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Hebrews: Faithful to the End — Entering God’s Rest (Chapters 3–4) · Wetumpka Church of Christ Online

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Hello, I'm Adam Cozort, and I want to thank you for your
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interest in this series of studies through the book of
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Hebrews. If you've gotten to this point,
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you have probably listened to our first two lessons, our first
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two classes going through the 1st 2 chapters of the book of
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Hebrews. Unfortunately, in our normal
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Bible class setting where these have been recorded, we had a
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technical glitch when it came to the third class and the
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recording did not become available.
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And so because of that, I am going to endeavor to lay out for
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you the basics of what we covered in that third class,
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which essentially covered from Hebrews chapter 3 verse one to
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chapter 4, verse 10. And while I won't be able to go
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through and completely recreate the class and certainly not be
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able to recreate all of the components of the discussion of
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the class, I do want to make sure that you have available to
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you the basic dynamics and the the core discussion of what was
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covered in that class. So we may not have the same
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length, it may not be a full 45 minutes, but I want to spend
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some time with you in this particular audio recording,
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going through and examining chapters 3 and four and giving
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you the baseline for the discussion in our next class,
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because it's going to pick up with this very area because
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they're completely connected. And so let's go through and
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examine chapters 3 and 4. As we've talked about already,
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and as is going to be the core thrust throughout the book of
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Hebrews, we need to be mindful of the fact that this letter is
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written to Jewish Christians. These are people who are already
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believers in Jesus. These are people who have
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already professed their faith and have been obedient to Jesus,
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but they're struggling and they're struggling with whether
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or not Jesus is enough. They're struggling with whether
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or not they should remain with Jesus, continue to follow after
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Jesus, or whether it's time to just go back to the old
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traditions and to go back to the way that things were.
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Chapter 3 is really going to be the first instance of the
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discussion focusing on that particular mindset and those
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questions that they have in their mind.
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It's also the first of two sections, as we talked about it
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in our class, of where the writer or speaker of the book of
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Hebrews goes on a bit of a rabbit chase.
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The other one is going to be over in Chapter 7, But all of
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the discussion so far has been about Jesus, about who He is,
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about what He has come to do, and all of the things that He
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has given to redeem mankind and to count us as brethren and to
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save us from our sins. That being said, chapter 3 is
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going to begin with the continuation of that discussion,
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but then it's going to move into something specifically for this
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audience at this particular time.
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Let me show you what I mean in verses one through 6.
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The continuation of what's been discussed in chapters 1 and 2 is
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evident when the writer of Hebrews says, Therefore, holy
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brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the
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apostle and high priest of our confession.
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Christ Jesus, who was faithful to him who appointed him as
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Moses, also was faithful in all his house.
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For this one has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses,
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in as much as he who built the house has more honor than the
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house. For every house is built by
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someone. But he who built all things is
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God. And Moses indeed was faithful in
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all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which
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would be spoken afterward. But Christ as a son over his own
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house, whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the
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rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
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In the 1st 6 verses he's talking here and he he makes the
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emphasis of talking about Jesus as the apostle and high priest
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of our confession. Now this is key because this
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idea of Jesus being the high priest and also the apostle, and
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remember in Greek the apostle, it's the word apostolos, which
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means 1 cent on a mission. The apostle and high priest of
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our confession is going to be the topic of the discussion all
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the way to chapter 8. It's going to weave in and out
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of a couple of these side discussions, but the core of
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everything that's being discussed in chapters 34567 and
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8 is Jesus as our high priest. This is important when you
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recognize the mindset of the Jewish Christian and the role
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that the priesthood and especially the high priesthood
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had in Old Testament Judaism or in the Old Testament Israelite
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system. And so he's going to begin here
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in chapter 3 by honing in on this idea of Jesus as our high
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priest. But here in chapter 3, the
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emphasis is going to be on faithfulness.
