Hebrews Chapter 4
Entering God’s Rest
In chapter three, the author has just written about the wilderness generation, who had hard hearts and did not enter the promised land (3:7-11, 16-19). He extensively quotes Psalm 95, which details that generation’s unfaithfulness and admonishes Israel not to follow in their footsteps. The author of Psalm 95 and the author of Hebrews alike encourage their readers not to be like the wilderness generation, with unbelieving, disobedient hearts (3:12-15). They did not enter the promised land (“enter his rest” – verse 18) because of their unbelief and disobedience. The Psalmist tells the Israelites that “today” they must not harden their hearts as those in the wilderness did.
In chapter four, the author of Hebrews takes the idea of God’s rest for the wilderness generation and applies it to his readers. For the believer, the promise of entering God’s rest remains: “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it” (4:1). However, if we want to enter this rest, we cannot have hard hearts like the wilderness generation.
Here the author uses “already-not yet” language, so common in the book of Hebrews. Our promise of rest is sure in Christ, so the author has confidence to say, “For we who have believed enter that rest” (3). This is the “already” aspect of the promise. But we also read the “not yet” part of the promise when he writes in verses six and seven, “Since therefore it remains for some to enter [the rest],” followed by an encouragement to be faithful “today” (alluding to Psalm 95:7). “Today” refers to the time period we are now in, before entering God’s rest; see Hebrews 3:13: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today.’” We still have the opportunity right now, today, to respond to God’s grace by believing in Him, which implies obeying him (see Hebrews 3:18-19), and specifically in this context, believing and following Jesus.
This “rest” that awaits us is not the promised land that Joshua brought them into, “for if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on” (4:8). Rather, our rest is the inheritance that God has promised us, our complete salvation, body and soul. So the author states, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (4:9-10).
These verses are frequently taken out of context to mean that Jesus is our “Sabbath rest,” and therefore we no longer need to rest on the weekly Sabbath. The author is saying nothing about our freedom from obeying the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day.” Rather, he is using the Sabbath as a metaphor for the rest that awaits us – our eternal inheritance. If anything, this is all the more reason to rest on the weekly Sabbath as a picture, reminder, and rehearsal of what awaits us. How exciting would it be every week to have a regular practice of resting on the weekly Sabbath, knowing that it points to our future eternal rest.
Concerning our eternal rest, the author encourages his readers to “strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (4:11), referring again to the disobedience of the wilderness generation. This is another “not yet” sense of our rest – it is sure in Christ, but we have not arrived yet, so we must press on and not fall away. We must not abandon Christ, or we will abandon our rest. If we disobey by denying Christ, we will be judged by the living and active Word of God and will be exposed before him to whom we must give account (4:12-13).
Jesus, Our High Priest
Now the author returns to the concept of Jesus as our high priest, having briefly mentioned it for the first time in 2:17 and a couple verses later in 3:1, where he stated:
In chapter three, the author has just written about the wilderness generation, who had hard hearts and did not enter the promised land (3:7-11, 16-19). He extensively quotes Psalm 95, which details that generation’s unfaithfulness and admonishes Israel not to follow in their footsteps. The author of Psalm 95 and the author of Hebrews alike encourage their readers not to be like the wilderness generation, with unbelieving, disobedient hearts (3:12-15). They did not enter the promised land (“enter his rest” – verse 18) because of their unbelief and disobedience. The Psalmist tells the Israelites that “today” they must not harden their hearts as those in the wilderness did.
In chapter four, the author of Hebrews takes the idea of God’s rest for the wilderness generation and applies it to his readers. For the believer, the promise of entering God’s rest remains: “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it” (4:1). However, if we want to enter this rest, we cannot have hard hearts like the wilderness generation.
Here the author uses “already-not yet” language, so common in the book of Hebrews. Our promise of rest is sure in Christ, so the author has confidence to say, “For we who have believed enter that rest” (3). This is the “already” aspect of the promise. But we also read the “not yet” part of the promise when he writes in verses six and seven, “Since therefore it remains for some to enter [the rest],” followed by an encouragement to be faithful “today” (alluding to Psalm 95:7). “Today” refers to the time period we are now in, before entering God’s rest; see Hebrews 3:13: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today.’” We still have the opportunity right now, today, to respond to God’s grace by believing in Him, which implies obeying him (see Hebrews 3:18-19), and specifically in this context, believing and following Jesus.
