Warnings in Hebrews

Be careful not to fall short of entering into God’s rest.  Hebrews chapter 4.

“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.”

What is the promise of God’s rest all about? The concept of rest had been established at creation, when God rested on the seventh day, setting a pattern of work and rest.

When Moses led the Israelites toward the Promised Land, they were disobedient to God, rebellious and hard-hearted. God declared that they would never enter His rest. (Deuteronomy 1:34-37, further described in Psalm 95).  For the Israelites, this rest was a state of living in the bountiful land that God had planned for his people, in a state of relationship with him.

What is often physical in the Old Testament is recreated in the spiritual realm in the New Testament. Jesus has made a new covenant with believers. God’s rest referred to now, I believe, is a state of relationship with Him, through Jesus, in which we can rest, assured of our salvation through Christ. We have no need to try to gain right standing with God through any of our own efforts. It is only when our strivings cease and we depend upon the filling of God’s Holy Spirit to establish a relationship with Him based on repentance and faith, that we really enter His rest.

Being in God’s rest does not mean that we lie on the couch all day! Physical rest is needed for our wellbeing but I think that resting in God means more likely that we have an assurance of God’s presence and can live and do all that He has us to do without anxiety, strain and fear.  

We’ve already been reminded in Hebrews not to drift away and not to harden your heart so that it becomes unbelieving. The writer now points out that we cannot enter God’s rest if we are rebellious or disobedient. Keep the faith, keep God’s commandments and grow in fellowship with Him. May you know the blessing of God’s rest.