Hebrews 4:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

After so long a time David again says, "Do not harden your hearts," like the fathers who did not enter because of unbelief. He gives us grounds to infer the opposite, that we shall enter if we believe. Clearly this is the future rest, and it awaits us.

For David surely was not speaking about Palestine, since they already possessed it then. Nor was the discourse about the seventh day, for that existed from the creation of the world. Therefore there exists a certain third rest, the Kingdom of Heaven, into which the true Jesus and faith in Him lead us.

For if Joshua the son of Nun, who gave them the promised land as an inheritance, had ordered their condition and given them rest, then in David's time there would have been no reason to speak further of the rest of another day.

Behold, Joshua gave them repose by bringing them into the promised land. Yet they did not rest there completely, as God completely rested from His works, since they remained in great labors and had to wage war for a long time.

The Apostle says that the Prophet did not speak of that land, because Joshua the son of Nun brought them into that land, and divine David was in it when he proclaimed this rest. Then the Apostle continues his conclusion.

The divinely wise Paul is not speaking about the rest of the Hebrews in Palestine under the leadership of Joshua, the son of Nun. This is not his subject. He has in mind the rest expected in the future. It is the goal of the Apostle's thoughts. That this is true is clear from the words of the Apostle Paul, when he interprets himself and says: "For if Joshua," clearly the son of Nun, "had given them rest, He would not afterward have spoken of another day. Therefore there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Heb 4:8-9). That is, if Joshua had given the Hebrews rest, then the Prophet David, speaking about rest after many generations, would not have said: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation" (Ps 94:7-8).

Since God would not have spoken through David about some new rest if the Hebrews had already enjoyed it from the time of Joshua, the conclusion follows that the people of God still await this Sabbath rest, σαββατισμός, in the future. The people of God means believers from among Jews and Gentiles. This Sabbath rest begins for them from the time of entry into God's rest. Then the goal set by God for man at creation itself will be attained. Like God, man will finish the works which God appointed to him for temporal life. He will rest with true repose and will enjoy the results of his labors (vv. 9-10). If it is still not too late to enter God's rest even now, then Christians must strive for this.