What Is The Rest Of God, A Closer Look At Hebrews 4

Welcome back to our study of the book of Hebrews , today we’ll take a look at chapter 4 which mainly discusses the nature of the rest of God. Last week, we talked about the implications of a hardened heart. We looked at the Israelites’ disobedience in the wilderness due to their unbelief, and we saw how as a result, they were prevented from entering the land of Canaan, the place of rest that God was preparing for them. We briefly talked about the salvation rest God gives His people and the continual rest HE offers for those who trust in Him. Chapter 4 will mainly talk about the importance of recognizing and entering the rest of God.

About The Rest Of God

The Passage: Hebrews 4

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. ² For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.^[a] 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” ⁵ And again in this passage he said,

⁶ Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, God^[b] would not have spoken of another day later on. ⁹ So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, ¹⁰ for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.¹⁴ Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Notes

Verse 1 Observations:

The writer has given his readers plenty of reasons why they shouldn’t harden their hearts. We have been talking about them since chapter 2 of the book of Hebrews. Now he is saying that because of every reason he has been given them ( and us as well), there is something that needs to be done. The promise of entering God’s rest is still available right now. And we still need to define what that rest is. It is a daily surrender of our will to the Lord, trusting in Him and His promises, a softening of our hearts. The writer doesn’t want us his readers to miss entering this rest as the generation in the wilderness failed to enter Canaan, the physical place of rest the Lord was preparing for them. They were right at the border of Canaan  and because of their hardened hearts, they missed it and wondered for 40 years in the wilderness. In the same way, the promise is still available for us today ( we read about it in Matthew 11:28-30)

“28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Verse 2 Observations:

They received the same good news we received, but the good news of the rest of God was of no value to them because they didn’t have ears of faith like Caleb, Joshua, Moses and Aaron. The people weren’t united by faith with those who listened. The Scripture says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We’ll read in Hebrews 11 that without faith it is impossible to please God. When the people heard the words of God, it didn’t produce an action within their hearts because their hearts were hardened. Only Caleb and Joshua took God at His Word and believed Him. And they did so because God is the one who worked in them both to will and act according to His good purpose. The others heard the same words Joshua and Caleb heard and it did absolutely nothing for them. Jesus talks about this in the book of Joh,  John 6:65 

 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Caleb and Joshua responded by faith for God granted them the faith to believe Him. And God also said somewhere that I’ll have mercy on whom I have mercy. Caleb and Joshua believed because God granted them faith to believe. The others exuded unbelief because their hearts had been hardened by unbelief. It wasn’t God’s fault, but their own callous hearts.

Verses 3-7 Observations:

Belief in God is the prerequisite to entering His rest. And we know that it is God Himself who enables us to believe in Him and to believe His word(s). Based on what the author is saying here, the rest of God still remains to this day, even though the creation days are over with. We are told in Genesis that God rested on the 7th day from all the works He did in creation. We are still technically in the 7th day ( the Day of Rest or redemption). The sabbath rest was meant to communicate not only the salvation rest God provided through Jesus ( implying that we did nothing to deserve it) but it also was meant to communicate that from then on ( after our salvation), the rest of our lives must be lived in constant trusting God and the  surrendering of the control of our life to God. 

Verses 8-10 Observations:

Even though Joshua led the children of the rebellious generation to enter their place of physical rest ( Canaan), he didn’t really give them the true rest of God. Let’s read Joshua 24:14-28. Joshua saw something that the people didn’t. They were very quick to say that they were going to be loyal to the Lord ( they gave lip service because it was convenient at the time) but Joshua gave a response that indicated that the people truly hadn’t entered the true rest of God ( Joshua 24:19). So we see that the sabbath rest of God is still available today, and those who enter that rest, rest from their work as God did from his ( the creation works).The sabbath day was instituted to remind the people that everything they were doing was only possible because of God’s provision. But they failed to recognize it. Every day is a sabbath day for the man that has entered the rest of God. Why? Because that person rests from his works the same way God rested from his works in creation. The Lord is done with the days of creation, and now He is in the 7th day, which I believe is the Day of redemption. So we also who enter the rest of God have ceased, stopped doing our OWN THING. We no longer live to please ourselves, but we live to please God. Scripture says that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The rested man/woman is the person that lives by the commands of God. We get restless because we try to please everybody else but God. Jesus was the busiest man that ever lived but He was rested. Everything He did, pleased God because everything He did came from God. Listen to what Jesus said in John 14:10”Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”

The rested person is the person whose life is a reflection of the breath of God, this is why everyday is a sabbath day for the rested person. Because that person is completely surrendered to the will of God

Verses 11-13 Observations:

There is a reason why the writer keeps saying “ if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts”. If God grants us the ability to hear His word ( rhema word), the writer is saying that we should be quick to listen to it and enter His rest. James said something similar in James 1:19-21 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

The writer is giving us the same warning. And here is the reason for it, the word of God is living and active. God Himself says of His word in Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 

The word of God isn’t slow in accomplishing its purpose. Those that hardened their hearts and disobeyed were not granted ears of faith. That doesn’t justify their actions for they knew right from wrong. And today if the word of God is being preached us, let’s pray that the Lord grants us ears of faith to receive it and act upon it. We are also reminded about our accountability before God. No one would be able to claim ignorance before God. We won’t have an excuse for the way we opted to live our lives. He is all knowing and knows our true motives when we resist Him.

Verses 14-16

Moses interceded for the people but as great as Moses was, his intercessory ministry doesn’t come close to that of Jesus. The writer is inviting his readers to hang on tight to that which they confess because the High priest we have in Jesus has passed through the heavens. He is seated at the right hand of God. And not only that but because He also shared the human experience ( when He took upon a human nature), He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He isn’t oblivious to the hard things we face. Because He was a man, He faced the same pressures we face but the difference is, He didn’t succumb to the temptations because He was without sin. And because of that, He can help those who come to Him by faith. This is great news.  We are then told to come near the throne of God’s grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need ( this is basically paraphrasing Matthew 11:28-30). In the wilderness, Moses, Joshua and only a handful of the people of Israel were able to enjoy the throne of Grace. Moses understood the grace of God and while He was meek and had reverence for God, He also knew that God was slow to anger and abounding in love. Moses didn’t abuse the grace of God, actually it did the opposite, the grace of God melted His heart and all he wanted to do was be faithful to God. The people on the other hand viewed God as a tyrant and missed out on the rest HE wanted to give them.

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