Who’s in Charge?
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: "So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works"; 5 and again in this place: "They shall not enter My rest." (NKJV)
The early Eastern Church (Dionysius and Clement, both of Alexandria), from the very beginning, claimed Paul was the writer of Hebrews. The Western Church later agreed.
Luke translated the letter to the Hebrews into Greek, according to Clement in the second century. Luke was with Paul during his second Roman imprisonment and was his amanuensis during Paul’s final days (2 Timothy 4:11). It is logical to assume that Luke was also Paul’s amanuensis for this letter.
My conclusion is that this was Paul’s last writing, written in late 67-early 68 A.D. However, the identity of the writer is not crucial. The author of all Scripture is God, the Holy Spirit.
The Book of Hebrews addresses two main subjects: the superiority of Christ and exhortations of obedient living. Mixed in with these two subjects are five warnings to the Hebrews to whom this letter was written. Each warning addresses a specific issue with the Hebrews, of which Paul was personally aware.
This passage represents the third, and concluding, passage written about the second of the five warnings given to the Hebrew Christians. The first warning was to read and study the Word of God, the Bible (Hebrews 2:1). This second warning is against unbelief. These warnings are just as relevant to Christians today as they were to the Hebrew Christians in the sixties, A.D.
Paul begins this passage by writing “Therefore since a promise remains of entering His rest, (v. 1a). A chapter break was added here, though it appears to be unwarranted. This chapter begins with the word “Therefore” which refers to the preceding passage.
In the preceding chapter the writer has warned the Hebrews not to fall into the unbelief of their ancestors, those involved in the exodus from Egypt. That entire generation was forced to wander in the desert for forty years until all had perished because of their unbelief.
Only two had remained steadfast in trusting God, Caleb and Joshua. Those two were allowed to enter into Canaan, the Promised Land, leading a new generation of Hebrews. The Promised Land was a type of rest, used here in comparison to the ultimate rest, Heaven.
Just as the Hebrews of the Exodus had a promise of rest in the Promised Land, the Hebrews to whom this letter was addressed have a promise of rest in Heaven. “The promise remains”, Paul wrote.
Paul continues with “let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it” (v. 1b). The word “fear” is translated from the Greek word “phobeomai”, Think of our word “phobia”.
The meaning here is that the Hebrews should fear falling short of what is needed to “rest” in Heaven. What is needed, of course, is to hold steadfast in their belief in the Lord.
Next, Paul writes “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them;” (v. 2a). Both generations, those Hebrews of the exodus and those to whom this letter is addressed, had the gospel preached to them.
Paul continues with “but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (v. 2b). But the message was of no value to the Hebrews of the exodus because they did not combine it “with faith”. Although they heard the same message as the current Hebrews, their unbelief made the gospel useless to them. The message alone did not save them. They perished because of their unbelief.
Just hearing the gospel is not enough. We must mix the hearing with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Next, Paul writes “For we who have believed do enter that rest” (v. 3a). So. Paul and the other Hebrews to whom this letter is written, “who have believed”, “enter that rest”, of Heaven.
Paul continues with “as He has said: So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest,' " (v. 3b). Here, in contrast, the writer repeats the consequence of unbelief by citing Psalm 95:11, which was also cited in the previous chapter of Hebrews. He writes that unbelievers “shall not enter My rest”, in Heaven.
Paul continues with “although the works were finished from the foundation of the world 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works’ "(vv. 3c-4). Here, Paul cites the third example of God’s “rest” used in this passage, the rest of God’s Sabbath after the six day creation.
Paul’s act of combining the “rest” of Psalm 95:11 with the creation account “rest” in Genesis would have been something of which the Hebrew Christians would have been familiar. In the synagogue, during the time of this writing, the liturgy for the beginning of the Sabbath included the recital of Psalm 95:1-11 followed by Genesis 2:1-3. Paul is appealing to what they had practiced as part of their previous Jewish faith, and applying it to Christianity.
Paul completes this passage by writing “and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest" (v. 5). Paul, by emphasizing again that those who do not believe “shall not enter my rest”, is referring to the ultimate rest in Heaven.
He does not want the reader to think that “rest” was only available to their ancestors who were given the Promised Land but lost out because of their unbelief. He wants them to know that they can still have “rest”, in the new Promised Land of Heaven.
The message of Paul is the same message we have today. The Promised Land, Heaven, is available to all who will partake of it.
Unfortunately, the gate to Heaven is narrow. Of the 600,000 Hebrews of the generation that started the exodus, only two, Caleb and Joshua, entered the Promise Land. The others, including Moses, did not remain faithful to the Lord to the end.
We also must remain faithful to the end. It is much easier for us today, however.
When we profess our belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we Christians of today are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us into a Godly life, if we let Him lead.
The Hebrews of the Exodus did not let Moses lead, resulting in them, and Moses, not being allowed to enter the Promised Land. So, we must.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives. We must let go, and let God…take charge of our lives. Who’s in charge of your life?
Art Toombs Ministries
Online Bible Commentary