The Story of Rest
The Rest of the Story

by Larry J. Walker

Newscaster Paul Harvey is famous for his opening line, "You know what the news is, now stay tuned for the rest of the story."  Today we will find out the "rest of the story" of the story of rest.  We will be taking a chronological journey through the history of the promise of rest presented in the Bible. 

The story begins right at the beginning of the Bible.  The first chapter of Genesis chronicles the creation of the material universe.  The second chapter begins with a summary statement.  Beginning in verse two we read about a different creation event--the beginning of God's spiritual creation.  After creating the heavens and the earth, God created the Sabbath by resting from his work of physical creation.  

The Bible says nothing further about the Sabbath for quite some time.  There is silence on the subject throughout the entire age of the patriarchs (Abel, Enoch, Noah, etc.). 

Abraham was a transitional figure, the last of the patriarchs and the progenitor of the nation of Israel.  The book of Genesis breezes through the 2000 year patriarchal age in the first eleven chapters.  The story then slows down and pans out into great detail beginning with the life of Abraham.  This emphasizes the relative importance of this man and his descendants. 

Genesis 26:5 is a landmark statement about this great man of faith, "Abraham obeyed my voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws."  What laws?  The Bible doesn't say.  The Expositor's Bible Commentary points out an interesting and likely significant fact:

It is remarkable that this is precisely the way in which obedience to the Sinai covenant is expressed in Deuteronomy 11:1. . . .  Did Abraham know the law?  If so how?  If not, what was the meaning of the words? 

Is God telling us that Abraham obeyed the same laws that He commanded Israel in the covenant made at Mt. Sinai?  The commentary concludes that Abraham had these laws "written in his heart."  But a close comparison of both passages reveals a basic point of difference in wording.  God says Abraham, "obeyed my voice. . . . "  This suggests that God conveyed many of His requirements to Abraham verbally.  Could the Sabbath have been one of those commandments?  In James 2:23 Abraham "was called the friend of God." 

In John 15:14 Jesus defines His friends as those who obey His commands.  In the next verse He says He tells His friends what He is doing.  Similarly in Genesis 18:17 God asks, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?"  Even though the statement literally refers to God's intentions regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, it illustrates the same basic point of friendship.  As a man confides in his friend, so does God.  On the basis of this point, do you think God told Abraham about the Sabbath?  Would God have withheld this vital truth from His friend only to spring it on his descendants many years later?  This does not seem logical.  And if Abraham knew about the Sabbath, he obviously also kept it holy. 

Next we come to the nation of Israel.  Our story resumes soon after Israel's departure from Egypt.  Exodus 16 describes the distribution of manna.  God provided "manna" as daily bread for the Israelites in response to their murmuring about lack of food.  God also used the manna to emphasize the weekly Sabbath as a "test commandment" to determine whether Israel would obey His law or not (Exodus 16:4).  God told the people to gather it on a daily basis.  He commanded them to gather twice as much on the sixth day, because would be provided on the Sabbath (verses 15-26).  Sure enough, some went out to gather manna on the seventh day, contrary to God's command, and of course found none (verse 27).  God then commanded, "Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (verse 29).  How is this prohibition to be understood?  Soncino Commentary makes this observation: 

Rabbinical tradition has deduced from this context the prohibition, that no Israelite shall go more than 2000 yards from the place of his abode.  This is called "the Sabbath day journey."  Travelling interrupts the rest both of man and beast, and was therefore to be avoided on the Sabbath day. 

Is this a correct assessment?  One of the arguments some have leveled against the Sabbath is based on this misunderstanding.    But this prohibition was only for that time.  On this unique occasion described in Exodus 16, Israelites would have had no need to leave their home on the seventh day if they had obeyed the command to gather food on the previous day, since the Sabbath was a day of rest.  So God told them to simply stay indoors to keep them out of trouble, based on the principle of fleeing temptation or sin.  But this was only a command for that time, not a basic principle of Sabbath keeping.  Otherwise, how could one attend a "holy convocation" on the Sabbath as later commanded in the old covenant (Leviticus 23:2) without leaving his "place?"  

