One of the themes found in the Book of Hebrews is that of the Believer's Rest. Comments on this subject are mostly concentrated in chapter 4, verses 1-13. The context of this section is the figure of Christ; the old versus the new. Rest was promised to the people of Israel under the Mosaic covenant. According to the writer of Hebrews, God's rest is available to the Hebrew Christians to whom he was writing. This is an important note, because for some reason they had decided that they had not found the rest God had promised to his covenant them as his covenant people. The author wanted them to know that it was still available and also to urge them not to miss it. To begin this study of God's rest, some terms need to be defined. What exactly is "rest"? An English definition of "rest" would include the ideas of a stopping place; a place of shelter; peace of mind; and that on which anything leans for support. There are basically five Hebrew words used in the Old Testament that are translated "rest" in the English Bibles. These are: menuchah which means straightforwardly "rest", as from work (cf Ps 132:8, 14; Is 11:10; I Ch 28:2). A second word is damiy which means a quietness or silence (cf Zp 3:17; Is 62:5; Ps 37:7; 62:5). Then there is samak which expresses the idea of "rely" upon (cf II Ch 32:8; 16:7-8). A fourth word is ravatz which is literally a resting place or a sheepfold, and which can be used figuratively. And finally there is savat (or sabat) which is transliterated directly most times as "sabbath". It means to cease, to rest and to be complete.

The audience to whom Hebrews is addressed would probably not have been familiar with the Hebrew; rather they would know the Septuagint, which Hebrews appears to quote as its reference for the Old Testament passages. The words used in the Septuagint to translate the above Hebrew terms are anapausis, to "rest up"; katapausis, a related word meaning to "repose"; kaino, "freshness" or "renew"; katatharo, to "throw down upon", eg. to "rely"; and poitheno, to "make" or "lay out" - it is not as strong of a word as katatharo, but it basically means the same thing, to "rely".

With this frame of reference, the Greek words that are used in Hebrews 3 and 4 to discuss these ideas are: katapausis (the word used to translate menuchah in Psalm 138:14), which means "cessation" or "repose" (3:18) and sabbatismos, which the writer may have coined to express the idea of a "sabbath-kind-of-rest" (4:9)

Thus the idea of "to rest" is "to be settled; satisfied, made secure, made whole or complete" (Butler, class notes). In short the idea of rest is perfection. The Hebrew word that best expresses that condition is shalom which, as we all know, means peace. True peace is perfect. There is some suggestion of this "perfection" of rest in the English terms "renew" and "recreation". To relax we attempt to make ourselves "like new"; we "re-create", as it were. Creation was perfect at one time. This is a similar idea to the Greek kaino.

In a related way, part of God's perfect rest may be found in who man is intended to be. In that respect everything must look back to who Jesus is. He is the perfect man, the second Adam (since the first Adam fell). Without the basis of who Jesus is, the believing man cannot find God's perfect rest.

Having defined "rest", the first question that still must be asked is what is rest? There is a big difference between having a definition and having a good understanding and grasp of the idea. How is this concept and set of definitions lived out in daily life; and where is rest to be found?

Perhaps the reason the Hebrew Christians had not found "rest" is because they were looking for the Rabbinic traditional concept of the Sabbath rest. The rules and traditions of the sabbath were very important in the Jews' eyes and, therefore, numerous and much discussed, to the extent that the Tractate Shabbath (the collection and authority on such traditions) fills two volumes when translated into English.

Rabbinic traditions regarding the Sabbath included: if one weekly sabbath were kept properly the Messiah would come; the sabbath was one sixtieth of the Messianic age (what this means is not really clear. Perhaps it meant that the Messianic age would be sixty times better than the sabbath [what with all the rules and regulations one would certainly hope so!], but why sixty?); to profane the sabbath in public was worse than idolatry; and the keeping of the sabbath faithfully (by their rules) would atone even for idolatry. Of course, even the mishnah admits the "laws" governing the sabbath were "as mountains hanging by a hair, for there is little on the subject in the scriptures yet the rules are many" (Encyclopedia Judaica, vol 14, p. 566).

