September 28, 2023 -- Hebrews 4:8-11 -- Sunday rest and the Promise of Eternal Rest
/People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:8-11 ESV
"So, so busy", that is the reply some people might offer when you ask how they are doing. It is almost like a badge of honour. It is a sign that all the technologies of our world have not made our lives easier, but have instead increased our pressures, increased our workload, increased our sense we’ll never be done. There is a ghoulish, but accurate statement highlighting this, which goes “graveyards are full of people who thought they were indispensable”.
The Bible gives a beautiful, ultimate picture of rest.
In the Old Testament Joshua completed the work of Moses. Moses, under God’s mighty hand, led the people of Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery and brought them to Mount Sinai, the place of the covenant. Joshua was the leader after Moses who completed the work of bringing God’s people into the Promised Land. The land of rest. The land of milk and honey. But the people’s rest from slavery and entrance into the Promised Land pointed to an even greater rest to come.
The New Joshua is Jesus. He will bring believers into the New Heavens and the New Earth. This rest means:
no more fighting temptation to sin
no more encroachment of old age
no more broken relationships and the drama that goes with it
no more separation from God and wondering if He moved or if we did.
Every Sunday is a day of rest. A day of drawing close to God. A day of contemplating the goodness of God in forgiving us in Christ. Rest that allows us to reflect that our work will not save us, but Christ our King has saved us by His blood and His Spirit is leading us to the Eternal Land of Promise and rest. No wonder Sunday is a celebration and a joy for the people of God. Sunday stirs in us the anticipation of the treasure house of blessings in store for believers when we finally have our eternal rest.
Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your Name. What blessings You have packed into the lives of Christians; among these abounding blessings is the gift of rest. Forgive us for the many times we have neglected the Sunday rest and kept up a busy schedule that has tyrannized us. Forgive us for refusing Your blessing in fulfilling the Sunday’s purpose of leading us to unburden ourselves before Jesus, in Whom we find true rest from You. Thank You, Triune God, for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, in Whom all the treasures of heaven are guarded in us and for us. Teach us to live according to the blessings Your commandments have for us so that we will by them know the Giver-of the-Commandments, He Who Is our soul’s delight. Amen.
https://youtu.be/_JNJXnZzc9g?si=U0OzwNf0-b5xxBvM “Don’t Forget the Sabbath”
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