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Thursday, January 23, 2020

Entering The Rest of God


In the Book of Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, the writer talks about entering the rest of God. He quotes from from Psalm 95 verses 7 to 11. Psalm 95, in turn, tells of the time when the children of Israel had opportunity to enter the promised land. The promise that was given to Abraham generations ago. It was written to the Jewish believers who were experiencing hardship and persecution. The writer wanted to comfort his readers, whoever they were.

In the letter, the writer first of all shows that “Jesus is better”. Better than Angels, better than Moses and Christ’s sacrifice was better than the blood of bulls and goats.

He tells the readers there is a rest of God they can enter into.

Twelve spies were sent to Canaan to view the land. Ten of the spies were fearful and returned saying there were “giants in the land” and advised the people not to enter. The other two spies -Joshua and Caleb- however, told of the blessing they would receive if they did enter. Sadly the ten who expressed caution won the day and so The Israelites did not enter. God was angry because they did not believe. He then said the would not enter His rest.

The passage in Hebrews gives us a clue that it is due to unbelief:

Hebrews 3:7-15

as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the wilderness,
9where your ancestors tested and tried me,
though for forty years they saw what I did.
10That is why I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” b
12See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” c
Believing God is the key to entering God’s rest.

What is God’s rest?

Is it stopping working as the verse Hebrews 4:10 implies? “for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”

Do we not still do work to earn wages? Don’t we have household chores to do? Of course we do! So the Rest of God is about something different.

The rest of God, I believe, is about not striving; not feeling the need to make God love you more. Romans 5:6,8 says “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly……. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Discovering that love can be liberating. It is something we should all make note of.
Learning that your heavenly Father accepts you, knowing that He loves you, whatever circumstance or situation you may find yourself in, I believe, is the key to knowing that rest.
This is not easy to do. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to “make every effort.” Heb 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
It needs to come from revelation. Sometimes we still have to push through to gain it. We can strive in prayer, strive to gain what God has for us, and go through painful and difficult times; very much like the recipients of this letter were. But, they could still know The Rest of God. Knowing and believing their Father was in control, knowing they were safe in His hands; that He would take care of them. This indeed would have been a comfort to them. In the difficult times we are experiencing (Not as bad as they) this can be a comfort to us too.
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl give a hint to this: Matt 13:44-45 44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Seeking God, making an effort, was worth everything. Let us then discover the Rest of God.

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