Lesson Themes: The Davidic covenant promised rest to the enthroned king and his people. The logical progression of Hebrews concurs with this notion. In Hebrews 1 and 2, we see the preeminence of Christ as divine Ruler and Deliverer of His people. Hebrews 3 and 4 show Jesus’ superiority to Moses and Joshua as the divine Leader who provides rest. Sabbath rest in the Old Testament is portrayed in two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). The former text stresses Creation, the latter Redemption. In Hebrews 3 and 4, Paul uses the Exodus generation (not their young children) as an example of unbelief and disobedience (Heb. 3:19) to show the detrimental consequence of being unable to enter into the land of rest in Canaan. Turning to his audience, Paul exhorts them with a quote from Psalm 95: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7, NRSV), but, rather, enter into His rest (Heb. 4:9). What is this rest (in Greek, sabbatismos) that Paul speaks of? Why is Paul encouraging his audience to enter into it? These are the questions we shall address now.
Part II: Commentary
A Sabbath Observance Remains: Let us begin first by defining the “rest” of Hebrews 4:9. According to The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, the word rendered as “rest” in Hebrews 4:9 comes from the Greek sabbatismos, meaning “ ‘a resting [from previous activity],’ ” which in later use comes to mean “a Sabbathkeeping,” from the verb sabbatizo-, “to rest,” “to cease,” “to keep the Sabbath.”
“Sabbatizo- is used seven times in the LXX [the Septuagint, the Jews’ Greek translation of the Old Testament], once of the literal seventh-day Sabbath (Ex. 16:30), once of other sabbaths (Lev. 23:32), and five times of the land’s resting in the sabbatical year (Lev. 26:34, 35; 2 Chron. 36:21). . . . Accordingly, the fundamental idea expressed by sabbatizo- in the LXX is that of resting or ceasing from labor or other activity. Hence usage of the related Greek and Hebrew words implies that the noun sabbatismos may denote either the literal Sabbath ‘rest’ or simply ‘rest’ or ‘cessation’ in a more general sense. Thus, a linguistic study of the word sabbatismos in Heb. 4:9 leaves it uncertain whether the weekly Sabbath ‘rest’ is here referred to, or simply ‘rest’ or ‘cessation’ in a general sense. Context alone can decide the matter.
“The writer of Hebrews appears to use katapausis [‘ “ceasing from labor” ’; see on Hebrews 3:11] and sabbatismos more or less synonymously:
“1. Because Joshua could not lead Israel into spiritual ‘rest’ (katapausis, v. 8), a sabbatismos (v. 9) remains for Christians. Consistency seems to require that what remains be the same as what was there to begin with. . . .
“2. From vs. 1, 6 it is clear that what remains for the people of God in NT times is a katapausis; in v. 9 it is said that a sabbatismos remains. To declare that what remains for ‘the people of God’ is the weekly Sabbath, is to declare that what Joshua failed to lead Israel into was the weekly Sabbath.
“3. The fact that in the LXX, the Bible of the NT church, katapauo-(Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:11) and sabbatizo- (Ex. 16:30; Lev. 23:32) are used interchangeably to denote the seventh-day Sabbath, would tend to preclude the suggestion that the writer of Hebrews intended to make a distinction between the noun forms of these words in Heb. 3; 4.
“It may be noted, further, that the Jews of Paul’s time, whether Christian or non-Christian, were punctilious in their observance of the fourth commandment. Certainly, in writing to Jews, the author of Hebrews would not consider it necessary to prove to them that Sabbathkeeping ‘remaineth.’ If the conclusion of the extended argument beginning with ch. 3:7 is that Sabbathkeeping remains for the people of God, it would seem that the writer of Hebrews is guilty of a non sequitur, for the conclusion does not follow logically from the argument. There would have been no point in so labored an effort to persuade the Jews to do what they already were doing—observing the seventh-day Sabbath. Furthermore, in apostolic times the seventh-day Sabbath was observed by all Christians, Jew and Gentile alike, and any argument to prove the validity of the Sabbath in those early Christian times would have been pointless. Furthermore, it may be observed that the section of the book of Hebrews consisting of chs. 3 and 4 opens with an invitation to ‘consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus’ (ch. 3:1), and closes with an earnest plea to ‘come boldly’ before Him in order to ‘obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (ch. 4:16). What relationship a protracted argument designed to prove that Sabbath observance remains as an obligation to the Christian church might have to the declared theme of chs. 3 and 4—the ministry of Christ as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary—is obscure indeed.