Now we come to the base of Mount Sinai where the command to rest on the seventh day is formalized as one of the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on the two tablets of stone (Exodus 20:8-11, 24:12).  The Sabbath commandment was enjoined upon the entire household, including servants and visitors (Exodus 20:10) and even animals (Deuteronomy 5:14).  The Sabbath pointed the people to God as Creator (Exodus 20:8-11) and reminded them of God's deliverance from their bondage in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). 

The Ten Commandments are also listed in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy (which means "second law" in Greek).  Compare the texts of both passages.  Notice that the wording is different.  Since the Ten Commandments were written on stone, what words were written in the fourth commandment?  Was all the information from both accounts written on the tablets?  If so, either the tablet was very large or the writing was very small.  More likely God wrote only the "core commandment" and communicated the other information verbally. 

Why is this important?  Simply because today in the "Church age" God is calling individuals not whole families, whereas under the old covenant the laws were directed to the whole nation.  If we conclude that the actual commandment was only the basic command to keep the Sabbath holy by refraining from work, we can classify the extension of the command to the entire household as a temporal administrative ruling that does not apply in the same manner in the New Testament Church, since salvation is an individual matter based on God's individual calling (John 6:44). 

So the "core commandment" applies only to members, not their entire household or even their "servants," (we would say "employees") as it did under the old covenant. In the Church age we are all individually accountable to God.  Therefore, no one can or should force the Sabbath upon his or her family or employees. 

The next stop on our journey is Exodus 31, where the "Sabbath covenant" is recorded in the midst of God's instructions for building the tabernacle.  Soncino Commentary observes: 

The work of constructing the Tabernacle that was now to commence was of the highest importance, and was work in the service of God; but it was not of greater importance than the divinely-ordained Sabbath, and was not to be permitted to supersede it. 

The relative importance of the Sabbath command during the construction of the tabernacle also explains another verse (Exodus 35:3) that is often used to criticize Sabbath keeping regulations.  Orthodox Jews take the verse quite literally and in fact forbid driving an automobile on the Sabbath, because starting a car requires making a spark.  However, since this prohibition of kindling a fire on the Sabbath occurs in a chapter about building the tabernacle, the restriction should be understood as kindling a fire to work on the tabernacle (See the Keil-Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, volume 1, page 245). 

Back to Exodus 31.  The Sabbath is described as a "sign" between God and His people.  God emphasizes the same two lessons as in the two accounts of the Decalogue--to remind them of the Lord who sanctified them (verse 13) and to point them back to God as Creator of the heavens and earth (verse 17).  Again quoting Soncino Commentary: 

The Sabbath was more than a day of rest.  Its observance by the Israelites was a constantly recurring acknowledgment of God as the Creator of the Universe.  It would be an open denial of God for an Israelite to desecrate the Sabbath, even in the construction of the Tabernacle; as well as a contradiction of the essential purpose of the Sanctuary, the sanctification of Israel's life in the service of God. 

This Jewish commentary makes an interesting observation on the meaning of the expression "that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you" (verse 13).  Notice that "you" is in italics.  The literal translation would be "to know."  Some authorities consider the meaning as "all nations shall know."  So Soncino explains, 

that all the world may recognize, by means of the Sabbath, that it is God Who sanctifies Israel, or provides it with the means of becoming a holy People.  The Sabbath was recognized throughout the ancient world as the peculiar and distinctive festival of the Jewish people. 

The Sabbath is thus portrayed as a personal sign between God and His people and an identifying symbol to the whole world of God's providence to Israel, His special people. 

In regard to the Sabbath as a "perpetual covenant" (verse 16), Soncino Commentary says: 

The weekly hallowing of the Sabbath by the Israelites, being a proclamation of belief in God and obedience to His law, effects a perennial renewal of the covenant of God with the Patriarchs.

