3.16.25 Joshua
What does “rest” mean?
He was laid to rest: dead
Her elbow rested on table: It means the elbow is supported by something else
The defense rests: Action and argument have stopped
He rested after a long day: Nap, fishing, walking…rest is a change in activity that restores.
A musical rest: A pause when no sound is played
Many who are busy, burdened, and overwhelmed by work, worries, kids, health issues…believe that their greatest need in more rest.
I don’t doubt that this is true… But what kind of rest is most needed?
The greatest human need is a different kind of rest than what we are often most aware of.
As in many things, our real need, often exceeds our felt need.
There are people who get plenty of physical rest but are far from living a life of resting in Christ.
Rest is an important biblical concept, but it is much more than just “take a day off” or go on vacation
We think the problem is “I need to be less busy” “Have more margin”
Maybe, maybe not…maybe the root problem is not the pace of our lives, but the condition of our hearts and minds before God.
It is wise to rest and to do things that re-create (recreation)
But the Sabbath is one commandment that is not repeated as normative for Christians in the NT.
It is because we are to find our Sabbath, our rest, in Christ…he is the Lord of the Sabbath.
This week we are in the book of Joshua, named after Moses’ successor who was ready to go into the promised land 40 years earlier but was out voted by the fearful and unfaithful.
Now, he is one of just two of his generation who will enter the promised land and his confidence in God has not ebbed in all those years…he is still going strong.
This should encourage and challenge us as we get older…loss of faith and energetic faithfulness is not necessary.
We should become more convinced and more willing to live a life of faithful obedience the more we experience God.
Joshua leads Israel for many years, and his life is mostly filled with combat.
I’ll say just a few words about what is called the conquest of Canaan.
The book of Joshua and its commands to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan, is a favorite of non-believers to form their opinion that the Bible is not to be trusted, and the OT God is evil.
Never mind that for Jesus (who people tend to be okay with) the OT was his Bible.
When you see “Me” he said, you see that OT God.
War is terrible. Always has been, always will be.
War is the result of human sin, and in war, as with all other forms of human sin, “innocents” suffer.
In history’s worst war, the second world war…over 50 million non-combatants died, double the number of military deaths.
But God told Israel to wage war.
What are we to do with this fact?
God cannot not sin; what he is does is right.
The people that Israel waged war against had lived in escalating sin for hundreds of years.
God had been patient with them for a long time. (It’s one reason Israel was so long in Egypt)
Now they were in such a state of depravity that they formed an existential threat to Israel if they were allowed to remain in place in their current status.
It is important to understand that Canaan was not a nation as we think of one today.
It was made up of individual little kingdoms or what is called “city states.”
Think Monaco, the second smallest sovereign state in the world, only the Vatican is smaller.
It has 36,000 citizens and takes up less than 1 square mile…a bit larger than the Wichita state main campus.
So, this is not an invading nation going to war against another sovereign nation like Russia did to Ukraine.
Israel was the people of God fleeing persecution, going to the land that God, the rightful owner of all land, had given them.
In fact, he had given it Abraham, long before then.
In this land people lived who practiced child sacrifice and many other forms of dark perversion.
God was bringing judgment on these groups of people, and his instrument of judgment was Israel.
In Romans 13 Paul tells of the role of governmental authorities as God’s “servant.”
This doesn’t mean everything that government does is right or that every war is “just.”
This is a complex topic, but what you must understand is that human sin, especially when it pervades entire cultures, is devastating.
Eventually God’s judgment falls on those cultures.
To say much was at stake is an understatement.
Israel’s existence was a lifeline for the entire future of humanity.
Sin, on a large scale, or in our own heart, is terrible.
One more thing, when Canaanites turned to God, they were not destroyed.
Rahab, and the Gibeonites for instance…in fact, Rahab is in the genealogy of Jesus.
As for the people outside of Canaan who were not a threat, Israel was told by God to pursue peace with them, read Deuteronomy 20.
Keep this in mind as you read Joshua this week.
Back to Joshua, whose name in the Greek is spelled the same as Jesus.
Joshua, it seems, accomplished the purposes of God in his life.
So, the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them REST on every side according to all he had sworn to their ancestors. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.
Joshua 21:43-45
Chapter 23
A long time after the Lord had given Israel REST from all the enemies around them, Joshua was old, advanced in age. 2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in age, 3 and you have seen for yourselves everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your account, because it was the Lord your God who was fighting for you.
