For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
Moses spoke to Israel before they had crossed the Jordan, when they had not yet come to the rest and inheritance God was giving them. The rest and the inheritance are the same gift, the quiet and peaceable possession of Canaan beyond the Jordan, dwelling in safety with rest from all enemies round about. That promised rest has nothing to do with the seventh-day weekly Sabbath, but means this and this only, for Israel had kept the Sabbath through the wilderness for forty years and still had not entered this rest. The land and rest given through Joshua, with Joshua answering to Christ and literal Israel to the church, stand as a figure of the inheritance and rest promised to Abraham's faithful descendants. Though Israel afterward possessed Canaan, that land-rest did not fulfill the greater promise, for the true, heavenly, everlasting rest and inheritance through Christ still remains for God's people.
Historical Meaning and Context
Israel had not yet crossed the Jordan and entered the land, and had not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord God was giving. The rest was rest from all enemies round about, settling in the land beyond the Jordan and dwelling there in safety. The rest and the inheritance are the same thing: the quiet, peaceable possession of the promised land of Canaan, with rest from oppression as much a part of the promise as the land itself, even as rest from oppression was included in the promise that Abraham's seed would possess the gate of his enemies.
The verse sets the present journey in contrast with the settled life and blessings intended in the promised land, speaking of that land as a future gift not yet received. In context it belongs to instructions to bring offerings and worship to the place God would choose for His dwelling and meeting place. That direction guided the divinely directed choice of Jerusalem as the capital of the united kingdom, and it was understood as binding only inside Palestine, so that a Jewish temple and regular worship at Elephantine did not violate it.
The surrounding instruction's general permission to eat what was desired did not include animals specifically forbidden as unclean in the same context.
Rest Distinct From Sabbath
The promised rest is the inheritance of Canaan and has nothing to do with the seventh-day weekly Sabbath, meaning possession of the land and this idea and this only. It means crossing the Jordan and dwelling in the land given to inherit, with rest from all enemies round about so as to dwell in safety, which is peaceable possession of the promised land including security from enemies and not simply the Sabbath. Spoken to Israel before crossing the Jordan, it describes them as not yet having entered that rest and inheritance God was giving them. That land-rest, later possessed under Joshua yet not fulfilling the greater promise, stands as a figure of the true rest and inheritance still to be possessed by God's people through Christ. It meets every demand of Hebrews 4 because it was given by Joshua, it was the rest God swore the rebels should not possess because of rebellion, and those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness did not enter it.
Moses spoke these words forty years after the exodus, after Israel had kept the Sabbath throughout the wilderness and before they had entered the promised rest and inheritance. The rest here is a promise in contrast with bondage in Egypt, while the rest in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 is a command concerning the seventh day. Command and promise are kept distinct, and the rest of Deuteronomy 12 is kept distinct from the Sabbath of Deuteronomy 5. The verse belongs to the levitical law given to the children of Israel, separate from the absolute and perpetual law of God.
Type of Lasting Inheritance
Moses spoke before Israel crossed the Jordan, when they had not yet come to the rest and inheritance God was giving them, meaning going over Jordan to possess the land, dwell in it as their inheritance, receive rest from all enemies round about, and dwell in safety. That land and the rest given through Joshua was a figure or type of the true rest and inheritance remaining to the people of God, with Joshua corresponding to Christ and literal Israel corresponding to the church. In this figure the peaceful possession of the promised land, including security from enemies, foreshadowed the heavenly Canaan and the lasting rest and inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed, to Abraham's faithful descendants.
Israel afterward possessed Canaan under Joshua, but that land-rest was only a type and did not fulfill the greater promise. Joshua's settlement in the land did not bring the full inheritance, for the true, heavenly, everlasting rest and inheritance through Christ still remains to be possessed by God's people.
The Canaan rest is the rest and inheritance which the Lord gives, meaning possession of the land and this idea only. It meets every demand of Hebrews 4 because it was given by Joshua, it was the rest God swore the rebels should not possess because of rebellion, and those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness did not enter it.
