“For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. “ Heb.4:10 NASB 

Footsteps #423 As we have already noted, throughout Hebrews Paul is continually comparing his audience with the desert generation of Israel when they stood right before the border of Canaan; ready to enter the promised land. He reminds them of the dangers that the people of God historically experienced right before the fulfilment of the promises of God. Hebrews 3:6- 4:12 is such a passage. In these verses Paul spiritualises the Sabbath with 3 levels of meaning regarding ‘rest.’ The first level is creation (4:3). Secondly, was the rest offered as they entered Canaan (4:6) and then finally he talks about the redemption rest that we have through Christ (4:8-9). Some would say that because Paul has used the Sabbath as a spiritual analogy that it somehow neutralizes the fourth Commandment, but that would be akin to saying that when he spiritualised marriage as that relationship between God and His church, that marriage and the seventh commandment are no longer binding. No, there are far greater truths embedded in this passage. 

A little history here will help. In Exodus 20:8-11 and its spiritual echo in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, God connected the Sabbath of Creation with the deliverance from Egypt. He instructed Israel to observe the Sabbath as a memorial of Creation and as a memorial of their redemption from Egypt. Creation and Redemption are both enshrined in the Sabbath commandment. Just as we did not create ourselves, we cannot redeem ourselves. It’s a work that only God can do, and by resting in that finished work, we acknowledge our dependence upon Him, not only for existence but also for salvation. Therefore, Sabbath-keeping is a powerful expression of Justification by faith alone. It becomes the outward sign of the inward condition. 

Hebrews 3:11 and 4:1,3,5, and 10 characterise the rest God invites us to enter. Both the Sabbath commandment in Exodus 20:8-11 and Moses’ restatement of it in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 invite us to remember what God has done for us.  As we have seen, what God wrote on tablets of stone point us to the finishing of His work of creation  (Exod. 31:18; 34:28). In Deuteronomy, Israel is commanded to keep the Sabbath in view of God’s finished work of deliverance from Egyptian bondage. The  Exodus from  Egypt pointed forward to the ultimate work of deliverance from sin that Christ would accomplish on the cross when He said, “It is finished!”  (John 19:30).  So the Sabbath is doubly blessed and, in fact, is especially meaningful for Christians. The Sabbath now represents the rest we have in Christ of a finished work; one we cannot add to or improve with any of our own works.