Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: Although it says: “Because on it He rested from all His labor,” from the labor of creating His world He rested,42“Because on it He rested from all His labor that God created” implies that it was only from His own labor that He rested, but there were other types of labor that continued. but he did not rest from the labor of the wicked nor from the labor of the righteous.
Rather, he performs actions with these and with those. He shows to these the essence of what is their fate and to those the essence of their fate.43He punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous, all in accordance with what has been determined by their deeds. This kind of “labor” never ceased. From where is it derived that the punishment of the wicked is called labor?
It is as it is stated: “The Lord opened His armory and took out the weapons of His fury, for it is labor [for the Lord]” (Jeremiah 50:25). And from where is it derived that the reward of the righteous is called labor? It is as it is stated: “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You, which You have fashioned44The expression ”fashioning” is associated with labor. for those taking refuge in You, in the presence of people” (Psalms 31:20).