Heb 4:8-9 | KingComments | STEP | . This chapter begins with a strange call, at least at first glance, to “fear”. But ‘fear’ here doesn’t mean that you should continually live in fear and doubt whether you will be saved after all perseverance. To fear does not mean: to be afraid of God, but: to be afraid of yourself, of your own weakness and of your own wicked and sinful heart. If you fear God you will take to heart the warnings that are made to Israel, that you will not follow them in their ways of unbelief. However, if you ignore those warnings and think self-confidently that you will achieve the final goal in your own strength, it means that you have no trust in God and you live independently of Him. In that case you may possibly imagine that the promise to enter God’s rest also applies to you, though reality will be that you will come short of it. To have come short of it means to perish in the wilderness and not reaching the rest. Though, if you completely trust in God for entering God’s rest, you will undoubtedly enter His rest at last. Distrust in yourself and trust in God are proof that you have new life. . You received that new life when you accepted the “good news” that was preached to you. The same goes for the readers of the letter. The good news, the literal meaning of the word gospel, was preached to them by the Son of God ( ). Also to the people of Israel the good news was once brought. It may remind you of two events. The one is the good news of their deliverance from Egypt. The other is that they were going to enter Canaan. Therein is an application for you. The good news means to you that you were delivered from the power of sin and that you entered the heavenly blessings. Whatever the preaching of that good news consisted of, if it were not united by faith the hearers it would not profit them. . To partake of the contents of the good news, faith is essential. That applies to everyone who hears. Only then there is an entry into the rest. The emphasis is that only those who believe will enter the rest. Like Joshua and Caleb we, who have believed, shall enter the rest. They who do not believe now, will not enter it later, just as surely as those who did not believe did not enter then. The rest is nothing new in itself. The rest that you will enter, exists from the beginning. The first time rest is spoken about in the Bible is in connection with the day of God’s rest on the seventh day that followed the six days of creation. In that rest God purposed man to partake of, but sin disturbed that rest. Therefore a new work from God was necessary ( ) to be able to give and to enjoy a new rest. God cannot rest where sin is present. Only when the curse has been taken away from creation He will be able to rest again in His works. When it is written that God rested from all His works it doesn’t mean, of course, that God was tired and needed rest. The rest of God has to do with His innermost being. It is the rest of the inner satisfaction with which He can look at His works. . The writer supports his argument with a quotation from Genesis 2. God had worked in His creation and had rested from His work when He had completed it ( ). In that way He proved from the foundation of the world that He had a rest. As it is said, God’s rest came to an end through the fall of man. But the Son of God has provided a new rest. God is resting in the work that His Son accomplished on the cross. In that work there is also rest to be found for all who are weighed down by the burden of their sins ( ). Through that work God can rest in His love, which will soon be with respect to all creation ( ). . In this verse the writer once again quotes Psalm 95 ( ). His whole argument is focused on making his readers fully aware of the fact that there is a rest of God and that God desires to have people partaking of this rest. He also shows clearly that man did not enter God’s rest because he acted in unbelief. . He reminds them that the rest is still accessible, but also reminds them that everyone who are disobedient will never enter it. As a kind of summary he poses that some – those who believe – will enter the rest. He also poses that those to whom the good news was preached during the wilderness journey, did not believe God and that they disobeyed His commandment, which was the cause they did not enter this rest. . However, this is not the last word. God is still busy in His mercy to lead His people to partake of His rest. Therefore He again fixed a certain day, which He does in the time of David. That is “so long a time” after the events of the wilderness journey of forty years. The writer again quotes Psalm 95 ( ) with in it the call to Israel to convert to the Lord with a view to the coming of Christ to earth to lead the people into the rest. “In David”, the man after His heart, He offered the people a new opportunity to receive the fulfillment of His promises. But even then the promised rest did not come. Not even under Solomon, who was a man of rest ( ). . God would not have spoken about another day “through David” if Joshua had brought the people into the rest when he captured the land. Their hearts were not changed by living in that land. They were still unbelieving and disobeying like they were in the wilderness. All the blessings in that land only made it all the more clear how little they valued God’s provisions. . All of this means that the rest for the people of God that is showed by the Sabbath, still is to come. It also means that we should not expect the rest here and now and we should even less expect that we would have already reached it. The writer doesn’t say where the rest is. In that way he leaves room for a rest in heaven for a heavenly people and a rest on earth for an earthly people. Not Moses, not Joshua, not David and not even Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will realize and preserve the true rest. It is a rest “for the people of God”. That rest of God is for all the fallen asleep believers from the Old Testament and the New Testament in heaven. That is not the Father’s house, but heaven as that will extend over a cleansed earth. It is the situation of the millennial kingdom of peace, when Christ will be Head over all things that are in heaven an on earth ( ). The Lord Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath ( ). The Sabbath is not a picture of the everlasting rest, but of the rest of the millennial kingdom of peace. The rest of the millennial kingdom is still to come both for the heavenly people of God, the church, and God’s earthly people, Israel. . There is also a rest from your works and that is when your life of faith on earth has come to an end. That rest is the portion of all those who have persevered in faith and have not fallen and perished because of unbelief. He who dies in faith, enters into the rest of God and rests from his works. This is compared with the rest that God had after His works. Those works are of course good. Therefore the works here are the works of the believer. Those are the works that were done by faith and not works for earning salvation ( ; ). From those works the believer rests when he enters into the rest of God when he has come to the end of his pilgrim’s journey. . In order to reach the rest of God you have to persevere. A present, apparent rest is not the true rest. The faith of the Hebrews was weakened by the continual trials, through which the coming rest faded more and more. Therefore they were exposed to the danger of changing the life of faith for enjoying a rest that is an apparent rest. Therefore the writer appeals to be diligent to enter the promised rest, which is still to come. “To be diligent” means resisting the temptation to give up under the pressure of circumstances of whatever nature. The diligence of the believer implies a continual examination of himself and of the circumstances. As a perfect touchstone for this, you are given the Word of God ( ). On that basis you can examine if there are wrong thoughts or considerations in the heart. Love can never rest where sin rules and where sorrow and misery are seen all over. That goes for God and for the believer. The time will come when God wipes all the tears from the eyes. Then you are in His rest. Now read Hebrews 4:1-11 again. Reflection: When will you enter the rest of God?