This “rest” that awaits us is not the promised land that Joshua brought them into, “for if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on” (4:8). Rather, our rest is the inheritance that God has promised us, our complete salvation, body and soul. So the author states, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his” (4:9-10).
These verses are frequently taken out of context to mean that Jesus is our “Sabbath rest,” and therefore we no longer need to rest on the weekly Sabbath. The author is saying nothing about our freedom from obeying the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day.” Rather, he is using the Sabbath as a metaphor for the rest that awaits us – our eternal inheritance. If anything, this is all the more reason to rest on the weekly Sabbath as a picture, reminder, and rehearsal of what awaits us. How exciting would it be every week to have a regular practice of resting on the weekly Sabbath, knowing that it points to our future eternal rest.
Concerning our eternal rest, the author encourages his readers to “strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (4:11), referring again to the disobedience of the wilderness generation. This is another “not yet” sense of our rest – it is sure in Christ, but we have not arrived yet, so we must press on and not fall away. We must not abandon Christ, or we will abandon our rest. If we disobey by denying Christ, we will be judged by the living and active Word of God and will be exposed before him to whom we must give account (4:12-13).
Jesus, Our High Priest
Now the author returns to the concept of Jesus as our high priest, having briefly mentioned it for the first time in 2:17 and a couple verses later in 3:1, where he stated:
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house (Hebrews 2:17-3:2).
Here the author states that Jesus became a merciful and faithful high priest. To understand this, we need to understand the role of the earthly high priest. The Levitical priests were the spiritual leaders in the Israelite community. Exodus 28:1 makes clear that only Aaron’s line was to serve as the priests of Israel. Their primary role was to oversee the temple and temple worship, serving as mediators between God and man, and offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. The high priest was chosen from this priesthood, so he too was a descendent of Aaron. In fact, the first high priest was Aaron himself. As high priest, he had the special role of being able to enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil, which contained the ark of the covenant, once a year on the Day of Atonement, where he would make atonement for himself and for the people. He was able to represent the people before God because he was human himself.
Starting in chapter seven, we will begin to discuss the differences between Jesus’s priesthood and the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood. But for now, the author focuses on Jesus’ ability to function as high priest because he can represent humanity, being human himself. Jesus was able to fulfill this role as high priest because he was fully human, “like his brothers in every respect.” Jesus knows exactly what it is like to be a human being and exactly what it is like to suffer while being tempted, though he himself never sinned. Therefore, he can help us when we are being tempted. Recall the original audience of Hebrews – first century believers who were tempted to turn away from their Messiah and return to Judaism, likely because of the strain of ongoing persecution for their beliefs (cf. 10:32-34). Just as the earthly high priest was fully human who could sympathize with those he interceded for, so Jesus understands our weaknesses and the strain of persecution, as Hebrews explains here:
Starting in chapter seven, we will begin to discuss the differences between Jesus’s priesthood and the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood. But for now, the author focuses on Jesus’ ability to function as high priest because he can represent humanity, being human himself. Jesus was able to fulfill this role as high priest because he was fully human, “like his brothers in every respect.” Jesus knows exactly what it is like to be a human being and exactly what it is like to suffer while being tempted, though he himself never sinned. Therefore, he can help us when we are being tempted. Recall the original audience of Hebrews – first century believers who were tempted to turn away from their Messiah and return to Judaism, likely because of the strain of ongoing persecution for their beliefs (cf. 10:32-34). Just as the earthly high priest was fully human who could sympathize with those he interceded for, so Jesus understands our weaknesses and the strain of persecution, as Hebrews explains here:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (4:14-15).
The reason we can hold fast to our belief in Christ is because of his high priestly work in the heavens. He understands the trials and temptations we go through because he was made to be like us and therefore can represent us as a high priest. He fully understands our weaknesses because he too became a man and experienced the fullness of humanity. This does not mean that he experienced every temptation that exists, but rather, that he fully experienced trials and temptations, and moreover, did not give in to sin but remained sinless. Therefore he can help us overcome any trial or temptation. Because of this, the author continues,
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (16).
Because Jesus represents us in the heavens before God as our great high priest, we can draw near to the throne of grace. What does it mean to “draw near”? The verb here is προσέρχομαι (proserchomai) and occurs seven times in the book of Hebrews. It means “to come to, go to, approach” (MGD). So through the work of Christ as our high priest, we have confidence to approach God’s throne, where we are guaranteed to find mercy and grace because our high priest understands our weaknesses and stands ready to help us through any trial or temptation, any time of need.
