(Heb 4:1) ... the promise of entering his rest still stands ...
(Heb 4:9) There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God ...
(Heb 4:11) ... make every effort to enter that rest ...
Hebrews is talking here about an eternal Sabbath rest. Our future life in the new heaven and new earth is going to be a Sabbath rest. What is this Sabbath rest that Hebrews is talking about in our Scripture reading?
I A Sabbath Rest
A In order to understand what Hebrews is saying, we must begin with what the Old Testament says about the Sabbath. You all know the fourth commandment:
(Ex 20:8-10) "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God."
Not only did God command a Sabbath day, but He also commanded a Sabbath year:
(Ex 23:10-11) "For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, (11) but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove."
At the end of the seventh sabbatical year, God commanded a special Sabbath year called the Year of Jubilee:
(Lev 25:8-12) "Count off seven sabbaths of years--seven times seven years--so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. (9) Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. (10) Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. (11) The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. (12) For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields."
As we examine the Old Testament concept of Sabbath we notice that the Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord. Holiness is always contrasted with the profane or common. So in contrast to the other days or years, the Sabbath day or year was to be set apart and devoted to the things of God.
Though the Hebrew word for Sabbath means rest this does mean the Sabbath day or year is to be one of inactivity or sleeping. The Sabbath laws do not forbid activity; rather, they require rest from the activities that are done the rest of the week or the other years – activities like work, sowing, and reaping – so that time can be spent on God and His Kingdom.
What does this tell us about the eternal Sabbath rest that awaits the people of God? This tells us that the eternal Sabbath rest is a time that is devoted to God and the things of God. At that time God is our all in all. At that time God is our heart's desire. At that time all of life and all of our being and every aspect of our personality is focused on God. At that time there is nothing to distract us from God and His presence and His glory and His being and His splendor.
All of life today is to be lived for God and His glory. But too often, I am afraid, life keeps intruding. There is so much today that distracts us from God and the things of God: sickness, death, work, responsibilities, concerns, plans, our possessions and property, sports, ourselves, and so on. And, look what happens during those times we do set aside for God. How many of you don't find your mind drifting during the congregational prayer? How many times don't you find your mind wandering during the sermon? How many times don't you find thoughts of other activities intruding upon worship and prayers and Bible reading and family devotions? In this life and on this earth it is hard to concentrate all of our thoughts and all of our being upon God – even during worship and prayer time. But this will not be the case in the eternal Sabbath rest. Our minds, our thoughts, our bodies, our beings will be focused totally and completely and exclusively upon God.
B To understand what Hebrews is saying we also need to take a look at what Jesus said and did in regards to the Sabbath.
One of the earliest incidents that I have in mind concerns the grains of wheat picked by Jesus' disciples on the Sabbath (Mt 12:1-8). The Pharisees complained to Jesus and argued with Him about the behavior of His followers. Jesus answered that sustaining life was more important than maintaining ceremony. He concluded by saying, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Mt 12:8). Do you realize what Jesus is saying about the Sabbath? He is saying that the Lord of the Sabbath is more important than the Sabbath itself. In Mark's account of the same story, Jesus concluded the incident by saying, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27). This reminds us that the Sabbath is meant to enhance and improve the quality of human life rather than surround it with rules and regulations and other forms of legalism.
The healing on the Sabbath of the man whose right hand was withered brought home the same point. Jesus knew the Pharisees would condemn Him for healing on the Sabbath so He asked, "... which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?" (Lk 6:9). Then He healed the man's hand. Clearly, the Sabbath was made for man; the Sabbath existed for the doing of good and the saving of life.
What does all this tell us about the future Sabbath? We are being told that one of the things that makes the future Sabbath so perfect is that the reign of God will be perfectly displayed and experienced in it. We are being told that the future Sabbath is NOT a time of rules and regulations, of dos and don'ts. Rather it is meant to be a time for man to enjoy God and His gifts.
C Now, our Bible reading contains a warning. It tells us that all will NOT enter in to God's eternal Sabbath rest. In fact, we should be careful that we don't "fall short" like the Israelites did.
