Scripture: Joshua 21: 43-45 and Hebrews 4: 8-11
Sermon: A Place of Rest
Topics: rest, Sabbath, yoke
Preached: August 14,
Rev. Mike Abma
Joshua 21: 43-45
43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to their ancestors that he would give them; and having taken possession of it, they settled there. 44And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their ancestors; not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45Not one of all the good promises that the Lord
Hebrews 4: 8-11
8For if Joshua had given them rest, God* would not speak later about another day. 9So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; 10for those who enter God’s rest also cease from their labours as God did from his. 11Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
INTRODUCTION
When you think of summer, what do you think of?
Do you think of lazy, hazy days?
lemonade and ice in tall glasses?
a comfortable chair in the shade reading a good book?
Summer has a way of evoking many of these images of
tranquility, and serenity, and rest.
But it seems as if much of the tranquility has been drained from this summer.
Maybe it has something to do with the heat-wave we had in July.
Maybe with the acrimonious political wrangling over the debt-ceiling.
Maybe the economic turbulence and the roller-coaster market.
maybe the sad news of those soldiers killed in Afghanistan, or those civilians killed in Norway.
maybe it is those disturbing pictures of rioting and rampaging in London and other English cities.
maybe it is the disturbing reality of another dire famine in east Africa.
Whatever the reason,
this summer seems more restless than hazy and lazy.
It seems filled with more worry and anxiety
than with serenity and tranquility.
I think we are all longing for more rest —
For more tranquility,
and peace,
and shalom.
JOSHUA
The wonderful thing about the book of Joshua is that,
from all appearances, the Israelites,
who had been longing
for a time of peace and tranquility,
and a place of rest and serenity,
Were finally going to get what they had been waiting for.
By the end of Joshua 21 everything looked wonderful.
The wars with all those Canaanites were at an end.
The borders were secure.
Israel was established.
Every tribe had been given its territory,
Every clan its portion
Every family its inheritance.
Even the tribe of Levi had settled into cities across all of Israel,
With 6 different designated cities of refuge.
Finally shalom had arrived:
a time of justice and peace,
a place flowing with milk and honey.
As our passage notes, the Lord had given them rest on every side.
TIME and SPACE of REST
The idea of “rest” is quite a deep one in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew language uses 2 main words when referring to “rest.”
There is the word Shabbat — from which we get the word Sabbath.
It referred mainly to a time of rest;
a time when you ceased from your labor.
Then there was another word — Menuha. This referred mainly to a place of rest.
Think of the Psalms.
Take a psalm you know well — Psalm 23.
When the psalm talks about
making us lie down in green pastures,
and leading us beside quiet waters
and providing all we need,
the picture given is a picture of menuha — a place of rest.
On the 7th day of Creation,
both kinds of rest are referred to.
First God rests from his work of Creation – Shabbat.
But God also spends the day enjoying the goodness of his creation – menuha.
and creation, in turn, enjoys the goodness of their creator.
So at the end of the book of Joshua
it sounds as if Israel had finally entered this time and place of rest,
this Shabbat and Menuha.
They have rest on every side.
But then there is our New Testament lesson from the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 4 is an extended discussion of rest — this Shabbat/Menuha rest Israel always longed for.
Our text tonight acknowledges that even with Joshua,
Israel came close to entering this rest,
But they never actually did.
They were on the threshold, but they were never in.
They were close, but they never fully enjoyed God’s rest.
Hebrews 4:8 says:
For if Joshua had given them rest,
God would not speak later about another day….
Meaning another day when Israel would finally have Real Rest.
Now here is the tension.
In Joshua 21 it clearly sounds as if God had given them rest.
But in Hebrews it is clear that they had not enjoyed that rest.
Why the discrepancy?
How do we make sense of these 2 passages?
Well, the end of Joshua holds out the potential for rest in the Promised Land.
But that rest is never fully realized.
You do not have to read far into the book of Judges to see the erosion of any potential for rest.
At the beginning of Judges, Israel is being attacked by outside enemies
like the Moabites and the Midianites.
By the end of the book of Judges
the threat isn’t only from outside enemies.
By the end of Judges, Israel is caught in a full-fledged Civil War.
The story of Moses and Joshua
Has parallels with the later story of David and Solomon.
David worked and fought hard to bring peace to Israel.
And with Solomon, Israel was given rest from all her enemies.
Within that rest, a Temple was built.
Again, Israel had the potential to experience that full rest –
peace with her neighbors,
tranquility among her citizens
prosperity in her economy
stability in her politics.
And again, things fell through – close, but no true rest.
WHY?
Because the gift of rest is always dependent on obedience – obedience to God.
No obedience, no rest.
No faithfulness, no menuha.
No true worship, no shabbat.
THE PROMISE IS STILL THERE
The surprising thing about the Hebrews passage is that it reminds us that the promise of rest is still there. It is still available to us.
Verse 9 says:
A Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God.
A Sabbath rest still remains.
It is not a pipe-dream.
It is not wishful thinking.
A Sabbath rest really is possible.
We hear that and our hearts lift a little.
We think,
O Lord, give me a little of that rest,
and I will believe.
Give me a place to put up my feet and relax, give me menuha,
and I will obey.
Give me a sabbatical from my worries and troubles,
and I will be faithful.
The problem is, we have our thinking backwards.
Remember what Jesus said.
Jesus said.
Come to me, all you burdened people,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
and I will give rest to your souls.
The first thing is coming to Jesus – listening to his voice.
Then we will receive rest.
The first thing is taking his yoke upon us, and learning from him.
Then we will receive rest for our souls.
Do you know what a yoke is?
Yes, yes, a yoke is a very funny story….ha ha ha.
No, a yoke is a piece of wood strapped between 2 oxen so that the oxen can pull a plow, or a wagon, or whatever.
Oxen, donkeys wore yokes to do their work.
The Jews referred to the Law or the Torah as the yoke they wore.
How did you live? How did you serve God?
By wearing the yoke of the Torah.
Now we probably assume that getting this promised rest means taking off the yoke, flopping in some chair, and relaxing a little.
But Jesus says, no,
you can take the burden of the yoke of the law off,
but the only way to get to rest — real rest — is to put my yoke on.
that means following me,
becoming my student, my disciple.
Showing you love me by obeying what I say.
CONCLUSION
Remember how our Hebrews passage has that odd sounding verse:
Let us make every effort to enter that rest. (4:11)
Let us make every effort to enter rest?
Sounds almost paradoxical.
Sounds almost Calvinistic – turning a longing for rest
into an exercise requiring effort.
And yet, the effort Hebrews is talking about is the effort involved
in following Christ
and continuing to obey him.
This is a constant theme in Hebrews.
These Jewish Christians were getting tired of following Jesus.
And the truth is, so do we.
We get tired. We want a summer of relaxation:
a time of rest, a place of rest.
But again and again, this book of Hebrews encourages us
to persevere,
to keep running the race
to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Why?
Because we are on the way to
That heavenly homeland (11:16)
That unshakeable kingdom (12:28)
That abiding city (13:13-14)
That place and that time
When God will live with us and we will live with God
And we shall fully know about menuha – a place of rest
And we shall fully know about shabbat – a time of rest.
And then,
finally then, our restless heart will know true rest
for then, through Christ,
we will be resting in God,
and enjoying and delighting in his goodness forever.
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