Moses spoke to Israel before they had crossed the Jordan, when they had not yet come to the rest and inheritance God was giving them. The rest and the inheritance are the same gift, the quiet and peaceable possession of Canaan beyond the Jordan, dwelling in safety with rest from all enemies round about. That promised rest has nothing to do with the seventh-day weekly Sabbath, but means this and this only, for Israel had kept the Sabbath through the wilderness for forty years and still had not entered this rest. The land and rest given through Joshua, with Joshua answering to Christ and literal Israel to the church, stand as a figure of the inheritance and rest promised to Abraham's faithful descendants. Though Israel afterward possessed Canaan, that land-rest did not fulfill the greater promise, for the true, heavenly, everlasting rest and inheritance through Christ still remains for God's people.
Historical Meaning and Context
Israel had not yet crossed the Jordan and entered the land, and had not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord God was giving. The rest was rest from all enemies round about, settling in the land beyond the Jordan and dwelling there in safety. The rest and the inheritance are the same thing: the quiet, peaceable possession of the promised land of Canaan, with rest from oppression as much a part of the promise as the land itself, even as rest from oppression was included in the promise that Abraham's seed would possess the gate of his enemies.
The verse sets the present journey in contrast with the settled life and blessings intended in the promised land, speaking of that land as a future gift not yet received. In context it belongs to instructions to bring offerings and worship to the place God would choose for His dwelling and meeting place. That direction guided the divinely directed choice of Jerusalem as the capital of the united kingdom, and it was understood as binding only inside Palestine, so that a Jewish temple and regular worship at Elephantine did not violate it.
The surrounding instruction's general permission to eat what was desired did not include animals specifically forbidden as unclean in the same context.
Rest Distinct From Sabbath
The promised rest is the inheritance of Canaan and has nothing to do with the seventh-day weekly Sabbath, meaning possession of the land and this idea and this only. It means crossing the Jordan and dwelling in the land given to inherit, with rest from all enemies round about so as to dwell in safety, which is peaceable possession of the promised land including security from enemies and not simply the Sabbath. Spoken to Israel before crossing the Jordan, it describes them as not yet having entered that rest and inheritance God was giving them. That land-rest, later possessed under Joshua yet not fulfilling the greater promise, stands as a figure of the true rest and inheritance still to be possessed by God's people through Christ. It meets every demand of Hebrews 4 because it was given by Joshua, it was the rest God swore the rebels should not possess because of rebellion, and those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness did not enter it.
Moses spoke these words forty years after the exodus, after Israel had kept the Sabbath throughout the wilderness and before they had entered the promised rest and inheritance. The rest here is a promise in contrast with bondage in Egypt, while the rest in Deuteronomy 5:12-15 is a command concerning the seventh day. Command and promise are kept distinct, and the rest of Deuteronomy 12 is kept distinct from the Sabbath of Deuteronomy 5. The verse belongs to the levitical law given to the children of Israel, separate from the absolute and perpetual law of God.
Type of Lasting Inheritance
Moses spoke before Israel crossed the Jordan, when they had not yet come to the rest and inheritance God was giving them, meaning going over Jordan to possess the land, dwell in it as their inheritance, receive rest from all enemies round about, and dwell in safety. That land and the rest given through Joshua was a figure or type of the true rest and inheritance remaining to the people of God, with Joshua corresponding to Christ and literal Israel corresponding to the church. In this figure the peaceful possession of the promised land, including security from enemies, foreshadowed the heavenly Canaan and the lasting rest and inheritance promised to Abraham and his seed, to Abraham's faithful descendants.
Israel afterward possessed Canaan under Joshua, but that land-rest was only a type and did not fulfill the greater promise. Joshua's settlement in the land did not bring the full inheritance, for the true, heavenly, everlasting rest and inheritance through Christ still remains to be possessed by God's people.
The Canaan rest is the rest and inheritance which the Lord gives, meaning possession of the land and this idea only. It meets every demand of Hebrews 4 because it was given by Joshua, it was the rest God swore the rebels should not possess because of rebellion, and those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness did not enter it.