Christ and Joshua After the Apostle compared between the Lord Jesus and Moses, the first leader of the Israelites, now he talks about his successor Joshua who led them to the rest in the promised land. St. Paul compared between three kinds of rest: the first is the entry to the rest on the seventh day, "Sabbath." The second is the entry to the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. The third is our entry to the eternal rest in Christ Jesus, the Mystery of our rest. 1. Warning against unbelief 1-3. 2. The seventh day (rest) 4-5. 3. The promised land (rest) 6-13. 4. Rest in Christ 14-16. 1.WARNINGAGAINST UNBELIEF St. Paul has previously given us an example of the fathers who were deprived of entering into the promised land, that is to enjoy His rest, because of their unbelief. He warns us saying, "Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it" [1]. From God's standpoint, He offered us a promise to enter His rest, however, from our standpoint, we have to fear lest we are deprived of enjoying it, in spite of the true divine promise. As the Father, He opened to us the door of hope, and we, as children, have to fear, not as servants in a state of fear, but the fear of a son who is afraid lest he hurts his father's feelings by depriving himself of the inheritance which the Father has prepared for him. Since God as the Father has offered us the blood of His Son as a price for our salvation, then with the spirit of sonship, we fear lest we are deprived of this salvation. St. Peter says, "And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. 1:17-19). He also says, "Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling." (Phil. 2: 12) Regarding holy virginity, St. Augustine writes to the virgins lest they fall in pride and become deprived of Christ Jesus, urging them to work out their salvation in fear and trembling: [I am concerned about you, lest when you brag because you are following the Lamb anywhere He goes, you cannot follow Him uprightly because of your pride. It is better for you, virgins, to carry the fear of God which begets the spirit of salvation. It is true that there is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4: 18) However, perfect love casts out the fear of people not the fear of the Lord, the fear of temporal evil not the fear of the divine judgment in the Last Day. "Do not be haughty but fear." (Rom. 11: 20) Love the goodness of the Lord but fear His severity, and do not be proud. Through love, fear God lest you seriously disobey Him, the One whom you ought to love. What greater vice than to despise the Lord by pride, who for your sake is not pleased with the haughty?! If you do not love, fear lest you perish. If you love, fear Him lest you displease Him1.] Let us then fear, that in spite of the divine promise to enter His rest, we may be dismayed because of our neglect or unbelief. He does not say "promise to enter our rest," but "promise to enter His rest," for when we enjoy His rest, we enjoy our true 1 Of Holy Virginity 39. Chapter 1 2 rest. The Father finds His rest in Christ Jesus alone, and Christ presents us to Him as justified members of His Body and sanctified by the precious Blood, as a result the Father rests in us being members of the Lord’s body. Our rest is likewise fulfilled, for we rest in Him forever, in the bosom of the Heavenly Father. Christ is the "Mystery of the true rest," in whom the Father and consequently we as His children find rest. Opening the doors of hope for rest, by abiding in the Lord Christ, does not drive us to laziness and negligence, but to continuous strife, holding fast faith, and proceeding with confidence to the throne of grace. Meaning that the enjoyment of rest requires one to be aware lest he loses faith, and to continue struggling by holding fast faith in continuous growth. Therefore, he says, "Let us fear,… let us be diligent,… let us hold fast our confession,… let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" [1,11,14,16]. The divine fear drives us to diligence and diligence drives us to hold fast the confession of faith, which in turn gives us continuous progress having full confidence in the work of God's grace that God works within us in time, that is, in the proper time, for our edification. 