A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
"So I declared on oath in my anger,
'They shall never enter my rest.' " And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." 5And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
6It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
"Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts." 8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The author of Hebrews give us a great verse, "the promise of entering His rest still stands"...How relaxing, how calm, how heavenly...Entering His rest, should be the goal of all mankind...When we enter the presence of God, we will enter His rest...That statement will remain, it still stands, it is a truth that stands forever...
We can hear the gospel, the good news of the Messiah, Jesus...We can study and read the Bible, but it must be combined with faith to lead a calm, steady, happy life...When we are near the Holy Spirit or the Presence of God we will lead an the kind of life we want...Without the love and Presence of the Father, our lives can be filled with an undisciplined, unorganized, ups and downs that leads to an unhappy, frustrating life...We must remember that the word of God is living and active and a part of us...Immanuel means God with us...
We are given discussions on rest by the author...On the seventh day God rested from all His work...After God created the heavens and earth, He rested...That rest was attained...But the author quotes Psalm 95:11 and we assume that the resting (for us) in God has yet to be attained...That rest will come later...The author also talks of Joshua, which probably means Jesus, because, he does not say, Joshua, Son of Nun...But Joshua or Jesus did not give us the rest described here...In verse nine, we are told that there "remains a Sabbath rest" not for God, but for us...Since the author uses this word "remains", it is in our future...Therefore, we must every effort to enter that rest...And we must be careful getting there, because disobedience and sin are hurdles we will face...
Our lives resting in God's Presence is the only true happiness for our souls...In getting to His rest we face a life full of hurdles (sin) and drifting (disobedience)...But God the Father, loves all His children...He knows who we are...Despite this all knowing of us, He still loves us...Everything about us is uncovered and laid out...To the Father we must give a full account...He is full of love and grace...To get to His rest, we must have faith and keep the faith...