A Study on Rest
by Michelle Stace

Rest (Heb.4496):  repose, consolation, matrimony, an abode.

     This particular definition of 'rest' isn't used very often in the Old Testament - it's meaning is of intimate closeness:
'Abode' - picturing the believer abiding in Christ, and God in His fullness abiding in the believer (Jn.15:4-6 Abide(a continual presence) in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered: and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.), (Jn.14:17,20,23 Even the Spirit of truth: Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him.),
and 'Matrimony': for the believer is the bride of Christ - the closet of all relationships (II Cor.11:2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  Hos.2:19,20 And I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto Me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the Lord.)

     The above definitions and scriptures picture a relationship with the Savior of a oneness of spirit, an interweaving or blending of our soul with His - the deepest of intimacy that can only be known in Jesus because only He knows the depths our soul. He gradually opens our heart and understanding to see the wretchedness of our depravity, which in turn deepens our need of Him and deepens our appreciation of His immense mercy. When He gives me the eyes to see myself in this way, I begin seeing the stark contrast of my soul in comparison to His holiness, faithfulness and love.  These qualities of Himself He will implant in me as I 'rest' in Him.
     There are 2 particular passages in the O.T. where this form of 'rest' is used which help in connection with this study.
Psalm 95:10,11 "Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, it is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known My ways: Unto whom  I sware in My wrath that they should not enter into My 'rest.' "
Isa. 11:10 "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it the Gentiles seek: and His 'rest' shall be glorious."  Rest is used here with prophetic reference to the salvation rest of Christ's Kingdom. In Rom.15:12 Paul refers to the first verse in Isa.11, which duplicates part of v.10, and which offers this 'glorious rest' (salvation) to both Jews and Gentiles.
      The theme of salvation 'rest' is continued in Heb.3 and 4 with the writer quoting the above passage of Ps.95:11 as an example and warning for the readers to not make the same mistake of rebellion and unbelief which prevented the Israelites from entering the promised land(a representation of salvation). We're told there that we need faith/belief/obedience to enter into God's rest. We see the opposites of these 3 qualities in Heb.3:17: 'them that had sinned' - disobedience; and in 3:18,19 'could not enter in because of unbelief;'  and in 4:2 'not being mixed with faith' - without faith.  The writer then goes on to contrast the 'rest' of Ps.95:11 to the creation rest, v.4:4, and to the physical respresentation of rest in entering Canaan, v.4:8. Those 2 examples use a different definition for rest. Next he goes on to say in v.4:9 that the Ps.95 'rest'(salvation) is still offered (with Isa. 11:10 being referenced). Also in 4:9, 'rest' is compared to the Sabbath rest - the 4th commandment.
   The reason this 'glorious rest' (Isa.11:10) is offered is because the 'root of Jesse' (Isa.11:10) - Jesus - has accomplished His work in providing for the redemption of man. The following quote by A.W.Pink helps clarify the 'work' of Christ in Heb.4:10: "For He(Jesus) that is entered into His rest, He also hath ceased from His own work, as God did from His (v.4:4). 'Plain and simple as these words are, yet they have been grievously misinterpreted by most commentators. They are generally regarded as referring to a believer entering into the rest of God, through their believing of the gospel. But there are 2 considerations which expose the error of this view. First, the verse does not read, "they who enter into His rest - as in previous verses, but "He" that is entered into."  Second, if the reference was to believers, what are the "works" from which they cease: Their sins, say some; their legalists efforts to win God's appoval, say others. But how could they be said to rest from any such works, "AS God from His" own? It is utterly impossible to satisfactorily answer such a question. The verse speaks not of believers, but of Christ."  
     Christ has fulfilled the true essence of the 4th commandment in making God's 'rest' - salvation - a reality in a believer's life. The 4th commandment is the only commandment not repeated in the N.T.  I believe it's because it is in fact fulfilled in the believer's life at the time of salvation, which is what these passages are saying.  In otherwords a true believer must be, by his very salvation, keeping the 4th commandment.
     Where I'd like to go from here is to look at how this Sabbath rest (salvation) is to be manifested in the believer's life. Isaiah.58 is a description of what God says is true religion. It compares the form of religion the people had at that time - as well as in our day -  with His true standard, and concludes with the interweaving of Sabbath rest(salvation) and true religion.
                                                                                                         
    The first 5 verses expose the peoples' religion as only outward and a mere pretense. It exposes how they deluded themselves in thinking they could fool God into accepting their distorted form of obedience.*
58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.
58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.
58:5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
     Next, I'll take the 13th and 14th verses of chapter 58,  break them apart, and put with them with the corresponding parts of this chapter.(We will see that verse 13 is a perfect description of ceasing from one's own will and living entirely in God's will!)
58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
('Turn away' from defiling or polluting the Sabbath by performing manmade religion which is 'thy pleasure'. ) Corresponds with:
58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

(58:13)and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him,
(When the Sabbath - salvation - is a delight, one takes great pleasure in God and desires to please Him according to what He says pleases Him.) Corresponds with:
58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
58:10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:

(58:13) not doing thine own ways,  for the next 3 entries see the (*) above.
58:2 Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.