 Another Promise of "Rest" 

At this point we need to put the weekly Sabbath on the shelf temporarily and consider another "rest" introduced to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy 3:20.  Deuteronomy 12:9-10 identifies this as "rest" from their enemies in the promised land across the Jordan.  The promise is repeated in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, where the "rest" is understood as relief from the weariness and fatigue of Israel's battles against their enemies. 

All of the first generation was denied access to the new land except Caleb and Joshua.  But the next generation crossed the Jordan River and entered the land under the leadership of Joshua.  In Joshua 1:13-16 Joshua reminds the people of the rest that Moses had promised to them.  Near the end of the book Joshua summarizes the fulfillment of that promise: 

So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there.  The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43-45, NIV). 

We now move ahead to the time of David.  Psalm 94:12-13 promises rest (relief from adversity) to those who receive instruction from God's law.  The context anticipates a time when the wicked are dealt with and justice prevails.  Psalm 95, widely acknowledged as a Sabbath psalm, explains that the Israelites of the first generation out of Egypt failed to enter God's "rest" because of the hardness of their hearts (verses 6-11).  The book of Hebrews expounds these verses in the book of Hebrews, as we will soon see. 

The prophet Isaiah also speaks of the millennial period of universal "rest" including freedom from sorrow, fear and bondage (Isaiah 11:10, 14:3,7).  

Finally we come to the New Testament.  Jesus Christ makes a landmark statement about rest recorded in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."  His words would have fallen on eager ears due to the heavy religious burdens imposed by the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:4).  The deeper meaning of His promise is release from the bondage of sin (John 8:32-36, Romans 8:2, Hebrews 2:14-16).  Yet we are still not totally free from sin (I John 1:8, Romans 7:14-25).  So the story of rest must continue. 

This brings us to the book of Hebrews, which ties together all the basic points of the story of rest.  He compares the faithfulness of Moses and Christ in the first six verses of the third chapter.  Beginning in verse 7 he quotes from Psalm 95 to document the failure of the first generation of Israel as a lesson to God's people today.  Unbelief was the main cause of Israel's failure to enter the "rest" promised to them (verse 19). 

The fourth chapter begins with an admonition to faith and obedience as prerequisite to the "rest" that is still available to God's people.  No one has yet entered that "rest," not because God didn't have it ready, because it was finished from the foundation of the world (verse 3).  The fact that God rested on the seventh day from all His works indicates that (verse 4).  David (in Psalm 95) still spoke of a promise of "rest" long after Joshua had led the second generation of Israel to "rest" in the promised land.  This proves that the "rest" fulfilled at the time of Joshua was only a type of a greater rest to come (verses 6-8). 

Now comes a very significant but controversial statement.  "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God."  The Greek word translated "rest" in every other passage throughout Hebrews 3 and 4 is katapausis.  The word for "rest" in Hebrews 4:9 is sabbatismos.  This is the only New Testament occurrence of this word.  Its meaning is fundamental to understanding this pivotal verse, which is the conclusion of all that was previously said about "rest" beginning in Hebrews 3:7. 

Since sabbatismos  is found nowhere else in the Bible, some authorities think Paul made up the word.  The usually helpful The Expositor's Bible Commentary weakly asserts, "The term 'Sabbath-rest" ('sabbatismos') is not attested before this passage and looks like the author's own coinage.  He did not have a word for the kind of rest he had in mind; so he made one up."  By contrast, consider the following synopsis from The Anchor Bible Dictionary on the meaning of  sabbatismos and the sense in which Paul uses the term: 

