Hebrews 4 – the Once and Future Sabbath-Rest

By Neil Earle

Moses anoints Joshua: Joshua gave rest from enemies but not salvation rest" (Hebrews 4:8).

Good morning, brethren

In this series we have been careful to spell out that the Letter to the Hebrews is considered a difficult and challenging book. It presupposes a lot of knowledge of the ancient Levitical system, introduces enigmatic characters such as Melchisdec and “the spirits of just men” and seems to undermine the positive assumptions many Christians have about their eternal security in Christ (Hebrews 2:1).

The Tribulation of 70 AD

Running as an undercurrent through the four gospels is the tension in first century Palestine between the Jews and the occupying Romans (John 11:48; Luke 7:2).

No one likes to be dominated by a bigger power and the Romans were as big as they come in their time. Jews chafed. Even one of Jesus’ disciples was named “Simon the Zealot,” (Luke 6:15). The Zealots were the terrorists of their day, secretly carrying weapons to dispense with Roman soldiers and longing for the day when a leader would rise up to secure their independence (New Bible Dictionary, page 1263).

The simmering tension soon overflowed in 66 AD when the greedy Roman governor raided the Temple treasury. Armed conflict broke out and the Syrian governor came marching down on Judaea when he suddenly withdrew from besieging Jerusalem and was decimated on his long retreat. The Jewish rebels were ecstatic. Surely God was with them! This led Emperor Nero to send General Vespasian to throttle the rebellion once and for all. When Vespasian was recalled to Rome he sent his son Titus to finish the job. Titus and 80,000 troops “surrounded Jerusalem with armies” as Jesus had prophesied (Luke 21:20). Some of the worst atrocities in military history took place. When the Temple fell in August, 70 AD a fire broke out and the religious heart of Judaism was extinguished. As Jesus said, Not one stone was left standing upon another (Luke 21:6).

Some held out at Masada to the east for three years but by 70AD the Jewish temple worship was no more. This may well have been the background to St Paul’s letter to the Hebrews – a warning that the Temple priesthood and its liturgy had already been superseded by the High Priesthood of Jesus in heaven (Hebrews 4:14). As many commentators have said, it is hardly possible that the writer of Hebrews would not have mentioned the atrocity of Jerusalem if he was writing later. As it happened Hebrews is both subtle warning and profound encouragement. A greater than the Temple had already appeared – Jesus of Nazareth, ascended to the heavenlies now interceding for both Jew and Gentile in a temple not made with hands (Hebrews 7:20-27).

In a challenging book, Hebrews 4 is among the most challenging chapters. The NIV forthrightly labels Hebrews 4:1-13 “A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God.” In fact our denomination when it was known as the Worldwide Church of God used this chapter to prove the necessity for Saturday Sabbath-keeping. We mistakenly drew upon such texts as “There remains then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (4:9).

But this would be a hasty conclusion.

Hebrews 4 actually mentions at least FOUR Sabbath-Rests and it is important to get to the overall argument to see what the writer means.

Setting the Scene

History tells us that the apostle James, Jesus’ brother and the leader of the large Jewish-Christian church in Jerusalem, was executed in 62 AD. He may have been thrown from the pinnacle of Herod’s fabulous temple which many Jewish people of that day thought would stand forever. Jesus was always neutral toward the Temple and all the corruption by then associated with is – He cast the out the moneychangers out, he pointed to his own body as being more significant (John 2:19), he even predicted its destruction which happened in 70AD, just eight years after James’ martyrdom (Luke 21:20).

This event, the imminence of the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the temple system of liturgy and sacrificing may have been what started St. Paul writing this warning letter to the Jewish Christians. Paul himself experienced the violent hate that was tearing Jerusalem apart after being the target of a riot (Acts 21). History also tells us that the Jerusalem church did flee Jerusalem before the fall of the city to the Romans, as Jesus had advised them (Matthew 24: 16).

So these tumultuous events may very well explain the timeliness of the Hebrews letter – “Trouble is coming, this whole Temple system which too many of you are idolizing will fall. It’s time to focus on Whom and what really matters in your relationship with God.”

