I Am Rest!

“I am Rest.  I am the One who gives rest.  I am the One that invites you into a relationship of rest with Me.”  We are told in Genesis 2:1-2 that God finished His work, the heavens and the earth and all the host of them.  “Host” often used of all that goes forth, an army to war, etc. but Brown, Driver and Briggs gives also the definition of “whole creation.” God had finished all of creation.  There was nothing left that needed to be created.  Everything was created for mankind, man that was created in the very image and likeness of God. 

So, after six days of creation God ended His work which He had made.  This it tells us was the seventh day.  And, it tells us, verse 2, that He rested that day “from all His work which He had made.”  What was that all about?  Was God totally worn out?  Did He need to recuperate?  No!  He doesn’t tire out and He didn’t need to be refreshed from a tiring week.  What are we being told?  What does it mean “He rested?”  Many will tell us that He was giving mankind a law, a command, to stop work every Friday evening and not do any labor until after sunset Saturday.  Is that what was happening here?

No!  Much like a lawyer that finishes presenting his legal case will say “I rest,” meaning “I’m through, I’m done, I don’t have anything else to add,” God said, “I’m done.”  Let us continue with the story here in Genesis 2 with verse 3.  “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”  I see my God being happy, excited , joyful that His plans for the creation of mankind and all that he would need was finished.  I recall what we are told in Ephesians 1:4, “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”  Here our great and wonderful God is, having just completed the most marvelous creation, culminated with mankind, created in His likeness and image.  Can’t we just catch a bit of His excitement, His joy, His desire to make this moment, this time, this day special and a day to be remembered?

No, He wasn’t making any command or law for mankind at this time.  He was extending the greatest invitation that could be extended, to become in special relationship with Him, the Creator.  This was the “rest” we see throughout the Bible and that we will look at more as we go on.

We have a vague idea what rest is.  But, it means so many things, means so much.  Here are just a few of the meanings one can find in the dictionary: peace, ease, refreshment, relief from anything depressing, peace of mind, mental and emotional calm, tranquility, shelter, lodging, a support, to become still and quiet, to be supported, rely on, depend on, free from distress and cares.  And, there are many more.  These express rest physically, emotionally, mentally and above all rest in the Spiritual realm.  Our God shows us from one end of the Bible to the other that He wants to give us His Rest, to be in that relationship with each of us.  We’ll look at more of this.

In Genesis 2:2 where we are told that God rested the Hebrew word is shabbath, Strong’s number H7673.  Some may see this word and immediately identify it with Saturday, the seventh day of the week.  But, that is not what it means.  The basic meanings are cease, desist, rest.  It is a verb, an action word.  When “His rest” is referred to throughout the Bible it is a noun.  We remember that a noun is “a person, place or thing.”  “His rest” is that special relationship.  Here in Genesis 2 we see outlined what God had prepared for man, all of those things and more we reviewed as definitions of rest.  We read that God planted a garden.  Out of the ground He made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight (it was beautiful) and it was good for food.  We are told that there was a river running out of the garden that branched out into 4 heads or streams.  Notice what it says about where these rivers flow and what is found there, pure gold and precious stones.  God was providing wealth and beauty. 

I submit that God was seeking that relationship with the first humans.  We are told in chapter 3 and verse 8 of Him walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  This verse is at the time after the first couple had sinned, but is it not logical that this was an everyday occurrence leading up to this point in time.  How does one establish a relationship without spending time together?

This event of Adam and Eve disobeying God’s instruction severed that special relationship that was beginning to develop.  It is that relationship God has continued down through time to seek with mankind. Jesus made a statement we find recorded in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Notice what the writer of the book of Hebrews has to say.  In chapter 4 he continues what is being given in chapter 3, discussing how God brought the Israelites out of Egypt and wanted to take them into the land that He had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which He referred to as “His rest.”  The land was prepared with everything they would need, homes already built, farms with crops growing, granaries full of produce.  But, due to their unbelief they were prevented from entering.  Continuing in chapter 4 we are informed that we have been given a promise to enter into His rest and a warning lest we should come short of it.  Verse 3 states that we which have believed do enter into rest.  We won’t cover all that is here in detail but notice verse 9, “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”  In particular I want to call verse 5 to our attention.  “If they shall enter into my rest.”  The word “rest” here is Strong’s number G2663, katapausis.  Mr. Strong defines this word as “reposing down, that is (by Hebraism) abode: - rest.”

