From Shadow to Substance: Hebrews 4:1-13

Notes:

O’Brien: “The warning in this section of Hebrews, then, is intended to prevent the listeners from repeating the sins of the wilderness generation, while the promise in the following paragraph encourages them to persevere so that they might enter the rest that God has prepared for them (4:1–13).”

“Come, all you Weary.”

Rest is still open. It hasn’t closed, even with Israel being occupied by Rome, and even as these Christians live in Rome!

Promise is there! It remains! Good news.

First words of Chapter 4: “Let us fear…”

Why should we fear?

Cockerill: “New level of caution and concern appropriate to both their peril and the opportunity that is theirs to enter God’s own ‘rest.’” 201

Promise is there for them to enter that rest.

“Left Behind” “We may fear, then, lest a promise “being left”

v. 2: “They were not united by faith with those who listened.”

Cockerill: Like us, Israel received ‘good news.’ They were offered the promise of rest, like us. “Thus those obedient to that earlier offer were destined to enter God’s eternal ‘rest’ through Christ in company with those after him.” Cockerill

“In the immediate context of the wilderness generation ‘those who heard with faith’ is a reference to Joshua and Caleb (Num 13:25-14:10).” Cockerill

v. 3: “For we who have believed enter that rest…”

“‘We are entering rest’ is a true continuous present that stands in opposition to the final dictum on the wilderness generation: ‘they could not enter in.’” Cockerill

Warning: As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

…although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.”

Verse 3b-10

“As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’ ” 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, “They shall not enter my rest.” 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, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God 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.

Promise of rest is still valid! Proof texting.

Defining Rest:

3b-5: vv. 4-5:

Psalm 95:11 “Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.””

Proof text that God’s people didn’t yet experience the Promise!

Genesis 2:2 “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.”

God’s rest.

Cockerill: “Yet this initial mention of God’s ‘works’ in v.3c does more than maintain an element of suspence. It provides a natural bridge to the quotation of Gen 2:2 and highlights the idea of ‘works’ to which the pastor will return in v.10. What, however, is hte conflict between God’s prevcenting the wilderness generation from entering his ‘rest’ (Ps 95:11) and his own entrance into eternal ‘rest at the culmination of creation (Gen 2:2)?”

God’s rest was in the beginning. His rest remains also for the end!

Defining the rest… “seventh day.” “And God rest on the seventh day from the all his works.”

vv.6-7: There remains rest. He appoints a certain day. “He appoints a certain day,” “Today,” “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.”

Cockerill: “‘Therefore’ indicates that the pastor is going to resolve the tension between and bring out the logical significance of the now-substantiated facts: God has established his ‘rest’ at the culmination of creation, but prohibited the wilderness generation from entering it… if God established his eternal rest at the culmination of creation and invited the wilderness generation into it, then he must have intended for his people to join him in his ‘rest. Since God’s purposes will not be frustrated, the failure of the wilderness generation to enter is certain evidence that others will.”

v. 7: “Thus reference to David substantiates the new ‘today’ of opportuinity without compromising the divine origin of this invitation. Nor does the use of human agency limit revelation’s effectiveness to the time of the agent.” Cockerill

SO, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS!

v. 8-10: But what about Joshua? Didn’t Joshua give them rest?

“Joshua gave them rest…” Moving away from Moses now to Joshua…

If Joshua gave them rest, why would David speak of another rest through Psalm 95 which came centuries later?

Last week, talked about Moses, but now we’ve moved beyond the 40 years!

Moses didn’t enter rest, and Joshua couldn’t deliver a full rest either even while being in the Promised Land!

v. 9: There remains another rest?? A Sabbath rest for the people of God today? There remains this rest!

Sabbath-rest: One word. NOT “The Sabbath”

“Term to describe a sabbath celebration of rest from normal work and joyful worship of God.” Cockerill. Not a reference to Sabbaton.

v. 10: “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.”

Promised Rest wasn’t Canaan?! How is that possible?! Then what are talking about here?

This is NOT talking about Sunday… This is talking about the final celebration!

Not a reference to Saturday or Sunday, but the Celebration one experiences from Rest.

“Sabbath celebration” is the ultimate blessing—but only for those who persevere as the ‘people of God,’ not for those who fall away

Rest “both local and future.” Cockerill. “It is the place where God’s people will join him in his ‘rest’ penultimately at death and finally at the Judgment. The local nature of this ‘rest’ is attested by its identity with the ‘homeland’ and ‘City’… Hebrews repeatedly speaks of this ‘rest’ and those entitities with which it is associated as things that can be ‘entered.’ The local nature of ‘rest’ is confirmed by the use of this term in the LXX and in Second Temple Judaism…. “There is, in fact, nothing in 3:1-4:13 that suggests present entrance besides the present tense verb of 4:3: ‘we are entering into rest.’ Every feature of the immeidate and larger context indicates that this verb should be taken as progressive or futuristic, ‘we are in the process of entering into rest.’ While the pastor belieaves that Christ provides entrace into God’s presence for the people of God, that is not what he is talking about in chapters 3 and 4. The attempt to introduce this idea in these chapters only begets confusion.” Cockerill. 199-200

v. 11: “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.”

What shall we do?

Enter together so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

v. 12-13: “The word shapes us!”

It’s about what the Word does to our faith.

Last week, about crossing the finish line.

But the Christian life also includes rest we discover in the “middle.”

Thomas Long: “God’s ‘rest,’ then, is a gift of peace, a gift Jesus gave his disciples not on a cloudless day but in the dark night of betrayal; ‘Peace I leave with you; me peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do no let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27).” p. 59

Today=sense of urgency to faith now.

Long: “Hymn-like tribute to the power of God’s word.” p. 61

Long: “The word of God turns wandering human beings into principal actors in the magnificent story of divine redemption, transforms frightened people who hide in the garden and make excuses into holy partners of Jesus Christ who can, through him, stand up boldly and render an account.” p.61

Author uses scripture to prove God’s Promise of Rest is still valid and coming.

Uses scripture to show God embedded into Creation a pattern of rest.