Weaver1has's Blog

Hebrews chapter 4

Lets begin by reading Hebrews 4, verses 1 through to 7!

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.” Hebrews 4:1-7

Verse 1

Therefore (ouv) This takes us to the previous things that were said.  Apollos reminded his readers of the perils of unbelief.  Having the previous in mind and in terms of what was said we ought to understand the phrase ‘let us fear if’.  I liked the way john Calvin put it:

“But the fear which is here recommended is not that which shakes the confidence of faith but such as fills us with such concern that we grow not torpid with indifference. Let us then fear, not that we ought to tremble or to entertain distrust as though uncertain as to the issue, but lest we be unfaithful to God’s grace.

By saying Lest we be disappointed of the promise left us, he intimates that no one comes short of it except he who by rejecting grace has first renounced the promise; for God is so far from repenting to do us good that he ceases not to bestow his gifts except when we despise his calling. The illative therefore, or then means that by the fall of others we are taught humility and watchfulness according to what Paul also says,

“These through unbelief have fallen; be not thou then high minded, but fear.” [67] ^ (Romans 11:20.)”  From https://biblehub.com/commentaries/calvin/hebrews/4.htm

He goes on to say “while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it.”   Verse 1b

Apollos knows that by faith we can enter this ‘rest of God’.  He doesn’t want any of his congregation to not enter it. 

Verse 2 is critical to our understanding of how we enter this rest:

“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.”

The phrase ‘we have had good news preached to us’ in the Greek is one word and it is a perfect tense.  This word is doing a lot of hard work that the message the original readers and the readers of this letter heard the Gospel.  This was an act that happened, but it has eternal consequences.    In this verse we have the ‘they’ and ‘us’.  Apollos is making and showing the big difference between the groups.  They did not unite God’s message with faith, but his present readers are encouraged to unite the message of faith and trusting God.

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Note: have had good news preached to us = εὐηγγελισμένοι Hebrews 4:2  verbal participle, middle or passive, nominative masculine plural.

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Verse 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”.

This to me is a wonderful statement, “For we who have believed enter that rest”.   Apollos continues with them in this passage and he contrasts the two groups.  So, we will enter Gods rest because we have trusted God but they will not enter because of unbelief.  Apollos has not added any bones to the word rest yet, but he has used it in terms of those who believe and those who disbelieve.   From this point on, the quality of the word ‘rest’, will start to make more sense. 

Verse 3b and verse 4: I find it interesting that Apollos says God’s works were finished from the foundation of the world.  He then in verse 4 quotes from Genesis 2.2  about God resting from his creative work.  Rest does not mean that God got tired and couldn’t carry on, not at all.  A Jewish text I read translated rest in Genesis 2.2 as abstained from his work.  God set the cosmos up and everything was working perfectly.  Abstained has the idea that God decided and chose to stop at that particular moment.  The word rested in Genesis 2.2 Kalah is in the piel form so the work of creation was 100% perfect completed.

{notes

‘Rested’ in the LXX; Genesis.2.2 is in the  Aorist Active Indicative – 3rd Person Singular.  This happened once. 

In the Hebrew Kalah rested translated here I believe wrongly as ‘ended’ is that in its intensive meaning of the piel; its form takes on a consecutive imperfect.  A consecutive imperfect is always read as a perfect in meaning.  From https://biblehub.com/interlinear/genesis/2-2.htm

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‘Abstained’ makes perfect sense because it is God who chose when to put the tools down, yet he is always in control of his creation.  The aorist in the Greek points to this point being a unique action from God’s point of view, and for us who are a part of the creation of God his work has eternal consequences for us, past present and future.

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side note:

With the Genesis story I hold to the traditional view that Moses is the author of Genesis and I reject the P,J,E interpretation that takes these two chapters to it being written in the exilic period of Babylonia. 

Having said that, we need to remember that the creation stories are seriously important through out the whole of the Old Testament.   From that point of view I agree with Walter Brueggemann that the Jewish people were able to keep their own identities with the use of the Sabbath against all these polytheistic cosmologies that existed in the 6^th and 7^th centuries.

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Verses 4 and  5:

 “AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS”; 5 and again in this passage, “THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.”

The question is why Apollos set these two verses next to each other, Genesis 2.2 and Psalm 95.

I am sure that there are many ways to look at this.  The one thing that stands out is that originally it is ‘God’s rest’  is set up with, ‘Our rest’.   This resting is about our communion with God in Christ by the Holy Spirit.      Let us tread on:

Verses 6-7:

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.” Hebrews 4:6-7

Here we have king David reiterating what God had said from the creation of the world.  Hearing the Gospel and hearing with the ear of faith is the key.  Today does not lose its meaning even for the listeners to the book of Hebrews.  When is today? Today is now! Today is the present and Apollos gives us a choice are going to listen to Jesus Christ the Son of God or are we going to pass it by.

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Notes

Preliminary remarks

There is a key word in this passage but more importantly this word is first used in Hebrews 3.11. 

The word rest is found in these places: Chapter 3.11; 3.18; 4.1; 4.3; 4.5; 4.8; 4.9; 4.10; 4.11.

As you can see Apollos is putting a lot of weight on this word and then his question is why. 

Having a closer look at the context we see the first time he uses it is the quotation from Psalm 95.

Hebrews 3.11; 3.18; 4.1; 4.3; 4.4 4.5; 4.8; 4.9; 4.10; 4.11

In 3. 11 it is the quotation from Psalm 95

in 3. 18 he interprets this rest that those who disobey will not enter the rest.

4.1 this is a warning for us.

4.3 For us who believe enter the rest.

4.4 This is interesting; he takes the readers back to the creation story when God rested from his works Genesis 2.2

4.8 When the Jews entered Israel by Joshua (according to Apollos)

Joshua did not give them rest even though God kept his promise to Israel and Judah.

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Reflection on the argument so far

As Christians we are called to walk a life by faith and not in our own strength.   We are to trust our Lord Jesus Christ no matter what.   We are to walk by the Word of God with faith.   God indeed did create the world and the universe, but he also prepared a place for us in his Kingdom.  God’s rest is also our rest, and we need to trust in his promises.  This chapter is not the easiest to understand but when we think of Jesus’ words from Bible gateway:

“14 “Do not let your heart be troubled; [a]believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many [b]rooms; if that were not so, [c]I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. 4 And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?” 6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

I want to finish by saying that God really loves us and wants the best for us.  How could Jesus say these words if God didn’t love us?

It may be that you haven’t thought about these issues.  I pray that God by the Holy Spirit with show you our Lord Jesus that you come to a place to trust him and make him your Lord.  The Book of Hebrews is certainly the book of faith!

You can also follow my Blog on Herman Bavinck. We are continuing our discussion on the conscience and how the rationalists movement changed the goal posts: https://hasan-godtalk.blogspot.com/

This entry was posted on June 19, 2021 at 6:56 pm and is filed under Hebrews course. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.