Another reason for the difficulty of the Hebrew Christians being addressed in understanding "rest" could be that were looking for literal and absolute peace, joy, order, and abundance as seemed to be indicated by Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 30:15 and 32:16-18, and Micah 4:4. They were afraid that they had missed it. The question arises as to what the Old Testament actually said.

The Old Testament revolves around the idea of covenant. Covenants have three basic elements: parties, terms and promises. The part to be considered at this juncture is the promises. This may seem to be catering to man's self-indulgence, but it is part of every covenant and a very necessary segment, too; it is the results of the covenant in question. For instance, connected with the goal of a proper life, pleasing to God is the concept of rest, one of the big promises that may be picked our of the collected covenants (which are really all steps in one covenant plan) of God with man. The inevitable question becomes what is the point? Ecclesiastes tells us the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep his commands (12:13). Rationale enough for obeying the Divine will should be the fear and respect of God Almighty. Indeed, the Psalms especially often do seek to instill in the reader an awe of God. In addition, "an element of godly fear is invaluable, for it brings home the solemn consequence of underating God's provision for his people" (Guthrie, p.111). The consequence is the reverse of the promise. In this case, failing to enter, and, therefore, unrest.

Humankind is very attuned to the idea of reward and punishment; i.e. "what's in it for me?" This preoccupation with self is part of our falleness. God understands this and in his infinite love and mercy, he seeks to teach us as only the most patient teacher can. "For he is not willing that any should perish", and the instrument of redemption and instruction is covenant. Saying that he is not willing that any should perish brings up the fact that there is a very real possibility of perishing. The flip-side of reward is punnishment. Hebrews 4:1 emphasizes this in saying, "let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it [i.e. the rest]". Therefore, one of the purposes of God's covenants was didactic. The Mosaic Covenant was especially so. One must remember that they were coming out of 430 years (Exodus 12:40) of living in a totally pagan culture and had a lot to learn/re-learn (Gardner, class notes). One of the things they had to learn was a proper notion of rest.

One of the requirements of the Law was the observance of the Sabbath - the day of rest. There has been much debate over the ramifications of this commandment. Was it for Israel alone, or is it meant for all people. This question is pertinent to our discussion because "sabbath" is one of the words translated "rest" on occasion - it is a type of rest. It was also a stumbling block in the early Church (mostly because of the traditions which had grown up around it and the coming of the Messiah). There was a widespread belief that the sabbath was a type of the "seventh age of righteousness" (reminicent, in a way, the rabbinic tradition of the sabbath being "one sixtieth" the Messianic age). Taking a leap off II Peter 3:8 ("a thousand years is a day"), this doctrine said there would be 6000 years from the creation to Christ's second coming and the seventh age; the sabbath age (following the days of the week) would be the millenial reign of Christ. This belief is rather illogical in light of Christ's own statements that we cannot know the time of His return (Mt 24:36; Mk 13:32). In addition, to equate the sabbath with the millenium from material found here "involves the incorporation into the epistle of a concept alien to it" (Bruce, p.107).

The statement of the command to observe the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11) is longer than any of the others in the section known as the Ten Commandments. In it the creation of the world, during which God worked for six days and then rested, is cited. This is at times used as proof that Christians must continue to keep the sabbath since it predated the Law given at Sinai (which is ridiculous logic in itself, since Christ was better than all that came before, not just Moses), yet, there is no explicit, early command given to rest (Blocher, p.39). However, some interesting conclusions may be drawn from a study of the day of rest in relation to the days of creation:

Therefore, the sabbath was not a lazy day, "the rest of a lethargic God" (Bonhoeffer, p.42) rather a day set aside for something. We understand this in English with the concept of a sabbatical. Webster's defines it as "a year or half-year . . . for rest, travel, or study". Something is to be accomplished in a sabbath rest; as Bonhoeffer puts it "Thou shalt keep holy the holiday and not sleep it away"! (p. 43). The sabbath was a practice for the new covenant, a time when man could be called back to his essential relationship with God.