To “draw near” to God is a theme in the Torah, and especially in the book of Leviticus, and the original readers would have immediately recognized this connection. In the opening chapters of Leviticus, God calls to his people and shows them how to approach him in the tabernacle. In verse two, he says, “When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.” The word for offering in Hebrew is קָרְבָּ֖ן (qorbān), and its root is the verb קָרַב (qārab), which means “come near, approach, draw near” (Arnold). In Leviticus, God details five different offerings (qorbān), showing his people how to approach his throne. The priests played a key role in these offerings as they were brought to the sons of Aaron, who oversaw the giving of the offering and sometimes ate some of it, depending on the type of qorbān given. The audience of Hebrews would be familiar with this practice and would see the powerful imagery that Jesus is our eternal and effective means of drawing near to the throne, and that all of these sacrifices were shadows of the perfect and complete work he accomplished as our high priest – themes that the author of Hebrews will thoroughly explore in the coming chapters.
It is because of Jesus that we have confidence to approach God’s throne, but this does not mean that Old Testament saints could not approach God. As we just described, God invited them to approach him in a tangible way at the tabernacle through various offerings. What we must understand is that they approached him through faith in Christ, just as we do. Hebrews 11:4-5 states that OT saints such as Abel and Enoch pleased God through faith; then, Hebrews 11:6 explains that without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near (proserchomai) to God must believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him – those such as Abel, Enoch, and the many other OT characters he describes throughout chapter eleven.
These saints drew near to God before Christ came. How can this be? It is because they believed in the promise of the gospel, even though it was not fully revealed to them (11:13). They were “drawing near” to God through faith in the coming Messiah; they believed the promises that God had in store for them. They didn’t understand how it would all be realized through the life and death of Christ, but their faith was in whatever God did reveal to them. They believed, acted on their belief, and drew near to God.
There is no drawing near apart from Christ. Those before Christ were responding to promises that hinge on the work of Christ, even though it was before he completed the work. They believed in the hope to come. The animal sacrifices could not perfect them but were only a shadow of the work of Christ, which the author will describe in Hebrews 10.
So through Christ, we have confidence to approach God, just as through faith in the coming Christ, the OT saints could approach God. Hebrews 4:16 says we draw near in full assurance of faith. Later in chapter 11, the author defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). The readers of Hebrews and we today have the added benefit of seeing more of the complete picture, since Jesus has already suffered and died, and is risen again. He has ascended into heaven and functions as our high priest. Yet there are still things we await and hope for – the rest before us – and the author of Hebrews encourages his readers to press on in this hope throughout the letter.
Behind the Curtain?
Hebrews 4:16 says we can draw near to the throne of grace. Does this mean we currently have access to the holy of holies in the heavenly tabernacle? This is a difficult topic to wrestle through. In the earthly temple, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and he just once a year (see Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:7). Jesus is our high priest, not in the earthly tabernacle, but in the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 4:14; cf 8:4), and it is there that He enters as our representative behind the curtain, into the most holy place, the throne room of God. In Hebrews 4:16, the author explains that we have confidence to approach the throne of grace because of Christ’s role as our high priest. While we are not physically in the heavenly throne room, we enter via our representative, because of his blood shed for us and his role as our high priest (Hebrews 10:19).
This idea is expanded on at the end of chapter six. Here the author again urges his readers that they must not fall away from Christ, returning to the law apart from him. Rather, they are to press on and “have the full assurance of hope until the end” (6:11b), the hope being our eternal inheritance in Christ. He then gives Abraham as an example. Abraham could trust God to give him his inheritance because God 1) made a promise and 2) confirmed it with an oath – and these things are sure because God cannot lie (6:13-18). Likewise, the readers of Hebrews should “have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before [them]” (6:18b). He continues:
To “draw near” to God is a theme in the Torah, and especially in the book of Leviticus, and the original readers would have immediately recognized this connection. In the opening chapters of Leviticus, God calls to his people and shows them how to approach him in the tabernacle. In verse two, he says, “When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.” The word for offering in Hebrew is קָרְבָּ֖ן (qorbān), and its root is the verb קָרַב (qārab), which means “come near, approach, draw near” (Arnold). In Leviticus, God details five different offerings (qorbān), showing his people how to approach his throne. The priests played a key role in these offerings as they were brought to the sons of Aaron, who oversaw the giving of the offering and sometimes ate some of it, depending on the type of qorbān given. The audience of Hebrews would be familiar with this practice and would see the powerful imagery that Jesus is our eternal and effective means of drawing near to the throne, and that all of these sacrifices were shadows of the perfect and complete work he accomplished as our high priest – themes that the author of Hebrews will thoroughly explore in the coming chapters.