“ ‘The rest here spoken of is the rest of grace’ (EGW Supplementary Material on Heb. 4:9; cf. GC 253). It is ‘the true rest of faith’ (MB 1).
“We enter into God’s ‘rest’ when we ‘consider’ Jesus (ch. 3:1) and listen to His voice (chs. 3:7, 15; 4:7), when we exercise faith in Him (ch. 4:2, 3), when we cease from our own efforts to earn salvation (v. 10), when we ‘hold fast our profession’ (v. 14), and when we draw near to the throne of grace (v. 16). Those who would enter into this experience must beware of ‘an evil heart of unbelief’ (ch. 3:12), of hardening their hearts (chs. 3:8, 15; 4:7). They must strive to enter into God’s ‘rest’ (ch. 4:11).
“Those who enter into God’s ‘rest’ will ‘hold fast’ their ‘profession’ (v. 14). They will ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace’ to ‘obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (v. 16).”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, pp. 422, 423, comment on “Rest” in Hebrews 4:9.
On the rest spoken of in Hebrews 4:9, Ellen G. White frames the discussion in a sketch of the life of the great English Reformer, John Wesley: “In a day of great spiritual darkness, Whitefield and the Wesleys appeared as light bearers for God. Under the rule of the established church the people of England had lapsed into a state of religious declension hardly to be distinguished from heathenism. Natural religion was the favorite study of the clergy, and included most of their theology. The higher classes sneered at piety, and prided themselves on being above what they called its fanaticism. The lower classes were grossly ignorant and abandoned to vice, while the church had no courage or faith any longer to support the downfallen cause of truth.
“The great doctrine of justification by faith, so clearly taught by Luther, had been almost wholly lost sight of; and the Romish principle of trusting to good works for salvation, had taken its place. Whitefield and the Wesleys, who were members of the established church, were sincere seekers for the favor of God, and this they had been taught was to be secured by a virtuous life and an observance of the ordinances of religion. . . .
“Wesley and his associates were led to see that true religion is seated in the heart, and that God’s law extends to the thoughts as well as to the words and actions. Convinced of the necessity of holiness of heart, as well as correctness of outward deportment, they set out in earnest upon a new life. By the most diligent and prayerful efforts they endeavored to subdue the evils of the natural heart. They lived a life of self-denial, charity, and humiliation, observing with great rigor and exactness every measure which they thought could be helpful to them in obtaining what they most desired—that holiness which could secure the favor of God. But they did not obtain the object which they sought. In vain were their endeavors to free themselves from the condemnation of sin or to break its power. It was the same struggle which Luther had experienced in his cell at Erfurt. It was the same question which had tortured his soul—‘How should man be just before God?’ Job 9:2. . . .
“Wesley, under the instruction of a Moravian preacher, arrived at a clearer understanding of Bible faith. He was convinced that he must renounce all dependence upon his own works for salvation and must trust wholly to ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ At a meeting of the Moravian society in London a statement was read from Luther, describing the change which the Spirit of God works in the heart of the believer. As Wesley listened, faith was kindled in his soul. . . .‘I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’ . . .
“Through long years of wearisome and comfortless striving—years of rigorous self-denial, of reproach and humiliation—Wesley had steadfastly adhered to his one purpose of seeking God. Now he had found Him; and he found that the grace which he had toiled to win by prayers and fasts, by almsdeeds and self-abnegation, was a gift, ‘without money and without price.’ ”—The Great Controversy, pp. 253–256.
Part III: Life Application
Thought Questions:
How does the story of John Wesley illustrate the difference between resting solely in Christ’s merits and the futility of trusting in our own works to save us?
What is the rest in Hebrews 4:9 that remains for Christians?
Ellen G. White avers (declares) that the rest that Paul speaks of in Hebrews 4:9 is the rest of grace. How do we enter into this rest of grace?
Notes
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Key Texts: Gen. 15:13–21; Heb. 3:12–19; Heb. 4:6–11; Heb. 4:1, 3, 5, 10; Deut. 5:1–3; Heb. 4:8–11.