This important concept that the rest is still remaining can be seen in the use of the Greek present tense (indicating a continuing action) all the way through verses 1 to 3 of chapter 4. These include kataleipomenes (present participle) meaning "being left" (verse 1); husterekenai (perfect infinitive) meaning "have come short" and "continuing to come short" (verse 2); esmen eueggelismenoi (present participle) meaning "we are now being evangelized" (verse 2); and eiserchometha (present verb) meaning "we are now entering" (verse 3).

What the writer is trying to get across is that although present circumstances would seem to be to the contrary, these Hebrew Christians should have been entering and enjoying God's rest right then in Christ.

The question is how could that be?

It needs to be understood that God's rest was available since he instituted it from it from creation (4:3-4). Notice the phrase "...finished from the foundation of the world...". On the seventh day God rested from his creative work and began his sanctifying work. Therefore, it must be understood that "rest" does not mean the cessation of activity, not even for God! (see John 5:17). Notice that each of the six days of creation ended but the seventh (the day of "rest") did not. When God created the world he created rest for man and God has never brought that rest to a stop. This same rest which God is experiencing is what the Hebrew Christians were in danger of missing. The repetition of the warning from Psalm 95 after the dicussion of creation emphasizes the identification of the one rest with the other (Bruce, p.107).

Now the sabbath day given to the Jew was not God's spiritual rest. It was a type, an object lesson, if you will, part of the didactic element of the covenant. The spiritual rest, always available to the believer, was entered by faith and obedience. Take note that the rest promised in Psalm 95 and quoted in Hebrews (among other places) is "MY" (God's) rest. This is not just a rest God bestows; it is a rest He Himself enjoys and is in (Bruce, p.106). If this is hard to understand, recall that Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. In the same way that that is possible, God's rest could be finished from the beginning.

Therefore, God's rest for believers is not an age and it is not a day. Nor can it be obtained in "magic" formula of rule keeping that would attempt to manipulate God. The believer's res is not a place. This is on the emphases of Hebrews 4. While it is true that Moses did not lead the people into the promised rest, Joshua did not either; "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day" (v.8). The reason Joshua failed was for the same reason Moses did - unbelief on the part of the people (Guthrie, p.110). Yet Joshua brought the people into Canaan. Therefore, the implication of verse 8 is that Canaan does not equal the promised rest. This makes sense since both audiences of the warning (both the one in Psalms and in Hebrews) were in fact living in the land, yet were in danger of missing God's promised rest. The rest must be differnt from the "rest . . . from all their enemies (Josh 23:1, cf 21:44)" (Bruce p.108).

In order to understand what this rest given by God is, a study of the Psalms may prove helpful. Rest is a theme found in the Psalms, yet it was, and is, terribly misunderstood. Therefore, in order to come to terms with God's promise of rest, an examination of a few psalms that relate to this concept is in order.

Psalm 62 begins with the words "My soul finds rest in God alone" (verse 1). Rest is intimately connected with God. The Hebrew here is damiy -- quietness. "The presence of God alone could awe his heart into quietude, submission, rest and acquiescence; but when that was felt, not a rebellious word or thought broke the peaceful silence" (Spurgeon, p. 114). In the first stanza of the psalm (vv. 1-2) rest is connected with salvation and physical security of person. This connects with the idea of rest as peace. To be at peace anxieties must be eased. A major source of anxiety is lack of security, both physical and spiritual. Interestingly enough, Spurgeon connects rest and peace with a lack of rebellion; rebellion, of course, being what caused lack of security in the first place (Genesis 3). Therefore, the "what is it?" of rest may be taken to be security. The next stanza of Psalm 62 (vv. 3-4) gives an example of how that security does not exist naturally. There is physical danger, and even more there is psychological and emotional danger. One might be tempted to think that the psalmist is just a little paranoid, except that we've all felt that way. It's a jungle out there!

