Hebrews 4:10

Hebrews 4:10

Resting from our own works

Perhaps the greatest lesson of these verses in Hebrews, has been staring us in the face for days! It began in chapter 3:7 and the writer has subsequently bombarded us with examples and twists on his main theme, that when we hear the voice of the Lord, we are required to obey and in so doing we enter God’s rest. It is a physical and mental rest as well as being a spiritual rest and it is so important that even God rested after the 6 days of creation. Three times we have been reminded that, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” We will now spend a few sessions unpacking what this really means.

If we go back to the book of Genesis, the first scenario that unfolds is of the Creator speaking into the darkness and bringing light and life to barren and shapeless masses of rock! After 6 days of commanding astonishing energy and life into the cosmos, God’s steps back with satisfaction and rests!  All is good! Does this rest mean that He does nothing from now on? No, the Bible clearly tells us that God is active and involved in everything that happens both on earth and in the heavens. His rest is one of accomplishment, fulfilment and divine satisfaction with all that has been made. God rested from His work of design and creating, there is no more to be done. 

We find that the first human beings, Adam and Eve, were banned from remaining in God’s rest, sin kept them out. They heard the voice of God in the Garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8) but they had already taken the fatal step of listening to another voice, the Satan had lured them into a trap and thus disobedience and rebellion barred them from the place of rest. The true cost of what Adam and Eve did is seen in the life of their son, Cain, who killed his brother and then heard the voice of the Lord saying to him, “You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” Genesis 4:12. 

In just over 1,000 years the whole world turned to disobedience and rebellion, and God was so infuriated with the behaviour of men that he destroyed them all in a devastating flood. The world was not at rest before the flood but there was a short period of regeneration afterwards before a man called Nimrod appeared. He inhabited the Plain of Shinar / Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where Eden had once been. Nimrod was restless, he built many cities, the most famous being Babel (later Babylon). It was here that mankind constructed a tower to reach to the heavens, not a giant edifice but a symbol of human strength and ambition. These high places, called ziggurats, became plentiful in the area and were used to worship other gods. It was in this location, at this time, that the worship of the sun, moon and stars began and where mankind transferred its allegiance and beliefs to false deities. All pagan religion starts here, and from now on the human race cannot and will not experience the “rest of the Lord.” For all false religions emphasize and reflect the efforts of men and the aspirations of the human race. All false gods demand subservience and efforts to earn salvation. It’s very sad when Christianity copies them and does the same! The true God is put aside and everything and anything other than Him is worshipped. In this day and age, we have even come to the point where we worship ourselves, our own ingenuity and skills. The thought of humbly laying our lives down at the feet of the Creator has long been lost.

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