(Heb 4:1) Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
(Heb 4:11) Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
Israel fell short of entering the Sabbath rest of the Promised Land. You all know what happened. Moses sent out twelve men to spy out the Promised Land. Ten of the twelve spies reported back that though the land was flowing with milk and honey, its inhabitants were too strong and too numerous and their cities too fortified for any attack by the Israelites to be successful. The people agreed with this report and refused to go forward. Now remember, they did this after they had seen what God had done to Egypt by means of the plagues; they did this after they saw how God had parted the waters of the Red Sea so that Israel could walk across on dry ground; they did this after they saw how God made water flow from a rock; they did this after they saw how God made quail appear to satisfy their craving for meat; they did this after manna covered the ground six mornings of the week for them to collect as food. God's punishment was forty years of wandering in the wilderness and desert. God's punishment, we would have to say, was the opposite of rest. Now the author of Hebrews announces that the same tragedy could happen to God's people again: that they fail to enter His Sabbath rest.
(Heb 4:1) Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
(Heb 4:11) Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
How do we avoid such a calamity? How do we learn from Israel's mistake and make every effort to enter into God's Sabbath rest? By making sure we have faith. You see, that was Israel's problem. She didn't have faith that God would or could give her the Promised Land! She didn't have faith that God would or could give her victory against the giants that lived in the land. Because of her lack of faith, Israel failed to enter God's Sabbath rest. And, if we do not have faith, we also will not enter into God's Sabbath rest. But, if we do have faith, then that future Sabbath rest is meant for us.
II Our Work & Worship
A "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God" (Heb 4:9). In his Revelation the Apostle John writes about this rest:
(Rev 14:13) Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."
I already indicated that though the word Sabbath means rest, it does not mean inactivity or sleep. If this Sabbath rest does not mean inactivity or sleep what does it mean? What is it that we will be doing in heaven?
Tell me if this sounds like a familiar picture of heaven: someone with wings and a halo seated on a fleecy cloud, strumming a harp. We have all seen such pictures, haven't we? Is this what heaven is like? Is heaven a place where we resign ourselves to endless ages of nothingness and boredom? Are we forced to look forward to a life with nothing to do? Is our Paradise a life of inactive nothingness? Is heaven nothing more than harp playing and singing?
B We are told by John that those who enjoy the eternal Sabbath rest serve God day and night (Rev 7:15, 22:3). There are two words for "serve" in the Greek language. The first word for "serve" is the word used for the work of a slave in the Roman empire. The second word for "serve" – and this is the word used by John – is a word often translated as worship. It is associated with praise and sacrifice and prayer. But this is not a passive worship where the congregation sits and the minister or the priest does everything. Rather, the worship is voluntary, spontaneous, heartfelt, and enthusiastic. We see this kind of service or worship time after time in the book of Revelation.
(Rev 4:10-11) the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: (11) "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
(Rev 5:9) And [the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders] sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."
(Rev 5:13) Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"
(Rev 7:10) And [the great multitude] cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."
(Rev 7:12) saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
(Rev 15:3-4) and [they] sang the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb: "Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. (4) Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."
Over and over again in this worship we hear the theme of praise to God. God is praised for Who He is and what He has done in and through Christ. God is praised for His creative power. God is praised for His rule. God is praised for His glory and wisdom and splendor. God is praised for His holiness.
On this earth nothing makes me feel closer to God than those times when the very walls and ceilings of this building can't contain our praise to God. That is a foretaste of what the eternal Sabbath rest is like. Our young people get the same foretaste of this eternal Sabbath when they are at the Youth Unlimited convention. Our men get a foretaste of this when they are at Promise Keepers. Our ladies get a foretaste of this when they are at the Coffee Break convention or The Bible League meetings.
C But worship is not all that we do in heaven. Remember, the eternal Sabbath rest is not inactivity and sleep. The Bible indicates that we will also reign and rule and exercise authority (Rev 20:4,6). I think of the parable of the talents. Do you remember what the master of Jesus' parable said to those who didn't simply bury their talents?
(Mt 25:23) [The] master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
In the Gospel of Luke this promise of Christ is made in terms of authority over cities:
(Lk 19:17) "Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."
We shall not be passive spectators in heaven. We will not be merely sanctified musicians or singers. We shall be an active, vital part of the whole re-created kingdom of God. We each shall have a service to render according to how faithful we were while on this earth.
Conclusion
"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God." A time not of inactivity. A time not of nothingness. A time not of sleep. But a time of worship and service and praise; a time of reign and rule and exercising authority. A time when we concentrate totally on God and perfectly display His rule. A time to enjoy God and praise His being, His work, His holiness, and His salvation.
What a great and wondrous time to look forward to.