Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 4:8
For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
8. Jesus ] i.e. Joshua. The needless adoption of the Greek form of the name by the A. V. is here most unfortunately perplexing to uninstructed readers, as also in Act 7:45.
had given them rest ] He did, indeed, give them a rest and, in some sense (Deu 12:9), the rest partially and primarily intended (Jos 23:1); but only a dim shadow of the true and final rest offered by Christ ( Mat 11:28 ; 2Th 3:1-6; Rev 14:13).
then would he not afterward have spoken ] The “He” is here Jehovah. More literally, “He would not have been speaking.” The phrases applied to Scripture by the writer always imply his sense of its living power and ideal continuity. The words are as though they had just been uttered (“He hath said,” Heb 4:4) or were still being uttered (as here, and throughout). There is a similar mode of argument in Heb 7:11, Heb 8:4; Heb 8:7, Heb 11:15.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For if Jesus – Margin, That is, Joshua. The Syriac renders it, Joshua the son of Nun. Jesus is the Greek mode of writing Joshua, and there can be no doubt that Joshua is here intended. The object is to prove that Joshua did not give the people of God such a rest as to make it improper to speak of a rest after that time. If Joshua had given them a complete and final rest; if by his conducting them to the promised land all had been done which had been contemplated by the promise, then it would not have been alluded to again, as it was in the time of David. Joshua did give them a rest in the promised land; but it was not all which was intended, and it did not exclude the promise of another and more important rest.
Then would he not – Then God would not have spoken of another time when that rest could be obtained. The other day here referred to is that which is mentioned before by the phrase today, and refers to the time in which it is spoken of long after Joshua, to wit, in the time of David.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 4:8
If Jesus [Joshua] had given them rest
Disparity between Joshua and Jesus
1.
The first is in this difference, that Joshua conquered Canaan not only for the people of Israel, but also for himself, that he might have his part and portion with them for him and his posterity (Jos 19:49-50). But our Lord Jesus hath purchased that heavenly Canaan only for our sakes, having had the possession of it before His incarnation Himself by the right of inheritance. He had a glory with God before the world was (Joh 17:5).
2. The second difference is, Joshua did not conquer Canaan by himself alone, but had all the tribes of Israel to assist as his auxiliaries in his conquest; but our Lord Jesus hath by Himself alone purchased that heavenly inheritance. He saith, I have trodden the winepress alone, and none were with Me (Isa 63:3).
3. The third disparity is, the conquest of Canaan did not cost Joshua bloodshed or death; but our eternal inheritance cost Christ both His bloodshed and death (Heb 9:26; 1Pe 1:18-19).
4. The fourth is, Joshua could not quite expel the Canaanites out of Canaan Jos 15:63; Jos 16:10, dec.). But our blessed Jesus hath perfectly subdued Satan, sin, and death to us, that nothing shall eternally harm us Joh 16:33; 1Jn 5:4 : Rev 12:11). (C. Ness.)
Rest
We are told in a certain legend that one day Rabbi Judah and his brethren, the seven pillars of wisdom, sat in the Temple on a feast day, disputing about rest. One said that it was to have attained sufficient wealth, yet without sin. The second, that it was fame and praise of all men. The third, that it was the possession of power to rule the state. The fourth, that it consisted only in a happy home. The fifth, that it must be in the old age of one who is rich, powerful, famous, surrounded by childrens children. The sixth said that all that were vain, unless a man kept all the ritual law of Moses. And Rabbi Judah, the venerable, the tallest of the brothers, said, Ye have all spoken wisely, but one thing more is necessary: he can only find rest who to all these things addeth this, that he keepeth the tradition of the elders. There sat in the court a fair-haired boy, playing with his lilies in his lap, and hearing the talk, dropped them with astonishment from his hands and looked up–that boy of twelve, and said, Nay, nay, fathers, he only loveth rest who loves his brother as himself, and God with his whole heart and soul! He is greater than wealth and fame and power, happier than a happy home, happy without it, better than honoured age, he is a law to himself, and above all tradition. The doctors were astonished. They said, When Christ cometh, shall He tell us greater things? And they thanked God; for, they said, old men are not always wise; yet God be praised, that out of the mouth of this young suckling has His praise become perfect. (T. Parker.)