The words "sabbath rest" translate the Gk noun 'sabbatismos,' a unique word in the NT.  This term appears also in Plutarch . . . for sabbath observance [emphasis mine], and in four post-canonical Christian writings which are not dependent on Heb 4:9 for seventh day "sabbath celebration" [emphasis mine]. …  The author of Hebrews affirms in Heb 4:3-11, through the joining of quotations from Gen 2:2 and Ps 95:7 that the promised "sabbath rest" still anticipates a complete realization "for the people of God" in the . . . endtime which had been inaugurated with the appearance of Jesus (1:1-3). . . .  The experience of "sabbath rest" points to a present "rest" ("katapausis") reality in which those "who have believed are entering" (4:3) and it points to a future "rest" reality (4:11).  Physical sabbath-keeping on the part of the new covenant believer as affirmed by "sabbath rest" epitomizes cessation from "works" (4:10) in commemoration of God's rest at creation (4:4 = Gen 2:2) and manifests faith in the salvation provided by Christ.  Heb 4:3-11 affirms that physical "sabbath rest" (sabbatismos) is the weekly outward manifestation of the inner experience of spiritual rest (katapausis) in which the final . . . rest is . . . experienced already "today" (4:7).  Thus "sabbath rest" combines in itself creation-commemoration, salvation-experience, and eschaton [endtime]-anticipation as the community of faith moves forward toward the final consummation of total restoration and rest. 

This highly respected, multi-volume work decisively concludes that sabbatismos  means keeping the seventh day Sabbath.  Based on that conclusion Hebrews 4:9 stresses the need to continue to keep the Sabbath in a new covenant context, even though the day also embodies all it meant under the old covenant.  This is a very plausible explanation, given the fact that the book of Hebrews is addressed to converted Jews to explain the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant.  The Sabbath and circumcision have long been considered the two cardinal doctrines of Judaism to identify the Jews as "the people of God". 

However, by the time of Christ, the meaning of the Sabbath had become buried under a mountain of picky do's and don'ts.  The Sabbath, which even under the old covenant was to be a delight (Isaiah 58:13-14), had become a heavy burden as Sabbath keeping degenerated into the bondage of legalism, perpetuated by the narrow-minded scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus Christ condemned these human traditions and set the example of how keep the Sabbath as God's gift to mankind (Mark 2:27-28). 

Paul builds on the foundation laid by Christ.  What could be more appropriate to the book of Hebrews than for Paul to elevate the Sabbath to its full meaning and intent in the plan of God?  So the Sabbath retains its old covenant meanings identifying God's specially sanctified people ("the people of God") and pointing them back to God as Creator.  Added to that is the new covenant meaning of the rest through Christ, typed by Joshua (verse 8).  This spiritual rest begins now in this life and reaches its consummation in the resurrection to eternal life at the return of Christ (Revelation 20:6). 

His return also signals the beginning of the millennial rest prophesied in the Old Testament.  Paul cleverly weaves together three themes of "rest"—the "rest" from enemies promised to Israel, the weekly Sabbath and the spiritual rest through Christ.  The conclusion is that Sabbath keeping is still necessary for "the people of God," i.e. the New Testament Church.  He stresses that we must all labor to enter the spiritual rest and continue to keep the weekly Sabbath because of what it portrays in God's great master plan, as verse 10 affirms. 

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible takes a somewhat different stance on sabbatismos: 

Israel under Joshua enjoyed at last rest from war in Canaan.  But the "rest" in this vs. 9 is the nobler and more exalted . . .  Sabbath rest; lit., "cessation": rest from work when finished (vs. 4) as God rested (Rev. 16:17).  The two ideas of "rest" combined, give the perfect view of the heavenly Sabbath.  Rest from weariness, sorrow, and sin; and rest in the completion of God's new creation (Rev. 21:5).  The whole renovated creation shall share in it; nothing will there be to break the sabbath of eternity; and . . . God shall rejoice in the work of His hands (Zeph. 3:17).  Moses, the representative of the law, could not lead Israel into Canaan; the law leads us to Christ, and there its office ceases, as that of Moses on the borders of Canaan; it is Jesus, the antitype of Joshua, who leads us into the heavenly rest. 

