The Divine Rest
Genesis 2:2-3 By the
seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. God blessed the
seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.
The word ‘rest’ will be understood in multiple context in
the Bible:
·
The seventh day of creation and the weekly Sabbath that
commemorates it. (Genesis 2:2; Hebrews 4:4-9)
· The Promised
Land of Canaan where the children of Israel
· Peace with God we
enjoy today because of our relationship to Christ through faith. (Mathew
11:28; Hebrews 4:1,3)
· Our promised future
eternal life with Christ (Hebrews
4:8-11)
After six days, God ceased from all works of creation and
rested on the seventh day not because He
was tired but to indicate the completion of creation. The world was perfect and
God was well satisfied with it. This state of rest is a foretaste of our
eternal joy when creation will be renewed and restored, every mark of sin will
be removed, and the world will be made perfect again. Our Sabbath rest in
Christ begins when we trust Him to complete and perfect work in us.
As God finished His work, and then rested from it, so He
will cause those who believe, to finish their work, and then to enjoy their
rest. It is evident, that there is a more spiritual and excellent Sabbath
remaining for the people of God, than that of the seventh day, or that into
which Joshua led the Jews. This rest is, a rest of grace, and comfort, and
holiness, in the gospel state - a rest in glory, where the people of God shall
enjoy the completion of their faith, and the object of all their desires.
The rest, or Sabbath, which is the subject of Hebrews’
author concludes that it remains to be enjoyed, is undoubtedly the heavenly
rest, which is the privilege God’s people -- opposed to a state of labour and
trouble in this world. It is the rest they shall obtain when the Lord Jesus
shall appear from heaven. But those who do not believe shall never enter into
this spiritual rest, either of grace here or glory hereafter. God has always
declared man's rest to be in Him and His love to be the only real happiness of
the soul; and faith in His promises, through His Son, to be the only way of
entering that rest.
The rest Joshua had promised
to Israelites is a shadow of the rest Jesus promises us (Hebrews 4:8). For if Joshua had given them rest, and then
He would not afterward have spoken of another day. God wants us to enter His rest. What used to mean the Promised
Land for Israelites now means peace with God and eternal life in the new earth prepared
for Christians. Christ has given us His
rest – peace and joy – for the present. This will not end with our rest but
continue into eternity in His presence. He has promised homes for us, to come
and take us there; eternal rest to everyone who believes in Him. The only
matter that might be an obstacle is your unwillingness to believe! The
Christian Sabbath, which we observe weekly is not just a day to go to church, but
it is a commemoration of the rest of God the Son, and the finishing the work of
our redemption. This connects to Jesus’ clarion call we find in Mathew 11:28-30:
Come to Me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and
lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
Our Saviour has invited all that labour and are
heavy-laden – victims of the so-called ‘rat race’ we are all involved in -- to
come unto him. Those who labour in vain include:
· Strife
associated with our relentless drive to acquire wealth and honor
· Slavery
to Satan and his own lusts -- labour in
pursuit of sinful pleasures, purposeless entertainments etc
· Labour
to establish our own righteousness.
· The
sinner’s heavy-laden with guilt and terror
· The temptation and trials a believer is burdened
with constantly
Jesus frees us from
· The
burden of Sin – the constant struggle of right and wrong that war within us
· Excessive
burden of traditional religions’ legalistic demands
· Oppression
and persecution by enemy forces – those who don’t agree with us.
· Stress
and strain of daily life – at work, at home, among associates, friends,
relatives
· Weariness
caused in the heart due to our futile search of God.
He is the one-stop solution
of all the above. It is possible to live life without the above stresses, a
peaceful life which Jesus supervises.
The rest Jesus promises is love,
healing and peace with God. But you must note here He does not promise to believers
not the end of all labour; not total freedom from pain. He shows how to rest in
Him in spite of our troubles, stresses and trials. Christ invites all to come
to him for rest to their souls. He alone gives this invitation; men to come to
him, when, feeling their guilt and misery, and believing his love and power to
help; when they seek Him in fervent prayer.
Thus it is the duty and
interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners to come to Jesus Christ. This is the
gospel call; whoever will, let him come. All who thus come will receive rest as
Christ's gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts. He doesn’t cast
away anyone who comes to Him. But we must make the decision to go to Him.
But in coming to him we must take his yoke, and submit
to his authority. The Bible instructs us to obey His commandments, serve
Him and worship Him, not to live according to our own thoughts. He accepts the willing servant, however
imperfect the services. Here we may find rest for our souls -- and here only.
There is His yoke to be borne, but it is not oppressive. His commandments are
holy, just, and good. It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but
this is abundantly repaid by inward peace and joy even in this life. It is a
yoke that is lined with love. So powerful are the assistances He gives us, so
suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the
way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness.
The rest he promises is a release from the drudgery of sin, not from
the service of God, but an obligation to the duty we owe to him.
Even as He sets a yoke for our necks, He has
a crown for our heads. So He expects us to accept it gracefully, not
grumbling. To call those who are weary and heavy laden and ask them to
take a yoke upon them might sound a bit strange; but the pertinence of it
lies in the word my: “You are under a yoke which makes you
weary: shake that off and try mine, which will make you easy.” Come as the
prodigal son in Luke 15:21 – (Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son); enquire like the jailor in Acts 16:30
-- (“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’’); like Peter’s listeners in Acts 2:37 – (“Brothers, what shall we do?”)
Obeying His commandments,
trusting Him, loving Him is our rest. Such is the Redeemer's mercy; and why
should the labouring and burdened sinner seek for rest from any other quarter?
Let us come to him daily, for deliverance from wrath and guilt, from sin and
Satan, from all our cares, fears, and sorrows. Forced obedience, far from being
easy and light, is a heavy burden. Paying lip service to Christ while our
hearts are far away from Him, the guilt resulting from unbelief – these only increase
our burden.
Anyone who truly repents is
forgiven and is given a fresh start. There is no one who is so vile that he
cannot be forgiven. Nobody is beyond the reach of grace. But there are people who
have repeatedly ignored the call of God and have become so hardened that they
cannot hear the call, in other words the stone deaf. These have deliberately
placed themselves beyond the reach of grace. It is hard to say what will become
of them. God addresses them when he proclaims in Hebrews 4:3
"I have sworn in My wrath that they should not enter into My
rest;"
The Israelites in the desert
were denied their rest – entry into the Promised Land – because of their
rebelliousness. Later the ‘settled’ citizens were hounded by their enemies when
they disobeyed God’s commandments. When we reject God’s provision for our
eternal rest – that is Christ – we lose our inheritance of eternal life with
Him – an inheritance that doesn’t fail, fade or perish. Today if you will hear
His voice, harden not your heart, as in the day of strife, as in the day of
testing in the wilderness door (Psalm 95:8). Jesus
is knocking at the door of your hearts.
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