Verse five echoes verse one: "find rest, O my soul in God alone". This time, however, "hope" is exchanged for "salvation", linking those two ideas which are both, in turn, facets of rest. Hope does not seem at first thought like a part of rest, but consider what William Gurnall wrote on the subject,

For emphasis, verse six then repeats verse two and verse seven reinforces the idea. It also adds the idea of honour, or dignity to the rest ("My salvation and honor depend on God alone"). In English, honour is one of those desirable abstracts; hard to define objectively, but generally understood. It is something everybody wants. Add fulfillment of that desire to the concept of rest, but make an important distinction at this point. The fulfillment is not self-centered. It cannot be. The psalmist writes "my honour depend[s] on God". An alternate translation of that would be "God Most High is my honour" (emphasis both times mine). "Is" communicates this idea with more force, since it tends to be a stronger verb than "depends". Self-fulfillment is really no fulfillment at all. It still leaves emptiness. Yet the text says "my honour depend[s] on God" which indicates that humans do have honour, when placed in the proper perspective.

What is honour? Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary gives several factors related to honour: reputation, recognition, privilege, credit, purity and integrity. Those are fairly high accolades. It is incredible that they would be associated with rest. This points to yet another part of the concept of rest. It is not a portion of life, as in now we work, now we rest. It is an ongoing process. This is what the writer of Hebrews tries to emphasize (several centuries later) in coining the word sabbatismos. The next question then becomes how does one be sure of being part of that "sabbath-kind-of-life"?

Psalm 95 ends with an interesting quote "So, I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" This is what the writer of Hebrews picks up in the illustration of true rest. The parallel is close enough between the Israelites and the Christians (especially these Hebrew Christians) to serve as an impressive warning (Bruce, p.105). "So" indicates that it is a result of whatever came before; apparently, what precedes is a portrait of how not to be a part of the sabbath kind of life.

This Psalm can be divided into four parts. Verses 1-2 and 6-7 are calls to praise; verses 3-5 extol God and verses 7b-11 are the warning that is of concern here. The operative phrase is "do not harden your heart" (v. 8). The example of heart-hardening given is when the "fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did". That is, they didn't put their trust in God and have faith. The story cited took place in the wilderness after Israel had been lead out of Egypt. The repetitive theme in the book of Exodus is the people's cry "why have you brought us out here to die?!" They were terribly gung-ho to be out of Egypt (after some preliminary convincing), but went right back to complaining when their expectations did not materialize immediately. As John Phillips writes, "What a tragedy to believe God in bringing them out of Egypt, but not believe Him in bringing them into Canaan; to trust Him for redemption, but not to trust him for rest" (p. 196). This is why Moses was unable to bring them into the Promised Land: lack of faith, which is so many words of unbelief. When it comes to faith, it is a mater of all or nothing. As Bruce writes, "if that faith is a genuine faith, it will be a persistent faith" (p.106). Therefore, a lack of faith will prevent rest from occurring. This makes sense. It is well known that worry can cause headaches and the like, and that spiritually that result is "a fearful, frustrated, second-class life" (Phillips, p. 196). It only succeeds in preventing inner peace (which is part of the definition of "rest"). Faith, then is part of God's rest, which has been available since creation for all who would believe, but most fail to enter because of unbelief (Butler, class notes). One receives that faith from God. "For faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). This is the power to enter God's rest: the Word of God. In the Psalms and Proverbs, the word of God is often portrayed as a light (e.g. Psalm 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23, etc.). To enter anywhere, one must be able to see where to go.

With these things in mind, what guidance is given regarding the sabbath? The word "sabbath" is only used once in the Psalter. That is in the header for Psalm 92: "A psalm. A song. For the sabbath day." It would follow then that this psalm contains thoughts for the practice day; the kind of meditation on God that would bring rest to the soul and allow for the living of a sabbath-kind-of-life. This is the case. Anderson calls it "a Hymn or Descriptive Praise with a didactic tone" (p. 660). Some Jewish commentators regarded it as a description of the "final sabbath" (Spence, p.282).