Bear with me a bit.  I see something very interesting here.  In an Old/New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary that I located on the internet there are given Hebrew equivalent words to katapausis.  The first one is m’nuchah, H4496.  It is defined as “repose or (adverbially) peacefully, fig. consolation (spec. matrimony) hence (concretely) an abode: - comfortable, ease, quiet, rest (ing place) still.”  This Hebrew word is used in Psalms 95:11, “Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. (abode)”

Okay, where am I going with this?  Notice with me Jesus’ statements made to His apostles the night He was betrayed in John 14.  We could spend a lot of time in this chapter but let us look at a few verses.  In verse 10 He states that “the Father dwells in Me.”  Verse 16 He says He will pray the Father to give them (and us) another comforter, “that he may abide with you for ever;” I call our attention to verse 23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”  I won’t go into the full explanation here as I have done elsewhere but the Greek word translated “abode” in verse 23 is the exact same word translated “mansions” in verse 2.  What Jesus is telling His apostles in verse two is that His body, the temple, was the Father’s house, place of abode, at that time.  His body, the church, would be prepared for us to dwell in, to have our abode there.  Then He tells us in verse 23 that He and the Father would make their abode with us through the Holy Spirit.  This is the true Rest.

Do we see how this all fits together?  We enter into that rest, that relationship, when we receive the Holy Spirit.  It is through the Spirit that Jesus said that He and the Father would make their abode, the same English word used to proclaim the entering into His rest, with us. The Greek word translated “abode” in John 14:2 and 23 is mone, G3438. It is defined as “a staying.”  This word is derived from the Greek word meno, G3306.  Strong’s definition is “A primary verb: to stay (in a given place, state,  relation or expectancy):”  With Jesus and the Holy Spirit the relationship that was broken with mankind’s disobedience and sin in the garden is reconciled, the breach is healed.  We enter into that REST! 

Some are still thinking that some how the seventh day Sabbath day has to fit in here some how. Just what was that all about?  Let us understand.  God did not give mankind a command to keep the Sabbath at creation, as we have just been showing.  He was inviting mankind into His Rest, that abiding relationship, He in us and we in Him.

The Sabbath day, that 24 hour period of refraining from physical labor, was not given until God made the covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, often called the Law or the Law of Moses.  God had earlier made a covenant with Abraham in which He had promised that Abraham would be the father of multitudes, specifically of the nation of Israel, the family that the Messiah would come through. We are familiar with the story of Joseph being sold into Egypt, Jacob and the rest of the brothers moving there, the enslavement of Israel, the miracle at Moses’ birth and his call to lead the Israelites out and into the promised land.  As we saw earlier, this land was called by God “rest.”

God was working through Abraham, Isaac (the son of promise), and through Jacob and his sons.  He brought the Israelites out with a “high hand” and showed them His love and desire to be their God.
At Mt. Sinai He entered into a covenant with Israel.  Many misunderstand what a covenant is.  It is an agreement between two parties.  With men covenants, agreements, contracts are negotiated.  With God they are decreed.  This covenant at Mt. Sinai was a covenant based on law, works, performance.  Do good, God said, and receive good, receive blessings.  However, if you do bad, do wrong, you will receive bad, receive curses.  And, to this Israel said, “ We agree.”  However, being human they never upheld their end of the agreement.  And, God knew that they would never do it.  IF they had and IF they could have they would have received great and manifold blessings.  But, as I said, He knew they wouldn’t.  That was the whole purpose and reason behind this covenant, this Law, this Law of Moses.

Notice what the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 4:15,  “where no law is, there is no transgression.”  That fits with what we see expressed by John that sin is unrighteousness (1John 5:17) BUT what about Gal. 3:19?  This verse says that “...the law?  It was added because of transgressions...”  How are we to understand this?  There was no law to transgress and yet it seems to say that because of transgressions the law was added.  The word “because” becomes the problem for most of us, at least it did for me.  I assumed that this word meant that in looking backwards there were transgressions that the law was added onto.  Some other translations, other than the King James, begin to make this a bit clearer.  Notice a few.  The Contemporary Version, “it was given later to show that we sin.”  The Good News Bible, “it was added in order to show what wrongdoing is.”  Weymouth New Testament, “it was imposed later on for the sake of defining sin.”  And, notice even how the Jewish New Testament renders this verse, “it was added in order to create transgressions.”