‏ Hebrews 4:8-9

The Rest of God

Heb 4:1. This chapter begins with a strange call, at least at first glance, to “fear”. But ‘fear’ here doesn’t mean that you should continually live in fear and doubt whether you will be saved after all perseverance. To fear does not mean: to be afraid of God, but: to be afraid of yourself, of your own weakness and of your own wicked and sinful heart.

If you fear God you will take to heart the warnings that are made to Israel, that you will not follow them in their ways of unbelief. However, if you ignore those warnings and think self-confidently that you will achieve the final goal in your own strength, it means that you have no trust in God and you live independently of Him. In that case you may possibly imagine that the promise to enter God’s rest also applies to you, though reality will be that you will come short of it. To have come short of it means to perish in the wilderness and not reaching the rest. Though, if you completely trust in God for entering God’s rest, you will undoubtedly enter His rest at last. Distrust in yourself and trust in God are proof that you have new life.

Heb 4:2. You received that new life when you accepted the “good news” that was preached to you. The same goes for the readers of the letter. The good news, the literal meaning of the word gospel, was preached to them by the Son of God (Heb 1:1 ; Heb 2:3).

Also to the people of Israel the good news was once brought. It may remind you of two events. The one is the good news of their deliverance from Egypt. The other is that they were going to enter Canaan. Therein is an application for you. The good news means to you that you were delivered from the power of sin and that you entered the heavenly blessings.

Whatever the preaching of that good news consisted of, if it were not united by faith the hearers it would not profit them.

Heb 4:3. To partake of the contents of the good news, faith is essential. That applies to everyone who hears. Only then there is an entry into the rest. The emphasis is that only those who believe will enter the rest. Like Joshua and Caleb we, who have believed, shall enter the rest. They who do not believe now, will not enter it later, just as surely as those who did not believe did not enter then.

The rest is nothing new in itself. The rest that you will enter, exists from the beginning. The first time rest is spoken about in the Bible is in connection with the day of God’s rest on the seventh day that followed the six days of creation. In that rest God purposed man to partake of, but sin disturbed that rest. Therefore a new work from God was necessary (Jn 5:17) to be able to give and to enjoy a new rest.

God cannot rest where sin is present. Only when the curse has been taken away from creation He will be able to rest again in His works. When it is written that God rested from all His works it doesn’t mean, of course, that God was tired and needed rest. The rest of God has to do with His innermost being. It is the rest of the inner satisfaction with which He can look at His works.

