1 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.
2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just 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 said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;
5 and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
7 He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,
“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
11 Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
The preacher makes a beautiful transition from one exhortation to another by simply following the word “rest”. “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, anyone of you may seem to have come short of it.” So we have the promise of rest to all who will “hear His voice” and believe. The promise we have is to abide in His rest. But let us fear if while the promise is there, for “today if you hear His voice”, we fail and come short of it. Because both us and the people who wandered in the wilderness “had good news preached” to us. But the word did not profit them “because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” Therefore, though the Word of God does not return void, it is only when it is united with faith that it becomes a benefit for the hearer. But for us “who have believed”, we “enter that rest”.
But those who did not believe received the wrath of God and could not enter into His rest even though “His works were finished from the foundation of the world.” This is making reference to Genesis 2:2 where God had finished His creation and “rested on the seventh day from all His works”. What the preacher wants us to note is the rest from “His works” and this was the rest that those who do not believe “shall not enter”. Thus the preacher is calling the people to believe and trust in Him lest anyone falls short of this rest.
“Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it”, that is the rest is still open to be entered into, “and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience”. God has not closed the door of rest with those who neglected it. Rather, “He again fixes a certain day, ‘Today’”. Now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). David said, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Therefore we know that it wasn’t Joshua who gave them rest by taking them into the promise land, because other wise David couldn’t have spoken of another day. “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
The one who enters into this Sabbath rest is the one who has “also rested from his works, as God did from His.” No longer does the person who enters God’s rest have to do the works, but rather can rely wholly upon the work of Christ. “Therefore let us be diligent to enter this rest, so that no one will fall”. Having this great opportunity to enter into the rest of God from all of our works, let us go in and not follow their “example of disobedience” because they died in the wilderness. “For the word of God is living” and must be dealt with. The Word of God is “active” in carrying out the intentions of God. The Word of God is “sharper than any two-edge sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and morrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Nothing escapes the Word of God. It is the scalpel in the hand of a mighty surgeon, who inspects deep into the heart to judge the thoughts and intentions of the soul. But really, the Word of God is both scalpel and surgeon and if we are to be diligent about entering the rest we must take the living and active Sword and let it cut us apart so that we can have assurance to whether we have entered the rest.
“Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it”, because “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” There is nothing hiding us from the eyes of God. Though we can take fig leaves to cover us and use deception to hide ourselves from the world, God sees everything and we are completely vulnerable and naked before His eyes. Therefore, for our own good, we should take the Sword of God and discern whether or not we have entered the promise of His rest.
This passage brings a few things to the table that are very important: first, the necessity of ensuring that we have entered His rest. As we see in the warning and exhortations, we can never consider ourselves above falling away. We can live in assurance and hopes through faith that we are His and abiding in His rest as long as we are obedient, but if that were to change no longer should we remain confident. Second, entering into His rest is an end of our works. No longer do we try to merit a right standing, but instead we trust in Him for our righteousness. This does not mean that we become lazy, but that we do things for different reasons. Instead of working for the purpose of merit, we work for the purpose of pleasing, not appeasing, the Lord whom we have divine fellowship with. So, entering His rest has to do with a personal relationship with Jesus where we serve out of love. Thirdly, even in our assurance, we should still be taking heavy doses of the Sword as a means of evaluating our lives. It is by the Word of God that we are able to know if we are just or unjust, if we are abiding in rest or still trying to work our way though this on our own. Lastly, we should be ever mindful of the all-seeing eye of Jesus. We cannot hide ourselves from Him and He sees into the depths of our hearts. Any unconfessed sins He sees. The deepest darkest secrets you wish to never be known, He sees perfectly. We should be terrified when we think about what all He sees and knows. And how much more diligent we should then be to make sure of our calling and election by cutting our souls apart searching to see if we are abiding in His rest.
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