Then he challenges them to be strong, to obey all the law of Moses.
They must not pursue the Idolatry of the nations that remain (clearly they had not all been wiped out).
14 “I am now going the way of the whole earth, and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed. 15 Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so he will bring on you every bad thing until he has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you. 16 If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow in worship to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land he has given you.”
The rest that Joshua referred to for that generation was entrance to Canaan and victory over their enemies.
So, God gave them rest, but they threw that rest away…it was not permanent, it was temporary.
We will see how quickly this rest evaporates in the next book, Judges…Israel will have no lasting rest from their enemies.
In fact they will be, at times, completely without rest…hiding in holes, running, hungry, stressed out.
But there was always more to this promise of rest than just the land.
God’s purposes for a people, in a place, with laws was the restoration to relationship with him…a kind of life that was meant to spread to all the nations.
The ultimate point of the promise of a land was that the people would find their true rest in their relationship with God.
This was doomed to failure, but it pointed forward to the ultimate fulfillment in Christ.
So, let’s go to the NT book of Hebrews, chapter 4.
The writer makes a fairly complex argument to tie together Israel, Joshua and the rest that is in Christ…but the applications are straightforward.
Therefore, since the promise to enter his rest remains, let us beware that none of you be found to have fallen short. 2 For we also have received the good news just as they did. But the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith.
“Therefore”, goes back to Hebrews chapter 3.
In that chapter, the author quoted from David’s 95th Psalm where he said, don’t be like Israel they hardened their hearts, and died in the wilderness.
They did not enter into my rest.
He was referring to the generation that died in the wilderness and didn’t get into the land…did not have rest, but wandered.
He writes, “Make sure you encourage one another daily so you won’t be hardened by sin’s deception.”
*By the way, living an open and honest life in community is God’s plan to live a thriving life…a life of resting in him.
-If you believe you can do well as a Christian while flying solo…you are mistaken…you cannot.
-You will have wingman…or you will be hardened by sin’s deception.
An entire generation fell in the wilderness and did not enter God’s rest because of their sinful unbelief.
Therefore, the promise of rest remains…but only for those who believe the gospel.
He writes that we have received the good news (gospel) just as they did.
How did they receive the gospel, way back then, before Christ?
Well, salvation is always by faith…then as now.
That is the good news…ultimately it is the good news of faith in Jesus.
They did not believe God, show faith in action…so they fell in the wilderness.
They may have believed some intellectual facts about God; they had seen God do some amazing things.
But they did not trust him enough to obey him.
The point of this warning is not to get those with genuine faith to doubt their faith, but rather to challenge the readers, to examine themselves and to not miss the opportunity of resting in God…like those who died in the wilderness did.
Faith without corresponding action, James writes, is a dead faith, a non-faith.
Intellectual assent to some facts of faith…is not the same as a faith relationship that trusts God in actionable ways.
3 For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said,
Those who believe the gospel are entering the rest that God has prepared for them.
But those who have not believed have missed the rest of God.
So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,”, even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: And on the seventh day God rested from all his works., 5 Again, in that passage he says, They will never enter my rest.
The gist of this is, though the wilderness generation did not enter God’s rest…that rest has been available from creation.
God rested on the seventh day after creation was complete and unlike the first six days of creation, the seventh day had a starting point but no ending point…it is ongoing.
God rested (not because he was tired but because he was finished) …this rest is ongoing.
There has never been a time when God’s rest was unavailable to people…it is our own sin that has kept us from it.
6 Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, 7 he again specifies a certain day—today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. 10 For the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his.
Here’s the flow of this section.
1. God through David promised (Psalms 95) that the people of God may yet enter into his rest and not rebel like Israel did.
2. But wait a minute, God gave this promise, through David, long after Joshua had been declared to have given them rest.
3. So clearly the physical entrance into the land under the leadership of Joshua did not fulfill the original promise of God.
-Rest was always more than a simple land grant.
4. God’s word speaks in the ever present “today” calling people at all times and places to hear the gospel and respond in their own “today” to enter by faith, into God’s rest.
*Joshua, said to Israel “choose today” after they were in the land.
*David, many years later said, “choose today”
*The writer of Hebrews says to his original readers, “choose today”
God through his word to us says, “Choose today.”
