Why did God create sleep?

SO why did God have to rest? Yah I know he did not sleep-well I don't think so-or is Genesis another mistranslation of Hebrew? I am not being a smart ass here either! Iam not even gonna put in my thoughts about-er-well-it is a Christian thread so I will just shut me cake hole!

Because our physical bodies repair themselves faster when we're asleep. Our skin appears fresher, our mind works faster...

It's the only thing I can come up with anyway. And having physical bodies means we are restricted to the limitations of the physical realm.

We eat, we drink, we make love, we sleep...none of these things are needed per se. I'm sure God could have created us in a different way, but he lovingly gave us variety.

Similarly, we could get by with monochrome vision but he gave us colour. It's all about variety; it gives us room for personal preferences too.

But that's straying from the 'sleep' issue. I say it's a matter of processing the day's events and repairing any damage we've done to our body and renewing our energy. Like prayer, I guess, which tops up our spirituality. Sleep tops us up physically.

There was an interesting episode of NOVA Science Now that dealt with sleep and memory. Some of the concepts are here. Might be some fodder for you there.

As for God's reasons . . . .

Perhaps to give us the gift of dreams, a place where you can do anything and be anything, at least for awhile.

Good luck on your story.

Just Mike said:

There was an interesting episode of NOVA Science Now that dealt with sleep and memory. Some of the concepts are here. Might be some fodder for you there.

As for God's reasons . . . .

Perhaps to give us the gift of dreams, a place where you can do anything and be anything, at least for awhile.

Good luck on your story.

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The logic dictates the the debull created wet dreams-ouch could not help meself!!!!

I'm no Bible scholar, so find a Strong's to check this. Didn't the prophet Joel say about the time when we are in tune with what God wants for us that "Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions"?

And in Genesis, God puts Adam to sleep to create Eve.

So to extrapolate: God created sleep so we'd have a time when we're receptive to what He wants to tell us or do in us--because it's hard for me, at least, to turn off my stubborn waking mind.

Is this one of those questions like "I have a friend who is having wet dreams?"

davids said:

The logic dictates the the debull created wet dreams-ouch could not help meself!!!!

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Sleep, rest are all part of our make up. We funtion better after resting. Nothing created can go with out rest. The land need rest to become refurtile. That is mentioned in the Bible. (Leviticus i think) If we don't sleep or rest then we breakdown and malfuntion. God did not make us to breakdown but to enjoy life to the fullest. That is best achieved and maxiumized by been fully rested.

I am collecting stuff on rest i will look through it to see if there is any thing for you.

Kevvers

Have your character go 72 hours without sleep and then ask her the question.

You can always cite Jesus conked out on the pillow in the boat during the lake storm (in Mark somewhere). He woke up refreshed enough to tell the storm to put a sock in it. The lesson can be obvious to your character.

"Put a sock in it?"

Hmm.

"Truly I say to you, put a sock in it, storm, or I'll walk all over you!"

Physical things don't have life within themselves (like angels, demons, God himself), so we depend on outside sources to maintain our lives - food, drink, sleep.

We're made of physical material which breaks down unless you look after it. I guess God could have made us in such a way that we didn't need outside things to maintain a healthy life, but then we wouldn't have any variety, and we wouldn't experience the physical pleasure of a delicious meal, a fine wine or yes,a good big sleep in a comfy, warm bed.

We were made to depend on God, and that includes meeting our physical needs as well as our spiritual ones. Angels depend on him too, but in different ways. I wouldn't know what those ways are, given that (contrary to popular belief) I am no angel.

But interesting question, III. Bordering on the philosophy with this one.

Because He knew that men/women would be consumed with the idea of money. That their every waking thought day/night would be "MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!" Requiring sleep keeps companies from instituting the 18 hour work day. It also gives us who think there is more to life than money a break from those who do, even if we are unaware of it.

You can discuss what sleep is and what it does for you, but that doesn't address why God created us to require sleep. Oddly enough, davids hit on one answer -- because we are made in God's image, and God rested on the seventh day of creation. Perhaps resting is somehow in God's nature.

