Paul had already warned his readers of the possibility of losing the rest of God, which he promised Abraham in Genesis 12:5-7 (cp. Hebrews 11:8-10). Paul told his readers they could lose that rest through unbelief, just as ancient Israel lost it through their unbelief (Numbers 14:1-4; cf. Hebrews 3:7-12). However, his mention of the rest of God in Hebrews 4:1 with his argument of the possibility of losing that rest through unbelief is made even more powerful with his reference to the Lord’s promised rest in Genesis 2:1-3, and its loss in Genesis 3:6 through unbelief (Hebrews 4:3-4), in that after the rebellion of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:15), the Lord promised he would send a Redeemer to mankind.
The promise of rest is a theme that is often missed in the promise of the Redeemer in Genesis 3:15. Nevertheless, very early in Jesus’ public ministry he called out to the people to come to him and find their rest (Matthew 11:28-30), which was a promise God made them through the prophets (cf. Isaiah 11:10).
Under the Old Covenant the rest of God was expressed through the Promised Land that Israel was to enter, trusting God for that rest. Yet, Joshua was unable to give Israel the promised rest (Hebrews 4:8) by conquering the land. Proof of this is seen in that the Lord, through David, continued to offer that rest to Israel, long after the days of Joshua, and when the Lord had given Israel rest from their enemies (Hebrews 4:5, 7). Therefore, there remains a rest or in the Greek: a sabbatismos (G4520),[1] i.e. a keeping of the Sabbath for the people of God (Hebrews 4:9).
Under the New Covenant, Christ is put for the land, we enter Christ and receive our rest. It is God who places us in Christ (1Corinthians 1:30), and, if we are in Christ, we have become part of a new creation (2Corinthians 5:17). In Him we find our redemption and justification (Romans 3:24), and in Him the rest of God (Genesis 2:1-3) is restored. Thus, in Him we begin to bear the image of God (cf. Genesis 1:26-27) by imitating Jesus, our Redeemer, walking as he walked (Colossians 26; 1John 2:6), thereby becoming images of him (cf. 2Corinathians 3:18), and God is able to rest in us (Isaiah 66:1; cf. Matthew 8:20; 1Peter 2:5) as we rest in him. In other words, he who enters the rest of God (Genesis 2:1-3) rests from his own works, just as God had rested from his (Hebrews 4:10).
The theme of rest is inextricably tied to Jesus (Isaiah 11:10), who said: “All that the Father gives me will come to me; and he who comes to me I shall never cast out” (John 6:37). Notice in John 6:37 that it is the Father who draws us to Christ, and Jesus tells us he would never “cast out” (ekballo – G1544) anyone who comes to him.
This same Greek word is used in the Septuagint at Genesis 3:24 for the Lord driving or casting out the man (or Adam) from the Garden of Eden. It is used again in Joshua 24:18 for the Lord casting out all the nations from the “land” i.e. the Promised Land, and again in Jeremiah 27:10 the Septuagint uses this same Greek words (ekballo – G1544) for the Lord casting out Judah from her land to serve Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. However, notice how the Lord phrases such an event while replying to Solomon during the dedication ceremony, when Solomon had finished building the Temple at Jerusalem:
But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: (1 Kings 9:6-7; emphasis mine)
Some translation have the Lord casting Israel from before his face, showing they would be cast out of his Presence, implying the Presence of God is our rest. The rest of God is believing we are under his care, trusting him for our welfare. As we allow him to participate in his creation by submitting to his authority over us, he allows us to govern what he has created and put in our care. He is able to rest in us, in that we will labor for him, and we are able to rest in him, in that all that we set our hearts to do, he will cause to be successful. By calling us into his rest (Matthew 11:28-30), Jesus is telling us that trusting him, putting our faith in him will give us rest or peace. We don’t have to labor to please God or to be accepted by him. Jesus does this for us, if we trust him to do so. God has already accepted us and is already pleased with all who have placed their trust in Jesus, allowing him to be their Messiah or Savior, in that we submit to his authority over us, letting God rest in us as we rest in him.
[1] The Greek word sabbatismos (G4520) is found only at Hebrews 4:9 in the entire Bible. The word isn’t even used in the Septuagint. It is used only by Paul in the New Covenant. Some interpreters try to use the word to prove believers must keep the 7th day as their holy day of rest, but this is far off the mark, really. If this were true, then why was Israel never able to enter into that rest as a nation? Certainly under David they should have been able to enter that rest, if such were the true interpretation of the Greek word.
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