The introduction to this book focuses on man’s search for contentment. Paul, in the midst of dire circumstances wrote: “I have learnt the secret of contentment, whatever my circumstances.” and “As you read you will understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.”
The secret to our contentment lies in discovering that which satisfies God. We can only be satisfied with that which satisfies Him! He designed us in such a way that nothing short of that which gives Him contentment, will give us contentment. Lets look at what satisfies God.
Gen 2:1-2: Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
Why did God rest on the seventh day? Was it because He was tired or weary after all that work? Did He simply need a break? Can’t be, because Isaiah 40:28 says:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Yahweh is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never grows faint or weary;
there is no limit to His understanding.
So, if God never gets tired, never needs a break, then why did He enter His rest? Another interesting point about the seventh day, the day of rest, is that unlike the other days, it has no evening ... no end. It is an eternal day.
The answer to why He rests becomes clearer if we look at the end of day six. Gen 1:31: And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. “He rested on the seventh day from all His work”. The word translated ‘from’ can also be translated ‘because off’. He was satisfied with what He made, His workmanship. It was the completeness of His creation, the fact that it was very good, that filled and fills Him with contentment. After each day of creation He declared that it was good, but after making man, He declared that it was very good!
Gen 1:28: “And God blessed them...” The word ‘blessed’ (baw-rak) is defined as an act of adoration such as kneeling.
Man’s first experience was the overwhelming display of God’s favour and adoration! The desire within man to worship God was birthed by this experience of God’s adoration – the only appropriate response is to reflect back the adoration He gives. Man alone can appreciate and respond to His love on this level.
I remember that as a young boy of about 15, I desperately sought to please God. I constantly scrutinised my life for things I thought had to change to make me more attractive to God. One afternoon, lying on my bed, I again began evaluating my behaviour, searching for ways to eliminate what might be offensive. Suddenly, I became aware of God smiling over me. His favour overwhelmed me. It had nothing to do with how I performed, He just adored me because He wanted to. I realised that it was not my behaviour that attracted His favour, it was who I am. He adores what He made.
The realisation of His favour, independent of my behaviour, is what enables me to spontaneously do what pleases Him. It became blatantly obvious how ridiculous it is to try and earn His favour. His approval is out of all proportion to your best achievement. It is bigger than the best deed could ever deserve. It can only be received as a gift.
The invitation to enter the rest of God remains.
Heb 4:1-10 (AMP)
Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered [today], let us be afraid [to distrust it], lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of [reaching] it.
For indeed we have had the glad tidings proclaimed to us just as truly as they [the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith by those who heard it; neither were they united in faith with the ones [Joshua and Caleb] who heard (did believe).
For we who have believed do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those [who did not believe] should not enter when He said, As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest; and this He said although [His] works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all who would believe] from the foundation of the world.
For in a certain place He has said this about the seventh day: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.
And [they forfeited their part in it, for] in this [passage] He said, They shall not enter My rest.
Seeing then that the promise remains over [from past times] for some to enter that rest, and that those who formerly were given the good news about it and the opportunity, failed to appropriate it and did not enter because of disobedience,
Again He sets a definite day, Today, [and gives another opportunity of securing that rest] saying through David after so long a time in the words already quoted, Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts.
[This mention of a rest was not a reference to their entering into Canaan.] For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not speak afterward about another day.
So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the people of God;
For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.
Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience.
The writer of Hebrews starts this passage with such a clear instruction: Do not disqualify yourself! Don’t think it’s too late or you have somehow come short of reaching this place of contentment.
So many have given up on searching for contentment, and simply settled into a routine of survival. Life is so much more than routine, so much more than survival - there is a place of contentment and it is within your reach. The only obstacle, the only enemy you should fear, is your own judgement, your own arguments that would disqualify you from this rest.
One of the pictures the writer of Hebrews uses to illustrate this, is the event in which the Israelites were on the brink of entering the promised land which God gave them. Yet they judged themselves inferior, too weak to take it. They missed the opportunity, not because God withheld it from them, but because their own perspective of themselves was skewed. They chose to believe that it was simply too good to be true. God’s invitation remains the same ... don’t make the same mistake as those who considered themselves disqualified.
“but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith”. There is a reaction that takes place when you mix faith with hearing this message. The product of this reaction is: benefit. It’s important to realise that truth remains true whether you believe it or not. ‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8)
But there is something greater than adoring the truth from a distance ... looking at the promised land from the desert. There is great benefit in embracing this truth and allowing it to embrace you.
The key is in how we hear. There are many ways of hearing. There is casual hearing, suspicious hearing, occasional hearing. However the benefit of these truths are only released when we ‘fix our attention’. Heb 3:1 encourages us to ‘consider’ or ‘fix our attention’ on Jesus. This is not a casual glance. This is looking deeply, in such a way that the true meaning becomes visible.
We often think of obedience or disobedience in terms of actions. But actions are simply the symptoms. It begins with how we hear. In fact the root meaning of the word ‘obey’ means ‘to hear’. Jesus also spoke about our hearing and said: “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him”. Again it is obvious that how we hear will either enrich or impoverish us.
Heb 5:11-12
Concerning this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull in your hearing and sluggish even slothful in spiritual insight. For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word.
Dullness of hearing will postpone the rest, the contentment God has prepared for you. Sharpness of hearing will cancel time and distance and release the benefit of this great gospel. The secret of contentment is seeing what God sees, seeing from His point of view and coming to the conclusion that what He made is complete - nothing can be added or taken away. His workmanship is indeed very good.
