The Sabbath – Touching the Face of God Further reading: Gen. 2:1–3 “In the beginning God . . .” This phrase is part of the first verse of the Bible. The Bible begins with God, who was already in existence and acting prior to the creation of time and space. Genesis 2:1–3 states categorically that God is eternal and transcendent to the physical universe He created. During the French Revolution, Napoleon and his supporters wanted to abolish all vestiges of Christianity, which included the seven-day weekly cycle. So they created a new calendar named the French Revolutionary Calendar or the French Republican Calendar, which was used for about 12 years from late 1793. Eventually this “calendar was abolished because having a ten-day work week gave workers less rest (one day off every ten instead of one day off every seven).” The most certain and universal of all scientific principles is the law of cause and effect. Nature testifies to an infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omni­scient, living, personal God, who cares so much for His human creation that He set aside an entire day so they could rest. Our need to rest is paramount to our survival, especially now because of the effects of sin. Without the rest God affords us on the Sabbath, we’d fall apart physically, psychologically, and spiritually. This is the work of the Master Designer who knew what we would need before He created us. Thus in the Sabbath we get a glimpse of a loving God who gave us a special time not only to rest, but to commune with Him in special ways and to commemorate His creation. During the Sabbath, God invites us to touch Him. The Sabbath signals a prelude to the eternal rest God has promised His faithful children in the world made new. The French thought they could defy God’s institution of a seven-day week, but they had to abandon it, because of the toll it had on the people. We, too, have to abandon our pet ideas about the Sabbath and observe it God’s way. Sammy R. Browne, Westbury, New York, U.S.A.