ENTERING THE REST

ENTERING THE REST
Heb 4:1-11
"Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…." (v.11).

STILL DRAWING FROM THE LESSONS of the Israelites' experience, the author of Hebrews contrasts the restlessness in the wilderness against the rest in the promised land. The condition to finding that rest is faith. "Now we who have believed enter that rest…." (v.3).

But what is "that rest"? Three or more kinds of rest appear to be in the mind of the author. Firstly, there is the creation-rest (vv.3-4). God rested on the seventh day of creation (Gen 2.2). It should be noted that man was created on the sixth day, the day immediately before the rest day. In that sense, he was created to rest or for rest.

Secondly, there is the Canaan-rest. The second generation of the Israelites found rest in Canaan after their years of wandering in the desert of Sinai (Num 14.30-31). The others forfeited the blessing of rest because of their unbelief.

The first and second kinds of rest provide an excellent background to the third kind, the celestial rest. It is our final rest in heaven (Rev 14.13). God created man in the beginning for that blissful rest. God made man for fellowship with Him. But that fellowship was broken through man's sin. The only way the fellowship can be restored and the original rest recovered is by faith in the Lord Jesus who says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matt 11.28).

One sign of our times appears to be restlessness. It could be attributed to what futurologist Alvin Toffler calls "overchoice". We have so much to choose from that we are never sure we have made the right choice. It infects especially young people and adults in their mid-life. Will I make the right choice? Have I made the right choice? They ask as they fidget about in disquiet and unease over career, marriage partner, children, and the direction of life in general.

For the Christian, rest comes in knowing that he need not worry, "for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his." (v.10). Our salvation for eternity is safely in the hands of God, for it does not depend on our own merits. Our destiny is God's doing, not ours. The same is true in the everyday of our life. As we make every effort to ensure we do not forfeit our rest, we are also settled in our hearts that He is able to see us to the end.

Have I found God's rest for my restlessness?