Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

            “As I swore in my wrath,
            ‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,

            “They shall not enter my rest.”   

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

            “Today, if you hear his voice,
            do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:1-13 ESV

At the end of Israel’s forty-year wandering through the wilderness under the judgment of God, the exodus generation of men, including Moses, had all died off. Only Joshua and Caleb, the two faithful spies, would be the only two men over the age of sixty to enter the Promised Land. Under the leadership of Joshua, the book of the same name tells of how Israel took possession of Canaan by also acting as instruments of God’s judgment upon the pagan nations within that land. Their entering came with much striving, for they took the land by force. Yet by the end of the book in 21:43-45, we read:

Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

As we noted last week, the exodus generation could have had those words spoken about them if they had only believed God’s word. Though Yahweh demolished the greatest nation on earth in order to rescue them from slavery, they refused to believe that the LORD would also defeat the Canaanites within the Promised Land. They heard the bitter complaint of the ten spies and resolved to return to Egypt. Only Joshua and Caleb lived to enter that blessed land because of their belief in God’s mighty hand of salvation. Thus, in 3:7-19 the author of Hebrews warned us against possessing a wicked, unbelieving heart like the exodus generation. Our present text is a direct continuation of that warning, still using Psalm 95 and the exodus generation as erroneous examples for us to learn from. Yet while last week’s text largely focused upon Psalm 95:7-8’s exhortation not to harden our hearts as we hear God’s voice today, these verses before us more focus upon Psalm 95:11’s recounting of God’s oath that that generation would not enter His rest.

LET US FEAR; LET US STRIVE // VERSES 1-11

Before we attempt diving into the particulars of these verses, we might find a word on their structure to be helpful. Verses 1-11 are bracketed by two exhortations that are essentially saying the same thing only with different words. Verse 1: Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. Verse 11: Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Verses 2-10 explain what that rest is (largely through five for statements in verses 2, 3, 4, 8, and 10) and exhort us again exhorts us not to harden our hearts (verses 6-7).

Right from the beginning, therefore in verse 1 ought to draw us back to the previous verse, 3:19, which reads: “So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.” By the context of chapter 3, we know that ‘they’ refers to the exodus generation and that they were unable to enter the rest that God was giving them through the Promised Land because of their unbelief. Now here in verse 1, the author turns that example upon us, saying, Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. This verse is the thesis and the summary of our entire passage; however, the author endeavors to make his point clear through the remaining verses. Particularly, he will explain what the rest that still remains for us today is. After all, under Joshua, the children of the exodus generation did enter the Promise Land and, after executing God’s judgment upon the Canaanites, were given rest from their enemies. But clearly the Promised Land was only a picture of a bigger reality that is still before us today.

Verse 2 begins the author’s explanation with our first for statement: For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. God declared good news to the exodus generation through liberating them from slavery and promising to bring them into the Promised Land, and we have received a similar and even greater good news since Christ, the greater Moses, came to liberate us from our sin and to give us life everlasting. However, the proclamation of that physical gospel did not benefit the exodus generation. While there is some debate on exactly how the final phrase about faith ought to read, Dennis Johnson summarizes the point: “hearing God’s voice brings wrath, not benefit, to those who refuse to receive the message with submissive trust.”[1]

But, as verse 3 notes, we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’

From all we have seen, it is clear that [the writer] is confident that those who truly believe will not come short of the promised rest. In fact, he here asserts that those who have believed are now entering into it (this is the implication of the present indicative of εἰσέρχομαι). In their case, this now actually is happening. They are not waiting to enter. They are entering. Here, in confirmation of this confidence, the writer cites again the divine oath against unbelief from Psalm 95: “As He has said: ‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”’”[2]

But how is that oath against the exodus generation a confirmation of the rest that present day believers are already entering into? The writer is expecting us to make an inference from the contrary. Though the exodus generation had the promised rest before them, they failed to reach it because of their unbelief; therefore, unlike them, we who have believed are entering that promised rest.

The final sentence of verse 3 through verse 5 now ties that promised rest not merely onto the land of Canaan but back to God’s inauguration of the Sabbath at the end of creating the world:

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,

           “They shall not enter my rest.”

