Hebrews 4:3-8

God's Rest Is Limited to the Faithful

The promise of entering God's rest is affirmed for all who believe, yet God's wrath would not allow those who rebelled in the wilderness to enter in (Psalms 95:11). As Thompson states, "The expression, from the foundation of the world, is used frequently in the New Testament (Matthew 13:35; Luke 11:50; Hebrews 9:26). The phrase suggests the eternity of God's plan of salvation, which was conceived before all ages and will be fulfilled in the last time" (cf. Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:20). The phrase thus refers logically to the creation story of Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 2:1-25 and the time before it. Apparently rest has been an idea inherent in the world since the resting of God in Genesis 2:2. God, at that time, entered into rest, and instituted the Sabbath rest. As the quotation from Psalms 95:11 shows, God's rest is reserved for those who are truly faithful in service to God (Hebrews 4:3-5).

Though some did not enter in because of unbelief, the promise still remained for faithful Israelites. All of the first generation, except Joshua and Caleb, died in the wilderness because of their unfaithfulness. Joshua and Caleb were part of those who were to have rest because they were faithful. Some of the unfaithful were killed as late as during the encampment at Baal-Peor, just prior to the crossing of the Jordan (Numbers 25:1-18). However, it would seem that faithful and unfaithful alike entered into Canaan, the land of promised rest, during the second generation. The supposed dilemma is solved by a quote from Psalms 95:7-11, which shows that in David's day, despite the fact that they were already in the promised land, the people had to be warned against the sin of unbelief, lest they fail to enter the promised rest. It must be kept in mind that Canaan was only a type of the heavenly land of rest to come. Too, emphasis is placed on the word "today," because the promise of rest is available now. Joshua took the children of Israel into Canaan, but that physical rest did not completely satisfy. Thus, David spoke of the Canaan which completely satisfies, or heaven (Hebrews 4:6-8).