Hebrews 4:1–7
4:1 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 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.”
(ESV)
Rest In Jesus
On the day Jesus was born, a door to divine rest was opened for us. We do not typically associate Christmas with rest. The holiday season is full of parties, school programs, travel, and end-of-the-year work. How ironic it would be to busy ourselves with buying gifts, and planning meals and miss the gift at the heart of Christmas.
Hebrews 4 invites us to enter divine rest. The rest that began at creation when God completed his creation is the same rest we are invited into today. Rest is not only something God provides for his people but something he himself partakes in and enjoys.
When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, he had to teach them to rest. The people of God would have to unlearn a few things after their years of forced labor in Egypt. For the people of God, work no longer would determine their worth or identity. Rest was a gift to be received and enjoyed. These were the lessons the people of God would need to relearn time and time again. In the day of King David, he called the people not to harden their hearts but to receive the rest God had provided them. The words of King David echo down through the pages of Scripture, but unlike an echo that tapers off, David’s call to enter rest crescendos eventually reaching its apex in the birth of Jesus.
The birth of Jesus is worth celebrating because in his arrival came the promised servant-king of God. Jesus is the ultimate king who ushers in peace and protection for the anxious, but he is also the servant of God who brings healing and respite to the weary. The writer of Hebrews realized that the door to divine rest did not close in the days of King David, but burst open when Jesus arrived. For Jesus invites us into his rest when he said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
This Christmas listen for the voice of God inviting you to rest. If your mind is preoccupied with planning events and making shopping lists, do not be surprised by your soul's restlessness. Saint Augustine of Hippo said it well when he said, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” You do not need to wait until the busy holiday season is over to experience rest. Today, with wrapping still unfinished and cards still needing to be mailed, accept the invitation God is calling us to: Rest in Jesus.
Sully Curtin