by
Sylvia Dooling
The Key Idea of this lesson is: Joshua and the Israelites found rest not
in the absence of war or in a new land, but in God. This is where we find
our rest, as well.
That statement, of course, is true. But, it is not a truth that is
discovered by reading the text we are supposedly studying. Because the
author is consistently apologetic about the Israelites engaging in war as
they are directed by God to take over the land, she loses the point of the
book of Joshua. By including the passage from Hebrews, which certainly can
be used legitimately to show how with the New Covenant a fuller meaning is
brought to the Scriptural meaning of rest , the author diverts our
attention from the primary passage.
If the author wanted to deal more broadly with the biblical theology of
rest, it would have been more helpful had she said so. Then she could have
dealt with the subject in Joshua before exploring the subject of rest
more broadly.
The problem, of course, is that the word, rest, has a variety of meanings
both in Webster s Dictionary and in the Bible. In order to make my point,
let me refer you to the Suggestions for Leaders on Page 83. Here (Examine
and Explore) the suggestion is made to divide the class s participants into
three groups.
Group One is to deal with the premise: Yes It Was rest. The Deuteronomy
passages are spoken from the mouth of Moses as he describes Israel s
future. Israel s wanderings in the wilderness will cease. Israel will go in
and take over the land the LORD has promised them. After they have defeated
those living in the land, they are to destroy all of the idols in the land
in which they will reside. They will worship the LORD in the place he will
choose and in the way he will command. Moses description of rest is
multifaceted. They will move from wandering, to war, to settling into the
land, which will be a kind of rest, where they will live, marry, raise
children, and be obedient to the LORD.
Group Two is to deal with the premise: No It Wasn t rest. This group is
given passages that reveal that Israel did not completely remove the groups
of people who inhabited the land. The reality of disobedience and idolatry
will remain because the people did not do what they were told to do. So,
rest is always fleeting. Yet, according to the book of Joshua, the people
did enjoy a cessation of war for a time. They began to settle into the
land and the rhythm of life in this new setting began different from their
wanderings or from the battles with their enemies.
Group Three is to deal with the subject: Another idea of Rest. I don t
like to use the word idea. Idea sounds like a concept someone came up
with on their own. But, more to the point, what we are dealing with here are
two different periods in the life of God s people. The people in Joshua are
living in the old Covenant; the people to whom Hebrews are written are
enjoying the benefits of the New Covenant. Israel looked forward to Messiah
as through a mist. They looked forward in faith, but certainly didn t have
a full view of what was coming with the New Covenant. Their concept of rest
was more concrete they thought of rest as a time when the various tribes
could settle into their land and enjoy what God promised them a land
flowing with milk and honey. This rest, of course, was fleeting because
Israel had not completely conquered their enemies, nor did they destroy the
idols of their neighbors.
Now, the writer of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, looked back at
Israel under Joshua and gave rest a more fulsome meaning. The author of
Hebrews is making the point that there is a Sabbath rest coming when the
full number of the elect is gathered up in the kingdom of God. The author
binds all of us together those who looked forward and those who now look
back on the person and work of Christ (Messiah), and he encourages us to
persevere in faith until that time comes when God closes the curtain on
history and creates a new heaven and new earth where we will reside in
perfect Sabbath rest. The author of the Horizons study gives the
impression that we can experience that future rest right now. Not so no
more than Israel could then. Yes, in a sense, we as God s people experience
a rest because of our relationship in Jesus Christ. But, it is a rest
that is not complete and looks forward in hope to the resurrection and the
culmination of history on God s own terms.