Geoffrey Wilson explains the flow of reasoning as follows: “For of the faithless Israelite God sware that they should not enter into his rest, although his rest was ready for man since the completion of the work of creation.”[3]  From the moment that God Himself rested on the seventh day, He intended for man to enter that rest with Him, indeed, to rest in Him. Jesus reflects this truth whenever He chided the Pharisees that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Thus, even during the time of the exodus generation, God planned a far greater rest for His people that was only visibly and physically represented by the Promised Land.

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

           “Today, if you hear his voice,
           do not harden your hearts.”

In these verses, the author brings back the warning of Psalm 95, calling us once again to consider the faithlessness of exodus generation as a warning for us today. As we noted, though the Hebrew Scriptures leave Psalm 95 anonymous, the Septuagint ascribes authorship to David, which the author seems to attest to here. Thus, David, who lived so long afterward, exhorted his own generation to learn from the exodus generation by not hardening their hearts and failing to enter God’s rest.

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. Here the argument comes to its point. Yes, as we read earlier, God did give the Israelites a sampling of rest in the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua. Yet that rest did not last. Joshua 24:31 says, “Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the LORD did for Israel.” While that verse may sound pleasant, it is merely the calm before the storm. The book of Judges goes on to describe the ever-growing wickedness of Israel in the centuries following Joshua’s death. No, the rest that Joshua gave them did not last; therefore, another rest was needed.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Jesus (which is the Greek form of the name Joshua), of course, is the greater Joshua, who leads the people of God into that true Sabbath rest, the rest from their works. Joshua led the Israelites to defeat the Canaanites, but Jesus Himself destroyed through death “the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (2:14). Through Joshua, God gave Israel the land of Canaan, but through Jesus, God gives us a heavenly country where He dwell with us forevermore. And because Jesus accomplished that salvation for us unilaterally, we now have rest from our futile works to earn God’s favor. He is the Captain of our salvation who already won the crown of glory and honor and is now leading us into glory, into God’s rest. Most importantly, as the author of Hebrews will emphasize later on, the rest that Israel gained through Joshua was lost whenever he died, but Jesus is able to secure our redemption because His death purchased our deliverance and His resurrection ensured that He forever lives to bring it to pass.

This is why the gospel, the good news, that we have received is so much greater than what they heard. Of course, the greater message also brings greater consequence for disobedience. Thus, Jude 5 presents them as an example for us: “Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” Again, the question that ought to continue lingering in our minds is the one from 2:3: How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Again, this is essentially a repetition through different words of verse 1: Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. Although fear can be paralyzing, we would do well to remember that wisdom is predicated on fear, the fear of the LORD to be specific. Likewise, though the fear of death subjects men to lifelong slavery, a reverential fear of God’s judgment keeps us alert, careful, and awake rather than neglectful and drifting. Indeed, this means striving toward God’s promised rest even as we rest in Christ. Of course, that feels contradictory at first. Richard Phillips notes:

In fact, there is no problem here at all. The overarching model for this whole exhortation is the exodus wanderings of Israel. They had left the bondage of Egypt, but had not yet entered the land of rest. We, too, are to press onward thought our difficulties, but relying on him in this present day of testing. We are to strive with the resources of his rest. In contrast to the unfaithful Israelites, who failed to trust the provision of God’s grace, we follow and strive because our faith receives the benefits of God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. Appreciating the reality of our present challenge… we eagerly draw forth on every resource of grace that God provides.

Now is the day of labor, the day when we do work. We rest our burdens on Jesus Christ, and he sends the Holy Spirit to help us shoulder the load. But the same Savior who offers us rest is also the Lord who commands, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Our final day of rest is yet to come. It awaits us in heaven. God worked for six days and then he rested; now is the time when we work, after which we too will rest.[4]

SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD // VERSES 12-13

As tempting as it may have been to give verses 12-13 a sermon all their own, I desired to keep them as the conclusion to this sermon’s passage. You see, though verse 12 specifically is one of the most well-known verses in the entire epistle to the Hebrews, it is not often cited or considered in its context. But these are not verses to be isolated from the rest of the letter, so let us give ear to them accordingly:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Why does the author seem to switch from talking about entering God’s rest to the word of God? The reality is that the author has not switched at all. God’s revelation has been a key theme since 1:1. Even the promise of God’s rest fits with this theme since promise is one of the many descriptions used for the Scriptures in Psalm 119. After all, a promise must necessarily be communicated with words. Thus, the Word of God has never left the author’s mind. The promise of entering God’s rest and the ability to hear God’s voice come through the Scriptures, for they are how God has spoken to His people. We would do well to consider the marvelous descriptions given to God’s Word.

