So God rested on the seventh day, Gen 2:2-3, & Heb 4:4
But in Psalm 95 God says “They will not enter my rest.”
So what is the conclusion that the Hebrews author comes to?
There is yet to come a “rest” of God.
“Seeing
therefore it remains that some should enter therein, and they to whom
the good news was before preached failed to enter in because of
disobedience,”
Heb 4:6 WEB
Then through the mouth of David God again identifies a certain day as “today,” and says,
… “Today if you will hear his voice,
Don’t harden your hearts.” Heb 4:7
Then the author Hebrews makes his grand point.
You see, Joshua did give the children of Israel a rest of sorts in ancient times.
“Remember
the word which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, saying,
Yahweh your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.”
Josh
1:13 WEB
Joshua essentially repeats this again in his instructions in Josh 1:15. Then starting in Joshua 11 it speaks of this rest being accomplished.
“So
Joshua took the whole land, according to all that Yahweh spoke to
Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to
their divisions by their tribes. The land had rest from war.
”
Josh 11:23 WEB
That is emphasized in Joshua 21.
“Yahweh
gave them rest round about, according to all that he swore to
their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies
before them; Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their
hand.”
Josh 21:44 WEB
Then it is spoken of as accomplished in Joshua 23.
“It
happened after many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel
from all their enemies round about, and Joshua was old and well
stricken in years;”
Josh 23:1 WEB
But there is another “rest” to come.
Here is the clincher:
“For
if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken
afterward of another day.”
Heb 4:8 WEB
But David writes over 400 years later and says, “Today if you hear His voice …” don’t treat God as ancient Israel did and were barred from entering God’s rest. But there is no need to tell us TODAY if there is no need for us to hear and obey, and yet enter. But David says
“ … Today, oh that you would hear his voice!” Psa 95:7
And the implication is that if you and I do not listen and obey God, then WE may never see God’s rest.
So Joshua’s “rest” was MEANT to be symbolic.
Joshua’s rest is symbolic of the ultimate rest of heaven.
“9
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from
his works, as God did from his.”
Heb 4:9-10 WEB
So we need to pay attention so that we do not fail because we follow that ancient bad example of disobedience.
KJV is the King James Version of 1611
WEB is the World English Bible, is a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901