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Notice he says in verse 2 that Jesus was faithful to him who
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appointed him in the same way that Moses also was faithful.
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So in harkening back to these Jewish Christians who are
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thinking about going back under the old law or trying to once
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again follow the law of Moses, he reminds them that Jesus was
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faithful just like Moses was faithful.
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But there's a very distinct difference in these two because
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Moses was faithful in what he was asked to do, but the house
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that Moses was over wasn't his. He was simply a servant in that
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house. That's what verse 5 says.
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Moses indeed was faithful in all his house as a servant, but the
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house didn't belong to him. The house belonged to God as
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Moses was faithful in leading Israel and in serving Israel and
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in being the spokesman for God before the people of Israel.
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Israel wasn't his. He was a servant of God who took
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care of Israel for God, but Israel wasn't his.
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Jesus is different. Jesus is a son over his own
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house. That's the church.
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That's Christianity, he says He's a son over his own house,
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whose house we are, if we hold fast the confidence and the
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rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
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Notice the way that he's going to flow through this here in
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chapter 3. He begins by talking about how
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Jesus was faithful and Moses was faithful, but Jesus is a
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faithful high priest. He's a faithful apostle of our
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confession over his own house and we are that house.
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But there's this little 2 letter word that's used in verse 6 that
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becomes very important to the rest of our discussion today,
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and that is that word. If he says he is a son over his
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house, whose house we are, If we hold fast the confidence and the
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rejoicing of the hope firm to the end, we are that house.
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We are his people. We are the ones to whom he is
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faithful. If we're faithful, if we are
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ones who hold fast the confidence, who continue to
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believe and practice the things that we have believed in
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practice up till this point. Now here's where he's going to
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make a turn. Because as he goes into this
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discussion of this idea of faithfulness and the emphasis of
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the fact that Jesus was faithful and Moses was faithful and
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therefore we need to be faithful, He's going to hearken
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back once again to the Old law. He's going to hearken back to
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the Old Testament and to the Israelites of old as the example
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of why this is the case and how it applies to the New Testament
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Christian. To do that, he's going to
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utilize one of the writer of the book of Hebrews favorite
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mechanisms and that is the Psalms.
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He's going to use the Psalms to illustrate the New Testament
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point. Let's see how he does it in
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chapter 3, beginning in verse 7. He says, therefore, as the Holy
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Spirit says today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden
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your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the
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wilderness, where your Father's tested me, tried me, and saw my
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works 40 years. Therefore I was angry with that
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generation and said they always go astray in their heart and
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they have not known my ways. So I swore in my wrath They
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shall not enter my rest. The quote here in verses 7
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through 11 of Hebrews 3 is actually from the book of Psalms
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and it's in Psalm 95, verses 7 through 11.
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And so if you go back to Psalm 95, you'll notice that in the
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first half of the Psalm you have this call to worship God and
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this call to bow down to God. And if you actually go through
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and read it, you read the first half of the Psalm and you're
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like, yes, absolutely. This is this is great, this is
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wonderful. It begins, oh, come, let us sing
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to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the
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rock of our salvation. Let me let us come before his
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presence with Thanksgiving. Let us shout joyfully to Him,
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Psalms, for the Lord is the great God and the great King
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above all gods. In his hands are the deep places
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of the earth, the heights of the hills are His.
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Also the sea is His, for He made it, and his hands formed the dry
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land. Oh, come, let us worship and bow
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down. Let us kneel before the Lord our
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Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture
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and the sheep of his hand. If you stop there, everything's
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rosy and everything's perfect. But the psalmist doesn't stop
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there, and the Hebrews writer doesn't actually start there.
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He starts with the second-half of verse 7 where he says today,
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if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the
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rebellion and as the day of trial in the wilderness when
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your father's tested me, tried me, though they saw my work.
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The terms here for rebellion and trial in the New King James
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Version in verse 8 are actually references to a specific
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location in a specific situation.
