Hebrews 4:1-10 The Rest for the People of God

Bible Study Series: Jesus in Hebrews - Better by Far!

Bible Study Lesson: Hebrews 4 The Rest for the People of God

by I Gordon

Welcome! The last message in this series was about the mumblers and grumblers and the lessons we can learn from Israel's journey through, well around and around, the wilderness. Now you're not the type of person to moan, groan and dummy-spit are you? No, I didn't think so. You are the type of person who desires to trust God and enter His rest right? I knew it! I knew it! So this is the message for you. Jesus said "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." It is this theme of the rest we will look at today, exploring the following:  

• The promise of the rest - Who is it for and when is it available?
• The rest specifics - What actually is God's rest and what, in the context of Hebrews 4, is it not? 
• The personal application - Why is the rest important and how do we enter it? Do we need a spiritual experience or do we enter by faith? 
• The examples in God's word - We'll look at four scriptural examples that illustrate how to enter the rest.  

A promise of entering His rest remains...

Heb 4:1-2  Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.  (2)  For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

The writer declares that God's promise of rest remains and let me just add that here we are, almost 2000 years on, and it still remains! This promise is as true today as it was 2000 years ago when this letter was written. In fact God's rest was also available 3500 years ago at the time of the Exodus and Israel's entry into the Promised Land. And yet the rest is conditional upon, and connected to, faith. It must be combined with faith. Israel, as we saw last time, went into the mumbling and grumbling of unbelief and were not able to enter God's rest. You may remember that when the 12 spies brought back their report of the Promised Land, 2 were in faith essentially saying 'God is on our side, we can do this'. The other 10 however were in unbelief saying 'the giants are on their side, we can't do this!' Their message was that all inspiring 'yeah sorry, no chance guys - we are grasshoppers in their sight.' And that is how it played out. The two that believed, Joshua and Caleb, entered into the Promised Land. The 10 that were in unbelief, and all the people of Israel that agreed with that unbelief, died in the wilderness.

So applying the KISS principle (Keep it simple stupid!), here is the key thought from these initial couple of verses. Straight away we see that there is a promise of rest that still remains, even to this day, for God's people. There is a rest we can come into. But it is connected to faith. If the message we read and hear is not united with faith it will be of no use to us. We will still be looking at the giants in our life, no matter what they are, and not experiencing God's rest. But as we will see, it doesn't have to be that way. Let's read on! 

God's rest - What it is, and isn't!

Heb 4:3-6  Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.  (4)  For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."  (5)  And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."  (6)  It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.

The writer of Hebrews reiterates his message saying now that it is not just unbelief that stops a person entering God's rest. It is also disobedience. It is a willful turning from what God has said. But we who have believed enter His rest. So before going on any further, let's define what God's rest is, and isn't, in the context of Hebrews 4. 

I remember reading an illustration of the rest (some time back) that Major Ian Thomas gave, and a 'loose' 'adapted' paraphrase of this would be the following

Let's say I come to your house and you're struggling digging a huge hole and I said, 'wow, looks like you could do with a rest. Would you like some help?' And being hot, tired and now extremely grateful, you reply, 'Oh that would be fantastic! I've been out here all morning and I'm exhausted!' So I say 'Cool, no worries... what you should do is bend more with your legs. And I see you using your back like a crane. Don't do that. You'll come to regret that when you are over 50. And take lighter but more frequent loads. There.... I trust that helps you!' If I did that, how would you feel? Did I give you rest? No. I just gave you another reason to be annoyed! So how would I give you rest? Well, by saying 'Cool - jump out of that hole, sit down, here's a glass of water and give me the spade. I've got this!' God's rest is when He takes over. When we can get out of the hole we are digging and allow Him to handle it. 

Now this doesn't mean that there are no problems. If you remember the good words of our Lord, 'in this world you will have tribulation!' But it means that He is undertaking for you and you know that He is adequate for all things... and thus can rest in that. 

The rest is 'Today'

Heb 4:7-10  Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."  (8)  For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.  (9)  There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;  (10)  for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

So in these last verses that we'll look at today, allow me to reemphasize a few points that come up which have been touched on before. Firstly, we see the word 'Today' used twice in this passage. There is that word again - 'Today!' God has set aside a certain day and called it 'Today'. He didn't call it Saturday or Sunday. It is available 'Today' no matter what day of the week it is! God's rest is every day - when you hear and obey His voice! Secondly, the writer emphasizes that while coming into the Promised Land was a type of the rest, it doesn't end there. The writer is quick to note that if it ended with Joshua then why did God say a rest still remains even in David's day? Now God did give them rest in the time of Joshua for we read:

Jos 21:43-45 Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. (44) And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. (45) Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

But entering the rest is not a one time experience. Not then and not now. My Mum entered the rest over her brain tumor. Her broken hip and torn tendons brings a new challenge that also requires the rest. So God again reminds His people that 'There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God'. And 'anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.' So the rest is connected to our works, effort and struggles. It is entering into the work that God does and not having to rely upon our own failed and feeble efforts. Is God at rest? You bet He is. Now that doesn't not mean He is not active. He certainly is. But all His activity comes from His power and knowledge of all things and is 100% stress-free! So, to put it simply, He is never stressed out and never worried because He is more than capable in all things. And remember, it is His rest we enter into. Thus we enter into that same state knowing that He is adequate for all things! 