Wanting rest
There is a rebelliousness against himself in man–a disgust with himself. We are weary: give us rest, said a tribe to one of their missionaries; and that tribe expresses the feeling of every human being.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 8. For if Jesus had given them rest] It is truly surprising that our translators should have rendered the of the text Jesus, and not Joshua, who is most clearly intended. They must have known that the Yehoshua of the Hebrew, which we write Joshua, is everywhere rendered , Jesus, by the Septuagint; and it is their reading which the apostle follows. It is true the Septuagint generally write , or , Jesus Nave, or Jesus, son of Nave, for it is thus they translate Yehoshua ben Nun, Joshua the son of Nun; and this is sufficient to distinguish it from Jesus, son of David. But as Joshua, the captain general of Israel, is above intended, the word should have been written Joshua, and not Jesus. One MS., merely to prevent the wrong application of the name, has , Jesus the son of Nave. Theodoret has the same in his comment, and one Syriac version has it in the text. It is Joshua in Coverdale’s Testament, 1535; in Tindal’s 1548; in that edited by Edmund Becke, 1549; in Richard Cardmarden’s, Rouen, 1565; several modern translators, Wesley, Macknight, Wakefield, c., read Joshua, as does our own in the margin. What a pity it had not been in the text, as all the smaller Bibles have no marginal readings, and many simple people are bewildered with the expression.
The apostle shows that, although Joshua did bring the children of Israel into the promised land, yet this could not be the intended rest, because long after this time the Holy Spirit, by David, speaks of this rest the apostle, therefore, concludes,
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This is the improvement of the former instance, Heb 4:7. If Joshua, by bringing Israel into Canaan, had given rest to all believers, then God would not by David have spoken of another day and state of rest to come. Joshua was a type of Jesus bringing believers into the true rest of the heavenly Canaan, as he did Israel into a literal one, Act 7:45.
For if Jesus had given them rest; if that of Canaan was the full and perfect rest of believers, which was given them by him.
Then would he not afterward have spoken of another day; then God himself would not have spoken by David of a better and heavenly rest promised believers in the gospel; of which spiritual and eternal one, both Gods seventh-day sabbath, and the rest of Canaan, were but fainter shadows and types. The expostulation is vehemently denying it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. Answer to the objection whichmight be made to his reasoning, namely, that those brought intoCanaan by Joshua (so “Jesus” here means, as in Ac7:45) did enter the rest of God. If the rest of God meantCanaan, God would not after their entrance into that land, havespoken (or speak [ALFORD])of another (future) day of entering the rest.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For if Jesus had given them rest,…. That is, Joshua; for Hosheah, Joshua, and Jesus, are one and the same name; or Jesus himself, as two of Stephens’s copies read; and so Joshua is called Jesus by the Septuagint interpreters on Ex 17:10 and other places where he is mentioned; and also, by Josephus h, and Philo i the Jew. The Syriac version, lest any should mistake this for Jesus Christ, adds, “the son of Nun”: who is certainly the person designed, as the apostle’s reasoning shows; who was an eminent type of Jesus Christ: there is an agreement in their names, both signify a saviour, Joshua was a temporal saviour, Christ a spiritual one; and in their office they were both servants; and in their qualifications for their office, such as wisdom, courage, faithfulness, and integrity. Joshua was a type of Christ in many actions of his life; in the miracles he wrought, or were wrought for him; in the battles he fought, and the victories he obtained; in saving Rahab and her family; in receiving the Gibeonites, who came submissively to him; and in leading the children of Israel into Canaan’s land, which he divided to them by lot: but though he brought them into a land of rest, into the typical rest, where they had rest for a while from their temporal enemies, yet he did not give them the true spiritual rest: had he,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day; that is, God, in David’s time, and by him, would not have so long after appointed another day of rest; meaning, not any particular day of the week, but the whole Gospel dispensation, in the times of the Messiah; wherefore the apostle concludes as follows.
h Antiqu. Jud. l. 4. c. 7. sect. 2. c. 8. sect. 46, 47, 48. & l. 5. c. 1. sect. 1. & passim. i De Charitate, p. 698, 699, 700.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Joshua (). The Greek form is Jesus. Condition of the second class (determined as unfulfilled) with and aorist indicative in the condition and with the imperfect in the conclusion.
He would not have spoken ( ). Wrong translation, “he would not speak” (be speaking), in the passage in David. Imperfect tense, not aorist.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
But it might be said that under Joshua the people did enter into the promised rest. He therefore shows that Israel ‘s rest in Canaan did not fulfill the divine ideal of the rest.
Jesus [] . Rend. Joshua, and see on Mt 1:21.