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The word rebellion is the Hebrew word meribah, and the word trial
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is the Hebrew word Massa. Where this takes us back to is
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all the way back to the days of Moses in Exodus chapter 17.
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In Exodus 17, the children of Israel have come out of the land
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of Egypt. They have crossed the Red Sea,
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but they are not yet to Mount Sinai, and they've come to a
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place at the start of Exodus 17 where they are in the wilderness
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and they have no water. They're camped at Refedim.
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There is no water, and they begin to murmur and to complain
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with Moses. And so they accuse Moses chapter
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17, verse 3, of going, taking them out of Egypt to kill them
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in the wilderness with thirst. And Moses cries out to the Lord,
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saying, What shall I do with this people?
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They're almost ready to stone me.
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And the Lord says to go and to take some of the elders of
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Israel, to take the rod, and to stand before the rock in Horeb,
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and to strike the rock, and water will come out of it.
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Moses is going to do that. And verse 7 says he called the
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name of the place Massa and Meribah because of the
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contention of the children of Israel and because they tempted
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the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not?
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Massa is the Hebrew word that carries with it the idea of
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trial or testing. And meribah is rebellion or
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contention. And so as you come back to Psalm
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95, you have this reminder that actually takes us all the way
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back to Exodus chapter 17 to this first generation of
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Israelites that are coming out of Egypt and how they rebelled
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against God. And and notice if you go back to
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Psalm 95 once again, he says that your Father's verse 9
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tested me tried me even though they saw my work for 40 years.
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I was grieved with that generation and said it is a
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people who go astray in their hearts and they do not know my
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ways. So I swore in my wrath they
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shall not enter my rest. God says that they will not
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enter the Promised land because they refused to be faithful.
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They always go astray in their hearts.
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Their hearts were hardened against God.
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And certainly as you read the book of Exodus and as you read
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the book of Numbers, you see this over and over again, even
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to the point in Numbers, chapters 13 and 14, where the
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children of Israel refused to enter the Promised land and try
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to bring about new leaders that will take them back to Egypt.
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It's that generation. And it's those mindsets that the
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writer of the book of Hebrews brings up here in Hebrews
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chapter 3. And they're not arbitrary, what
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he's trying to do. And we're going to see it in
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just a moment when we continue in verse 12.
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But what he's trying to do is he's trying to get them to think
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about their ancestors who did this way back then.
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And they've been spoken of and they've been thought of in
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derision because they quit, they turned back, they tested God.
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They God was never able to do enough to engender full faith in
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them that they would trust him, that he knew what he was doing.
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Well, what are these people trying to do?
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What? What are these people struggling
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with as New Testament Christians in the 1st century?
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Should I be faithful to Christ or should I try to, as the first
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generation did, go back to Egypt?
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Notice the way that the writer of the book of Hebrews puts it.
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Go back to Hebrews 3 if you haven't already done so, and
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let's pick up. In verse 12 he says, Beware,
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brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief
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in departing from the living God.
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But exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest
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any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
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For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning
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of our confidence steadfast to the end.
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While it is said today, if you will hear His voice, do not
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harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
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For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came
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out of Egypt led by Moses? Now with whom was he angry 40
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years? Was it not with those who
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sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
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And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest,
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but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not
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enter in because of unbelief. Do you see the lesson that He's
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bringing out here? He says, Brethren, beware lest
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this kind of heart, this evil heart of unbelief begins to live
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in you in departing from the living God instead, don't let
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that take root, but exhort one another daily while it is called
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today. He then Harkins back to that
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statement at the end of verse 7, the beginning of verse 8.
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Today, if you will hear his voice, we've got to remain
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faithful. Who wasn't that rebelled?
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This is verses 16 through 19. Who was it who rebelled?
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It was those that came out of Egypt led by Moses.
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Moses was faithful going back to those first 6 verses.
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Those that followed him were not.
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So with whom was he angry? For 40 years?
