So what can we learn from the type of Canaan as being symbolic of the heavenly rest. A prophecy laboratory for us. A place to learn how types work.

Heaven is a real country, a real land.

God is telling us that this is a “real” country, a “real” land. One of our modern day problems is that we have been so conditioned by Gnostic foolishness about the after life, that many, perhaps most, do not think of heaven as anything that is real. Gnostic false teaching has caused us to think of this world as “real” and “heaven” as some sort of mist that is both there, and not there. Thus our views, or rather our apprehensions about the future life are not very satisfying.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Heaven, or rather what Scripture calls “the new heavens and the new earth” (Isa 65:17, Isa 66:22, 2Pe 3:13), is really a new universe, but one in which death and decay are NOT operating principles.

Heaven is a land of milk and honey.

It is a good land, a prosperous land. Some of the Old Testament parables of it are instructive. The Christ is described as “Shiloh” in Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis 49. It says of Him,

“11 Binding his foal to the vine,
His donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
He has washed his garments in wine,
His robes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes will be red with wine,
His teeth white with milk.”
Gen 49:11-12 WEB

How prosperous will He be? He can tie is donkey to the best vine in His vineyard and not worry about how much he will east. He has plenty of wine, and is the picture of health. His teeth are white as milk. A picture of abundant prosperity.

We will inherit houses we did not build.

No, not just houses.

“10 It shall be, when Yahweh your God shall bring you into the land which he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you, great and goodly cities, which you didn’t build, 11 and houses full of all good things, which you didn’t fill, and cisterns dug out, which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees, which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full;”
Deut 6:10-11 WEB

We will not plant but another get the fruit, or build and another take over what we have built, Isa 65:21-22. It will be an earth of peace and prosperity and safety, Isa 11:6-9. There is more to tell than there is space in this post, but it will be wonderful beyond what we can imagine. It will be heaven.

Heaven is won by conquest.

There is a war going on now. We put on the full armor of God and fight the good fight of faith. He that overcomes will inherit these blessing, Rev 3:5 and many more verses.

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

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

Hebrews talks about a “rest” for God’s people.

Most of the discussion in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 is centered around Psalm 95. Psalm 95 itself does not say who wrote it, either in English, or in the Hebrew text. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament it says it is a “Praise ode of David.” Is that an authentic original reading? The author of Hebrews says in Heb 3:7 that this is what the Holy Spirit says. Then in Heb 4:8 he says that David wrote it and bases part of his conclusion on this. The author of Psalm 95 pleads with us.

“7 … “Today if you will hear his voice,
8 Don’t harden your hearts, as in the provocation,
Like as in the day of the trial in the wilderness,
Heb 3:7-8 WEB

He tells how the ancestors of the Jews tried God’s patience in the wilderness. The Holy Spirit says in verse 10, ‘They always err in heart, But they didn’t know my ways;’ The author of Hebrews then says that we should be beware lest there be in any of us there be an evil heart of unbelief, unbelief in what God says, and fall away from the living God. He goes on to say we should encourage each other every day as long as it is called “today,” “ lest any of us be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Heb 3:31 KJV.

We are partakers of Christ if we hold fast till the end.

For who was it who provoked God in the desert after they had heard? He says it was all of those who came out of Egypt with Moses. And who was it that God was displeased for forty years? It was all of those Israelites who died in the desert of Sinai. And to whom did He sware that they would never enter His rest? Well, of course it was those who were disobedient to God. Then the Hebrews author draws a conclusion.

“We see that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief.”
Heb 3:19 WEB

We need to be afraid lest we come up short!

The Hebrews author says in Hebrews 4 that we have had the good news preached to us just as ancient Israel had also. There was something lacking in ancient Israel, even as it is sometimes with us: the hearing was not mixed with faith in what was said, Heb 4:2.

Those who believe are able to enter God’s rest.

But it was said of ancient Israel,

“… “As I swore in my wrath, they will not enter into my rest;” ”
Heb 4:3WEB

Not enter God’s rest? But His works were finished (this is say, came into being) from the foundation of the world. For indeed it says,

“2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work which he had created and made.” Gen 2:1-2 WEB

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