Hebrews 4: 1–11
“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. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. 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 works have been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” And again in the passage above, he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”
“Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
“For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
where we first see rest
One of the significant themes in the Bible is rest. It shows up in the second verse of the second chapter of Genesis; “God rested”; and it closes off in the second last book of our Bible describing a new heaven and a new earth where we will be at rest—free from all the things that rob us from rest. And throughout the scriptures, we see the value, the reason, and the promise of rest.
This fourth chapter of Hebrews is all about rest. Hebrews 4 begins with a “therefore”. The “therefore” pulls you back into Hebrews 3 where the writer reminds them of what happened to their ancestors.
About 2 years into Israel’s exodus from Egypt, Moses appoints 12 men, a representative from each of the tribes of Israel, to go into the land that God had promised them. They were to spy out the land and bring back a report. They go in and what they discover is both promising and terrifying.
The Promised Land is more fruitful and abundant and prosperous than they imagined, and the obstacles are greater than they would have thought. The cities were more fortified and the armies are more powerful than they imagined. Two of them say, “Let’s go for it! God has promised it to us. God is with us. God will give it to us”. The other 10 said, “We’re like grasshoppers compared to them. They’ll crush us. Moses, why did you bring us out here? Let’s go back to Egypt. Slavery is better that dying out here.” Ten spies turned the people against Moses and grumbled against God. Because of their unbelief, those who grumbled did not enter the land of promise.
The land of promise was an expression of God’s rest for them. In Joshua 21:43¬–45 it says, “so the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.”
Those who trusted God—those who persevered entered into God’s blessing where God provided for them. God fought for them and protected them.
As we look at these 3 expressions of God’s rest it’ll take us on a little bit of a journey through the concept of the Sabbath.
God rested
Verse 4 says, “For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works. And again, in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” I’ve always been fascinated about why God rested on the seventh day. It certainly wasn’t because after six days of creating He was too tired to do anything else. God is God. He doesn’t run out of energy or out of ideas. If you go back to Genesis 2 you read that after 6 days of God working, creation was complete.
God’s rest was about God taking a day to enjoy all the good things He had made. As one commentator put it, “God entered into celebratory satisfaction over a job well done.” One preacher described it this way, “If you spent six days building a boat and you completed the project, you’d jump in the boat to enjoy sailing it.”
We are made in the image of the One who works and creates but who then rests and enjoys the work of his hands. Then God builds that into the rhythm of life for humankind. One day in every seven is set aside for rest. It’s written in the 10 Commandments.
Besides the practical benefit of resting from one’s work, behind the commandment are a couple of things:
a) Sabbath reminded them that God was the point of life. We are created for God, so on a regular basis, we pull away from our pursuits that make money and pays bills to rest and be replenished by God.
b) Sabbath reminded them that God was their provider. To pull away from work for one day in seven means that your earning capacity is cut by at least one-seventh.
So, as Christians are we mandated to observe the Sabbath? Strict observance of Saturday as a sabbath is not called for in the New Testament. Nine of the 10 Commandments are repeated in the New Testament. Commandment number 4 (sabbath) is not repeated in the New Testament as a commandment for us.
Gentiles were not to be compelled to observe a Jewish sabbath as a means of salvation. The Sabbath however was a shadow of a much greater rest that points to Jesus, which brings us back to Hebrews 4.
Spiritual Sabbath for those who trust in Christ
Hebrews 4:9–10 says that “there remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” For God’s ancient people the Sabbath was about mandating a day of rest to care for their physical wellbeing.
But it was a shadow of a deeper and more profound rest that can only be found in Jesus. When a person places their faith in Christ—when they trust in Him for salvation—it opens the way for an experience of sabbath rest that goes far beyond taking one day off every week.
When you trust in Christ you can rest in the amazing assurance that you are fully accepted by God. For the Christian, every day is a sabbath. Every day I don’t have to work for my salvation. Jesus has done all the necessary work. Jesus is our sabbath.
It doesn’t mean that I don’t work for God or that I cease doing good works. On the contrary, when I grasp that I’m loved and forgiven it motivates me to serve and do what’s right as an expression of gratitude to God.
In Matt 11:28 you have the words of Jesus, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” It’s this amazing invitation from Jesus to a life where your soul—your inner person experiences a joyful, inexpressible satisfaction in everything.
What would your life be like if you trusted God completely? What would happen if you took all your worries and anxieties, insecurities, and problems that were beyond your power to resolve, and put it all in God’s hands, and trusted Him to work it out for your good and His glory? If you can do that, you’re entering into the rest that Jesus invites you to.
What keeps you up at night? What is it that is consuming you with worry? Jesus’ invitation is to come to Him, and He will give rest to your soul. He’s already done the hard work of saving you. You can trust Him to work on your behalf to bring you through whatever you’re going through.
God’s eternal rest
In the final chapters of the Book of Revelation John records a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. God prepares it as the eternal dwelling for those who belong to the Lamb whose blood purchased the inhabitants of this new creation.
In Revelation 21 he describes it first by telling us what’s not there, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order has passed away.” The new city—the new Jerusalem—is the consummate expression of rest. It’s God’s gracious gift provided through Jesus. It’s eternity that is the fullest expression of God’s sabbath provision.
I remind you of Jesus’ invitation to “come to me…and I will give you rest.” It’s the invitation to the one who has not yet put their trust in Christ. It’s the invitation to the one who trusted in Christ for their salvation but who has not yet taken hold of the rest that your soul needs. Jesus invites us to rest.
— Notes from Pastor Marvin Wojda’s sermon on May 1, 2021
CLICK HERE to watch the Hebrews 4 sermon on YouTube.