After this [ ] . After the entrance into Canaan under Joshua.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For if Jesus had given them rest,” (ei gar autous lesous katepausen) “For if Jesus had doled out to them rest,” without first punishing them in the wilderness because of their disobedience, then later by the heathen tribes they failed to drive out of Canaan when they did enter, preventing the rest and peace God had offered them in the land, Jos 16:10.
2) “Then would he not afterward have spoken,” (ouk an elalei metatauta) “Then he would not, after these things, have spoken,” thru the prophets and apostles of the coming era of millennial peace and rest, which the Israelites forfeited thru disobedience, Jos 5:6; Luk 1:32-33; 1Co 15:23-28.
3) “Of another day,” (peri alles herners) “concerning another day,” a day’ of earthly peace, with Christ as king, and a day of heavenly rest, with the redeemed in glory, after the Prince of peace returns to rule and to reign over the earth, Rev 5:9-10. Then shall “holiness unto the Lord,” be written on the horses’ bridles, Zec 14:20. He shall then be obeyed as “King of kings and Lord of lords” as he sits upon David’s throne judging the “twelve tribes of Israel,” Rev 11:15; Rev 19:16; Luk 22:30.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
8. For if Jesus had given them rest, or, had obtained rest for them, etc. He meant not to deny but that David understood by rest the land of Canaan, into which Joshua conducted the people; but he denies this to be the final rest to which the faithful aspire, and which we have also in common with the faithful of that age; for it is certain that they looked higher than to that land; nay, the land of Canaan was not otherwise so much valued except for this reason, because it was an image and a symbol of the spiritual inheritance. When, therefore, they obtained possession of it, they ought not to have rested as though they had attained to the summit of their wishes, but on the contrary to meditate on what was spiritual as by it suggested. They to whom David addressed the Psalm were in possession of that land, but they were reminded of the duty of seeking a better rest.
We then see how the land of Canaan was a rest; it was indeed but evanescent, beyond which it was the duty of the faithful to advance. In this sense the Apostle denies that that rest was given by Joshua; for the people under his guidance entered the promised land for this end, that they might with greater alacrity advance forward towards heaven.
And we may hence easily learn the difference between us and them; for though the same end is designed for both, yet they had, as added to them, external types to guide them; not so have we, nor have we indeed any need of them, for the naked truth itself is set before our eyes. Though our salvation is as yet in hope, yet as to the truth, it leads directly to heaven; nor does Christ extend his hand to us, that he may conduct us by the circuitous course of types and figures, but that he may withdraw us from the world and raise us up to heaven. Now that the Apostle separates the shadow from the substance, he did so for this reason, — because he had to do with the Jews, who were too much attached to external things.
He draws the conclusion, that there is a sabbathizing reserved for Gods people, that is, a spiritual rest; to which God daily invites us.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) For, had the promise been fulfilled in Joshuas conquest, the Psalm (God in the Psalm) would not be speaking of another day, saying To-day (Heb. 4:7). (In one other place in the New Testament the Greek form of the name of Joshua is preserved. See the Note on Act. 7:45.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. And what rest is this? It is plain that this is not the rest which Joshua won for the survivors of the desert; for if Joshua ( Jesus is here the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, who is really here meant, see note on Mat 1:1) had given it, this another day would not have been spoken of five hundred years later than Joshua. A permanent rest of faith for all the faithful, other than the literal Canaan rest, is, therefore, a valid conclusion, stated next verse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Heb 4:8 . Justification of the , Heb 4:7 . If Joshua had already introduced into the rest of God, God would not still have spoken in the time after Joshua of a term (period) of entrance into the same.
] sc . , Heb 4:6 .
] here (in accordance with the classic usage) transitive , as Exo 33:14 , Deu 3:20 ; Deu 5:33 , al.: to lead into the rest .
] sc . .
