Digging into Hebrews 4 the last few weeks in preparation for leading it in Bible study this week, I was blessed to see multiple layers of richness. It helps to remember that the author is writing to Jews. Here, the author draws on commonly-known Jewish history to illustrate the Christian life. God not only wanted to deliver them from Egypt, He wanted to bring them to a place of rest in the Promised Land.
What do we need to know about entering God’s rest? What the author is going to tell us is that we enter the rest by faith, the rest goes hand-in-hand with obedience, and ultimately, it is a rest in relationship.
Rest in Faith
(1) Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. (2) For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. (3) For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "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 said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS";
Warnings are calls to self-examination. The examination called for here is: Are we in His rest? So, how do we know if we have entered His rest? Scripture gives us the answer: by faith. Hearing the word is profitable only if it is combined with faith. We enter His rest by faith. In essence, believing God equals rest!
How can we practically come to a place of believing God more? In some ways it’s not up to us – faith is a work of the Holy Spirit. In other ways, we do have a part to play. The faith “muscle” has to be exercised. Scripture highlights two key ways we grow in faith: hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.) and obedience.
Rest in Obedience
(5) and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST." (6) Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, (7) He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." (8) For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
Today we can choose: Harden our hearts or keep them pliable.
- Pliable hearts want to understand. Pliable hearts repent and seek to walk in obedience.
- Hard hearts don’t want to see because repentance is required (Matthew 13:15)
- The path to a pliable, listening heart is worship.
K.P. Yohannan speaks of the importance of pliable hearts by comparing to a potter near his high school in India. He says: “If the clay is hard, the potter will spend days pouring water on it and pounding it thoroughly until it becomes soft. It took God 20 long years of ‘pouring and pounding’ until Jacob’s heart became soft enough. Moses needed 40 years of desert life to become the meekest man on earth who could lead Israel out of Egypt….It is possible for us as believers to have a tender heart for a season, but then when God speaks to us about an issue, to choose not to humble ourselves but rather to harden our hearts….The Lord will not just let us go. He will allow circumstances to pound us so our hearts will once again become soft and pliable.”
(9) So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (10) For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. (11) Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. (12) For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
In many ways this is the heart of the chapter. Joshua could not grant rest – only Jesus. Failure to enter this rest is a form of judgment. So, what is this rest?
If we believe, we have entered His rest (verses 3, 9) … resting from our works. Salvation is by faith, not works. Obedience is not works – rest frees us from works and allows us to pursue a deeper level of obedience. Heart obedience, not works obedience, is what is desired. Spirit obedience is more, not less, obedient than legalism. The letter (legalism) looks for ways to get around the law; the Spirit looks for ways to obey God.
(1) Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (3) For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, (4) so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (5) For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, (7) because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, (8) and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. - (Rom 8:1-9 NASB)
The rest spoken of in most of this chapter is a refreshing rest. It is associated in other passages with encouragement and relaxation. We might call it "R and R". It’s a rest that depends on Christ and not self.
(28) "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (29) "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." - (Mat 11:28-30 NASB)
(4) "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (5) "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. - (Jhn 15:4-5 NASB)
In Heb. 4:9, however, the word is very specific: literally “Sabbath rest” or rest as it relates to “Sabbath keeping”. Some interpret this to mean that Christians should keep the Sabbath in the same way that Jews did; however, Paul makes clear in Colossians 2:16 and Romans 14:5-6 that such observances are matters of conscience for individual Christians. So Hebrews 4:9 must mean something different than a command to keep the Sabbath. This word is used only here in the New Testament, so we have to look to the Old Testament for a context to understand what this means and interpret that in light of the full counsel of the New Testament. I think the best answer is found by looking at Exodus 31:12-17 when God gave the Sabbath to Israel:
(12) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (13) "But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (14) 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. (15) 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. (16) 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.' (17) "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed." - (Exd 31:12-17 NASB)
The Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel that God is the one who sanctifies. The Sabbath was a day set apart to remind Israel they were a people set apart. For those of us in Christ, the Biblical principle is called sanctification. Thus, I believe that “Sabbath rest” is a rest of sanctification. This fits with the context of obedience spoken of in verse 11 (in contrast to the Israelites’ disobedience). So when we enter God’s Sabbath rest, we enter His sanctification as we rest from our works and move by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an important concept as we will see in the next section, because through the Holy Spirit, God’s Word will show us areas of disobedience – and the revelation of God’s Word happens in relationship.
Rest in Relationship
(Heb. 4:13-16) (13) And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. (14) Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. (15) For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (16) Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Only after we enter His rest can we embrace Him as our faithful high priest. We have confidence to draw near and receive mercy and grace when we come through Christ, not works. He was fully God, but also fully man. In His humanity, His incarnation, He faced every temptation and overcame by the power of the Holy Spirit in His life – and that same power is at work in us. This links His incarnation and obedient life to our sanctification.
