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Rest Today, Rest Tomorrow

N. Andrew Long, OAC

The concept of Rest is representative on three levels in Scripture: 1) the Promise Land that God

led the Israelites too, was their rest, 2) the specific Sabbath day was a day of rest, and 3) of thatfinal, eternal Rest which is the eventual outcome of our salvation.

In Hebrews 4, the writer urges us not to follow the example of disobedience, but rather to be

diligent to enter the rest that is available today. What was the example of disobedience thewriter urges us not to repeat? The refusal of the Israelites to obey Gods command and enter thePromised Land (hence, the reference to Joshua in verse 8, and we are told specifically in chapter

3 that this is the disobedience referenced by verse 11). The author of Hebrews reminds us inverse 9 that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. And he refers both to the weeklySabbath and to the eternal Sabbath.

When we refuse to enter the weekly rest that God has enjoined upon us, we are re-enacting the

Israelites refusal to enter the Land, and directly violating a New Testament command not tofollow that example of disobedience. Certainly, we can rest every day in the knowledge that

Jesus has finished His work, but when God finished His work (creation), did He start amemorial or end a memorial? Why would we think that God no longer wants us to memorializeHis great creative and then great redemptive workand its finished natureby ceasing from our

labors?

This idea that because we now know more fully (with the benefit of hindsight) what the typesand shadows anticipated by the OT are, we no longer need to honor or practice them befuddles

me. Yes, they are shadows; shadows cast by the reality, the substance of Messiah. They remainthe best picture we have of the eternal future and the truths upon which our participation relies.

I will never forget a story a friend of mine once shared. He went to Wheaton College outside ofChicago, IL and was greatly excited to learn that the Chicago Bulls would be practicing in theWheaton College gym. He was shocked to discover upon entering that professional basketballplayers were practicing layup drills, passing drills, etc. All the basics that he practiced in junior

high and high school!

Dont you see? Just because we are New Covenant saints doesnt mean that we can forsakethe instructions of God, the keeping of by which you shall find life. No, they are the expression

of a loving Gods heart for his am segullahtreasured possession. God is not capricious, no He isimmutable. He would not give legalistic, binding, heavy, unbearable commands to His chosenpeople! Gods heart for his people (in which we Gentiles are now privileged to be included) has

never changed, it has always been passionate and desirous that we might have life abundant!

What was the promise of the New Covenant? That Gods Spirit would write His Torah(instructions) on our hearts! Why? So we could subsequently ignore them? Of course not! Do

we then nullify the Torah through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish theTorah. (Romans 3:31)

What is this obedience of faith that Paul speaks of? For it is not the hearers of the Torah who

are just before God, but the doers of the Torah will be justified. (Romans 2:13) And why willthe doers of Torah be justified? Because of their doing? No! Because those who love God, keep

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His commandments. Those who believe in God, love Him. Abraham believed God and it wascredited to him as righteousness.

Are we made righteous by keeping the commandments of God? Heaven forbid! Once havingbecome part of His covenant people, does God wants us to honor His commandments?Absolutely! For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: The one who does

these things will live by them. (Romans 10:5)

What does this word fulfill mean? Does it mean made it so that you no longer need to abideby Gods commands? Of course not! Messiah himself said that the greatest commandment is to

love your neighbor as yourself. Paul writes, Love doesnt harm a neighbor. Love therefore isthe fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10) When Paul says fulfillment does he mean thatonce having loved our neighbor we no longer need to keep the commandment? No; how silly

that would be. Thats right! How silly it is to think that Messiah said, I did not come to abolishthe Torah but to fulfill it.In fact, to fulfill it so much that it is effectively abolished!

This word fulfill (pleroo) means to fill up, like you fill up the hull of a ship, in this case to fill

full of significance! So now that we understand so much more, let us not forsake the assembling

of ourselves together (oh yeah, that was one of the commands for Sabbath wasnt it?), rather letus encourage one another all the more toward love (the royal command) and good deeds! And

what are good deeds? Theyre the practice of Gods commands! There the very things that Godfashioned before the creation of the world for us to walk infor us to do (Eph. 2:10)!

But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, so that

none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:13)

Not all the feasts of the Lord have been fulfilled, the event which some anticipate remains yetunrealized. Let us then celebrate those that have been witnessed with great joy and

thanksgiving, but let us celebrate those that remain to be fulfilled with great joy andanticipation! Let us be diligent to enter that rest, to physically keep the Sabbath in celebration

and anticipation of that final, joyous, everlasting Sabbath, when God will return to be our Godand us to be His people, when God will finally dwell among men forever and ever.

Some might say, but Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Torah, having become a cursefor us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, (Gal. 3:13) Well, of course He

did! He redeemed us from the curse that was written in the Law, from the condemnation of theLaw, that stood as witness testifying to our sin (lawlessness). Is the Torah itself a curse?Absolutely not! So then, the Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and

good. (Romans 7:12) One is only under a curse, if one looks to the keeping of Torah as a meansof salvation. If one accepts the gracious gift of God, then one can keep the Torah with glee andgratitude. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commands are

not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept MyFathers commandments and abide in His love. (John 15:10 NASB)