| JESUS VS
JUDAISM The Book of Hebrews Lesson 4 1. Falling Short of God’s Rest (Heb
4:1-2) The chapter break should be
ignored, for the warning continues with a third “lest”: “let us fear lest any of you seem to have
come short of it” (Heb 4:1; cf. 3:12-13). The Israel-ites had “good news”
preached to them: a promised land of no bondage or war, abun-dant produce,
ready-made cities, freedom of worship, etc.
But this good news “did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in
those who heard it” (4:2). Sometimes human nature can be mystifying: God
promises everything we could ever want or need; yea, He offers glory and
splendor we could never achieve on our own.
Yet without faith, these magnanimous offers fall on deaf ears. God’s people must fear unbelief, not deny
it. We must constantly examine
ourselves for signs of waning faith or indifference. 1. Explain the term “gospel” as used in
Hebrews 4:2.2. Entering God’s Rest (Heb 4:3-5) The author begins to focus upon the reality
of an eternal rest offered by God. His first point goes back to the creation
week in which “God rested on the seventh day from all His works” (Heb 4:4; Gn
2:2). This rest was established at the
beginning and is a state into which God, Himself, entered. Further, it is a state which He desires to
share with man. This rest is not the Jewish Sabbath, although that weekly
respite was modeled after crea-tion (Ex 20:8-12), neither was it the entrance
into Canaan, as will be shown in 4:8. The disobedient Jews did not merely miss
Canaan by their apostasy, they missed heaven, for the rest God offers is
nothing less than fellowship with Him in eternity .2. What is the condition of entering into
God’s rest (Hebrews 4:3)? 3. “There
Remains Therefore A Rest” (Heb 4:6-10)The offer of rest was not exhausted as
Joshua led the people into Canaan, for several hundred years later “He
designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today …’” (Heb 4:7). That is, the rest offered by God was still
available as David wrote Ps 95. Further, the He-brew writer says it is still
available as he writes, and by extension it remains available to-day. The author considers the word “today” from
Ps 95:7 crucial, for he mentions it five times (Heb 3:7, 13, 15; 4:7 –
twice). God ever offers to man
heavenly, eternal relief from the mental, physical and emotional burdens
which accompany earthly life. This rest is not cessation from activity, even
as God has not ceased His activity following the sixth creation day, but
rather the absence of exertion and stress that so often accompany earthly
endeavors (4:10). Still lurking is the
admonition, “Do not harden your hearts …” (4:7). Human history is strewn with the bones of
men and women who were offered heavenly rest along with capable leadership
and divine assistance but who “did not enter because of disobedience”
(4:6). 3. Who spoke of another day
of rest after Joshua? Download
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