Some verses and examples of the rest

Let me just give you two examples of the rest from characters in the Old Testament, and two verses that illustrate how we enter the rest. 

Moses

You may remember that Moses was struggling with the hardness of the people's hearts as he led them through the wilderness and asked (argh complained to) the Lord about it saying:

Exo 33:12-13  Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'  (13)  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people."

Can you remember how the Lord responded? God assured Him saying "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." We see from this that the rest is always connected to God being with us and knowing this important truth.

Joshua

Our passage mentions Joshua and the nation of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. You may remember that the first place they took, Jericho, was taken simply by following and trusting God. They just marched around its walls and blew their trumpets! And down it came. But before any victory, they had an unusual encounter with the man with the sword in his hand!

Jos 5:13-15  Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"  (14)  Neither, he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"  (15)  The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

As Joshua realized that this man hadn't come to take sides but had come from the Lord to take over, He bowed in reverence and gave the One the position He deserved! And that is what we have to do before encountering any victory. We must see that God is the One who gives us victory and has Him in His right place. Then we can rest in that, knowing that the Lord leads the way!   

The 'ancient path'

Now I love this verse in Jeremiah that speaks of the ancient paths. Here it is:

Jer 6:16  This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. 

The crossroads that we stand at is our way and God's way cross. We are used to just going our way but we are told to pause, stand there, and ask God for His ancient path. This is what we should practice whenever something arises that may take u=our peace. Stop. Pause. Ask God for His path. Then walk in it. And what does scripture say will result? 'And you will find rest for your souls'. 

The 'quiet place'

There is a great little picture given of another practical step to enter the rest in the Gospel of Mark:

Mar 6:30-32  The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.  (31)  Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."  (32)  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

Look at what it says here and see if that relates to modern life. It says 'so many people were coming and going'. And yes, they still are! Life gets so busy with all the 'comings and goings' it is important to take time out to be with the Lord. What Jesus told His disciples then, is what He would say today 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." The solitary place, alone with Jesus, is a place of rest we need from all the comings and goings of life. We can rest physically, mentally, and most importantly spiritually, in that place! 

Conclusion 

So as we conclude, we have seen that as scripture says, there remains a rest for the people of God. It remains. It is true today as it was 2000 years ago. And it is for the people of God. I trust that is you! We have seen that the rest is 'Today'. It is always in the present when we hear God's voice and apply faith to what we hear. As Christian said to Hopeful while wallowing under the heavy hand of Giant Despair 'I have a key in my bosom called Promise, that will, I am persuaded, open any lock in Doubting Castle.' It is God's word and God's promises, united with faith, that lead to the rest. 

And let me just give an extended quote from Pastor Ray Stedman who again emphasizes the importance of faith, trust and the presence of the Lord in our life, which leads to this rest. He writes:

"It takes Christ to be a Christian, and it takes God to be a man. When you put Christ back in the Christian, you put God back in the man. This is God's design for living, this is the new principle of human activity -- to stop our own efforts. We do not have what it takes, and we never did have. The only one who can live the Christian life is Jesus Christ. He proposes to reproduce his life in us. Our part is to expose every situation to his life in us, and, by that means, depending upon him and not upon us, we are to meet every situation, enter into every circumstance, and perform every activity. We cease from our own labors.

This is the way you began the Christian life, if you are a Christian. You came to the place where you stopped trying to save yourself, did you not? You quit trying to be good enough to get into heaven. You said, "I'll never make it, I'll never make it." You looked to the Lord Jesus, and said, "If he has taken my place, then that is all I need." Thus, receiving him, and resting on that fact by faith, you stopped your own efforts, you ceased from your own work, and rested on his.

Now, Paul says in Colossians, "As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him," (Colossians 2:6 RSV). As ... so -- in the same way. As you have received him, so live in dependence upon him to do all things through you. Step out upon that, and what is the result? Rest! Wonderful rest! Relief, release, no longer worrying, fretting, straining, for you are resting upon One who is wholly adequate to do through you everything that needs to be done. He does not make automatons of us, he does not turn us into robots. He works through our thinking, our feeling and our reasoning, but our dependence must be upon him."
Pastor Ray Stedman

May God bless and may you come into His rest today!

 

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FOOTNOTES