Heb 4:4. The writer supports his argument with a quotation from Genesis 2. God had worked in His creation and had rested from His work when He had completed it (Gen 2:2). In that way He proved from the foundation of the world that He had a rest. As it is said, God’s rest came to an end through the fall of man. But the Son of God has provided a new rest. God is resting in the work that His Son accomplished on the cross. In that work there is also rest to be found for all who are weighed down by the burden of their sins (Mt 11:28). Through that work God can rest in His love, which will soon be with respect to all creation (Zep 3:17).

Heb 4:5. In this verse the writer once again quotes Psalm 95 (Psa 95:11). His whole argument is focused on making his readers fully aware of the fact that there is a rest of God and that God desires to have people partaking of this rest. He also shows clearly that man did not enter God’s rest because he acted in unbelief.

Heb 4:6. He reminds them that the rest is still accessible, but also reminds them that everyone who are disobedient will never enter it. As a kind of summary he poses that some – those who believe – will enter the rest. He also poses that those to whom the good news was preached during the wilderness journey, did not believe God and that they disobeyed His commandment, which was the cause they did not enter this rest.

Heb 4:7. However, this is not the last word. God is still busy in His mercy to lead His people to partake of His rest. Therefore He again fixed a certain day, which He does in the time of David. That is “so long a time” after the events of the wilderness journey of forty years.

The writer again quotes Psalm 95 (Psa 95:7-8) with in it the call to Israel to convert to the Lord with a view to the coming of Christ to earth to lead the people into the rest. “In David”, the man after His heart, He offered the people a new opportunity to receive the fulfillment of His promises. But even then the promised rest did not come. Not even under Solomon, who was a man of rest (1Chr 22:9).

Heb 4:8. God would not have spoken about another day “through David” if Joshua had brought the people into the rest when he captured the land. Their hearts were not changed by living in that land. They were still unbelieving and disobeying like they were in the wilderness. All the blessings in that land only made it all the more clear how little they valued God’s provisions.

Heb 4:9. All of this means that the rest for the people of God that is showed by the Sabbath, still is to come. It also means that we should not expect the rest here and now and we should even less expect that we would have already reached it. The writer doesn’t say where the rest is. In that way he leaves room for a rest in heaven for a heavenly people and a rest on earth for an earthly people. Not Moses, not Joshua, not David and not even Solomon, but the Lord Jesus will realize and preserve the true rest. It is a rest “for the people of God”.

That rest of God is for all the fallen asleep believers from the Old Testament and the New Testament in heaven. That is not the Father’s house, but heaven as that will extend over a cleansed earth. It is the situation of the millennial kingdom of peace, when Christ will be Head over all things that are in heaven an on earth (Eph 1:10). The Lord Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mk 2:28). The Sabbath is not a picture of the everlasting rest, but of the rest of the millennial kingdom of peace. The rest of the millennial kingdom is still to come both for the heavenly people of God, the church, and God’s earthly people, Israel.

Heb 4:10. There is also a rest from your works and that is when your life of faith on earth has come to an end. That rest is the portion of all those who have persevered in faith and have not fallen and perished because of unbelief. He who dies in faith, enters into the rest of God and rests from his works. This is compared with the rest that God had after His works. Those works are of course good. Therefore the works here are the works of the believer. Those are the works that were done by faith and not works for earning salvation (Eph 2:8-9; Rom 4:5). From those works the believer rests when he enters into the rest of God when he has come to the end of his pilgrim’s journey.

Heb 4:11. In order to reach the rest of God you have to persevere. A present, apparent rest is not the true rest. The faith of the Hebrews was weakened by the continual trials, through which the coming rest faded more and more. Therefore they were exposed to the danger of changing the life of faith for enjoying a rest that is an apparent rest. Therefore the writer appeals to be diligent to enter the promised rest, which is still to come.

“To be diligent” means resisting the temptation to give up under the pressure of circumstances of whatever nature. The diligence of the believer implies a continual examination of himself and of the circumstances. As a perfect touchstone for this, you are given the Word of God (Heb 4:12). On that basis you can examine if there are wrong thoughts or considerations in the heart.

Love can never rest where sin rules and where sorrow and misery are seen all over. That goes for God and for the believer. The time will come when God wipes all the tears from the eyes. Then you are in His rest.

Now read Hebrews 4:1-11 again.

Reflection: When will you enter the rest of God?