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Click here for a pdf of Genesis 1–3 in Redemptive History: 8.5×11″; A4 paper
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3) Heb 4:1–13: This passage provides a stunning example of repetition yielding thematic unity. By repeating the word “rest” with slight alterations, the author of Hebrews emphasized the importance of entry into God’s rest.[1]
These two paragraphs occur after a description of the Israelites in Moses’s day. They had failed to enter the promised land due to their unbelief that God would safely lead them there (Num 14:28–35).
The Lord prepared his place of eternal “rest” on the seventh day of creation (Gen 2:2).[2]
Those who received the book of Hebrews suffered from persecution (Heb 13:3, 13). Therefore, knowledge of God’s place of rest gave them the hope they needed to endure.[3]
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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Read Heb 4:1–13. What promise still stands? Why did the promise given to those who were delivered from Egypt do them no good? How can you avoid their fate?
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Go to Obtaining Eternal Redemption (Heb 9:11–14)
[Related posts include God Completes the Heavens and the Earth (Gen 2:1–2); The Lord Blesses the Seventh Day (Gen 2:3); and Lord of the Sabbath (Matt 12:1–8)]
[Click here to go to Chapter 4: The Sabbath Rest of God (Genesis 2:1–3)]
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[1]David A. deSilva, Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle “to the Hebrews” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 153.
[2]Gareth L. Cockerill, The Epistle to the Hebrews (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 197.
[3] Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 245.
Redemptive History and Theology 