Lesson Themes: The Davidic covenant promised rest to the enthroned king and his people. The logical progression of Hebrews concurs with this notion. In Hebrews 1 and 2, we see the preeminence of Christ as divine Ruler and Deliverer of His people. Hebrews 3 and 4 show Jesus’ superiority to Moses and Joshua as the divine Leader who provides rest. Sabbath rest in the Old Testament is portrayed in two versions of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5). The former text stresses Creation, the latter Redemption. In Hebrews 3 and 4, Paul uses the Exodus generation (not their young children) as an example of unbelief and disobedience (Heb. 3:19) to show the detrimental consequence of being unable to enter into the land of rest in Canaan. Turning to his audience, Paul exhorts them with a quote from Psalm 95: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7, NRSV), but, rather, enter into His rest (Heb. 4:9). What is this rest (in Greek, sabbatismos) that Paul speaks of? Why is Paul encouraging his audience to enter into it? These are the questions we shall address now.
Part II: Commentary
A Sabbath Observance Remains: Let us begin first by defining the “rest” of Hebrews 4:9. According to The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, the word rendered as “rest” in Hebrews 4:9 comes from the Greek sabbatismos, meaning “ ‘a resting [from previous activity],’ ” which in later use comes to mean “a Sabbathkeeping,” from the verb sabbatizo-, “to rest,” “to cease,” “to keep the Sabbath.”
“Sabbatizo- is used seven times in the LXX [the Septuagint, the Jews’ Greek translation of the Old Testament], once of the literal seventh-day Sabbath (Ex. 16:30), once of other sabbaths (Lev. 23:32), and five times of the land’s resting in the sabbatical year (Lev. 26:34, 35; 2 Chron. 36:21). . . . Accordingly, the fundamental idea expressed by sabbatizo- in the LXX is that of resting or ceasing from labor or other activity. Hence usage of the related Greek and Hebrew words implies that the noun sabbatismos may denote either the literal Sabbath ‘rest’ or simply ‘rest’ or ‘cessation’ in a more general sense. Thus, a linguistic study of the word sabbatismos in Heb. 4:9 leaves it uncertain whether the weekly Sabbath ‘rest’ is here referred to, or simply ‘rest’ or ‘cessation’ in a general sense. Context alone can decide the matter.
“The writer of Hebrews appears to use katapausis [‘ “ceasing from labor” ’; see on Hebrews 3:11] and sabbatismos more or less synonymously:
“1. Because Joshua could not lead Israel into spiritual ‘rest’ (katapausis, v. 8), a sabbatismos (v. 9) remains for Christians. Consistency seems to require that what remains be the same as what was there to begin with. . . .
“2. From vs. 1, 6 it is clear that what remains for the people of God in NT times is a katapausis; in v. 9 it is said that a sabbatismos remains. To declare that what remains for ‘the people of God’ is the weekly Sabbath, is to declare that what Joshua failed to lead Israel into was the weekly Sabbath.
“3. The fact that in the LXX, the Bible of the NT church, katapauo-(Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:11) and sabbatizo- (Ex. 16:30; Lev. 23:32) are used interchangeably to denote the seventh-day Sabbath, would tend to preclude the suggestion that the writer of Hebrews intended to make a distinction between the noun forms of these words in Heb. 3; 4.
“It may be noted, further, that the Jews of Paul’s time, whether Christian or non-Christian, were punctilious in their observance of the fourth commandment. Certainly, in writing to Jews, the author of Hebrews would not consider it necessary to prove to them that Sabbathkeeping ‘remaineth.’ If the conclusion of the extended argument beginning with ch. 3:7 is that Sabbathkeeping remains for the people of God, it would seem that the writer of Hebrews is guilty of a non sequitur, for the conclusion does not follow logically from the argument. There would have been no point in so labored an effort to persuade the Jews to do what they already were doing—observing the seventh-day Sabbath. Furthermore, in apostolic times the seventh-day Sabbath was observed by all Christians, Jew and Gentile alike, and any argument to prove the validity of the Sabbath in those early Christian times would have been pointless. Furthermore, it may be observed that the section of the book of Hebrews consisting of chs. 3 and 4 opens with an invitation to ‘consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus’ (ch. 3:1), and closes with an earnest plea to ‘come boldly’ before Him in order to ‘obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (ch. 4:16). What relationship a protracted argument designed to prove that Sabbath observance remains as an obligation to the Christian church might have to the declared theme of chs. 3 and 4—the ministry of Christ as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary—is obscure indeed.
