Day 15: Hebrews 4:1-11
Read Hebrews 4:1-11
Helpful Background Information:
The Book of Hebrews was probably written between 64 and 70 AD. It was meant for Jewish Christians who were thinking about going back to their old religion (Judaism) because they were being persecuted for their new Christian faith. The author of Hebrews is ultimately unknown, although many faithful Christian scholars have proposed Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, or Luke as potential authors. Whoever it was, the author stresses the supremacy of Christ and the New Covenant over the Old Covenant, because it is through Jesus we have direct access to God, the full atonement for sins, and a faith that can endure to the end.
At the end of Hebrews 3, the author shows that unbelief kept the generation that escaped Egypt from entering Canaan, the place of God’s rest in the Old Covenant. The author picks up this idea immediately at the beginning of Chapter 4. The promise to enter God’s rest still stands today for New Covenant believers, and we do so through faith in Jesus Christ. Notice in verse 4:3 where the author says, we who have believed (past tense) enter (present) that rest - he is stressing that the rest he is thinking of is an experience already in process of being fulfilled.
And so, for those trusting in Christ, we have already entered God’s rest. God’s rest is where we trust in him for salvation and deliverance, delight in him, receive his comfort and security, be satisfied with his goodness towards us, and be washed by the peace he gives. We have experienced that reality through faith. Yet, when we pass into glory, that will be the day when our rest in God is fulfilled, and we will experience that rest to a degree unimaginable this side of heaven.
Reflection Questions:
In what ways are you already experiencing God’s rest through faith in Jesus?
How does the promise of a future, glorious rest give you hope in your life now? Knowing this rest in front of you, how does this encourage you to work hard with the work God has given you?
What spiritual habits can help you to delight in God, trust in his goodness, and remind you of the hope of an eternal rest in Christ?
Is setting aside a 24-hour Sabbath the only way Christians experience God's rest today? Why or why not?