Psalm 92 gives a purpose of the day of rest. It was:

The first two stanzas the Psalm begin on very positive notes: "it is good" (v.1) and "you make me glad" (v.2). The source of all this is, of course, YHWH. Verse one reads, "it is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High." Somehow music can often get across messages which might otherwise be missed. It involves both conscious and unconscious parts of your thoughts (have you ever had a song "stuck" in your head?). Praise is especially powerful. It's sole object is God. Therefore, we should fade into the background. In addition,

The rest of the stanza goes on to describe what the Psalmist proclaims: God's love and faithfulness (v.2), worthy accolades indeed!

Verse four begins giving a reason for such praise (after all, it's not due to every Joe on the street. It's not even due the high and mighty!): the works of the LORD. This verse is, in fact, a couplet; the phrase is repeated twice for emphasis. Verse five remarks on the greatness of God, connecting his works and his thoughts. This could serve as a reminder of the creation. An vital part of the creation (as discussed above) was the sabbath rest (although that phrase is rather redundant). What an invention!

Recall that part of the definition of rest developed early in this paper was "to be settled . . . made secure" (Butler, class notes). The contrast found in verse seven and twelve become very descriptive in that light: "the wicked [who] spring up like grass" versus the righteous who "will flourish like a palm tree . . . will grow like a cedar of Lebanon." Although the grass may look very fine, it can be scorched and withered very quickly by a wind or heat that comes without warning. Yet stability and peace are found in those "planted in the house of the LORD" (v.13). Again true rest is to be found only in God. As Isaiah 40:31 reads, "those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength"

Rest is a many faceted concept. One must bear in mind that God didn't a promise a rose garden as part of his covenants (at least not since Adam). Rest comes primary from the hope in God that is in believers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, A.A. The Book of Psalms (New Century Bible Commentary). Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI. 1972.

Blocher, Henri. In The Beginning: The Opening Chapters of Genesis. InterVarsity Press. Downers Grove, IL. 1984.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Creation and Fall/Temptation. Macmillan Publishing Co. New York. 1937.

Bruce, F.F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI. 1990.

Butler, Paul Thurman. "Hebrews". Class notes. Ozark Christian College. Fall 1991.

Clapp, Bud. "Survey of O.T. Poetry". Class notes. Ozark Christian College. Fall 1991.

Fields, Wilbur. Professor at Ozark Christian College. Joplin, MO. 7 October 1991. Interview.

Gaebelin, Frank E. Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 12. Regency Reference Library. Grand Rapids, MI. 1981.

Gardner, Kyle. "O.T. History I". Class notes. Ozark Christian College. Fall 1990.

Gooding, David. An Unshakable Kingdom: The Leter to the Hebrews for Today. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI. 1989.

Guthrie, Donald. The Letter to the Hebrews. InterVarsity Press. Leicester, England. 1983.

Hunt, Donald G. What the Bible Says About the Unfolded Plan of God. College Press. Joplin, MO. 1981.

Kidner, Derek. Psalms 73-150: A Commentary on Books III-V of the Psalms. InterVarsity Press. London. 1975.

MacArthur, John Jr. Hebrews. Moody Press. Chicago, IL. 1983.

Phillips, John. Exploring the Psalms: Vol 3: Psalms 73-106. Loizeaux Bros. Neptune, NJ. 1986.

Revised Standard Version. Thomas Nelson & Sons. New York. 1946.

Scott, Mark. Professor at Ozark Christian College. Joplin, MO. 5 December 1991. Interview.

Spence, H.D.M., and Exell, Joseph S. The Pulpit Commentary: Vol 8: The Psalms. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Grand Rapids, MI. 1950.

Spurgeon, C.H. The Treasury of David: An Expository and Devotional Commentary on the Psalms: Vol 3: Psalms 53-78. Baker Book House. Grand Rapids, MI. 1978 (reprint).