“ ‘The rest here spoken of is the rest of grace’ (EGW Supplementary Material on Heb. 4:9; cf. GC 253). It is ‘the true rest of faith’ (MB 1).
“We enter into God’s ‘rest’ when we ‘consider’ Jesus (ch. 3:1) and listen to His voice (chs. 3:7, 15; 4:7), when we exercise faith in Him (ch. 4:2, 3), when we cease from our own efforts to earn salvation (v. 10), when we ‘hold fast our profession’ (v. 14), and when we draw near to the throne of grace (v. 16). Those who would enter into this experience must beware of ‘an evil heart of unbelief’ (ch. 3:12), of hardening their hearts (chs. 3:8, 15; 4:7). They must strive to enter into God’s ‘rest’ (ch. 4:11).
“Those who enter into God’s ‘rest’ will ‘hold fast’ their ‘profession’ (v. 14). They will ‘come boldly unto the throne of grace’ to ‘obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need’ (v. 16).”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, pp. 422, 423, comment on “Rest” in Hebrews 4:9.
On the rest spoken of in Hebrews 4:9, Ellen G. White frames the discussion in a sketch of the life of the great English Reformer, John Wesley: “In a day of great spiritual darkness, Whitefield and the Wesleys appeared as light bearers for God. Under the rule of the established church the people of England had lapsed into a state of religious declension hardly to be distinguished from heathenism. Natural religion was the favorite study of the clergy, and included most of their theology. The higher classes sneered at piety, and prided themselves on being above what they called its fanaticism. The lower classes were grossly ignorant and abandoned to vice, while the church had no courage or faith any longer to support the downfallen cause of truth.
“The great doctrine of justification by faith, so clearly taught by Luther, had been almost wholly lost sight of; and the Romish principle of trusting to good works for salvation, had taken its place. Whitefield and the Wesleys, who were members of the established church, were sincere seekers for the favor of God, and this they had been taught was to be secured by a virtuous life and an observance of the ordinances of religion. . . .
“Wesley and his associates were led to see that true religion is seated in the heart, and that God’s law extends to the thoughts as well as to the words and actions. Convinced of the necessity of holiness of heart, as well as correctness of outward deportment, they set out in earnest upon a new life. By the most diligent and prayerful efforts they endeavored to subdue the evils of the natural heart. They lived a life of self-denial, charity, and humiliation, observing with great rigor and exactness every measure which they thought could be helpful to them in obtaining what they most desired—that holiness which could secure the favor of God. But they did not obtain the object which they sought. In vain were their endeavors to free themselves from the condemnation of sin or to break its power. It was the same struggle which Luther had experienced in his cell at Erfurt. It was the same question which had tortured his soul—‘How should man be just before God?’ Job 9:2. . . .
“Wesley, under the instruction of a Moravian preacher, arrived at a clearer understanding of Bible faith. He was convinced that he must renounce all dependence upon his own works for salvation and must trust wholly to ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ At a meeting of the Moravian society in London a statement was read from Luther, describing the change which the Spirit of God works in the heart of the believer. As Wesley listened, faith was kindled in his soul. . . .‘I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation: and an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.’ . . .
“Through long years of wearisome and comfortless striving—years of rigorous self-denial, of reproach and humiliation—Wesley had steadfastly adhered to his one purpose of seeking God. Now he had found Him; and he found that the grace which he had toiled to win by prayers and fasts, by almsdeeds and self-abnegation, was a gift, ‘without money and without price.’ ”—The Great Controversy, pp. 253–256.
Part III: Life Application
Thought Questions:
How does the story of John Wesley illustrate the difference between resting solely in Christ’s merits and the futility of trusting in our own works to save us?
What is the rest in Hebrews 4:9 that remains for Christians?
Ellen G. White avers (declares) that the rest that Paul speaks of in Hebrews 4:9 is the rest of grace. How do we enter into this rest of grace?
Notes