Hebrews 3 (6)

Introduction
God’s rest – His perfect righteousness, peace, and joy – awaits us in Jesus Christ. If we have believed in Him, let us continue to hold fast to and confess Him, so that we may know His rest more fully. But if we are seeking rest in any other place than Jesus, then we, like Israel of old, have wavered and are adrift. God’s rest will elude us as long we continue in unbelief. 

Meditate on Deuteronomy 1.29-38.

Read Hebrews 3.16-19.

Think it through.
1. The writer reminds his readers that merely professing to believe, and identifying with a community of believers, is not the measure of true faith. Unless belief is true and deep, issuing in a firm and unwavering commitment to Christ, we may lapse into unbelief and end up like that generation that died in the wilderness. That word rebelled is pretty strong. Is drifting from faith in Christ a form of rebellion? Explain. Can it become rebellion? God blessed and provided for His rebellious people for 40 years in the wilderness. But all the time He was caring for them, He was angry at them (v. 17). Why? Is it possible that God could be angry with our generation of believers, even as He continues to provide and care for us? Explain.

2.  In Moses’ day, the rest of God consisted in the blessings of the land of promise. Meditate on Deuteronomy 28.1-14. How comprehensive were those promised blessings? How might we express those blessings in today’s terms? Unbelief – in the form of rebellion against God – kept an entire generation from knowing the rest of God. Is it possible to be in the grip of unbelief and not realize it? How might we know when unbelief was creeping into our soul and beginning to undermine our confession of faith in Christ? How can believers help one another in such a situation (Heb. 3.13)?

Meditate.
“They died, for they could not enter the promised land. They merely looked over toward the land of promise, but they could not enter it. The Jews beheld the promised land but could not enter it. They died in the desert.… We, their children, under the leadership of Jesus, have come to the Jordan and entered the promised land.” Jerome (347-420 AD)

But asGod isfaithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me, Silvanus, and Timothy—was not Yes and No, but in Him was Yes. For all the promises of God in Him areYes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. 2 Corinthians 1.18-20

Lord, I will find my only true and lasting rest each day in Jesus. Help me to begin and end each day in Jesus, and throughout the day to …

Pray Psalm 95.
Thank the Lord for the rest you have obtained in Jesus. Seek Him concerning how you may know that rest throughout the day, and help your fellow believers abide in the rest of our Lord.

Psalm 95.1-11 (Tidings: O Zion Haste, Thy Mission High Fulfilling)
Come, let us sing with joy to God, our Savior!
Let us with joy to Him, our Rock, bow down!
Come now before Him, grateful for His favor;
Let joyful psalms break forth from all around.
Refrain v. 6
Come let us worship, kneel to our Lord;
Worship our Maker: Father, Holy Spirit, Word.

Great are You, Lord, a King above all nations.
All of earth’s depths lie hidden in Your hand.
Yours are the mountains, Yours the sea, You made it;
You by Your hands created the dry land.
Refrain

You are our God, we are Your sheep, Your people:
Speak, Lord, and let us hearken to Your Word.
Let not our hearts grow hard through sin, and feeble,
As when our fathers sinned against You, Lord.
Refrain

Long years You loathed that wicked generation,
Who in their hearts, rebelled against Your path.
Them You forsook, and kept from Your salvation;
Them You subjected to Your fearsome wrath.
Refrain

T. M Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006.