The Israelites failed to enter into their rest. Many years later (Ps. 95), God said that a rest was still available. That “today” is still here! This means that Joshua did not lead Israel into the true rest, because a rest still remains. (Note that the name “Jesus” in Heb. 4:8, KJV, ought to be “Joshua.” “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua.”). The “therefore” in verse 6 makes it clear that the statements of verses 6–7 are derived from the previous quotes of verses 4–5.
Three thoughts are evident from verses 6-7. First, God intends for some people to enter the promised rest. If the Jews did not enter the rest, someone else must enter it, or God’s promise of experiencing rest would be void and empty. Second, the first generation stumbled because of their disobedience or unbelief. Third, God’s offer of rest is still open as shown by a repeated quotation of Psalm 95:7b–8a. The word “Today” emphasizes that God’s invitation to enjoy rest with Him finds fulfillment in the present.
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 He again sets 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. 9 Consequently, 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.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Stop and think about the rest that is before us. No pressures. No worries. No fears. No stresses. Just beautiful rest. What a wonderful promise.
- Like David, the author of Hebrews called the present generation to respond to God today
- That entering into God’s rest means resting from one’s own work just “as God did from His.”
CLOSER LOOK:
Verses 6–7: Hebrews 4:6 seems to have convoluted logic. Look at it again: “Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who previously had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience.” Wait…since therefore it remains for some to enter, and these people did not, what does the author mean? It seems the point is if it is a promised rest, somebody’s got to enter it. If there is a promised rest, it is going to happen. If there is a promised rest, somebody is going to enter that promised rest. That is why we can say, it is assuming the promise of verse one. Because the rest is promised it may be inferred that some will enter it. Some, of course, will not participate in the promised rest because of the disobedience that comes from unbelief. So the author is going to come to a conclusion in a bit about the remains rest for the people of God.
The failure of the Israelites did not nullify the truth that some will enter that rest, and accordingly God renewed the offer (in Ps. 95) as late as the time of David. At that time God “again fixes (set) a certain day, ‘Today,’” thus presenting this opportunity to all readers of the psalm for whom the “Today” becomes their own “Today.” Already the writer had applied that “Today” to their readers (cf. Heb. 3:14–15).
In verses seven to eight the writer simply asserts that Joshua did not bring Israel into their rest (i.e. kingdom blessings). It does seem that Joshua’s conquest is a picture of God’s rest (cf. Josh. 1:13, 15; 11:23; 21:44; 22:4; 23:1; Deut. 12:10).[1] These verses (Heb. 4:7-8) also prove that the promise was not fulfilled in David’s day either! David’s appeal was for his people to enter a future rest. For David (years after Joshua had led the Israelites into the land) had warned his generation to not harden their hearts, so that they could enter God’s rest (3:7-11). Like David, the author of Hebrews called the present generation to respond to God today (3:13), which is the day of repentance.
Verses 8–10: But the readers were not to suppose that the promise of rest was realized in Joshua’s day. Here the author showed themself perfectly aware that the Old Testament might have been quoted to show that the rest had already been entered via the conquest of the land in Joshua’s time (cf. Josh. 22:4; 23:1). Probably it had been so quoted to their audience. But the writer’s rebuttal was simple and sufficient: if this had been so, God “would not have spoken of another day after that.” The psalm which forms the writer’s text disproves the notion that the rest had already been entered and was no longer open. Joshua had given rest to Israel in his day (Josh. 23:1), but God had more than political security in mind in the use of the term rest. Joshua gave his followers temporal rest by leading them to defeat their enemies. God has provided spiritual rest for those who approach Him through faith in Jesus Christ as is made clear in verses 9–10.
Behind this argument lies the undeniable fact that the conquest in Joshua’s day did not lead to a permanent possession of the land. Such permanent possession of their promised inheritance had become for Judaism an expectation which would only be realized in Messiah’s kingdom. This at least was true in normative Judaism, whatever might have been true in some sectarian thought. It may be suspected that here the author confronted some form of “realized eschatology” which denied the futurity of such a hope. (Cf. the similar view of believers’ resurrection which Paul resisted, 2 Tim. 2:17–18.) If so, the Hebrews author regarded Psalm 95 as silencing such a distorted perspective. The rest—the messianic partnership—did indeed lie ahead: There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
The Greek word for “rest” (sabbatismos)[2] in this verse is different from the word used in vv. 1, 3, 5, 10, 11; 3:11, 18. This word means “Sabbath rest” and is found only here in the NT. Jews commonly taught that the Sabbath foreshadowed the world to come, and they spoke of “a day which shall be all Sabbath.”[3] It should be noted in passing that 4:8 contains a contrary to fact conditional clause. Verse 8 says, “For if Joshua had given them rest” contrastive fact, he did not give them rest, “would not have spoken of another day after that.” The words “after that” are from the Greek words meta tauta, and this should probably read “after these things”
The conclusion (ara) is introduced in verse nine. The kingdom rest (sabbatismos) is still available today. The promise is for the future, but provision for entrance may be made now (cf. Heb. 11:39-40). This kingdom rest is what is remaining ahead for us. We will one day enter into that Sabbath rest. What a wonderful, wonderful promise when you stop to think of it… rest. You know it will be great. It won’t be hectic, we will be busy, but we will not have bills due, mortgages, all kinds of pressures on you like how am I going to pay for the medicine or treatment my child needs, no income taxes or fears of audits. I mean just think how wonderful it will be! It will be rest. And as verse 9 says, “remains therefore a rest with the people of God” (NKJV).
Verse 10 anticipates the rest. But it must now be said clearly that entering into God’s rest means resting from one’s own work just “as God did from His.” This “rested from his works” statement may refer to the rest believers will enter in when they finished their work for God’s kingdom on this earth (Rev 14:13). The statement is both a reassurance and an admonition. On the one hand it follows up the writer’s conclusion (Heb. 4:9) that there is such a rest to be entered. But on the other, it reminds the readers that this is only done by their getting to the end of their task just as did God in His creative activity. In the phrase “rests from His own work,” the author employed a kind of word play since the verb for “rest” also signifies “cease” which, against the backdrop of God’s own work, clearly suggests successful completion. This thrust is what the writer has had in mind from the beginning of the section. The readers need to model their lives after Jesus Christ who “was faithful to the One who appointed Him” (3:2) and must be careful to “hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (3:14; cf. 3:6). Only thus would they be able to rest from their works in the joyful possession of their inheritance in the messianic kingdom.
As God entered His rest in Genesis 2:2, so will we at the end of this age. You know the words we’ll be talking about when that rest comes, we’ll rest like God did on the seventh day. It’s a wonderful, wonderful rest that will be ours.
[1] Some interpreters see that by merely entering the Promised land, the Israelites had not entered God’s rest. Again those goes back to the controversy of what rest is.
[2] BDAG – “sabbath rest, sabbath observance.” Hb 4:9 shows a special period of rest for God’s people modeled after the traditional sabbath”
[3] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, eds., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: Nelson, 1999), 1641.