] belongs not to (Hofmann, al .), but to , and corresponds to the , Heb 4:7 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Ver. 8. For if Jesus, &c. ] That is, Joshua, who bad his name changed when he was sent as a spy into Canaan, Num 13:16 , from Oshea to Joshua, from Let God save, to God shall save. Under the law (which brings us, as it were, into a briery wilderness) we may desire, wish, and pray, that there were a Saviour, but under the gospel we are sure of salvation. Our Jesus is Jehovah our Righteousness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
8 .] Confirmation of the above, as against an exception that might be taken, that notwithstanding the exclusion of many by unbelief, those who entered the promised land with Joshua did enter into that rest of God. For if Joshua ( is the constant Greek form of the name , or as in the later books, Chron., Ezra, and Nehemiah, . It does not appear that any parallel between the typical and the great final Deliverer is intended: but it could hardly fail to be suggested to the readers. Our translators, in retaining the word “Jesus” here, have introduced into the mind of the ordinary English reader utter confusion. It was done in violation of their instructions, which prescribed that all proper names should be rendered as they were commonly used) had given them rest (led them into this rest of which we are treating: for the usage of , see above, on Heb 4:4 ; and compare reff.), He (God: the subject of and above) would not speak (not “ have spoken ,” as E. V. Compare Thuc. iii. 55, (if we had not consented &c.) , (we should be doing no wrong), and Joh 15:24 , , , , “If I had not done &c., they would not have sin”) after this of another day .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Jesus = Joshua. Compare Act 7:45.
had given . . . rest = caused . . . to rest. Greek. katapauo, as Heb 4:4. the heart.
afterward = after (Greek. meta) these things.
spoken. Greek. laleo. App-121.7.
another. App-124.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
8.] Confirmation of the above, as against an exception that might be taken, that notwithstanding the exclusion of many by unbelief, those who entered the promised land with Joshua did enter into that rest of God. For if Joshua ( is the constant Greek form of the name , or as in the later books, Chron., Ezra, and Nehemiah, . It does not appear that any parallel between the typical and the great final Deliverer is intended: but it could hardly fail to be suggested to the readers. Our translators, in retaining the word Jesus here, have introduced into the mind of the ordinary English reader utter confusion. It was done in violation of their instructions, which prescribed that all proper names should be rendered as they were commonly used) had given them rest (led them into this rest of which we are treating: for the usage of , see above, on Heb 4:4; and compare reff.), He (God: the subject of and above) would not speak (not have spoken, as E. V. Compare Thuc. iii. 55, (if we had not consented &c.) , (we should be doing no wrong),-and Joh 15:24, , , , If I had not done &c.,-they would not have sin) after this of another day.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Heb 4:8. ) Joshua.- ) There is a similar mode of reasoning, ch. Heb 7:11, Heb 8:4; Heb 8:7, Heb 11:15.- , of another day) By observing which an access would be opened also to another rest.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
In this verse the apostle gives a further confirmation unto his argument by a particular application of it unto the especial matter in hand. Herewithal he removeth or preventeth an objection that might probably be raised against one part of his discourse. And the preventing of such objections as whereunto what we affirm and teach is at first view liable, is as needful as the raising of objections which possibly would never come to the minds of our hearers or readers is needless and foolish.
, for if; , that is, the people of old, those of whom he hath treated, particularly the new generation that entered Canaan.
. The apostle in this chapter useth this word both in a neutral and active signification. Heb 4:4, , God rested; here, caused them to rest, given them rest. Beza, in requiem collocasset; Arias, requiem praestitisset. The word properly, and usually in other authors, signifies finem imponere, cessare facere; to put an end, or to make to cease, as rest puts an end to labor. So the word is used, Heb 4:10, , Hath ceased from his works. , Jesus, that is, Joshua; and by so calling him, the apostle also declares what was the true Hebrew name of Jesus Christ, which the Greeks express by Jesus. His name was originally , Hoshea; the same with that of Hosea the prophet, Hos 1:1. Then when he went to espy out the land his name was changed by Moses into Jehoshuah, Num 13:16. It is true, in the writing over the story of those times he is called Jehoshua before, as Exo 17:9; but it is most probable that Moses now, by divine direction, changed his name, when he went to view that land whither he was to conduct the people, and writing the story of these things afterwards, he used the name whereby he was then called. Some of those who had most imbibed the Chaldee dialect or tongue during the captivity changed this name into , Jeshua, Ezr 2:2, Neh 3:19; though the prophets Haggai and Zechariah retain the name of Jehoshua, Hag 1:1; Hag 2:2; Hag 2:4, Zec 3:1. Now all these names are from the same root, and of the same signification. From in Hiphil (for in Kal the verb is not found), is , Jesha, salus, health, help, salvation. Thence are , Hoshea; , Jehoshua; and , Jeshua; that is, , salvator, sospitator, liberator; though Cicero affirms that the Greek word cannot be expressed by any one proper Latin word. Salvator is coined for that purpose, a savior. Now, as persons on great occasions had their names as to their signification wholly changed, as when in the Old Testament Jacob was called Israel, and Solomon, Jedidiah; and in the New Testament Simon was called Peter, and Saul was called Paul; and divers had double names occasionally given them, as Esther and Hadassah, Daniel and Belteshazzar: so God was pleased sometimes to change one letter in a name (not without a mystical signification): so the name of Abram was changed into Abraham, by the interposition of one letter of the name of God; and that of Sarai into Sarah, by an addition of the same, Gen 17:5; Gen 17:15 : so here the name of Hoshea is changed into Jehoshua, by the addition of one of the letters of the name of God, increasing the signification; and this name was given him as he was a type of Christ, and the typical savior or deliverer of the people.
