Rest, Part 1
Rest, Part 2
I made an exciting connection with some key words: "finished," "rest," and "work." Look at Genesis 2:2 - " By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work."
He didn't rest because he was frustrated, or tired, or because he wanted to take a break. He rested because he was finished with his work! More proof that to "rest" isn't to "take a break."
Now let's review.
God is holy and can't have sin near him. (1 Samuel 6:20 - "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?")
Adam and Eve sinned so they got separated from God (bodies cursed, ground cursed, evicted from their home).
But God loved them so he made a solution: He gave them the law (when you hear "law" think "good works"). If they didn't follow it, they could sacrifice an animal. Then they would one day get "rest" or be "restored" to life before, when they could be near God. That's what the Garden of Eden was. That's what the Promised Land was. The promise of "rest" has always been the driving force of God's people
But they didn't keep the law. So they would never enter God's rest. (Psalm 95:10-11 "...they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"_
But God loved them so he made another solution: He would send his firstborn (and only) son as an animal sacrifice. This sacrifice was so powerful it was the equivalent of billions and billions of animal sacrifices that would have been required to actually fulfill the requirements of the law, and that's why we say "Jesus fulfilled the law" and also why we don't sacrifice animals anymore.
When Jesus said "It is finished," he meant, "My work is done, and now all people can enter God's rest again." Just like God the Father rested when he had finished his work. (Hebrews 4:9-10 - "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.")
God's rest is the Ultimate Jubilee, the Ultimate Sabbath: Heaven, being with Him forever, being finished with our work.
This almost makes me cry when I think about what Jubilee meant: debts forgiven, relationships restored, land and property restored, slaves freed, and especially the relationship with God restored. Connect this with the Sabbath: No work, because the work is done. He gave us Sabbath and Jubilee as snapshots of heaven!
And we will enter heaven because our work is finished, and not by us. By Jesus. That's what we mean when we say we're saved "through faith...not by works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are saved because Jesus did all our works for us. We're saved by his works, not ours.
Yummy, I forgot how much I love Hebrews! I almost wanted to just dissect all of Hebrews 4, which I really should have read before I started typing any of this because now I see it's like the exact same thing, except more concise.
Rest, Part 2
I made an exciting connection with some key words: "finished," "rest," and "work." Look at Genesis 2:2 - " By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work."
He didn't rest because he was frustrated, or tired, or because he wanted to take a break. He rested because he was finished with his work! More proof that to "rest" isn't to "take a break."
Now let's review.
God is holy and can't have sin near him. (1 Samuel 6:20 - "Who can stand in the presence of the LORD, this holy God?")
Adam and Eve sinned so they got separated from God (bodies cursed, ground cursed, evicted from their home).
But God loved them so he made a solution: He gave them the law (when you hear "law" think "good works"). If they didn't follow it, they could sacrifice an animal. Then they would one day get "rest" or be "restored" to life before, when they could be near God. That's what the Garden of Eden was. That's what the Promised Land was. The promise of "rest" has always been the driving force of God's people
But they didn't keep the law. So they would never enter God's rest. (Psalm 95:10-11 "...they have not known my ways. So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'"_
But God loved them so he made another solution: He would send his firstborn (and only) son as an animal sacrifice. This sacrifice was so powerful it was the equivalent of billions and billions of animal sacrifices that would have been required to actually fulfill the requirements of the law, and that's why we say "Jesus fulfilled the law" and also why we don't sacrifice animals anymore.
When Jesus said "It is finished," he meant, "My work is done, and now all people can enter God's rest again." Just like God the Father rested when he had finished his work. (Hebrews 4:9-10 - "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.")
God's rest is the Ultimate Jubilee, the Ultimate Sabbath: Heaven, being with Him forever, being finished with our work.
This almost makes me cry when I think about what Jubilee meant: debts forgiven, relationships restored, land and property restored, slaves freed, and especially the relationship with God restored. Connect this with the Sabbath: No work, because the work is done. He gave us Sabbath and Jubilee as snapshots of heaven!
And we will enter heaven because our work is finished, and not by us. By Jesus. That's what we mean when we say we're saved "through faith...not by works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are saved because Jesus did all our works for us. We're saved by his works, not ours.
Yummy, I forgot how much I love Hebrews! I almost wanted to just dissect all of Hebrews 4, which I really should have read before I started typing any of this because now I see it's like the exact same thing, except more concise.
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