4.

Everything is returning to the way it was in the beginning. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus affirms God is at work re-creating us. Listen to his answer to a controversy that was dividing the congregation. When a man was healed on the Sabbath ... that is, given the forgiveness of sins on the Sabbath in our Lord’s Service to them ... the Jews demanded to know who authorized this. So Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I also am working (Jn 5:9-17).

And this is exceedingly good ... because God is good.

He works through the means he provides, which are part of creation itself ... through the waters of Holy Baptism he pours out upon you, through the proclamation of his Word to you, and through the Eucharistic celebration of the Holy Supper he delivers to you. He delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 13-14). 

[Conclusion]

This Sabbath-rest in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is now present for us every Sunday ... on the day of resurrection and creation. As the Psalmist teaches us ... This is the day the Lord has made. He has created it for us. Therefore, like Adam and Eve in paradise, let us enjoy our rest in his presence. Let us stand in his presence and be what he created us to be ... in perfect fellowship with him and one another. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This worship is our rest ... And behold, it is exceedingly good ... in Jesus’ name.