The name of , Jeshua, from the Chaldee dialect, prevailed at length in common use, being of the same signification with the other, namely, a savior, one that sayeth. Hence, when they came to converse with the Greeks, came the name of , or Jesus. For the Greeks called Hoshea, Ausis, and Nun his father, Naue, greatly corrupting the original names. But Hoshea and Jehoshua and Jeshua they called Jesus. In , Jeshua, they rejected the guttural as not knowing its right pronunciation, whereon , Jesu, remained; and then in their accustomed way they added the terminative sigma, and so framed , as of , Messiach, by the rejection of and the supplement of , they made , Messias. Hence the name Jeshua being in common use for and of the same signification with Jehoshua, and that in the Greek pronunciation being turned into Jesus, that was the name whereby the Lord Christ was called: Mat 1:21, Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins. It is plain that the reason of the name is taken from its signification of saving, he shall save, be their savior; so that all the attempts that some have made to derive it from other words are vain and frivolous. And so also are theirs who would deduce the Greek name from , , to heal: for is of no signification at all in the Greek tongue, it being only their man. ner of pronunciation of , Jeshua, which is a savior; which name was given to the Lord Christ because of the work he had to do. So also was it to this Jesus the son of Nun. The wickedness of the perfidious Jews in writing his name , and the horrible abuse they make thereof, are known to the learned, and there is no need to acquaint others with them.
, concerning another day. The apostle having described the rest he discourseth of by the especial day of rest that was in the several estates of the church peculiarly to be observed, now by a synecdoche expresseth the whole rest itself and all the concernments of it by the name of a day.
, he would not have spoken; that is, either God absolutely, or the Holy Ghost, whose immediate work the inspiration of the psalmist was, whose words these are.
, after these things; the things which befell the people in the wilderness, and what they afterwards attained under the conduct of Joshua.
Heb 4:8. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not after these things have spoken concerning another day.
The confirmation of his principal assertion from the words of David, concerning the rest prepared and proposed in the gospel unto believers, is that which our apostle still insists on, as was declared. Hereon was his whole exhortation of the Hebrews founded, and hereinto was it resolved. And on the same truth depended all the reasonings and motives whereby he enforced his exhortation. This, therefore, was fully to be established and clearly vindicated. And that which, last of all, remained to his purpose was the removal of an objection which, among the Jews, it was evidently liable and obnoxious unto. And this he doth by the due stating of the time when those words were spoken which he had pleaded in evidence of his assertion. The objection laid down by way of anticipation is plain in the words; and it is this: Although the people which came out of Egypt entered not into the rest of God that was promised, by reason of their unbelief and disobedience, as you have proved, yet the next generation, under the conduct of Joshua, went into and enjoyed the rest which they were excluded from. This, therefore, was the rest intended; which we being in the enjoyment of, what ground have you to propose another rest unto us?This is the force of the objection. And two things are comprised in the apostles answer unto it: First, A denial of the supposition on which the objection is founded. This is done virtually in the manner of the proposal of the objection itself: For if Jesus had given them rest; that is, whatever be pretended and pleaded, he did not do so; that is, not that full and ultimate rest which in all these things God aimed at. Secondly, He gives the reason of this his denial; which is this, that five hundred years after, God in David, and by him, proposeth another rest, or another day of rest, and invites the people unto an entrance, after they were so long fully possessed of all that Joshua conducted them into; and whereas there was no new rest for the people to enter into in the days of David, and the psalm wherein these words are recorded is acknowledged to be prophetical of the days of the Messiah, it unavoidably follows that there is yet a rest and a day of rest remaining for the people of God, which he lays down as his conclusion in the verse ensuing.
