Reference: Rest
American
In Ac 9:31, refers to the respite from persecution enjoyed by the Christians in Palestine, after the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, during the last two years of Caligula's short reign, A. D. 39 and 40, when the Jews were so harassed by the attempts of the emperor to force them to worship him as a god, that they forbore to afflict the followers of Christ.
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Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.
Easton
(1.) Gr. katapausis, equivalent to the Hebrew word noah (Heb 4:1).
(2.) Gr. anapausis, "rest from weariness" (Mt 11:28).
(3.) Gr. anesis, "relaxation" (2Th 1:7).
(4.) Gr. sabbatismos, a Sabbath rest, a rest from all work (Heb 4:9; R.V., "sabbath"), a rest like that of God when he had finished the work of creation.
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Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
Let us therefore fear, lest, although a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.
Fausets
Heb 4:9, "there remaineth a keeping of sabbath (sabbatismos) to the people of God." God's rest ("My rest" Heb 4:3) was a sabbatism, so will ours be; a home for the exile, a mansion for the pilgrim, a sabbath for the workman weary of the world's weekday toil. In time there are many sabbaths, then there shall be one perfect and eternal. The "rest" in Heb 4:8 is katapausis; Hebrew noach, "rest from weariness": as the ark rested on Ararat after its tossings; as Israel, under Joshua, rested from war in Canaan.
Anesis (2Th 1:7), "relaxation from afflictions". Anapausis, "rest," given by Jesus now (Mt 11:28); but the "rest" in Heb 4:9 is the nobler "sabbath rest"; katapausis, literally, "cessation from work finished" (Heb 4:4) as God rested from His (Re 14:13; 16:17). The two ideas combined give the perfect view of the heavenly sabbath: rest from weariness, sorrow, and sin; and rest in the completion of God's new creation (Re 21:5). The renovated creation shall share in it. Nothing will there be to break the sabbath of eternity. The Triune God shall rejoice in the work of His hands (Zep 3:17). The Jews call the future rest "the day which is all sabbath."
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The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
For we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spoke in a certain place of the seventh day in this way, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
For if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.
There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on: Yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.
And the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Hastings
The conception of rest as a gift of God runs through the Bible, the underlying idea being not idleness, but the freedom from anxiety which is the condition of effective work. It is promised to Israel in Canaan (Ex 33:14; De 3:20), and Zion is the resting-place of Jahweh (Ps 132:8,14), the Temple being built by 'a man of rest' (1Ch 22:9; a contrast is implied with the desert wanderings in Nu 10:33-36). At the same time no earthly temple can be the real resting-place of Jahweh (Isa 66:1; Ac 7:49). The rest of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year are connected with the rest of God after creation (Ge 2:2; Ex 20:11; Le 25:4; see art. Sabbath). The individual desires rest, as did the nation (Ps 55:8); it is not to be found in ignoble ease (Ge 49:15 Issachar), but in the ways of God (Ps 37:7; Jer 6:10); it is the gift of Christ (Mt 11:28). Sinners fail to find it (Isa 28:12; 57:20), as Israel failed (Ps 95:11). Heb 4 develops the meaning of this failure, and points to the 'sabbath rest' still to come. This heavenly rest includes not only freedom from labour, as in OT (Job 3:13,17 [in Ps 16:9, see RV), but also the opportunity of continued work (Re 14:13).
C. W. Emmet.
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And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto forced labor.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
And he said, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: you shall neither sow your field, nor prune your vineyard.
And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days' journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days' journey, to search out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. read more. And it came to pass, when the ark moved forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate you flee before you. And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
Until the LORD has given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the LORD your God has given them beyond the Jordan: and then shall you return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.
For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then would I have been at rest,
There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary are at rest.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
Unto whom I swore in my anger that they should not enter into my rest.
Arise, O LORD, into your rest; you, and the ark of your strength.
This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
To whom he said, This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Thus says the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will you build me? says the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on: Yea, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.
Morish
The first allusion to rest in scripture is on the part of God after His works of creation. Gen. 2. It may be assumed, therefore, that while the term means cessation from labour, it also covers the idea of complacency in the result of the labour; and this thought probably underlies the institution of the sabbath; for it is clear from Ps. 95 and Heb. 4 that it was in the thought of God that man should enter into His rest. But sin entered into the world by man, with all its baneful consequences; and unless God were to acquiesce in a world of sin and moral woe He must needs work in grace. Hence the word of Christ, "My Father worketh hitherto until now, and I work." Joh 5:17. This untiring activity of God is intimated by various expressions in the O.T. God is again and again described as 'rising up early,' sending His prophets, etc. Eventually Christ came to do the will of His Father, and to finish His work. When the full results of the death of Christ are displayed, and all enemies subdued, then God will again enjoy His sabbath of rest, and His people too will enter into His rest.
The Lord Jesus in His ministry on earth, when recognising the absence of moral effect from His mighty works, and retiring consequently into the service of revealing the Father to the babes, invited those who laboured and were heavy laden to come to Him for rest. Mt 11:28. Those who felt the rejection of Christ here were invited to take His yoke upon them, and learn of Him, who was meek and lowly of heart, and they should find rest unto their souls. Mt 11:29. The soul thus has, outside of circumstances here, a portion unaffected by circumstances, and that satisfies all its longings. On the other hand there is no rest to the wicked, who are like the troubled waves of the sea; and those who bow to the future imperial beast and his image will have no rest from their torments day nor night for ever and ever. Isa 57:20-21; Re 14:11.
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But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked.
Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls.
But Jesus answered them, My Father works still, and I work.
And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.