“And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places.” (Isa 32:17-18 NASB)
Readers,
There are a number of prophecies that speak of the peace and rest to be found in God’s Messiah. Paul likely had these prophecies in view when he said that the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)
In this journal entry I want to share about the rest that is promised to those who truly trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
First of all let’s hear from Jesus Himself:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28,29)
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The prophetic background.
We need to reach back into the Messianic promises for a look at the ‘rest’ that was promised to believers in Christ Jesus. When Jacob prophesied over his son Judah, he said,
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10)
The Targums (Aramaic translations. Aramaic was the language of Israel during the time of Jesus) have ‘Messiah’ in place of ‘Shiloh.’
The ancient Greek translation (LXX) ends the prophecy with, “and he [Messiah] is the expectation of the nations.” The belief in a coming Messiah is easily noted among all nation groups
The ending can also be translated, “Until he whose it is comes.”
The heart of this prophecy is found in the statement, “to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
The Hebrew word for obedience is ‘yaggahah’. This word speaks of an inner submission of the soul, or the resting heart. The obedience results in a tranquility of the inner man.
The resting heart.
The resting heart is what happens when a person truly comes to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Peter describes this when he says,
“Your adornment must not be merely external . . .but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:3,4. “Quiet” is the Greek ‘hesuchios’, which literally translates as ‘tranquil’.)
When Noah was born, his father prophesied over him, saying,
“This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.” (Genesis 5:29)
But Noah wasn’t the rest giver. That would belong to the Lord alone.
When Moses complained to the Lord about his having to care for the peoples, the Lord said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)
Why does this sound so familiar? Jesus spoke these exact words.
He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The Voice that spoke to Moses is heard again in Jesus Christ. (Wondrous mystery the incarnation.)
He will speak to this people.
Then we have a prophecy that can be misunderstood if we don’t understand what the prophecy is really about. Isaiah 28:11,12, says,
“Indeed, He will speak to *this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue, *He who said to them, ‘Here is rest, give rest to the weary,’ and, ‘Here is repose,’ but *they would not listen.” (Pay particular attention to the words noted with an *.)
The emphasis of this prophesy is to a specific people. It is not simply on a ‘foreign tongue.’ It isn’t the ‘languages’ that cause the rest. The rest as to do with the Messiah.
This prophecy gets turned on its head when an improper emphasis is placed on ‘stammering lips and a foreign tongue.’ The prophecy has a direct fulfillment on the day of Pentecost, 33 A.D.
The purpose of speaking in other languages on the day of Pentecost was to draw attention to the Rest Giver, that is Jesus Himself.
Notice again how the Isaiah prophecy directs itself to *this people. The “this” people were the Jewish peoples who gathered in Jerusalem during the festivals of Passover and Pentecost. These gathered Hebrews spoke a great many languages.
The Isaiah 28 prophecy tells us who the prophecy will be about. The day of Pentecost was to draw attention to the Rest Giver. It was about, “*He “who said to them, ‘Here is rest, give rest to the weary.'”
Jesus is the one who said, “I will give you rest.” And the prophecy has to do with receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah.
Where then is the rest…
Where can the rest be found? The rest has to do with the finished work of the cross. The picture broadens when we understand that the rest has more than one factor to it. First of all, the rest actually comes from the rule of Christ in our hearts. This is why Paul said that we are to let the “peace of Christ rule” in our hearts. (Colossians 3:15)
This ruling peace is the sure sign that Christ is in charge of the affairs of our heart. When we lose our peace, this means that something needs to be brought back under the rule of the Prince of Peace. (Reaches back to the Genesis 49:10 prophecy of the ‘tranquil’ heart.)
Is there more…
There is a second and an even more important factor to the rest that is found in Jesus. The reason it is more important is because the second factor speaks of our identification with Christ Himself.
The Scriptures tell us that Christ has taken His place in the heavens, far above all rule and authority, and that He rules over all. The Scriptures tell us that He is waiting until all His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. The Scriptures tell us that there is no more work to be done with regard to the redemption program of God. When Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished”, that meant that God’s salvation work was finished at the cross.
How does this relate to us? When a person turns from their sins and turns to Jesus, there is a spiritual dynamic that takes place in which God places this person positionally in Christ Jesus, that is, where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. This means that the victory and rest that Jesus now enjoys, is the rest that is given to believers.
The writer of Hebrews says that we enter into His rest. (Heb4:10) Paul adds to this in saying that we have been “made complete” in Him. (Colossians 2:10)
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It is not our work.
This is where the term ‘the finished of the cross’ has its deepest meaning. The work of redemption is finished. There is nothing to add to it, there is nothing to take away from it. But we have to understand that the work of the cross is not our work. It is God’s work. God has taken all the human effort out of His salvation in Christ.
This is why there is only one thing left for men to do in order to be saved. It is summed up in the statement, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31)
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But a problem remains.
God’s salvation in Christ strikes at the deepest part of the human psyche, which is pride. Man is so use to making his own ‘fig leaf’ garments, that he is often unable to accept the covering that God has provided in Christ. (Our fig leaf garments are often our religions that we’ve formed for ourselves.)
It smarts when man can’t contribute to his own salvation. But the Lord left nothing undone. God provided a covering. The clothing of skins in the garden of Eden was a picture of the covering to be provided for us in Christ.
Put these two factors together, that is, the rule of Christ in our heart, and our full identification
with Him in the finished work of the cross, thus you then have what is called ‘the Rest.’ The rest is the full victory of the cross inscribed in our hearts. We have already been seated with Christ in the heavens.
When Paul said that we have been seated with Christ in ‘heavenly places’, he was not talking about a wonderful spiritual service. Paul was addressing our completed salvation.
Our salvation is so complete on God’s side that He has already seated us in heaven in Christ Jesus. There is nothing that can change that picture. To remove us from heaven, God would have to remove Christ Himself.
Listen to Paul:
“For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col 3:3-4 NASB)
The conclusion of the matter is simple –
The rest that is found in Jesus is the most awesome part of our salvation. This is what puts works-righteous religions out of business. Understand the gospel properly and you will never again find yourself fettered to a religion that seeks control over your life.
Learn to live your life in Christ and you will enjoy the full freedom in Christ.
And so we hear again,
“And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” (Isaiah 32:17)
So, why not take off your religious garments and take to yourself the clothing in Christ. Listen:
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:26-28 NASB)
While you think about this things, take a moment to listen to Elvis as he sings, ‘Without Him.’
Love always in Christ,
Buddy
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