This interpretation of the words perfectly satisfieth the argument in hand; but yet I judge there is more in them than a mere answer unto the objection mentioned, though expositors look no farther. And this is, that the apostle also designs to teach the Hebrews that all those things which were spoken about the rest of God in the land of Canaan, and in Mosaical institutions, had not the reality or substance of the things themselves in them, Heb 10:1; so that absolutely neither did God rest nor were the people to look for rest in them. They had no other end nor use, but only to teach them to look out after and to prepare for that rest which was promised from of old; so that Joshua did not give them real rest, but only that which was a typical instruction for that season in what was to come. And therefore in David the same matter is carried still on, and direction is still given to look out after the rest to come. And we may learn hence, principally, that,
Obs. 1. There is no true rest for the souls of men but only in Jesus Christ by the gospel.
Notwithstanding all that was done to and for the Israelites by Joshua, yet he gave them not rest, he brought them not into the full and complete rest of God; God having provided some better things for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. And the reasons hereof are:
First, because God himself resteth not in any thing else, and in his rest alone it is that we can find rest. It is in vain for us to seek for rest in that wherein God resteth not. We have seen that at the beginning, when he had created man, he entered into his rest, in that satisfaction which he took in the effects of his own power, wisdom, and goodness, Exo 31:17. He provided likewise rest in himself for man, and gave him a day as a pledge of his entrance into it, Gen 2:2. In this condition trouble and disquietment entered into the whole creation, by the sin and apostasy of Adam. God no more rested in the works of his hands, but cursed the earth, Gen 3:17-18, made the whole creation subject to vanity, Rom 8:20, and revealed his wrath from heaven against the ungodliness of men, Rom 1:18. And hereof he hath in all ages since given signal instances; as in the flood of waters wherewith he drowned the old world, and the fire from heaven wherewith he consumed Sodom and Gomorrah. And of the same kind are those severe judgments by pestilences, famines, earthquakes, inundations, eruptions of subterraneous vapours, conflagrations, and the like; all testifying the indignation of God against the works of his own hands, because of the sin of man, to whom he had given them for a possession, and put them in subjection. For God had decreed from eternity to permit a disturbance by sin in the first order of things, that he might gather all things unto a head, with durable rest and peace, in Jesus Christ, Isa 42:1; Eph 1:10. Man hath also utterly lost his rest in that first rest of God; and though he several ways seeks after it, yet, like the unclean spirit cast out of his habitation, he can find none. Some seek it in the world, the pleasures and profits of it; some in the satisfaction of their sensual lusts; some in themselves, their own goodness and righteousness; some in superstition and vain ways of religious worship, invented by themselves, some of them horrid and dreadful, Mic 6:6-7 : all in vain. Man hath lost his rest by falling off from God; and nothing will afford him the least quietness but what brings him to him again, which none of these ways will do. It is in and by Christ alone that our lost rest may be recovered. For,
Secondly, Other things will not give rest to the souls of men. A higher instance hereof we cannot have than in these Israelites. They had been for sundry ages in bondage unto cruel oppressors, who ruled over them with unparalleled severity and rage. Such, besides their hard and continual labor in the furnace, was that of their having their tender infants, the comfort of their lives and hope of the continuance of their name and race on the earth, taken from the womb and cruelly murdered. This they were now delivered from, and all their enemies subdued under them, until they set their feet upon the necks of kings. Who would not now think that this would give them rest? And so it did, outward rest and peace, until it was said that God gave them rest on every hand. And many yet in the like condition of bondage with themselves, shut up in the hands of hard and cruel rulers, are apt to think that a deliverance from that condition would give them perfect rest and satisfaction. But yet the Holy Ghost tells us that this did not give them rest; not that rest wherein they might ultimately acquiesce. Besides, whereas neither they nor their forefathers, for four hundred and thirty years, had ever had either house, or land, or possession, but wandered up and down in those places wherein they were strangers, and had not one loots breadth that they might call their own, but only a cave or two to bury them in when they were dead, they had now a whole plentiful country given unto them to inhabit and possess, a fruitful country, a land flowing with milk and honey; and therein cities which they had not walled, houses which they had not built, vineyards which they did not plant, with all sorts of riches and substance unspeakable. This might add unto their former satisfaction, especially being suddenly given, and flowing in upon them. And where there is wealth in abundance, and absolute