5. The essence of entering God’s rest means resting from one’s own work just as God did on the seventh day.
In verse 9 he introduces the term “Sabbath rest”.
In Leviticus the Sabbath is directly associated with the offering on the Day of Atonement (Aaron preached on several weeks ago).
The Sabbath rest, then, is to rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
He is our Sabbath, our atoning sacrifice, our rest.
This is the rest that humans are in desperate need of.
Okay, that is a complex argument from Hebrews…but it is complex subject matter.
God is not trying to make our heads spin…he is telling is what is real and true.
We have to work hard to understand math or music…we don’t think something is wrong with that.
This is an even more complex subject.
But the implication and application are actually not complex.
“You have made us for yourself oh Lord”, Augustine wrote, “and Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”‘
Daniel Kahneman (con men) was a Nobel prize winning Psychologist in Economics, who died last year.
He was a perpetual pessimist and a largely unhappy person.
But a significant finding from his research was this:
“Once people have enough money to cover their basic needs, further increases in income don’t necessarily lead to significantly greater happiness.”
Daniel Kahneman.
Most people didn’t get that memo.
They think just a bit more will satisfy
Kahneman could have skipped the research and read another Jewish thinker, Paul.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:6-10
Being content with God…is great gain.
There is no additional gain a human could have that would increase his or her thriving.
To rest in Christ…is true rest.
Paul isn’t saying the basics of life don’t matter…they do…”if” we have food and clothing…he said.
God made us embodied beings…material things do matter…but not as much as we often think they do.
Paul is saying what Kahneman discovered…more and more doesn’t work.
The problem is a restless heart…not a lack of something.
If we don’t reign in our restless hearts, if we don’t rest in Christ…we will simple feed our restless, foolish hearts.
Years ago, a mentor told me, “Most men don’t sell out for a million bucks, they sell out for a few hundred.”
A thought it was more of a parable…of how little we are willing to sell our faith, our character, out for.
But recently, I saw this was literally true.
Just a few years ago, I swore a new chaplain into the ANG.
He had worked and waited to finally be appointed an officer in the AF…his proud family were there on that day.
His full-time job, outside the National Guard was as a KS highway patrolman.
I say was…he recently was fired from both jobs…the reason came out in an article last week.
He had gone to Walmart and “skip scanned” items, sometimes in military uniform and sometimes in law enforcement uniform…this was caught on camera and eventually he was prosecuted for theft.
He lost both jobs and his reputation…the total value of the items he stole in 13 different cases…$317.88.
How is that a man can sell out so much for so little?
Our hearts are foolish and restless…they were made to find their rest in Christ.
We must exert our will to ensure that they do just that.
If our hearts do not learn to rest in Christ…they are capable of all manner of destructive and irrational folly.
Look at Hebrews 4:11
Let us, then, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
What a great turn of phrase…make every effort to rest.
A focused attention towards the accomplishment of a task…the task is to finally rest in Christ.
If you are not yet a believer…and think you will get around to seriously considering the gospel someday…that is foolish…risky business.
Everything else should be on the backburner until this is settled.
Last week I read about a history professor who was one of the world’s greatest scholars on the Reformation.
He was elderly and the students at a certain lecture he gave were mostly in their early twenties.
Halfway through the lecture the professor became frustrated with the class not because of their lack of attention but because of their age…they were too young to get a feel for what he was teaching them.
“Young men will never understand Luther,” he said, “because you go to bed every night confident you will wake up healthy in the morning. In Luther’s day, people thought that every day could be their last. They had no antibiotics. They didn’t have modern medicine. Sickness and death came swiftly.”
His point was to fully understand Luther they needed to understand that he was more aware than we often are of how we are a heartbeat from eternity.
“Closing his eyes at night terrified Luther because he was afraid he would wake up in hell. His angst grew out of his recognition of God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness.”
Only the gospel understood and believed relieved him of his terror.
If you fear death and separation from God…the solution is to rest in Christ’s finished work on the cross.
Mohler, R. Albert. Exalting Jesus in Hebrews (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary) (Function). Kindle Edition.
Biblical “rest” is a simple word with a complex meaning…it describes the entire process of salvation.
-Justification: Rest from self-effort, repent and believe the gospel.