These translations/paraphrases fit with what the Apostle Paul states.  Romans 7:7, “...I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, ‘Thou shalt not covet’.”  And, back a few chapters he again expressed this, Rom. 3:20, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Scofield, in his notes on Gal. 3:19 says “because of   For the sake, that is, in order that sin might be manifest as transgression.”  Clearly, when correctly understood, the law, the old covenant made at Sinai, was not added because of the “transgression of the law” but was added to point out sin and show the need for Messiah to come.

While we are discussing Gal. 3:19 please notice one other thing.  It says that it, the law, was added, not forever, but “till the seed should come to whom the promise was made”.  Christ, the seed, came and fulfilled the requirements of that old covenant, the law. That is something to cover in another study.

Okay, so just what was in this covenant, this agreement?  Exodus 20 we know contains the 10 commandments.  Verses 22-26 speaks of making an altar and of sacrifices.  Chapters 21-23 spells out the weekly Sabbath and the land Sabbath, the festivals, again more about sacrifices, among other things.  Note in chapter 24 that Moses and the other leaders and the seventy elders went up the mountain.  Moses was the only one allowed to approach God.  And, verse 4, Moses wrote all the words of the LORD.  Then in verse 7 we read that Moses took this book of the covenant and read it to the people.

What were all of these words for?  We saw earlier that it was to show a need for a savior.  Paul clearly shows us what all of this was for.  Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”  I know that these two verses have been misunderstood by many.  But, let us go through this and understand.  The word “therefore” in verse 16 lets us know that what is being said here is in conclusion to what has just been covered in the preceding verses.  You can read this in detail, but he tells us that we had been dead in our sins.  We  have been “circumcised with the circumcision made without hands” and have been buried in baptism and risen with Jesus.  We have been forgiven all our trespasses and the charges that had been drawn up against us have been taken out of the way.  Verse 15 states that Jesus “having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

Now to verse 16, we are told to not let any man try to dictate to us that we need to be doing sacrifices (meat and drink) or keeping the holydays, new moons or sabbath days.  Why?  He tells us, verse 17, all of these were given under that covenant at Mt. Sinai as “a shadow of things to come.”  What was to come?  “But the body is of Christ.”  Other translations make this clear.  Murdock Translation, “which were shadows of the things then future, but the body is Messiah.”  Passion Translation, “all of these were but a prophetic shadow and the evidence of what would be fulfilled, for the body is now Christ!”

Why would one want to look to the shadow of something when the object casting the shadow is right there.  Jesus has come.  He is the fulfilment of all that was being pictured and foreshadowed by all that was contained in that covenant.

Perhaps we haven’t really grasped that all of those things were but shadows.  We showed earlier that God’s rest was to be 24/7, He abiding in us and we in Him.  The seventh day sabbath was one day that had that picture.  In Exodus 20 where we find God speaking the words of the ten commandments He calls attention to the rest He was desiring.  Verse 11, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested...”  We saw that God ceased, He stopped creating,  because all of creation was completed. Continuing, “the seventh day: wherefore the LORD  blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  We looked at this in Genesis, of God’s excitement and His joy at the completion of creation that had culminated with the creation of man in God’s image.

The word “sabbath” here is Strong’s H 7676.  It is derived from H7673, the word used for “rested” in Genesis 2, which we discussed earlier.  God is again, here in Exodus 20:11, stating that He wants that relationship, that rest.

Many have never understood the statement found in Leviticus 23:3, “an holy convocation.”  I was told for years that meant I was supposed to be in church on the seventh day. What makes a convocation holy?  God is there.  So, a “holy convocation” is a “convocation” with  God or one that He is in and is a part of.

Let us spend some time looking at the word “convocation.”  The Hebrew word is miqra, #H4744 in Strong’s concordance and dictionary.  Strong’s states, “From #H7121; something called out, that is, a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehersal; - assembly, calling, convocation, reading.”  Since it is from #H7121 let us look at that as well. #H7121 in Strong’s is qara, and is defined as “A primitive root (rather identical with #H7122 through the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (that is, properly address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications): - bewray [self], that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon) cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim ( -ation), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.” Brown, Driver and Brigg’s Hebrew Definitions adds a bit.  The basic definition for  #H7121, qara, is “to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.”  BDB further defines this word, depending on the tense of the verb, as “to call, cry, utter a loud sound; to call unto, cry (for help), call (with name of God); to proclaim; to read aloud, read (to oneself), read; to summon, invite, call for and commission, appoint, call and endow; to call, name, name to, call by; to call oneself, to be called, be proclaimed, be read aloud, be summoned, be named; to be called, be named, be called out, be chosen.”