liberty, what can be desired more, to give men rest? But yet it did not so. Yet further; whereas before they lived in a loose, scattered condition, without law or rule of their own, or amongst them, God had now gathered them into a firm, well- compacted political body, and given them a great and righteous law for the rule and instrument of their government, which all nations did admire, Deu 4:5-6. This, as it gave them glory and honor in the world, so it was a means of securing that wealth and liberty which they enjoyed. And where these three things are, there a people may be supposed to be at perfect rest; for liberty, wealth, and rule make up a state of rest in this world. But it was not so with them. Joshua gave them not rest. More than all this; God had established his glorious worship amongst them, intrusted them with his oracles and ordinances, and that whole system of religious honor which he would then accept in the world, Rom 9:4, All these things, with other mercies innumerable, they were made partakers of by and under the conduct of Joshua. And yet it is here plainly affirmed and proved that he did not give them rest; that is, the ultimate and chiefest rest which God had provided for his church and people in this world. Why, what was wanting hereunto? what was yet behind? That the apostle declares in this place. The promise was not yet fulfilled, the Messiah was not yet come, nor had finished his work, nor were the glorious liberty and rest of the gospel as yet exhibited and given unto them. It were easy to demon-strafe how all these things singly and jointly do come short of true rest; for notwithstanding all these, and in particular the highest of them, namely, the law and ordinances of worship, they had not spiritual liberty, rest, and peace, but were kept in a bondage frame of spirit, and laid up all their hopes and expectations in that which was not yet granted to them. So our apostle tells us that the law made nothing perfect, and that their sacrifices could never completely pacify their consciences, and therefore were continually renewed, with a remembrance of sin. It is Christ, then, alone, as declared in the gospel, in whom God doth rest, and in whom our souls may find rest. The reasons hereof may be taken from that description which we have given before of this gospel rest which the apostle insisteth on.
It is surely, therefore, our wisdom, in our inquest after rest, which, whether we take notice of it or no, is the main design of our lives, in all that we project or execute, not to take up in any thing beneath him or without him. All those things, the enjoyments of the world, the righteousness of the law, the outward ordinances of divine worship, say openly and plainly unto us, that rest is not in them. If all these in conjunction had been satisfactory to that end, then had Joshua given the people rest, and there had been no mention of another day. Yea, whatever, lawfully used, they may have of rest in them, it is no rest in comparison of that which is to be obtained in Christ Jesus. Hence he invites us unto him under this very notion, of giving rest unto our souls, Mat 11:28. And here, in him, there is no want, no defect, no disappointment, no fadingness, nothing that hinders those other things from giving complete rest unto men. He that rests in the world, or rests in himself, or rests in his own righteousness, or rests even in Gods ordinances, will never come to rest until he be deprived of all expectation from them and confidence in them. Obs. 2. The gospel church-state is a state of spiritual rest in Christ. This, for the substance of it, hath been handled at large before. I mention it now only for two ends: first, to show what we ought to look after in this gospel church-state, and under the enjoyment of gospel privileges; and then, secondly, to discover a little how men deceive themselves in this matter.
First, This is that which distinguisheth our present church-state from that of theirs under the old testament: Joshua gave them all other things, only he gave them not rest, the rest of God; this is now the portion of them that believe; this all the children of the church are to look after. What is it, then, that men do seek after, or join themselves to the church of Christ upon the account of? What do they look for in, the worship, in the ordinances, in the ways of the church? If it be any thing but only to enter into the rest of God through Christ, they do but deceive themselves; whatever they take up in short hereof, they frustrate the whole counsel of God towards themselves in the gospel.
Secondly, How many pretend to an interest in this gospel church-state, who plainly, openly, and visibly seek after their rest in other things,
many in their own duties, most in their lusts and the pleasures of the world! Where is the privilege of such persons as these above that of the Israelites under the conduct of Joshua? Can they say, that although in and under all the enjoyments before mentioned they obtained not rest, yet the Lord Christ hath given rest unto their souls in the gospel? Alas! they have no rest at all; and that which they do pursue is such as the gospel hath no concernment in. Did Christ come, think you, to give you rest in your lusts, in your sins, in your pleasures? God forbid; he came to give you rest from these firings in himself; which alone is the rest preached unto you.
Obs. 3. It is a great mercy and privilege to have a day of and worship given unto us.
