It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:6-11
After reading this passage and the study notes from my Life Application Bible and MacArthur commentary, a few things jumped out at me.
First - simply the meaning of the passage....
God gave the Israelite the opportunity to enter the Promised Land, but they failed to receive this because of disobedience.
Even after they entered the Promised Land with Joshua, even in David's time (Psalm 95:7-11), God continued to offer spiritual rest.
And even now, God is giving everyone the opportunity for spiritual rest and inviting everyone to enter the eternal promised land of heaven through Christ - we must trust in God's promise, believe, repent and place God on the throne of our hearts and lives. We need to stop thinking we know a better way! That we can work for it, that we can earn it, or that we don't need it, or at least that we don't need it yet - maybe tomorrow. No! Today!! The invitation is combined with urgency and obedience - do not delay!
As Christians we can enjoy God's rest and peace on earth already (though it is imperfect and incomplete) as we look forward to entering His perfect rest and peace for eternity to come.
One point I appreciated from my study notes - often we work really hard the week before a vacation in order to tie up loose ends so we can relax. When we know rest is coming we put extra effort into our work. The same should be true of our Christian life here on earth. We know our eternal rest is coming, so let's work hard for God here while we can!
1 comment:
That is SO true about working harder before a vacation so we can relax! I even find myself being more willing and motivated to get housework done on Saturdays because I know that Sunday is a rest day.
You know those things that your parents told you when you were a teenager and you didn't want to believe them, but later you had to admit they were right? I'm totally finding that true about keeping the Sabbath. God put the day of rest into His plan for us on purpose because He knows we need it. We're just sometimes too immature or stubborn to admit that His plans are best!
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