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He wasn't angry with Moses, he was angry with those who sinned,
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those that were constantly tempting him, those that wanted
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to turn back and would refuse to do what was commanded of them.
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Who did he swear would not enter his rest?
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Those who wouldn't obey. And so he says, we see that they
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could not enter in because of unbelief.
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Once again, what's the struggle that these Jewish Christians are
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dealing with? It's the question of whether or
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not to continue to believe and to faithfully practice the
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things that are of Christ or whether to try to just go back
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to what their fathers always did.
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And it's interesting that the way that he presents it, the
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reality of what their fathers did should be setting into them
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that if we're going to go back to what our fathers did, our
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fathers didn't set the greatest example for us in a lot of these
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areas because they rebelled against God.
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They said what God is doing is not enough.
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And remember, if you go back to chapters one and two, He has
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spent these first two chapters showing the level of love and
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the greatness of what Jesus has done for us and for them and
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what he has put in place and what He has given up in order to
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be their Redeemer. O the question is, how are you
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going to respond? What are you going to do?
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But you see the discussions not done there and and as you're
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going to hear me talk about, and maybe you've already heard me
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talk about several times, these chapter divisions are man made.
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They're they're not original to the text.
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They have been placed there to help us to understand and, and
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to be able to reference things easier.
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But you know, a lot of times they will come right in the
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middle of a discussion and the discussions not over yet.
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So walk with me through the first few verses of chapter 4 as
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we continue to lay out the argument that's being made in
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chapter 4, verse 1. He says.
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Therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest,
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let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
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So because of all of these things and remember this is this
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is kind of that that dual mindset he's talking about where
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they are now, but he's wanting them to remember where their
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forefathers were as the basis for what decision they're going
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to make today. And so he says therefore, since
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a promised remains of entering his rest, well in the Old
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Testament time, in the days of their fathers, that that
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original rest, that promised land was the land of Canaan.
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But that's not what we're discussing here.
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Here we're talking about the promised rest for the Christian
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for for the follower of Christ. So we're talking about heaven.
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So therefore, since a promise remains for the New Testament
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Christian of entering his rest, let us fear lest any of you seem
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to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was
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preached to us, verse 2, as well as to them.
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But the word which they heard did not profit them, not being
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mixed with faith in those who heard it.
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For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said.
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So I swore in my wrath They shall not enter my rest,
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although the works were finished from the foundation of the
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world. For He has spoken in a certain
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place of the 7th day in this way, and God rested on the 7th
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day from all his works. And again in this place they
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shall not enter my rest. You're going to have here the
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sentiment that's going to be discussed about this idea of
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rest, and you have the statement going all the way back to
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Genesis chapter 2 that God rested on the 7th day from all
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His works, and that yet he says of those Israelites of old, they
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shall not enter my rest. The plan had already been put in
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place. God's goals and and God's
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intentions to bring Israel out of Egypt, to bring them to the
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promised land had been laid out all the way back to the days of
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Abraham. They'd actually been laid out,
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as verse 3 says, all the way from the foundation of the
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world. God knew what He was going to do
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and how He was going to do it, but He speaks concerning the 7th
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day as the day which He rested from all of His works.
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And then he says in Psalm 95, They shall not enter my rest.
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They won't come to the place where I rest.
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Since therefore verse 6, it remains that some must enter it,
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and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because
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of disobedience. Again he designates a certain
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day, saying in David the psalmist today, after such a
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long time as it has been said today, if you will hear his
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voice, do not harden your hearts.
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For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not
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afterward have spoken of another day.
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There remains therefore a rest for the people of God, For he
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who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his
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works as God did from his. Notice the emphasis of what he's
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laying out here in chapter 4. In chapter 3, he has talked
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about this idea of the the disobedience of Israel of old
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and the way that they rebelled and the way that they refused to
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follow through with serving God. And God says, I swore in my
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wrath, they shall not enter my rest.
