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It is comforting to know that while "Some, when they had heard, did provoke;
howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses" (Heb. 3: 16), for Caleb and Joshua
wholly followed the Lord and are blessed examples of those who by patience and
continuance inherit the promises.
While the church of the One Body has a different calling from either the church in the
wilderness or the church of God during the Acts period, the temptations and the snares
are much the same, and we should give earnest heed to these things, so that we may in
our turn "press according to a mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus".
#26.
"The Rest that Remaineth" (4: 9).
pp. 121 - 124
In chapters 3: & 4: the words katapausis and katapauö ("rest") occur eleven times,
and the one reference in 4: 9 where the word sabbatismos is used, makes twelve in all.
It is evident therefore that this "rest" is an essential subject. In the first case the entry into
the land of promise was typical of the rest that remaineth to the people of God, for it is
used directly in connection with Israel in the wilderness. That it was not the actual "rest",
but a type only, may be seen from Heb. 4: 8:--
"For if Joshua had given them rest, then would He not afterwards have spoken of
another day",
which the Lord did in David's time, as is seen in Psa. 95: Not only is the rest here
spoken of likened to the entry of the faithful overcomer into Canaan, it is also likened to
the Sabbath day rest of the week of Creation:--
"For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the
seventh day from all His works" (Heb. 4: 4).
The structure of Heb. 4: 1-13 will help us to see the chief features of the passage and
guide us in our study.
Heb. 4: 1-13.
A | 1, 2. | a | Let us therefore fear, lest.
b | Any come short.
c | Not united by faith.
d | The Word of hearing.
B | 3, 4. Nature of this rest. After Works, e.g., Creation.
C | 5, 6. It remaineth (apoleipō)--a rest.
D | 7. David.
D | 8. Joshua.
C | 9. There remaineth (apoleipō)--a rest.
B | 10. Nature of this rest. After Works. e.g., Creation.
A | 11-13. | a | Let us therefore labour, lest.
b | Any fall.
c | Example of unbelief.
d | The Word of God.