Entering into God’s Rest

First, a brief summary of the Old Testament sabbath:

It was a holy day, or day set apart to God, as was stated in Exodus 20:8.

It was a day of physical rest, and a “sign,” or representation of the covenant between God and the children of Israel (see Exodus 31:15-17).

The prophet Isaiah described it in terms of abstaining from our own pleasure and will and doing God’s will: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”* (Isaiah 58:13-14)

The prophet Amos revealed how the outward observance of it was not restraining evil purposes and plans in their hearts: “Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?”* (Amos 8:4-5)

Now looking at the New Testament, we see the following:

“Therefore, a promise being left to enter into His rest, let us fear lest any of you should seem to come short of it. For also we have had the gospel preached, as well as them. But the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter into the rest, as He said, ‘I have sworn in My wrath that they should not enter into My rest’; although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He spoke in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested the seventh day from all His works.’ And in this place again, ‘They shall not enter into My rest.’ Since then it remains that some must enter into it, and since they to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of unbelief, He again marks out a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today,’ (after so long a time). Even as it is said, ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. So then there remains a rest to the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Therefore let us labor to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of unbelief.”* (Hebrews 4:1-11)MKJV