(58:13)nor finding thine own pleasure,
58:3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours.

(58:13)nor speaking thine own words:
58:4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
58:8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.
58:11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
58:12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

The book of James 1:27,  again defines religion: 'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless, and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.' This perfectly corresponds with Isa. 58. It is both God's definition of religion and His definition of true sabbath 'rest'  - salvation - manifested in a believer's life. It is what salvation produces in a believer's life. This is the life of a believer as it ought to be when his life is completely given to God and under the power of the Holy Spirit.  To learn how to live this life of true religion we must first be 'led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit'  as Jesus was in Luke 4:1-14. All God's people must be led there as were the Israelites in Deut.8:2, 'And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.'  

 

The Puritan writer, Horatius Bonar, has these enlightening comments about the wilderness: "Their desert trials put them to the proof. And when thus proved, what iniquity was found in them! What sin came out which had lain hidden and unknown before! The trial did not create the evil: it merely brought out what was there already, unnoticed and unfelt, like a torpid adder. Then the heart's deep fountains were broken up, and streams of pollution, atheism, idolatry, self-will, self-confidence, self-pleasing --all burst out when the blast of the desert met them in the face and called Egypt to remembrance with its luxurious plenty. And when the trial sweeps over us like a cloud of the night, or rather through us like an icy blast, piercing and chilling us to the vitals, then the old man within us awakes, and, as if in response to the uproar without, a fiercer tempest breaks loose within us. We feel as if the four winds of Heaven had been let loose to strive together upon the great deep within. Unbelief arises in it's former strength. Rebelliousness rages in every region of the soul. Unsubdued passions resume their strength. We are utterly dismayed at the fearful scene. But yesterday this seemed impossible. Alas, we know not the strength of sin nor the evil of our hearts till God thus allowed them to break loose."   

      Let us look with encouragement at Jesus' experience in the wilderness and the God-given way through the trial. The devil first tempted Jesus when He was very hungry by telling Him to turn a stone into bread. Christ's response in Luke 4:4: 'It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' As the body needs food to sustain and nourish, so it is just as critical for the soul to be nourished by the Living Word. We need to live and breathe His word, just as the body lives and breathes in response to the food it consumes. G.D.Watson describes what is needed for the soul to grow in the following quote: "The conditions of soul-feeding are life, health and zest. First Christ must impart His life to the penitent, believing soul; and we know that this Christ-life can feed and grow and manifest itself similar to other kinds of life. It is not only needful to have this life, but to have it in a state of good soul-health. This implies the being cleansed from all moral disease, from all evil tempers and evil desires, from all self-will, and every principle of the carnal mind. Until the spiritual nature is thoroughly sanctified, its appetite is poor, its digestion is weak, and it craves a very light diet of religious food, made up largely of human intellectuality. For the soul to feed well, it not only needs life and health, but a lively zest (or use) of the faculties. This zest is acquired by practice (obedience), and by the quality of food the soul takes in. The soul is often ruined by mental stimulants, such as novels, philosophy, and false doctrines." (In our day one should also add the media, most so-called music and the endless electronic games and devices.)

      The second temptation was an offer of all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus said in reply
(Lk. 4:8):  'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'  The self-life in all its forms of self worship and gratification must die. We do not understand how pervasive, how deeply ingrained self-worship is. The wilderness not only reveals this to us, but is meant to empty us in order that Jesus may fill us.  One cannot worship and serve God wholly if self remains on the throne of the heart.
 
     The last temptation was a mocking, a scornful testing of God's word - like a dare, and like what the people did to Jesus as He hung on the cross in Matt 27:39-43. His answer to the devil in verse 12: 'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'  To 'tempt' or test God to see if He will keep His word exposes a deep lack of trust. We have His word - His promises - He cannot lie and He is faithful. God is infinitely bigger than any fear or weakness or threat from others. Rather than 'casting ourselves down from the pinnacle' we should instead rest at the feet of Jesus. A life that comes to Him in absolute dependence and surrender, is a life with a living growing faith.

The Lord Jesus suffered through the wilderness experience as an example of how we need  to develop that most intimate oneness ('abode' and 'matrimony') with God to be able to live for Him in His power. We read that 'Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit.' He was now equipped to live wholly for God's glory. Should we be any less equipped? It's a vain attempt to try serving God in our own strength, without His preparatory work in us, and especially without the Holy Spirit's complete indwelling. It grieves God.  How desperately  we need the completeness of the Holy Spirit to serve God and to live this life of true religion in the individual way God has for each of us.

Once again I write these words of Isaiah with the words of Jesus following.
Isa. 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words(the underlined portion is the expression of man's will):  58:14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD;

Jn. 5:30  "I can of mine own self do nothing . . . because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father."