MONDAY October 13, 2025

A Remaining Rest

For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Hebrews 4:8-10

Who did Joshua attempt to give rest to through his many conquests? He partially gave rest to the children of Israel, but the exploits in the Promised Land were incomplete. Israel failed to secure a complete victory. Joshua was able to subdue the whole land, in that no idolatrous nation was at war with Israel:

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war (Joshua 11:23).

God promised them full possession of the land, but there were still lands that were not in Israel’s possession. So Israel did not have complete rest, although they had rest from war. Israel was not fully obedient in subduing the Promised Land: When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over” (Joshua 13:1 NIV). The following verses in Joshua 13:2-7 gave a long list of nations not yet conquered; more victories needed to be won. There remains a rest for the people of God, in that their conquests were not fully over.

As we look at our Christian lives, think of all the promises God has given to each one of us individually. There are still victories to be won and much land to be taken. The key is obedience. If we obey His Word, the promises He has given to us will be fulfilled; but if we choose to disobey, His promises will not be completely fulfilled. We will not fully enjoy or experience them.

Finally, once again, the writer refers to God’s Sabbath rest. He used this point to speak of our remaining rest that came about through the victories Christ has won on the Cross for us. He has secured the promise of our salvation.

We cannot rely on God’s promises without obeying his commandments.
~John Calvin~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!