The help is in times of need, of weakness, of humanity. We get a rich understanding when we compare Hebrews 4:16 with 1:14 and 2:18.
In Hebrews 1:14 "help" actually means “minister” or “render service”; same word is used to refer to disciples. Practical acts of service. In Hebrews 2:18 "help" means “succor”, help in the idea of relief or rescue. But "help" as in Hebrews 4:16 is used ONLY twice in the New Testament, the other time in Acts 27:17:
(Acts 27:17) After they had hoisted it up, they used supporting cables in undergirding the ship; and fearing that they might run aground on the shallows of Syrtis, they let down the sea anchor and in this way let themselves be driven along.
John MacArthur describes this: “They would throw ropes around during the midst of the storm. throwing ropes around and securing and tightening and...with winches, to literally tighten the boards together so the whole ship wouldn't fall apart.” In classical Greek this word was used of the device used to make a ship secure, to help in times like Paul experienced. What are our supporting cables? Mercy and grace.
Jesus comes to our aid to relieve and rescue us from temptation – He knows what it is like. When the temptation builds, He provides the way out. (1 Cor. 10:13) However, there are other times when we need more than a way out. We need to be held together! We need to be saved from falling apart due to our weakness. In those times He wraps His “supporting cables” around us to give us the two things we need most when we come face to face with our weaknesses: Mercy and grace.
I know God’s grace is there for my temptation – but sometimes I think my weaknesses don’t deserve it. Sometimes weaknesses aren’t even sins – physical illness; limitations due to disability; fatigue from having too many toddlers pulling at you all day. At those times, I don’t just need “succor”. I need His supporting cables of mercy and grace to hoist me up out of myself so I can see the throne of grace – the throne where He waits with nailscarred hands to welcome me to His table.
Even after salvation, even walking in freedom and wholeness and obedience, we still have weaknesses – physical and emotional, sometimes spiritual. Paul had them – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 records what he learned:
(7) Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! (8) Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. (9) And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (10) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. - (2Cr 12:7-10 NASB)
We can be strong when weak, because He supports us. In the storms of life, He puts His supporting cables around us, lifts us up, and undergirds us with mercy and grace. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve.
Baldwin Hall Bible Study describes it this way: “For those who have trusted Christ for salvation, mercy and grace are available in these tempests. Instead of being beaten by the waves and taken away to isolation in the deep, the grace of God secures us in place. A rope has been tied to our boat to secure us so we do not drift away in the storm. We are helpless on our own, but the grace of God keeps us from sinking or wandering away. His grace does not promise that the storms will not come, only that He sovereignly keeps us through them.”
Scripture says that David was a man after God’s own heart. We see a picture of this type of help in weakness in David’s dealings with Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet – 2 Sam. 4:4 says he was lame. He couldn’t walk. Here’s the story from 2 Samuel 9:
(1) Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" (2) Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." (3) The king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." (4) So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar." (5) Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. (6) Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he said, "Here is your servant!" (7) David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." (8) Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?" (9) Then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. (10) "You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. (11) Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. (12) Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. (13) So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet. - (2Sa 9:1-13 NASB)
Verse 5 is key to our point. David sent and “brought him” to the palace. The word used here is used in a form that can literally mean “carry”. Since Mephibosheth was lame, someone likely did carry him, quite literally, to the king’s table. This reminds me of Deut. 33:26-27: “There is none like the God is Jeshurun who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
A dwelling place. John 14 invites us to join Him and promises He will make His abode with us. Through the Holy Spirit, He does just that. When that happens, we are at rest in Him. We have His everlasting arms underneath us. One is Mercy – not getting what we deserve. The other is Grace – getting what we don’t deserve.
That’s the thought I want us to close with. Entering God’s rest happens by faith; the rest results in heart obedience; and we are carried along in that rest by relationship. When we enter His rest, we have the assurance of knowing that no matter how weak we are, His grace and mercy sustain us. We are always welcome at the throne of grace … even if He has to carry us there Himself.
Carried to the Table by Leeland
Wounded and forsaken
I was shattered by the fall
Broken and forgotten
Feeling lost and all alone
Summoned by the King
Into the Master’s courts
Lifted by the Savior
And cradled in His arms
I was carried to the table
Seated where I don’t belong
Carried to the table
Swept away by His love
And I don’t see my brokenness anymore
When I’m seated at the table of the Lord
I’m carried to the table
The table of the Lord
Fighting thoughts of fear
And wondering why He called my name
Am I good enough to share this cup
This world has left me lame
Even in my weakness
The Savior called my name
In His Holy presence
I’m healed and unashamed
You carried me, my God
You carried me
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