These definitions give a bit of a different sense to the word “convocation.”  I went another step.  I have a copy of the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint , that has the Strong’s numbers.  The Greek word used here in Leviticus 23:2, translated “convocation” in the KJV, is kletos, Strong’s #G2822.  Strong’s defines this word “From the same as #G2821; invited, that is, appointed, or (specifically) a saint: - called.”  Thayer’s Greek dictionary defines this word “called, invited (to a banquet).”  I then looked up #G2821.  This is the Greek word klesis, and is defined by Strong’s “From a shorter form of  #G2564; an invitation (figuratively): - calling.” Thayer’s definition is similar, “a calling, calling to; a call, invitation.” (As somewhat of an aside, the word “proclaim” in the KJV of Leviticus 23:2 is the Hebrew word qara, #H7121, to call out.  The Greek Septuagint uses #G2564 referenced above, kaleo.  Both Strong’s and Thayer’s gives the basic definition as “to call, to bid, to invite.”)

Out of curiosity I checked to see how #G2822, kletos, was used in the New Testament.  I found that it was used 11 times and translated “called” every time.  Here are a couple of examples.  Matthew 22:4 “For many are called (kletos) but few are chosen.”  Romans 1:6 “Among whom are ye also called (kletos) of Jesus Christ.”

Rather than a command to assemble with like believers it appears from all of these definitions that it was first and foremost a call and an invitation to meet with God.  Yes, we have seen that He wanted mankind to come into His Rest, that relationship.  Here, as a shadow, He invited them to come on the seventh day and also on the festival days. 

The other items listed within that covenant made at Mt. Sinai were also shadows.  Sacrifices were shadows of Christ’s death, His sacrifice.  Even the commandments were shadows. Jesus gave His laws of love and although they were similar to the commandments contained in the covenant made at Mt. Sinai they were more extensive.   For example, He said that they had heard of old time “Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgement:...” (Matt. 5:21-22)   In verses 27 and 28 He says, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

We referred earlier to Hebrews chapter 4 and the writer’s comments about God’s rest.  Before we conclude this study I do want to address briefly the belief and teaching of many that are “Sabbatarians,” such as those from various Church of God groups (holding to the teachings of the old Worldwide Church of God), Hebrew Roots, Messianic and Messianic Jewish.  That teaching centers on Hebrews 4:9, which in the King James Version, states that “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”  Many translations render this “a Sabbath rest.”  The teaching and understanding is that this is saying that everyone has yet to keep the seventh day Sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

We could spend a lot of time studying all of this, but, I believe that many of the newer translations grasp and convey what we have been showing in this study.  Let us look at one..  The following is from the Message Bible, Hebrews chapter 4.

1 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God's goal for us, we need to be careful that we're not disqualified.
2 We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn't do them a bit of good because they didn't receive the promises with faith.
3 If we believe, though, we'll experience that state of resting. But not if we don't have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, "They'll never get where they're going, never be able to sit down and rest."
4 Somewhere it's written, "God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,"
5 but in this other text he says, "They'll never be able to sit down and rest."
6 So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient.
7 God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David's psalm, centuries later than the original invitation: Today, please listen, don't turn a deaf ear . . .
8 And so this is still a live promise. It wasn't canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn't keep renewing the appointment for "today."
9 The promise of "arrival" and "rest" is still there for God's people.
10 God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we'll surely rest with God.
11 So let's keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience     (Emphasis mine)

From one end of the Book to the other our Almighty God tells us that He is Rest, He is the One who desires to give us rest, the One who wants a relationship with us and has invited us into His rest.  When we were born again, born from above, converted, or whatever term you wish to use, we entered that place of abode in Christ’s body, the church.  1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,...”  When we receive the Holy Spirit both Jesus and the Father make their abode with us (John 14:23).  We are in that REST!  We have been given everything we have need of.  The apostle Paul tells us that in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”   Yes, our God tells us “I am REST!”