Hebrews 4:3 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.

NIV: Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ " And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.

NASB: For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, 'AS I SWORE IN MY ANGER, THEY CERTAINLY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,' although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

CSB: For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, So I swore in my anger, "They will not enter my rest," even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world.

NLT: For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, 'In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’' even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.

KJV: For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

NKJV: 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.

This verse once again quotes from Psalm 95, specifically verse 11. In that passage, Israel is warned not to fail as they did prior to entering the Promised Land. Rather than trust God, most of the people gave in to fear. As a result, all but a small remnant were condemned to wander the desert and never obtain their promised inheritance. This "rest" is not a reference to salvation. The entire book of Hebrews is written specifically to saved Christian believers. What is at stake is not a loss of that salvation, but a forfeit of our spiritual inheritance.

Here, the writer of Hebrews makes the point that this "rest" is not permanently closed off, and is in fact available to all who fully trust in God. God's vow to deny faithless Israelites His rest was in the past, but it only applied to those who were faithless (Hebrews 3:16–19). Even further, as the writer will point out later, God's "rest," which He entered into after He completed creation, was and is still active. And, since the Old Testament encourages its readers to respond "today" in order to enter into God's "rest," this promise has not been closed off. We have to strive to obtain it, but it is not beyond our reach.

Here, the writer of Hebrews makes the point that this "rest" is not permanently closed off, and is in fact something available to all who fully trust in God.

Hebrews 4:1–13 reassures Christians that they have not missed their opportunity to enjoy the ''rest'' promised by God. Chapter 3 warned about the dangers of losing faith and disobeying God. In this passage, the writer points out that psalmists like David, who came long after Moses, encouraged Israel to obtain God's rest ''today.'' Since God's rest on the seventh day of creation came only after His work was done, and Israel only suffered loss when they failed to complete their assigned work, Christians should strive to complete the work given them by God, in order to obtain the greater heavenly rewards. The most potent tool we have in this effort is the razor-sharp Word of God.

In Hebrews chapter 4, the author refines the theme of chapter 3. An entire generation of Israel lost out on their inheritance of the Promised Land due to a lack of faith. Here, the author points out that the rest promised by God is still offered, through Christ. The razor-sharp truth of the Word of God will separate what is truly spiritual from what is faithless. We should make every effort to obtain our inheritance in Christ, which is something separate from our eternal salvation. We can also be confident, knowing Jesus can uniquely sympathize with our temptations and sufferings.

Chapters 1 and 2 explained how Messiah could not be an angel, but had to be human in order to become our example and the ''Captain'' of our salvation. Chapter 3 described Jesus as worthy of greater glory than Moses, since Jesus fulfilled the promises Moses only spoke of. Chapter 4 will continue to place Jesus as a higher example than Old Testament figures, including Joshua. This chapter bridges the focus of Hebrews from our need to ''hold fast'' in faith to Jesus' status as our ultimate High Priest.

The book of Hebrews is meant to challenge, encourage, and empower Christian believers. According to this letter, Jesus Christ is superior to all other prophets and all other claims to truth. Since God has given us Christ, we ought to listen to what He says and not move backwards. The consequences of ignoring God are dire. Hebrews is important for drawing on many portions of the Old Testament in making a case that Christ is the ultimate and perfect expression of God's plan for mankind. This book presents some tough ideas about the Christian faith, a fact the author makes specific note of.