Lesson 5, January 22-28
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Genesis 15:13–21; Hebrews 3:12–19; 4:6–11; 4:1, 3, 5, 10; Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Hebrews 4:8–11.
Memory Text: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9
Hebrews 1 and 2 focused on the enthronement of Jesus as the ruler and liberator of God’s people. Hebrews 3 and 4 introduce Jesus as the one who will provide rest for us. This progression makes sense once we remember that the Davidic covenant promised that God would give the promised king and his people “rest” from their enemies (2 Samuel 7:10, 11). This rest is available to us now that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God.
Hebrews describes the rest both as a rest that belongs to God and as a Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:1-11). God made this rest, which was His, available to Adam and Eve. The first Sabbath was the experience of perfection with the one who made that perfection possible. God also promises a Sabbath rest because true Sabbath observance embodies the promise that God will bring that perfection back.
When we keep the Sabbath, we remember that God made perfect provision for us when He created the world and when He redeemed it at the cross. True Sabbath observance, however, besides first and foremost pointing us back to Creation, offers us a foretaste, in this imperfect world, of the future that God has promised.
Sunday, January 23
Read Genesis 15:13-21. What did God promise Abraham?
When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, His purpose was to bring Israel to the land of Canaan, where they would be able to serve and obey Him freely (Exodus 8:1; Psalms 105:43-45), including enjoying the Sabbath rest that Pharaoh had prohibited (Exodus 5:5). The land of Canaan was the inheritance that God had promised to their father Abraham because he had obeyed God’s voice and left his country to go to the Promised Land (Genesis 11:31-12:4).
God’s purpose in giving the land to Israel was not simply for them to possess it. God was bringing them to Himself (Exodus 19:4). God wanted them to live in a land where they would be able to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him, without any hindrance, and would also be a witness to the world of who the true God was and what He offered His people. Like the Sabbath of creation, the land of Canaan was a framework that made possible an intimate relationship with their Redeemer and the enjoyment of His goodness.
In Deuteronomy 12:1-14, the Lord told the people that they would enter the rest, not simply when they entered the land, but when they had purged the land from idolatry. After that, God would show them, the Chosen, a place where He would dwell among them.
Read Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. What two things does the Sabbath rest commemorate, and how are they related?
God connected the Sabbath of creation with the deliverance from Egypt. He instructed Israel to observe the Sabbath as a memorial of creation and as a memorial of their redemption from Egypt. Creation and redemption are both enshrined in the Sabbath commandment. Just as we did not create ourselves, we cannot redeem ourselves. It’s a work that only God can do, and by resting we acknowledge our dependence upon Him, not only for existence but for salvation. Sabbath keeping is a powerful expression of salvation by faith alone.
How should keeping the Sabbath help us understand our complete dependence upon God, not only for existence but for salvation?
Monday, January 24
Read Hebrews 3:12-19. Why was Israel unable to enter into the promised rest?
The sad story is that those who were delivered from Egypt were unable to enter into the rest that God had promised them. When Israel arrived at Kadesh Barnea, at the border of the Promised Land, they lacked the faith that they needed. Numbers 13 and 14 explain that the Israelite spies “brought up an evil report of the land” (Numbers 13:32). They affirmed that the land was good, but they warned that the inhabitants were strong and that the cities fortified, and that they would not be able to conquer it.
Joshua and Caleb agreed that the land was good and did not dispute the fact that people there were strong and the cities fortified. But they said that God was with them and that He would bring them into the land (Numbers 14:7-9). Yet, the people who saw God destroy Egypt through plagues (Exodus 7-12), annihilate Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea (Exodus 14), provide bread from heaven (Exodus 16) and water from the rock (Exodus 17), as well as manifest His continuing presence and guidance through the cloud (Exodus 40:36-38) — they failed to trust in Him now. It is a tragic irony that the generation who saw such mighty displays of God’s power became a symbol of faithlessness (Nehemiah 9:15-17, Psalms 106:24-26, 1 Corinthians 10:5-10).
God promises His children gifts that are beyond human reach. That is why they are based on grace and are accessible only through faith. Hebrews 4:2 explains that the promise Israel received “did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).
Israel traveled to the borders of the Promised Land as a people. When the people were faced with contradictory reports, they identified with those who lacked faith. Faith, or lack of it, is contagious. That is why Hebrews admonishes its readers to “exhort one another” (Hebrews 3:13), “to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24), and to “[look] diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:15).
In what ways can you help build the faith of fellow believers? How can you make sure that you never say or do anything that could weaken another’s faith?
