(1) MESSAGE SUMMARY
God never changes His theme, way of doing, and doctrine. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God has been giving and sending the same messages.
The only difference is that God uses different people to deliver His truth, ways of doing things, and salvation.
For instance, on the topic of “ENTERING HIS REST”, the same truth does not change either in the Old or New Covenants.
Briefly, the sins, testing of God, disobedience, and unbelief of His people, either in the Old or New, bring God’s wrath that He declares they shall not be “ENTERING HIS REST”.
(2) SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
With that in mind, I would like to look into the supporting verses on:-
Psalm 95
Hebrews 3, and
Hebrews 4
| Psalm 95:8-11 GNT |
| Listen today to what he says: 8 “Don’t be stubborn, as your ancestors were at Meribah, as they were that day in the desert at Massah. 9 There they put me to the TEST AND TRIED me, although they had seen what I did for them. 10 For FORTY YEARS I was disgusted with those people. I said, ‘How disloyal they are! They refuse to obey my commands.’ 11 I was angry and made a solemn promise: ‘You will never enter the land where I would have given you rest.’” |
| Hebrews 3:7-19 GNT A Rest for God’s People (Subtitle by GNT version) |
| 7 So then, as the Holy Spirit says, “If you hear God’s voice today, 8 do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, AS THEY WERE that day in the desert when they put him to the test. 9 There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. 10 And so I was angry with those people and said, ‘They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.’ 11 I was angry and made a solemn promise: ‘They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!’” |
| 12 My friends, be careful that none of you have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God. 13 Instead, in order that none of you be DECEIVED BY SIN and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word “Today” in the scripture applies to us. |
| 14 For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the END the confidence WE HAD AT THE BEGINNING. 15 This is what the scripture says: “If you hear God’s voice today, do not be stubborn, AS YOUR ANCESTORS were when they rebelled against God.” |
Certainly, how God warned the people in the Old is how He cautions people under the New Covenant to be sober and not have a stubborn heart as of the Old were. (Hebrews 3:7-11)
The author of the Book of Hebrews, further warns New Covenant people not to be deceived by sin and that they shall NOT ENTER HIS REST. (verse 13).
Instead, the anonymous author is exhorting New Testament believers to hold fast to their obedience to the end as of the beginning.
Next, there is a teaching that tells people it is “SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS” that God forbade them to enter into His rest.
If “WORK” is a form of being “SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS”, as some modern teachings suggest, does that mean God wants Christians to work self-righteously for 6 days but only depend on Him on the 7th day?
The answer is “No”. The scripture does not tell Believers either in the Old or New “Self Righteously” work for 6 days but depending on Him on the 7th Day.
(3) THE ROOT CAUSE IS SIN
The scripture says Old Covenant people tested, tried, and sinned God for 40 years. The root cause was sin. Not self-righteousness.
Some of the translations say “For 40 years long God was grieved and disgusted with that generation…(Psalm 95:10)”.
Frankly, it humbles me as I do this study on how Old Israelites tested and tried God 10 times in the wildered land. Before this, I seldom came across sermons on how God was disgusted and long suffered from those 10 tests of Old Israelites’ sins and disobedience. The current teaching is always to tell believers to “See Jesus” in every page of the Old Testament… see Jesus fulfill it all.
The scripture references for 10 tested and tried God can be found in AMPC, NIV, NKJV, RSV, and NASB translations. One of the references as below:-
| Numbers 14:22-24 NASB (1995) |
| 22 Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these TEN TIMES and have not listened to My voice, |
| 23 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. |
| 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. |
It wasn’t one of the events that God banned them from entering His rest as modern teaching is suggesting.
The truth is God suffered for 40 years from His disobeyed people. Our God is a long-suffering God, hoping everyone to be saved, to enter His rest,
On the other hand, commentaries are saying those not able to “ENTER HIS REST” do not mean they lose their salvation. It is just like those Israelis weren’t sent back to Egypt. But I am deterred from that teaching. In fact, with 40 years of wilderness, all died except Caleb and Joshua.
Not being able to enter into His rest is not just losing His fellowship and reward as claimed by those commentaries that simple.
(4) CONCLUSION
In conclusion for this part of the study of “ENTERING HIS REST”, it has been established that sin, rebellion, distrust, and disobedience, are the obstructive keys for believers, both under the Old and New Covenants from entering His Sabbath Rest.
Either, it is unbiblical to say that Jesus entered the Sabbatical Rest on behalf of all the believers. It is not all about Christ, none-about self (of the believers), as taught by modern teaching.
If Jesus has already entered into the rest for believers, there isn’t another “Today” mentioned in the Book of Hebrews chapter 4.
Undoubtedly, unlike Moses, Joshua did bring God’s people into Canaan. But does it mean they entered into His Rest? Besides, God commands His people not just to enter into the rest, but to keep it holy. And God blessed the seventh day. Does that mean Christians need not ask for His blessing and favors in the first 6 days?
I shall examine this in my next study on this topical Bible reading. Amenbible.
CONTINUE READING ON SABBATH REST:-
Part 1:- Rest (Psalm 95/ Hebrews 3)
Part 2:- Rest And Creation
Part 3:- Rest And Canaan
Part 4:- Rest And Double Edged Sword
STUDIES ON GOLDEN CALF
Golden Calf (Intercession 1)
Golden Calf (Names Remove)
RELATED READING:-
Righteousness (Part 1)
No Condemnation: For Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You
TOP POSTS:-
As He Is, So Are We In This World
Earnest Prayer
See Jesus: (1 Corinthians 10)
End Times:- The Book Of Life Opens
Arise, Shine
Cast Your Net On The Right Side
OTHERS:-
Earnest Prayer
No Condemnation: For Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You
Jesus Is My Friend – Part 1
Jesus Is My Friend – Part 2
