“There remains, therefore, a Rest to the People of God.”
Hebrews 4:9
It’s there for our present enjoyment, not just our future expectation.
Rest.
Peace-of-mind. Serenity of soul. A carefree heart. A “conscience that is cleansed from dead works so we can serve the living God” (Heb. 9:14).
That’s what the anonymous author of Hebrews is talking about in today’s Manna. Why, then, is it so elusive—yea, so foreign—to most of us? And, why do our lives so often more resemble the majority of those around us than they do the sleeping Savior in the storm (Mk. 4:37-38a)?
Oh how we need to learn how to “enter into that blessed, Promised Rest” (Heb. 4:11a)!
Now, the writer’s warnings to “harden not your heart as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness” (3:8) are definitely reminders of the Israelites’ refusal to enter the Promised Land after their deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Num. 13:26-14:10).
They knew the God of Abraham had set them free “with a mighty Hand” (Dt. 5:15; 6:21; 9:26; Dan. 9:15). They knew of His many miraculous provisions for them as they journeyed toward that land He’d promised Abraham (Ex. 14:13-31; 15:22-17:16; Gen. 12:1-4; 13:14-18; 17:7-8). Why, then, would they be concerned about the “giants, the children of Anak” (Num. 13:28, 33) when they served such a great God?
Again, the writer of Hebrews answers our question:
“Because of their evil, hardened heart of unbelief through the deceitfulness of sin that caused them to always err in their heart and not know God’s ways by departing from the living God” (Heb. 3:8, 10, 12).
Simply put, it grieves God’s Heart when He continually and repeatedly provides for our needs, but we still murmur and complain and act like some abandoned, homeless orphan. He longs for us to rest in Him and His sufficient Grace by being “yoked with Him” (Mt. 11:28-30), daily “abiding in Him” (Jn. 15:1-7) and moment-by-moment “walking in His Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).
We can never repay the Lord for what He’s done, Pilgrim. The debt’s too great and our resources are too few. That’s why we must rest and rejoice in the fact that “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” Hallelujah!!
Truly, our “boldness to enter into the Heavenly Holy of Holies is by the Blood of Jesus, a new and living Way” (Heb. 10:19-20a; 4:16). Apart from Him we have no standing with God—for we are “ungodly sinners and enemies of God” (Rom. 5:6, 8, 10) prior to the new birth. And, it’s because of His Precious Blood that we’re made “acceptable in the Beloved” (Eph. 1:6) and made as clean as the driven snow (Is. 1:18). Glory!! Praise the Lord’s Holy Name that we can begin entering NOW into that Promised Rest and not have to wait until Heaven to hear Him say “Well done, you good and faithful servant” (Mt. 25:21).
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated December 19, 2010
