Exodus 20:11 - Exposition

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth . Two reasons are assigned for the sanctification of the seventh day in the Pentateuch:—

1 . The fact that the work of creation took six days, and that on the seventh God rested; and

2 . The further fact, that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and gave them a time of rest after a time of labour and toil ( Deuteronomy 5:15 ). It is not expressly said that the deliverance took place on the Sabbath, but such is the Jewish tradition on the subject. The reason here assigned must be regarded as the main reason, man's rest being purposely assimilated to God's rest, in order to show the resemblance between man's nature anti God's ( Genesis 1:27 ), and to point towards that eternal rest wherein man, united with God, will find his highest bliss and the true end of his being. "There remaineth a rest for the people of God."