“By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so, on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” – Genesis 2:2-3 (NIV)
These verses tell us that after six days of work God rested on the seventh day – the Sabbath. Resting on the seventh day is a good practice for each of us to adopt, as this relates to God’s own resting after He had finished His work. However, when we read Hebrews chapters 3 and 4, we see that there is indeed a deeper meaning to the Sabbath rest, one that is not physical in nature but carries a more profound spiritual meaning.
We see, in these chapters, that God wants His people to stop their religious works and striving of the flesh and believe in and be obedient to His Living Word, so that they may enter into His Rest – a Divine rest, apprehended only by faith.
What is this rest then? The Sabbath rest spoken of in the Old Testament was merely a shadow of what was to come, a symbol which pointed to a higher form of rest. The Sabbath Rest to which Hebrews 3 and 4 refer is Jesus Himself.
Colossians 2:16, 17(GNT) tells us,
“So let no one make rules about…the Sabbath. All such things are only a shadow of things to come in the future; the reality is Christ.”
This wonderful Sabbath was secured for us by Jesus at Calvary. So, now, we can trust in the finished work of Christ and find continual rest in Him.
Unlike the people of the Old Testament, our Sabbath is not limited to one day of rest per week but is to be observed each and every day of our lives. This Rest is so much more than we realize. Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the curse of toiling and sweating for our own provision. He has made provision for us to rest. He is the true Sabbath Rest that God wants for us.
Knowing and believing that Jesus is our resting place, will equip us for amazing lives of eternal rest in Christ.
Amen †
Our Resting Place ©2013 Shelley Johnson 04-Feb-2013
Photo: The Caroni Bird Sanctuary, Trinidad
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