A rest to the people of God

We have a promise of rest. The rest which dominates this section is God’s rest, 3. 18; 4. 1-5, 10. We are told that God rested on the seventh day of creation. That rest was not made necessary by fatigue, and we are told by the Lord Jesus, ‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work’, John 5. 17. He continues that upholding and governing of which creation was the beginning. Just as creation was His work, so the work on which the eternal rest is built is God’s work. ‘The rest is God’s rest which He will enjoy in perfected glory with those who believe in Christ, who alone by His work could fit men to share it’, W. KELLY. The invitation to share that rest is offered to all who will hear His voice and not harden their hearts. There were those in Israel in time past who did not enter the rest God promised. The good news of the rest was preached to them, but they did not believe it. What was the nature of the message they heard? Deliverance from Egypt was its starting point, and entering an inheritance in Canaan its destination. Reaching the promised land they refused to go in. That same gospel of deliverance to an inheritance these Hebrews had heard. They must be sure they have believed it. For the Israelites the rest was Canaan, but unbelief kept them out. We have an inheritance still future, and entry into its rest is certain one day, though we can enjoy some of the inheritance now, Eph. 2. 6. Israelites entering the land with Joshua faced conflict, and the rest they did eventually have was not the rest of God, for the offer was held out prospectively some hundreds of years later by David, Heb. 4. 7, 8, cp. Ps. 95. That rest yet remains, a Sabbath rest, God’s rest, for the people of God, v. 9. Note that in verse 1 the writer refers to ‘a promise being left us’, that is a promise remaining yet unrealized. After salvation,we engage readily in loving service for Him. We may at times become weary in it, but not weary of it. In God’s eternal rest we shall cease from our labours down here, though we shall not be inactive in heaven, Rev. 22. 3. Without fatigue and weariness we shall worship and serve Him. Unbelief and disobedience kept Israelites out. Be diligent, therefore. God’s word searches the heart, and all is open before the Lord.