The apostle doth not say here, that after these things he speaks of another rest,but of another day; for from the foundation of the world we were taught our rest in God by a day of rest given unto us. When by sin we forfeited our interest in that rest of God, he might justly have deprived all the world of the knowledge of the day of rest first appointed. And indeed, whilst he left his law standing, as a testimony of his holiness and a rule of his future judgment, but did not by any outward means press it on the consciences and practices of men, all knowledge of a day of rest was lost from amongst mankind, some few excepted, whom God took into his especial care. For to what purpose should they look after a day of rest, who had utterly lost all desires after and all interest in the rest of God itself? But when God would revive in men a hope and expectation of returning unto rest in and with himself, he recalls to their remembrance the day of rest which was at first appointed; but as he then led men into rest only typically, and in order to the representation of a future rest to be brought in, so he renewed unto them the remembrance of the day of rest typically also, that it might be a sign between him and them. But now, the rest of God being again established, he hath appointed unto us another day, as it is in the text, a day of rest for the ends which have been often mentioned. And this is a great mercy and privilege; for,
1. It is a pledge of our rest in God, which is the life, happiness, and blessedness of our souls. It is given us to this end and purpose that so it might be; which was the end of a day of rest from the foundation of the world, as hath been declared.
2. It is a pledge of the recovery of this rest for us, and that it is not absolutely the same rest in God whereunto we were made, but another rest, a better and more sure. And therefore it is another day that is given unto us, and not the same day as of old. God kept the people under the law in an intermediate estate, between the duties of the old covenant and the promises of the new. This kept them to the precise day of the old covenant; for although virtually they were made partakers of that rest of God which is in Jesus Christ, yet the foundation and cause of it being not as yet laid and wrought, they were to content themselves with pledges of it as a thing to come, such as were their sacrifices and ordinances of worship, with the old day typically renewed. But to have another day, which could not be established but with respect to the works of Christ already wrought, and so to be a pledge of what was done before, this they could not have. This God hath reserved for us; and the day we now have being another day, is a pledge of rest already wrought out, and actually prepared.
3. It is given us as a means of entering into the rest of God. For hereon hath God ordained that the solemn declaration of his mind and will concerning his rest, and our entrance into it, should be made unto us. Hereon do we celebrate all that solemn worship of God whereby we express our faith concerning our rest in him, and by which, as means appointed for that end, we are admitted into that rest, and carried on gradually towards its full and eternal enjoyment. And these things the apostle further confirms.
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
Jesus: that is, Joshua, Act 7:45
had: Heb 11:13-15, Deu 12:9, Deu 25:19, Jos 1:15, Jos 22:4, Jos 23:1, Psa 78:55, Psa 105:44
Reciprocal: Exo 17:9 – unto Joshua Exo 33:14 – rest Num 13:16 – Jehoshua Deu 3:28 – for he shall Deu 31:3 – and Joshua Jos 11:23 – And the land Jos 19:51 – These are 1Ch 7:27 – Jehoshuah Neh 8:17 – Jeshua Psa 116:7 – thy rest Isa 63:14 – the Spirit Jer 31:2 – when
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Heb 4:8. The Greek word for Jesus is also defined “Joshua” in the lexicon, and should be so translated in this verse. Joshua led the few faithful ones across the Jordan into the Canaan rest, but God had already determined upon another rest, seeing so many of the candidates for the rest in Canaan had proved unworthy. In justice to the fathful ones at that time, they were permitted to be led by Joshua into the land of Canaan, but that circumstance was not to be regarded as the final arragement of the Lord for a better rest. That is why our verse states that Jesus (Joshua) did not give them rest, meaning he did not give them the third and final rest. This truth is further indicated by the Lord’s statement afterwards that there was to be another day.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Heb 4:8. Clearly, therefore, the Psalm speaks of a Divine rest into which men are bidden to enter, different from the rest of Canaan, and long subsequent to it.
For if Joshua (here and in Act 7:45, Jesus, the Greek form of Joshua, quite misleads) had given them resthad led them into the rest of which we are speakingHe (i.e God, who further defines the day in David, and describes the rest as still unentered) would not have gone on speaking after that of another day (or of another day after that, i.e still future).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 8
Jesus; Joshua, who led the children of Israel into the land of Canaan.–Then would he not; that is, the Holy Spirit, speaking in David, as it is expressed above.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
4:8 For if {b} Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
(b) He speaks of Joshua the son of Nun: and as the land of Canaan was a figure of our true rest, so was Joshua a figure of Christ.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The prospect of rest for the Israelites, specifically the possession of the Promised Land and full blessing in it, did not end when Joshua defeated the Canaanites. Each succeeding generation had to continue to trust and obey God to assure its own rest in the land.