It is living and active. Because the Scriptures are God’s very words, they are far more than simple words on a page. Indeed, history attests to the Bible being living and active. Augustine, one of the greatest theologians to ever live, was converted after reading from Romans. Luther, likewise, had his spiritual eyes opened upon meditating over Romans 1:17. Of course, Scripture is present in every conversion, however blatant or subtle. For in Romans 10:13-17, Paul describes the process of salvation:

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Thus, I do not think Luther was merely attempting to be modest whenever he said of the Reformation that he famously launched:

I simply taught, preached, wrote God’s Word: otherwise I did nothing. And when, while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my Philip and my Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that never a Prince or Emperor inflicted such damage upon it, I did nothing. The Word did it all.[5]

The author goes on to describe the Word’s living activity as sharp, piercing, and discerning. Although a properly sharpened sword may cut and pierce through flesh, God’s Word is “sharp enough to cut to the heart’s hidden depths, discerning our secret thoughts and intentions.”[6] Or as Calvin states:

God’s word pierces, or reaches to the dividing of soul and spirit, that is, it examines the whole soul of man; for it searches his thoughts and scrutinizes his will with all its desires. And then he adds the joints and marrow, intimating that there is nothing so hard or strong in man, nothing so hidden, that the powerful word cannot pervade it.[7]

Anyone who has read Scripture with an earnest and prayerful hunger for truth can personally attest that what begins with you reading Scripture ends with Scripture reading you. Of course, if you expect Scripture to teach, to reprove, to correct, and train you in righteousness, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, then you will read your Bible expecting to have the thoughts and intentions of your heart discerned. Sadly, many Christians read the Bible as a divine self-help book of encouragements and do the best that they can to avoid the kind of piercing, soul-splitting revelation that they ought to be prayerfully seeking. Indeed, just like the Reformation began with God’s Word piercing Luther’s own soul, so too must a modern-day reformation in both the church and the culture. If we would long for God’s Word to pierce the souls of those around us, we must begin by opening the Bible ourselves and imitating David’s prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
            Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
                        and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23–24)

Of course, a refusal to pray such a prayer does not mean that we can hide ourselves from God’s sight. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God sees all and knows all, even intentions deep within our hearts that may lie hidden from our own consciousness. He sees, and He will judge. Everyone, however great or small, will stand before His throne with both body and soul exposed to His righteous judgment.

Who will be able to find rest on such an awesome and terrible day?

Those who have believe God’s Word and had it pierce and cut off piece by piece whatever hardness and unbelief lay upon their heart.

That is why this description of God’s Word concludes the author’s warning from the example of the exodus generation. Although they were given the grace of God’s Word, it proved to be only a word of judgment because of their unbelieving hearts. Indeed, through hearing that good news, the hardness of their hearts was revealed until they all fell under God’s wrath.

Today, God’s voice is still going forth through His Word and is still calling for His people to enter His rest that He established for us from the beginning of the world. Indeed, He speaks to each of us through the text that we have set before us here. So, do not harden your heart to His voice like the Israelites did. Everlasting rest in Christ is given; do not fail to enter that rest through neglect and unbelief. Let the piercing of God’s Word into your heart turn your eyes to Christ who bore the full judgment of God for our sins in our place.

Indeed, as we come to our King’s Table, we hear the proclamation of Christ’s death for us, and we are given through the bread and cup a visual sermon. Let us, therefore, taste and see the goodness of our Savior who has given us rest from our fruitless attempts to make ourselves righteous by clothing us with His own righteousness.

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[1] ESV Expository Commentary Vol XXII, 67.

[2] Robert Paul Martin, Hebrews, 212.

[3] Geoffrey Wilson, New Testament Commentaries Vol 2, 355.

[4] Richard Phillips, Hebrews, 131.

[5] Cited in R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews, 122.

[6] ESV Expository Commentary Vol XXII, 70.

[7] John Calvin, Commentaries.