S4: Week 21 Day 3: Annotating Hebrews 4:5-11

Summary

A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace: Season 4, Week 21 Day 3 – Annotating Hebrews 4:5-11

In this episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace, hosts Beth and Alexa delve into Hebrews 4:5-11, exploring its profound connections to both the Old and New Testaments and uncovering how these scriptures point directly to Jesus Christ.

Exploring Hebrews 4:5-11

Beth opens the discussion by sharing her experience annotating Hebrews 4:5-11, expressing initial difficulty in identifying specific words or phrases that highlight Christ's presence in the passage. However, persistence and consultation of Appendix A in Volume Two of their study (pages 196-197) aided her in pinpointing significant elements:

• "A certain day today" (v7)
• "About another day" (v8)
• "Sabbath rest" (v9)

Beth explains that these phrases allude to the fulfillment of God's promise of rest through Christ, emphasizing that the "day" referenced transcends a literal 24-hour period. Instead, it signifies the era in which Christ provides eternal rest to God's people, paralleling His rest from works, much like God's rest after creation.

Connecting to the Old Testament

Shifting focus, Beth addresses another annotation prompt: identifying Old Testament references within Hebrews 4:5-11. She highlights two key phrases:

• "They will never enter my rest" – Derived from Psalm 95:11.
• "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" – Also from Psalm 95:7-8.

By tracing these citations back to Psalm 95, Beth underscores the continuity between the Old Testament promises and their fulfillment in the New Testament. She elaborates that these verses, spoken by David long after Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, indicate that God's ultimate rest was still pending and would be fully realized in Christ.

Key Insights and Discussions

Alexa reinforces the importance of referring to the study's appendix when deciphering how passages point to Christ, encouraging listeners to engage deeply with the study materials. Beth further elaborates on the interplay between the Old and New Testaments, illustrating that while Joshua provided temporary rest in the Promised Land, true and everlasting rest is found in Jesus.

Notable Quotes

• Beth (01:27):
  "The day that I think he's talking about here is not a literal 24-hour day, but it's rather a period of time when God has fulfilled his promise to bring rest for his people in Christ."

• Beth (02:36):
  "These words in Psalm 95 were spoken by David long after the book of Joshua, where Joshua brought the Israelites into the promised land. And so what it's showing us is that God's ultimate rest still needed to be given to his people even after they had found rest in the promised land."

Looking Ahead

The hosts conclude by teasing the next episode, where they will delve deeper into the concept of ultimate rest and its fulfillment in Christ. They encourage listeners to continue their journey through the Bible, emphasizing the continuous presence of Jesus throughout Scripture.

Additional Resources

Listeners are invited to explore more studies, journals, and resources at thedailygraceco.com to enhance their understanding and love for God's Word.

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This episode exemplifies the Daily Grace Co.'s commitment to illuminating the profound connections within the Bible, fostering a deeper appreciation for how every page points to Jesus Christ.

Transcript

[Beth]

Welcome to A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. This year we want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through our study Christ in All of Scripture. Each week we will dive deeply into two passages of Scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the New, seeing how they connect and point to Jesus.

[Alexa]

Whether you are doing the study yourself or just following along with us here, we are hopeful that through studying these passages each week, you will see how Christ is not only present throughout the entire Biblical story, but the center of it.

[Beth]

Hi everyone. Hey everyone. Welcome to another episode of A Year in the Bible. I am Beth and I'm here with my co host Alexa.

[Alexa]

Hi friends. Today we're going to look at our annotations for this week's New Testament passage, Hebrews 4, 5, 11 that reads again, in that passage he says they will never enter my rest. Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formally received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, he again specifies a certain day today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, for if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God's people, for the person who has entered his rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from his. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience. So Beth, how did you annotate this passage?

[Beth]

So when I started these annotations, I was actually very surprised at how difficult the first prompt identifying words or phrases that point to Christ was for me. After thinking about it for a while and then looking at the chart that's in Appendix A of volume two of the study, which you can find on pages 196 and 197, I was able to actually identify some things. So I ended up highlighting the phrase a certain day today at the beginning of verse seven, and similarly the phrase about another day in verse eight. And then last I highlighted a Sabbath rest in verse nine because these seem to be alluding to the prediction that had been fulfilled in Christ when the author of Hebrews is writing. So the day that I think he's talking about here is not a literal 24 hour day, but it's rather a period of time when God has fulfilled his promise to bring rest for his people in Christ and that Christ offer Sabbath rest to God's people.

[Alexa]

That's great and just a good reminder too, to refer to that appendix if you were ever stumped on that prompt about how the passage points to Christ. So were there any other prompts that you wanted to talk about?

[Beth]

Yeah, I wanted to talk about the second to last prompt which asks us to underline references to Old Testament passages that are in this verse from Hebrews. And so I found there is the phrase they will never enter my rest, which comes from Psalm 95:11, which if you're doing the study, the Christ of Knowledge Scripture study, we actually read that verse on day two of the study. And then I also underlined the phrase today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, which also comes from Psalm 95. And those are verses 7 and 8. So seeing where these quotes came from actually really helps me to make sense of what the author of Hebrews is saying. So these words in Psalm 95 were spoken by David long after the book of Joshua, where Joshua brought the Israelites into the promised land. And so what it's showing us is that God's ultimate rest still needed to be given to his people even after they had found rest in the promised land.

[Alexa]

That's super helpful, and I think that sets us up well to discuss where the ultimate rest is found, which we will talk about tomorrow. So we hope you join us for that discussion. Thank you for listening to today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Be sure to check out our show notes for some helpful links and resources related to today's episode, and make sure you're following Daily Grace Podcast and hedaily Grace Co on Instagram for more Bible study resources and encouragement. We're looking forward to studying God's Word with you again tomorrow. Bye friends.

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