It is because of Jesus that we have confidence to approach God’s throne, but this does not mean that Old Testament saints could not approach God. As we just described, God invited them to approach him in a tangible way at the tabernacle through various offerings. What we must understand is that they approached him through faith in Christ, just as we do. Hebrews 11:4-5 states that OT saints such as Abel and Enoch pleased God through faith; then, Hebrews 11:6 explains that without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near (proserchomai) to God must believe that he exists and rewards those who earnestly seek him – those such as Abel, Enoch, and the many other OT characters he describes throughout chapter eleven.
These saints drew near to God before Christ came. How can this be? It is because they believed in the promise of the gospel, even though it was not fully revealed to them (11:13). They were “drawing near” to God through faith in the coming Messiah; they believed the promises that God had in store for them. They didn’t understand how it would all be realized through the life and death of Christ, but their faith was in whatever God did reveal to them. They believed, acted on their belief, and drew near to God.
There is no drawing near apart from Christ. Those before Christ were responding to promises that hinge on the work of Christ, even though it was before he completed the work. They believed in the hope to come. The animal sacrifices could not perfect them but were only a shadow of the work of Christ, which the author will describe in Hebrews 10.
So through Christ, we have confidence to approach God, just as through faith in the coming Christ, the OT saints could approach God. Hebrews 4:16 says we draw near in full assurance of faith. Later in chapter 11, the author defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (11:1). The readers of Hebrews and we today have the added benefit of seeing more of the complete picture, since Jesus has already suffered and died, and is risen again. He has ascended into heaven and functions as our high priest. Yet there are still things we await and hope for – the rest before us – and the author of Hebrews encourages his readers to press on in this hope throughout the letter.
Behind the Curtain?
Hebrews 4:16 says we can draw near to the throne of grace. Does this mean we currently have access to the holy of holies in the heavenly tabernacle? This is a difficult topic to wrestle through. In the earthly temple, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and he just once a year (see Leviticus 16; Hebrews 9:7). Jesus is our high priest, not in the earthly tabernacle, but in the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 4:14; cf 8:4), and it is there that He enters as our representative behind the curtain, into the most holy place, the throne room of God. In Hebrews 4:16, the author explains that we have confidence to approach the throne of grace because of Christ’s role as our high priest. While we are not physically in the heavenly throne room, we enter via our representative, because of his blood shed for us and his role as our high priest (Hebrews 10:19).
This idea is expanded on at the end of chapter six. Here the author again urges his readers that they must not fall away from Christ, returning to the law apart from him. Rather, they are to press on and “have the full assurance of hope until the end” (6:11b), the hope being our eternal inheritance in Christ. He then gives Abraham as an example. Abraham could trust God to give him his inheritance because God 1) made a promise and 2) confirmed it with an oath – and these things are sure because God cannot lie (6:13-18). Likewise, the readers of Hebrews should “have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before [them]” (6:18b). He continues:
We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:19-20).
This passage helps to clarify our question above. While we do not currently have physical access behind the curtain, our hope has entered into the most holy place in the heavens. In other words, Jesus has entered behind the curtain as our high priest. And if he is our forerunner, we too will go there. That is why we can approach the throne of grace with confidence. Christ is there on our behalf. He is perfected; his work on the cross is complete. He has promised us that we will one day receive the inheritance of eternal life as a new creation with him. This hope enters into the inner curtain, and one day we will too. The author will expand on this idea in chapter ten.
Questions to Consider
We now begin our in-depth study of what some would consider the heart of Hebrews, chapters seven through ten. Before we begin, let’s consider some key questions that we will address:
Questions to Consider
We now begin our in-depth study of what some would consider the heart of Hebrews, chapters seven through ten. Before we begin, let’s consider some key questions that we will address:
- Who was Melchizedek?
- What was the purpose of the Levitical Priesthood?
- Why were animal sacrifices needed? What did they accomplish?
- Now that Jesus has offered his sacrifice, is there any current or future role for animal sacrifices?
- What is the new covenant? Is it in effect today?