So the conclusion here is that sabbatismos refers to the "heavenly rest" which we would understand to be our sin-free condition at the first resurrection upon Christ's return.  This view is supported by the fact that Jewish tradition has long considered the messianic age as "the day that shall be all Sabbath and rest in the life everlasting" (Tamid 7:4).  However, note the following statement about the weekly Sabbath based on that conclusion, as we continue the commentary quote: 

This verse indirectly establishes the obligation of the Sabbath still; for the type continues until the antitype supersedes it [emphasis mine throughout]; so legal sacrifices continued till the great antitypical Sacrifice superseded it.  As then the antitypical heavenly Sabbath rest will not be till Christ, our Gospel Joshua, comes, to usher us into it, the typical earthly Sabbath must continue till then. 

Regardless of which version is correct, the inescapable conclusion is that observance of the weekly Sabbath remains a vital part of the new covenant worship of God. 

Traditional Christian belief is divided into two camps on the Sabbath issue.  Some cling to the belief that the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath, are still obligatory under the new covenant.  Most who hold this view teach that Sunday is the New Testament Sabbath, based either on the claim that the church had the authority to change the day or that Paul allegedly changed the day.  A minority of churches, notably the Seventh Day Adventists, believe the seventh day must still be observed as the Sabbath. 

The other camp rejects any obligation to keep the Sabbath as a binding commandment and asserts that Jesus replaced the old covenant laws with a "law of love," which carries no obligation for keeping any day as a sabbath.  So they meet for worship on Sunday as a voluntary church tradition.  Most of mainstream Christianity holds this view. 

The Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong's leadership observed the seventh day as the Sabbath of the New Testament, based on the belief that all Ten Commandments are still in force.  The current teaching of the church coincides with the mainstream position theologically except it retains the church's tradition of meeting on Saturday as a voluntary act of worship, not as a biblical requirement. 

They teach that the "old covenant" requirements of physical rest and cessation from work no longer apply under the new teaching.  Jesus Christ and the new life in Christ have allegedly replaced the seventh day of the week as the "new covenant Sabbath."  The seventh day Sabbath is no longer considered "holy time" in the "old covenant" sense that God made it holy.  Rather any period of time on any day becomes "holy" by our devoting that time to worship God, according to the current official position of the church.

Based on what we have discovered on our survey of the story of rest, we must ask those who teach that the Sabbath is no longer to be kept, where is the proof?

Those who believe the Sabbath is no longer valid quote a few passages from Paul's epistles to attempt to validate their claim.  We will very briefly consider each.

Romans 14:5-6

"One man esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.  He who eats, eats to the Lord . . . ."

Anti-sabbatarians can't resist reading Sabbath observance into these two verses, despite the fact that the entire chapter is devoted to eating and fasting.  So The Expositor's Bible Commentary remarks, "Whether the question of regarding the day as more sacred than another refers to Sabbath observance or to special days for feasting or fasting is not easily determined." This would certainly be true for those who want to read Sabbath keeping into the context.  That having been said, the quote continues: 

Since the early church in Jerusalem almost certainly observed the Sabbath, it is not impossible that Paul has the Sabbath in mind. . . .  Even so, if the day of worship is in view, it is strange that any believer could be said to consider "every day alike [emphasis mine throughout] . . . .  The close contextual association as a time with eating suggests that Paul has in mind a special day set apart for feasting or as a time for fasting.

The Jews fasted on Mondays and Thursdays.  Human nature resulted in self-righteous condemnation of those who were not fasting at these set times.  "I fast twice a week," boasted the Pharisee in the parable (Luke 18:12).  Gnosticism advocated fasting and condemned feasting. They also attached special significance to times.  In Romans 14:5-6 Paul sets the record straight by emphasizing that fasting is a voluntary exercise of worship not limited to a particular day.  So the fact that one person is fasting on a particular day when another is eating does not make him more righteous than the one who is eating on that day. 

Keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days is not in the context, and to read it in is clearly a case of  eisegesis ("interpreting a passage of Scripture according to personal notions rather than according to the original meaning" – Baker's Concise Dictionary of Religion)

Colossians 2:16-17

The main thrust of this passage is "Let no one judge you."  It doesn't say whether or not Colossians were keeping the Sabbath festivals.  For that matter, it also doesn't say whether they were eating and drinking. 

The word translated "regarding" is not a preposition.  Had Paul intended the meaning "regarding," he could have used the pronoun peri ("concerning") as in 1 Corinthians 8:1.  The word in Colossians 2:16 is not even a preposition.  It is the noun meros (from merizo ‑ "to cut") which means "portion or part."  So the meaning here is a part or portion or aspect of their observance of the Sabbath, new moon and festival.  The problem in Colosse is widely considered to be Gnosticism.  Gnostics did not object to observing Holy Days, only the aspect of feasting (eating & drinking) to celebrate the days.

Notice also that the passage says these days are (not "were") a shadow of things to come. Based on the tenses of the verbs, the verse cannot mean that Christ's coming does away with the Holy Days, because He had already come when Paul wrote that the days (still) are a shadow of things coming.  Ironically this verse which is often used to argue against the Sabbath and Holy Days is actually a positive statement in favor of Sabbath and Holy Day observance. 

Remember the point made by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown regarding the Sabbath?  "The type continues until the antitype supersedes it."  In verse 17, the word "is" is not in the text.  Translators added it to "clarify" the meaning.  But the contrast between shadow and body doesn't fit the main context of the passage, which is judging.  The "body/shadow" dichotomy does occur in extra‑biblical sources.  However, nowhere in New Testament does the Greek word soma ("body") mean anything other than a literal body or the "body of Christ," i.e. the Church as in verse 19.

Here is a paraphrased meaning of passage: "Let no one judge you for eating and drinking or for any portion of a festival, new moon or Sabbath (which are a shadow of future events in God's plan).  Rather let the body of Christ which casts the shadow be your judge." (Ask for my study paper on Colossians 2:16-17 for more details).

Galatians 4:10

 Here again, the key to understanding this verse is the Gnostic heresy that prompted Paul to write this passage.  The classic work Theological Dictionary of the New Testament by Kittel sums up the meaning of the passage:   

The compound [verb paratareo = "observe"] . . . seems to have the sense of 'scrupulous, well-informed observance in one's own interest,' which does not fit the traditional celebration of the sabbath or other Jewish feasts [emphasis mine throughout], but does fit regard for points or spans of time which are evaluated positively or negatively from the standpoint of the calendar or astrology (volume VII, page 148).

 Paul is decidedly not condemning days God had instituted.  His target again is Gnostic practices.  For more detail on this verse, see my study paper on Galatians, which is available upon request.

 In Matthew 5:18 Jesus said not one jot or tittle of the law would pass away until all is "fulfilled," i.e. has completely fulfilled its purpose.  The Bible clearly tells us that circumcision, animal sacrifices and temple worship have fulfilled their purpose.  So if the Sabbath were not in effect today we would logically expect to find numerous New Testament passages that would clearly tell us so.  The overwhelming importance of the Sabbath to the Jews under the old covenant would allow for no less. 

 Obviously there is still a purpose for the weekly sabbath.  As Hebrews 4:9 says, "There remains a keeping of the sabbath for the people of God.  Observance of the seventh day sabbath as a command of God is therefore a fundamental teaching of the United Church of God.

 We have come to the end of the story of rest.  And now you know "the rest of the story."

_________________________________

This study paper may be freely duplicated and distributed in the interest of truth and understanding.  Any commercial use of this paper without the written permission of the author is strictly prohibited.  Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.  Address to author at P.O. Box 36, La Pine, OR  97739.

Copyright© 1995 by Larry J. Walker, minister, United Church of God.  All rights reserved.  (Internet address: Larry_Walker@ucg.org)