-Sanctification: Working out, not for your salvation. “Effort not earning” is what it means to train in godliness.
Rest is not passive, it is active.
We trust Christ for the power, the will to obey him, to become like him…then we choose.
When we fail, when we sin…we repent and continue to believe that we will be transformed into the image of Christ…because the one who began this work in us, will complete.
This is active rest in the gospel.
-Glorification: This is the guaranteed future promise for the believer.
We have been set free to rest in the finished work of Christ, so we no longer fear death or final separation from God.
Getting your hands and head around that symbiotic union of faith and works is difficult but it works if you practice both trust and obey, grace and grit in your life.
Imagine some young man looks at his beloved and says, “I am so deeply in love with you I don’t need the constraints of marriage vows and commitments…we don’t need a piece of paper, we have our love.”
She would be wise to say, “Make the vow, buy the ring, and sign the paper…or hit the road.”
Because deep love is unafraid of commitment…in fact, commitment is what keeps love, deep and alive.
James said, “Faith without works is dead faith”
He was not preaching a different gospel than Paul.
Paul was writing to those who were trying to earn their salvation.
James was writing to those who didn’t believe salvation would lead to transformed lives…that it didn’t need to show up in actions.
The Bible is 66 books, one story.
In it we see God’s sovereign plan over all of history.
We see God’s plan for a Nation.
We see God plan for individual people…like Moses, Joshua, you and me.
All three levels are about the good news of Jesus.
Let me summarize some conclusions from Joshua, Hebrews and biblical rest.
1. People should rightly fear missing the rest of Christ.
It is possible to have a fear that you need not have.
-If you have trusted God alone to save you, you can fear death, but you don’t need to.
It is also possible to not have a fear that you should have.
-Just because someone is confident and unafraid of living and dying with trusting Christ doesn’t mean that they are safe.
2. The rest of Christ is entered into now, but is fully experienced in the age to come
-We are sometimes confused by this already/not yet experience of our salvation.
-We shouldn’t be…it is clear in Scripture.
-If you pay attention you will see it in your own life…or you should.
We are dismayed by our lack of perfection, but the gospel is clear in our life direction.
I was talking with my grandson this week about how he treats his mom sometimes.
I told him how after 42 years I am still impatient with Christy at times.
-I said, “I wish I could become perfect in my words and actions…but I am nearly perfect in my repentance…I tell her I am sorry and move back to the path of change.”
I said, “I know you love your mom and have a good heart, I know you want to do better, I’m just asking you to be perfect in repentance when you don’t.”
He smiled and understood…he didn’t feel judged…he told me so…he did feel like he had vision.
This is the already, not yet reality of rest in Christ.
He is a young expression of the power of the gospel…seen not in his moral perfection but his Christlike direction.
I see this in so many places around me.
Our Youth Group for instance…it’s easy to see the “not yet” in the ways they are not perfect.
But if you pay attention, you can clearly see the “already” of their faith, their learning to rest in Christ.
LET ME ZERO ON A FEW THOUGHTS AS WE GO TO PRAYER, REFLECTION AND WORSHIP IN SONG:
1. Have you repented and believed the gospel?
-Don’t presume on the future. You are not promised tomorrow.
-“Well you are just trying to make me afraid.”
-No, I’m just saying that being afraid of dying without Christ is a rational fear.
2. Are you a Christian who believes your largest problem is being “too busy” or “needing more rest”?
Perhaps, but maybe not.
Sometimes we need to decrease the load, sometimes we need to increase our capacity…
Increased spiritual capacity…is about training.
“Make every effort to enter his rest.”
Train to trust in all that is your life right now.
3. Maybe you do need to slow down in terms of substituting activity for resting in Christ.
But beware of a simplistic solution or application.
Rest is a multi-faceted jewel in Scripture…as you turn it the light reflects in different ways.
Ultimately it is all about Christ…he is our rest.
Rest in him…be born again.
Rest in him…Train to be like him.
Rest in him…Trust him with the future.
*Let me finish by combing two verses from Hebrews into a practical application:
Give your full effort to living in the rest of Christ …but remember, you need the daily encouragement of others, or the heart hardening deception of sin will keep you from that rest.
Hebrews 3:13, 4:11
You will not enter his rest if you do not repent and believe the gospel.
You will not experience his rest if you don’t live in open and honest committed community.