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That's going to be quoted again here in chapter 4, but also the
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emphasis from verses 7 and 8 of chapter 3 and Psalm 95.
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Interestingly enough, they have the exact same verse structure.
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He says do not harden your hearts.
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He is pleading with them. Do not be like your ancestors
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were, because there's something still to look forward to that
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you are traveling to arrive at. They were leaving Egypt, trying
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to get to the promised land, trying to get back to that land
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of Canaan that God had said and promised Abraham and Isaac and
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Jacob that they were going to receive.
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They never made it because of their unbelief.
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But notice verse 6 says of chapter 4.
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Since therefore, it remains that some must enter it, and those to
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whom it was first preached did not enter because of
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disobedience, he designates a certain day, saying in David
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today there is a rest that is greater than the the promised
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land that Israel was going to. And that rest is the rest of
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eternal life. It is rest in the habitation of
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God, in the promises of God. He says in verse 8.
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For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would not
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afterward have spoken of another day.
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In other words, if the rest that God was looking to give them was
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rest in Canaan, then there would have been no reason for David to
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lay out his promises of rest, and there would be no reason for
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rest to be discussed in the context of the Christian life
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either. And yet, what does Jesus talk
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about in Matthew Chapter 11 verses 28 through 30, when he
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talks about the emphasis of Come unto me, all ye that labor, and
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are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you
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and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you
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shall find rest for your souls. There remains, therefore chapter
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4, verse 9, a rest for the people of God.
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When he's talking about the people of God here, he's talking
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about Christians, the New Testament church, of which these
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recipients of this letter are already apart.
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He's not asking them to turn from the old law and follow
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after Christ. They've already said they're
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going to do that. The question is, are they going
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to be faithful? Are they going to be faithful
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like Jesus is faithful? Are they going to be faithful
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like Moses was faithful? Or are they instead going to be
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faithful like their ancestors of old were faithful, and that is
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not faithful at all, but instead quitting, failing to trust in
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God and turning back to the things that they prefer?
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There does remain a rest for the people of God.
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It is that final rest of heaven. It is that rest to which we
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continue to search and to move toward in our lives as we seek
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to serve God. This section where we're going
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to put our paws in it for this class in verse 10 says, for he
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who has entered his rest has himself also ceased from his
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works as God did from his. And let me just jump into verse
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11 a little bit. And this is where class #4 will
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pick up. But in verse 11 he says, let us
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therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall
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according to the same example of disobedience.
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Take the lesson of Israel of old, both from the statement of
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David in Psalm 95 and the incidents with Moses that were
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their origin point back in Exodus 17, and all of the things
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in between. Go back and look and let that
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teach you to be diligent, the Hebrews writer says, lest we
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fall according to the same example of disobedience.
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And yet how many times? Because it's so easy for us to
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look back at those Jewish Christians of old and say, see
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if you'd have just had more faith or, or why can't you have
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as much faith? This isn't a 1st century Jewish
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Christian problem. This is a human problem.
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We all have people that we know that have at one point believed
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and followed the things of God and now have left all of that
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behind. This is not a old condition that
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doesn't exist anymore, nor is it a condition that is only brought
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upon people of the origin and of the type of those to whom this
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letter is written. It's just as much a problem that
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we deal with now, and it's just as much a heart issue that we
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deal with now. So whether you're a Christian in
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the 1st century who's struggling with whether to remain faithful,
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or whether you're a Christian in the 21st century wondering
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whether or not it's worth it to stay faithful, passages such as
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Hebrews, chapters 3 and four are meant to help us reflect and
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help us to consider what the consequences are of failing to
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be faithful to Christ. That's where we're going to put
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a stop in it for this class. Thank you so much for your
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interest in our studies. We will have one more section
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that we are going to have to do in this manner because the
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recordings did not take, but you will have the next several
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classes in their original class form.
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And so I hope that you will continue to study through them
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and I hope that you enjoy them and we'll look forward to being
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with you next time. Thank you so much.