Hence the beginning with the word “God” in Hebrews 1:1 followed by the immediate mention of the Son. He is described as the heir of all things, the One through whom God made the universe. It is also the Son who provides “purification for sins” (1:3), something the blood of bulls and goats could never do though the author of Hebrews wisely postpones this blunt fact till later on.

Temple model: Jesus predicted not one stone would be left upon another (Luke 21:6).

Four Kinds of Rest

After a seven-fold debunking of any silly claims that angels out-rank Jesus the Son (Hebrews 1:5-11), Hebrews tactfully asserts Christ’s' superiority even over Moses – the biggest name in Judaism. We covered this last time (Hebrews 3:1-6) and that makes us ready for Hebrews 4 and Paul's tactful "debriefing" of the founding history of the Israelite nation. He will leave no stone unturned, it seems, to assert the superiority of Jesus over all. It’s as if modern Americans are rehearsing the events of 1776 as far as his review of Israel’s origins in the wilderness. Hebrews cites the Holy Spirit as being the overseer of the Israelites in their wilderness experience once they fled Egypt under Moses.

“Today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts” as the people did in the wilderness (3:11). Because of their rebellions God would not allow them to enter his rest, which raises our subject for this time.

There are at least four “rest” references alluded to in this chapter:

1. The Creation Rest of God himself cited from Genesis 2:1-3 (Hebrews 4).

2. Moses command to rest on the seventh day (Exodus 20).

3. The Promised land of Canaan as a rest from wandering Joshua brought them by settling in the land (Joshua 21:43).

4. Most importantly, the Salvation Rest that can only be entered by Faith (Hebrews 4:1-2).

It is this fourth rest God is interested in, though the letter mentions or alludes to all four in one way or another. Mere physical rest in the land or pausing one day in seven for a physical respite is not the main direction this chapter is moving towards. Joshua gave the people physical rest as did David centuries later but to give what Paul Jewett calls “salvation rest” was not in their power (Hebrews 4:8). This spiritual rest which Revelation 14:13 mentions for the righteous dead is where it’s “‘at” as we would say today, but Christians already enjoy a foretaste of it in this life.

Exactly how does that work? Here is the practical “takeaway” from the chapter.

Jerusalem 70 AD: The eclipse of the whole Temple system was a major subject of the Hebrews letter.

Rest in the Lord

Psalm 37 helps explain this. It addresses people who are fretful, uneasy and disturbed and even angry at all the things that happen in this life. In other words, it addresses all of us. The older translations render verse 8 as “O rest in the LORD, wait patiently for him.”

How do we "rest in the Lord" for it is this “salvation rest” through Christ that is the major theme of Hebrews 4. Psalm 37:4 says to “delight in the Lord.” That refers to life in the spiritual realm and this experience can be enjoyed on Saturday or Sunday or any day. This is what Hebrews is getting at in its emphasis on “today.” Days – mere marking off time from day to night – do not matter as much as it used to. What counts is a living relationship with God that will help usher us into eternity. This is everything.

Here are a few thoughts about what true Sabbath resting means:

1. In your daily lives, we lead with praise, reverence and thanksgiving for the Great God. Numerous prayers in both Testaments begin with thanksgiving. Paul sets us an example in Ephesians 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2. If this seems hard to do, if you feel spiritually “cold,” begin to reflect on what God has done for us, then thank him in clear and specific terms for his interventions in our lives.

3. Dr. J.G. Thompson mentions in The New Bible Dictionary: “Although rest in the OT remains in the sphere of promise (e.g. the Promised Land), in the NT there is fulfillment. Christians by faith in Christ have entered into rest (Hebrews 12:22-24). He is their peace. To all who come to him, he gives rest, rest that is relief, release and satisfaction to the soul” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Well said. In the 1970s US Air Force pilot Lieutenant Gruter was captured by the North Vietnamese and sent to the Hanoi Hilton. While there he was tortured and beaten. He told an ABC reporter it took him three months of persevering prayer but he was finally able to rise above hating his captors, able to forgive them in his mind and spirit.

Now that is the kind of rest that only God can give and it is a foretaste of the rest we will enjoy with God for all eternity. This is truly the Big Prize in the Christian life. Thousands experience the Rest of God “Today” and every day. Are you one of them?