"Another day"

[Peairtach]

4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today”, saying through David so long afterwards, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. (Heb 4:4-8, ESV)

I believe that verses 9 and 10 are speaking about the New Testament Sabbath-keeping on the first day of the week that remains for God's people, and about Christ entering His rest on the first day of the week.

I'm just wondering whether in the above passage, the writer is positing an Old Testament "change" in the Sabbath day as part of his reasoning on this subject.

Although the day didn't change from the last day of the week, the day changed in the sense that when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the day no longer pointed to that typological rest; that aspect of provisional Israelite typology in connection with the Sabbath fell away.

Psalm 95 was apparently strongly associated with the Sabbath liturgy of the synagogue (see Guthrie in Beale and Carson, Commentary on the NT use of the OT, pp 953-954) so the "Today" of which the writer speaks, as well as having a general reference to a time of Gospel opportunity and grace (e.g. 3:12-15), also would have a more specific reference in the minds of his hearers to the seventh day Sabbath.(i.e. 4:4-8)

The writer would be not only saying that another opportunity to enter God's rest was given to the Israelites after they entered the Land, but, more specifically, that another Sabbath day was in a sense appointed. The application to verses 9 and 10 would be clear/clearer.

 

[Peairtach]

Any takers? Bruce, are you there?

 

[Contra_Mundum]

I am inclined to something along those lines, and I think I've written something supportive recently here on PB not too long ago {hint: search feature}

The entire argument from the passage is fairly wide and deep.

v9 says "there remains a Sabbatizing for the people of God." Some folks over-eschaltologize that idea by referring the whole to the Person of Christ, and then justify the habit of pausing whenever they feel like it, and calling that their Sabbath. Who's calling the shots?

Also, v10 contrasts "his (Christ's) rest," the rest from Redemption, with "God's (Father's) rest," the rest from Creation. The justification is a finished work in each case.

See the (chronologically) second rest connected to the first via the Decalog itself, when to the original rationale for the Sabbath out of Ex.20 (creation) is added a second rationale for the Sabbath in Dt.6 (redemption). The reason no change of day is contemplated upon entering the land is that Joshua obviously gives them a typological rest, just as deliverance from Egypt is a typological salvation. As terrible as the enemies of Egypt were, and as restful as the Land was after wandering in the wasteland for 40yrs, Death is a worse enemy and Heaven is a better rest.

So, the work of Redemption is not done... until Christ dies, rises, and ascends and sits. Then it's fitting to commemorate his new day; especially when he emphasizes a change in the day by making his presence specially felt among his (constantly meeting) people on successive first-day after first-day. God-in-Christ signals the change by calling his people to worship on that day.

The psalmist, according to the writer of Hebrews, anticipates the change by the fact that he even speaks of "another day."

 

[Peairtach]

Bruce

The psalmist, according to the writer of Hebrews, anticipates the change by the fact that he even speaks of "another day."

Thanks for that, Bruce.

I'd read various Sabbatarian comments on the passage, including Walter Chantry, but I hadn't come accross one that pointed out how specific the writer to the Hebrews was in speaking about Today as being appointed and as being another day, possibly/probably referring to the fact of a change of Sabbath Day in the New Testament.

Joshua gave them rest but it was only a typological rest, hence the keeping of "another" weekly Sabbath until they experienced rest in its eschatalogical fulness.

Christ gives us rest but it is not in its eschatalogical fulness, hence the keeping of "another" weekly Sabbath until then (vv 9-10).

 

[Peairtach]

Hebrews 3:7 -4:2 is an encouragement to enter into the Heavenly Eschatalogical Rest by faith in Christ and the perseverance of that saving faith.

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11 As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. 15 As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[a]

Hebrews 4:3 - 4:10 is an argument for a continuing day of the week in anticipation of the Heavenly Eschatalogical Rest, and the identifying of the first day of the week, the day on which Christ rose as that day:

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Hebrews 4:11-13 is a return to the exhortation to exercise true saving and persevering faith, so that we enter the Heavenly Rest:

11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

The "Today" of Psalm 95 is clearly a Sabbath Day,which the Psalmist "appoints" as a pointer to Heavenly Eschatalogical Rest. It is "another day" than the Sabbath which pertained from the Exodus from Egypt to the entrance to the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 5:12-15) because that Sabbath pointed, initially at least , to rest in the Promised Land. If this Psalm was written by David, as seems likely, it was appropriate that the Israelites be reminded that they still had "another" Sabbath Day and a higher Rest to look forward to in association with it, as they were more settled in the Land under David than they had been before (I Chron. 23:25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever.) :

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”