Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Striving to enter rest? What is the writer trying to say? Is it his way of exhorting the brethren to labor for the Lord while we are on this blue marble in the universe, and after all our striving and labor, we will enter into the rest of death, as we often see on gravestones. You know – RIP – rest in peace!

Though that is a truth that is provided for us in other passages of the Word, I am not convinced the author is describing rest as our death, at least our physical death.

It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking

Let’s take a look at the context of the verse.

Hebrews 4:6-11

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on.
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

Notice that the author speaks of “the rest” as something the people of God are to enter into, and former believers did not enter into it because of disobedience. Now if the disobedience spoken of is that which the first generation in the wilderness commited, (and it was) they certainly entered the state of death, some quite speedily. So the disobedient entered death, without experiencing rest, and therefore we cannot equate this death with the rest we think of in some of the other passages we know in the Word.

So what in tarnation is going on?

The rest is restricted from those who have a hardened heart, as the author appeals to Psalm 95, speaking of those who were disobedient, and encouraging those in the present generation to “not harden thier hearts” as those in the past had. The heart is beating blood, producing an existence on this earth, yet it is the very spiritual hardeneing of the heart that restricts the people of God from the rest that they are called to.

Ps 95 speaks of the rebellious generation, with a scathing description of thier heart condition and God’s response.

Psalm 95:7c-11

… Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”
Therefore I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter my rest.”

Notice the heart condition as it relates to the rest provided. They had seen God’s deliverance and continued to test Him. God will not provide the rest to those who constantly test Him, rebel against him, and harden thier hearts against Him. And why should He? He is the One who is experiencing the Sabbath rest of a complete salvation provided to His people. It is open to the people of God to also partake of this rest, but it is contingent on a soft heart, a teachable heart, a pliable heart.

The catch is that a soft heart requires diligent guarding and instruction. Diligent care and feeding. Diligent reception of the Word of God, for the author immediately enters into the importance of the Word in the next few verses in Hebrews.

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Notice the power of the Word of God available to those who diligently interact with it. The Word will reveal the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and will remind us of our exposure in His sight. We are all exposed to His eyes, and we must all give account.

Would it not be the wisest of all instruction for the author to exhort us to strive to enter into the rest that is avaialable for the believer, the Sabbath “rest” of the salvation they already possess? To understand His grace requires our minds, hearts and wills to be transformed by the Spirit and the Word. But this does not happen passively, as if we are simply sponges that water is poured upon. No, it is more like a miner digging for truth, seeking to know the One True God who is truly mysterious and glorious.

There really isnt any paradox with this verse any more. The truth is obvious. Seek the rest that is available in this earthly pilgrimage by diligently seeking out the heavenly One who provides this rest. A rest that supplies a confidence in the Living God, that His provision for us through His Son is more than sufficient for not only our eternal salvation, but for the day to day experience of knowing our God.

Could we admit that the greater our efforts, our striving, the deeper the rest we may experience? Has any of my readers experienced this blessing? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear from you.

In conclusion, as believers, we are simply reacting to His tremendous grace by keeping, guarding and opening our heart for Him, as an expression of a thankful and revived life.

He is good, and He is good all the time.

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