That's not to say I believe that God sleeps like we do. Perhaps our sleep is a pale imitation of God's resting, just as our attempts to be righteous are pale imitations of God's holiness.

Roger J Carlson said:

Perhaps our sleep is a pale imitation of God's resting, just as our attempts to be righteous are pale imitations of God's holiness.

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Wow.

Perhaps resting is somehow in God's nature.

That's not to say I believe that God sleeps like we do. Perhaps our sleep is a pale imitation of God's resting, just as our attempts to be righteous are pale imitations of God's holiness.

WOW! I will say it backwards WOW! Deep! Guess that's why you're a MOD!

I am gonna go listen to Nathan Milstein play Brahms first violin concerto-that is where God is and where I am gonna have a little nappy

davids

I am gonna go listen to Nathan Milstein play Brahms first violin concerto-that is where God is and where I am gonna have a little nappy

You do know that "nappy" is UK for diaper!!!

I am a Christian writer and all in the bible God revealed things to people thru dreams. People also went to Godly people to tell them what their dreams and visions meant. In the beginning God rested on the 7th day. In my opinion God is a God of renewal. He says not to worry about tomorrow for it will have it's own troubles. A good nights sleep washes the worries of the day away. You know how you can be upset about something and then go to sleep and the next morning it seems silly. Hope this helps. God bless you!

It's also great for snuggling if you're not alone like me.

Snuggling is like recharging your batteries and its damn time I recharged!

Who wants to snuggle?

RumpleTumbler said:

Because He knew that men/women would be consumed with the idea of money. That their every waking thought day/night would be "MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!" Requiring sleep keeps companies from instituting the 18 hour work day. It also gives us who think there is more to life than money a break from those who do, even if we are unaware of it.

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Oh, yeah. I never thought about it that way. That could be true, too. He sees far. And yes, waking minds have more filters than sleeping ones do.

This too, from Roger:

davids hit on one answer -- because we are made in God's image, and God rested on the seventh day of creation. Perhaps resting is somehow in God's nature.

That's not to say I believe that God sleeps like we do. Perhaps our sleep is a pale imitation of God's resting, just as our attempts to be righteous are pale imitations of God's holiness.

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Brookie makes a good point as well:

all in the bible God revealed things to people thru dreams. People also went to Godly people to tell them what their dreams and visions meant. In the beginning God rested on the 7th day. In my opinion God is a God of renewal. He says not to worry about tomorrow for it will have it's own troubles.

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And Scarlett makes the biological point that if we don't sleep - we die. Sooner than you'd think. Maybe we might not have needed as much - if

but they did and we do and I thank God for it. I love to sleep.

The concept of rest is laced throughout the bible: God institutes the seventh day of rest (and observes it initially), he institutes letting the land rest (rotation of crops), and he institutes specific times of rest (feast days, holidays) in which people should not be doing work. He even tells the people to let their servants rest as well as everyone in the land.

So I think the larger question is not why did God make people need sleep, but why did God think rest was important?

I think the answer is that rest, even sleep, gives us a chance to enjoy all that we have done and all that He has created. Think about it. If God hadn't specifically said "Your servants get to have this day of rest with you," and people didn't NEED rest, poor people would be working ALL THE TIME. If you could go for days on end, and you needed money, you would.

But if you worked all the time (and we know that even people who didn't need the money would be caught up in this), you wouldn't be taking time out to enjoy the fruits of your labor. I realize that sleep isn't a conscious enjoyment of life, but it is a forced "slow down" period. God isn't really concerned with us being super-productive. Sure, it's important to survive, but I think he's more concerned with us taking time to thank him, to enjoy the things that he has made, and to worship him.

Also, sleep is pleasurable. If you don't have problems getting to sleep, a solid 8 hours just feels GOOD. God delights in granting us pleasure. He created sex, didn't he? Just as sex can be painful if we don't do it right, sleep can also be a drag. But the original, untainted concept of sleep, just like sex, involves pleasure.