Heb 4:1-13 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Heb 4:1-2: 4:1-2 The author transitions to the promise that the faithful will enter God’s rest and exhorts his listeners to take this promise seriously. Hearing is not enough: It must be combined with faith . 4:1 To fear God means to experience an appropriate reverence, even awe, for God and his will. It would be the worst of tragedies to fail to experience what God has promised.

Summary for Heb 4:1-2: 4:1-2 ^a The author transitions to the promise that the faithful will enter God’s rest and exhorts his listeners to take this promise seriously. Hearing is not enough: It must be combined with faith. 4:1 ^b To fear God means to experience an appropriate reverence, even awe, for God and his will. It would be the worst of tragedies to fail to experience what God has promised.
4:2 ^c This good news is the message of salvation (2:3-4 ^d).

• they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God: Some manuscripts read they didn’t combine what they heard with faith. In either case, the hearers were deficient in faith, distrusting God’s word of promise.
4:3 ^e People who believe the Good News are the true heirs of God’s rest, the salvation that God offers through Christ’s sacrifice.

• God said: The quotation of Ps 95:11 ^f reminds the reader that the unbelieving rebels in the wilderness would never enter God’s place of rest (cp. Heb 11:8 ^g, 10 ^h, 14-16 ⁱ; 12:22-24 ^j).

• since he made the world: God’s rest means much more than physical entry into Canaan (see study note on 4:4).
4:4 ^k This verse quotes Gen 2:2 ^l to demonstrate that the promised rest was established when God rested at creation.
4:5 ^m This quotation of Ps 95:11 ⁿ reiterates the point made in Heb 4:3 ^o.
4:6 ^p So God’s rest is there: Building on the discussion in 4:3-5 ^q, the author is about to argue that the promised rest is still available (4:7-10 ^r). But those who wandered in the wilderness, even though they heard the good news that the Promised Land was open to them, failed to enter because they disobeyed God (see Num 14:1-25 ^s; Deut 1:19-46 ^t; Ps 106 ^u).
4:7 ^v So God set another time ... and that time is today: The logic here is that David wrote Ps 95 ^w much later than the wilderness debacle, so God’s rest cannot be limited to that earlier generation. The words already quoted are from Ps 95:7-8 ^x; these words encourage us not to harden our hearts when hearing God’s voice so that we might enter the rest that the people in the wilderness were denied. This opportunity is available today (see Heb 3:13 ^y).
4:8 ^z Joshua is the same name as Jesus (Greek Iēsous, Hebrew Yehoshua‘). It is normally translated Joshua in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament (see also study note on Exod 17:9). The author is making a word play on Jesus’ and Joshua’s shared name. Joshua did lead God’s people into the Promised Land (Josh 3–4 ^aa), but God had more in mind when he promised his people rest. God’s ultimate rest is provided by Jesus (Heb 3:13-14 ^ab; 4:3 ^ac, 9-11 ^ad, 14-16 ^ae).
4:9 ^af a special rest: Jesus’ sacrifice functioned as a Day of Atonement sacrifice (5:1-3 ^ag; 9:13-22 ^ah; see Lev 23:26-28 ^ai, 32 ^aj). Through Christ’s sacrifice, God’s promised rest for his people is available.
4:10 ^ak have rested from their labors: See Exod 20:8-11 ^al.

• just as God did: Gen 2:2 ^am.
4:11 ^an let us do our best to enter: Failure to respond to the Good News with active obedience to God’s voice (4:1-2 ^ao) will have an outcome analogous to the outcome for the wilderness wanderers: we will fall.

• us ... we ... we: Obedience is not simply a personal matter; God’s people have a communal responsibility for obedience and should support each other in that endeavor (cp. 3:13 ^ap; 10:25 ^aq; 12:15 ^ar).
Summary for Heb 4:12-13: 4:12-13 ^as Echoing the call to hear God’s voice (3:7 ^at, 15 ^au; 4:7 ^av; quoted from Ps 95:7 ^aw), the author gives a beautiful epigram on the power and penetration of God’s word.

• alive and powerful: God’s word is an active, effective force. The word that created and governs the cosmos (Heb 1:2-3 ^ax) can deal powerfully with people.

• the sharpest two-edged sword: God’s word is able to penetrate the darkest recesses of people’s lives, exposing their innermost thoughts and desires (cp. Eph 6:17 ^ay; Rev 1:16 ^az; 2:12 ^ba, 16 ^bb; 19:15 ^bc).
4:13 ^bd To be naked and exposed speaks figuratively of being vulnerable, helpless, or unprotected. The guilty are not able to hide from God’s penetrating word of judgment (cp. Rev 3:17 ^be).