Hebrews 3:1-4:13

Read Hebrews 3:1-4:13

Verses chosen for meditation: Hebrews 3:3-6; 4:7, 8-11, 12-13 ESV:

3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Reflect

Who is Jesus compared to all the men and women of faith, past and present, that we pay homage to? Is he not the greatest of them all?

What is this rest that is being mentioned about? How can it be forfeited?

What is the relevance of the Word? How does it help?

Relate

In our lifetime, there must be someone who has played a prominent role. He or she could have been a strong voice in our generation, a consummate visionary leader or a venerable figure. Even then, there is no one, either dead or alive, who can hold a candle to Christ. The thought of it is simply inconceivable.

Any diversion of attention away from Christ, however well – intended, is as good as usurping his coveted position. As the only true Lord, Saviour and Son of God, it makes the next best person who has ever lived a far distant second from him. We’re talking about a distance of a zillion of lightyears. For no one saves like he does. And there is no one who is as highly esteemed as he is in the sight of God.

Be it Moses, Joshua or any other name, they're only servants of God. They could have led the people out of Egypt, saved the people from physical bondage or brought the people into a promised land of rest and abundance, but as servants, they're limited. For they did not possess the full power and authority nor the right credential as Christ. For that reason, they were not able to offer the ultimate salvation or rest. Only Christ who is the true Son of God can do that. Yet, they're often mistakenly treated with greater respect than Christ as was the case with Israel’s treatment of Moses. 

So, if there should be any larger - than - life figure in our life, let us be mindful of the manner in which we accord them respect. Let us not go overboard in doing for them more than what we would do for Christ. For no one has done more for us than Christ. For that, he alone deserves all the respect and worship since he is truly the real deal.

When it comes to the subject of rest, each of us may have our own understanding of what it means and also our own interpretation of its application. In this current time when many are feeling overworked and may even be on the brink of burnout, the yearning for rest has never been more acute. But who can blame?  However, that's not all. There's also the yearning for rest from the frustrating and crippling situations that plague our lives. This is not rest from work, but rest from life's misery, which has left many almost at the end of their tether. It's not surprising then that many are seeking this rest, but not finding it.

But the rest mentioned in the passage is more than just rest from earthly work or life’s misery. It's eternal rest as a result of the righteousness of Christ. It's rightly called rest as there is no longer a need for us to work since our whole salvation rests (pun intended) solely on the completed work of Christ on the cross. Even then, there're still those who would not have this rest. This is probably due to their disobedience, which stems primarily from their unbelief.

For that reason, we should treat each day like it is the day since there's no telling what each day can do. It can either make us more ready or hardened in our unbelief. If we're not making ourselves ready, chances are we'll be hardened as the days go by. That's how it is when we let things drag out.

Granted we may not fully understand this rest that is spoken of. All we know is that it speaks of a rest that is only possible because of Christ. Other than that, we have no idea what this rest really is. How could we when we have never known true rest. However, take it from God who actually rested after completing the awesome work of creation. In fact, the word 'rest' itself originates from him. If not for sin, we would have experienced this rest, as it was intended for us.

Perhaps, the greatest craving for rest or sanctuary would be for its role as refuge. Despite appearances to the contrary, this generation, for all its giftedness and advancement, is also known as the Prozac generation, with more sufferers being young adults in what should have been the prime of their life. The book of Psalms, which contains many an evocative verse like this one – ‘As the deer pants for streams of living water, so my soul pants for you, O God’ - is probably the closest source there is to ever finding the true meaning of the word 'rest'. For more than anywhere else in the bible, rest or sanctuary is introduced here by turns as a solid refuge from trouble and as an inner court for praise and worship. And with no apparent order to indicate that one supersedes the other, what must matter most is that the seeker comes away with an outlook as refreshing as the one who has had a foretaste of true goodness and a hope that does not disappoint.

Without any doubt, the word of God is closely linked to all the aforementioned. How we  have managed to delink it and even come to a conclusion that the word is no longer relevant in this day and age is unthinkable.

The word of God is, in fact, right up there with all the advanced technology of the day such as the CT scan, ultrasound, MRI and what have you. Even then, these modern advanced imaging techniques are nowhere close to what the word of God can do in searching out the individual.

The word of God goes hand in hand with the revelation of God. Yet, we have heard it said many times that there're not enough signs and wonders in this current generation. And that God doesn't speak anymore. What we've not realised is that we've failed to appreciate the word of God for what it is. The relevance and reality of God is all there if we know how to look for it. The word of God is the source to find out more about ourselves and help ourselves in return, which no other self - help book can either match in its content or impact.

So, whether it's about Moses or Jesus or rest, or anything else for that matter, the word of God is the authority and legit advisory.

The word of God doesn't go off at a tangent, but it goes deep into the plane that separates our thoughts and feelings. It identifies who we really are. It’s the panacea for all our needs and ills.

Rest

Lord, there is no one who can compare to you. The Word says so. The Word that knows the truth and which is the truth. Now, in knowing who you really are, may we find that true rest, the rest that has been eluding us.

Naville Chia