2. THE SEVENTH DAY Since St. Paul wrote about being diligent in the fear of God to obtain His promise of rest, he is now relating this promise with the seventh day, that is, the "Sabbath" which in Hebrew means "rest." "For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works" [4]. What is the relation between the promise of entering His rest and between the Lord resting on the seventh day? Since God rested on the seventh day after He created the world in six days, that is, in six periods of time, yet this does not mean that He rested from work, for the Lord Jesus says, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (John 5: 17). St. Clement of Alexandria says, [God does not need a day of rest like man, for He does not get tired or becomes wearied or is in need2.] Thus, God's rest on the seventh day means His rejoicing for creating man on the sixth day after preparing all his needs. Since God rested on the seventh day, then the six days refer to the temporal life where God always works for us, so when the Day comes, that is, the true Sabbath comes, God rests because of our resurrection and our union with Him in the glories where He declares our perfect salvation. Thus, we are with Him forever in the new heaven and on the new earth (Rev. 21: 1). In the holy city, the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, it was told of her, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God" (Rev. 21: 3). This is the true rest for God and the people, or it is the Sabbath of the Lord and our Sabbath. The Lord Jesus is our "True Rest" or our "True Sabbath." In Him, the Father rested in humanity, as we became sanctified members in the body of His Son. We also rested in the Father where we found Him our Heavenly Father, when we enjoyed His sonship by abiding in the Only Begotten Son3. The rest was accomplished when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and raised us with Him, granting us the authority over death, conquering Hades, and abolishing sin. Thus, we had the right to enter into heaven to the bosom of the Father by uniting in the One who rose from the dead. The Father accepted us as members of the body of His Beloved Son. Father Barnabas, from the second century, talks about the resurrection of the Lord that it is the mystery of the true rest, or Sabbath, by saying, [We keep the eighth day (Sunday) joyfully, the day where Christ declared Himself as the Lord who rose from the dead, and ascended to heaven4.] Since the apostolic age, the churches used to officiate the Eucharist as a mystery of the true rest, where we receive the Body of the Risen Lord 2 Stromata, 6:16. 3راجع للمؤلف: الافخارستيا، . 136 ؛ سفر الخروج، 1981 ، ص 207 - المسيح في سرّ 1973 ، ص 115 4 Ep. of Barnabas 15. Chapter 1 3 and His Blood in memory of His resurrection! St. Paul continues his talk about God's rest on the seventh day by saying, "And again in this place, they shall not enter My rest" [5]... Why? First: Because the Jews misunderstood the meaning of the rest on the seventh day. They stopped working or doing any good deed, moreover, they defiled the Sabbath by their sins, so they lost the rest. St. John Chrysostom advises us saying, [To rest on the Sabbath does not mean to be idle, but rather to rest from being wearisome. God still works until now as Christ says, "My Father works up till now and I work." Therefore, I urge you to avoid laziness and to be filled with the zeal toward virtue because the pleasure of evil is temporary but its pain remains. On the contrary, virtue gives lasting satisfaction and its labor is temporary5.] Second: The second reason for not entering God's rest is that the Jews did not believe that Christ is the "True Sabbath." Christ says, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15: 22). The true Sabbath came to the world and the Jews rejected Him, thus they rejected their rest in God. St. John says, "He came to His own and His own did not receive Him" (John 1: 11). The true Sabbath came to liberate them from literally keeping the Sabbath so they may know the true Sabbath. Therefore, He came to do good on the Sabbath, emphasizing that the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath too" (Matt. 12: 8; Mark 2: 28; Luke 6: 5). 3. THE PROMISED LAND (REST IN CANAAN) Instead of talking about the rest we have on the Sabbath, St. Paul now talks about the rest that God's people had in the promised land, the land which overflowed with milk and honey. He wants to compare between the Lord Jesus Christ our Leader to the new earth and the new heaven and between Joshua, the son of Nun, who led them to Canaan to grant them comfort, which He had promised their fathers. The Apostle says that God still promised them with rest even though they had the land. As if what they have received through Joshua did not achieve the true complete rest for them, but was a symbol of anticipated rest (they were waiting for). "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God" [ 9]. There is still rest for which we have to struggle until we enjoy it, as God rested on the seventh day from His works, and the people entered the land of rest. "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience" [11]. This rest is the strife along our life with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mystery of our rest. We are rested when we believe in Him, and continuous struggle means our abiding in the eternal rest. St. John Chrysostom says, [Truly, faith is great and brings us salvation, and without faith, there is no salvation. Yet faith alone is not sufficient, for he says, "Let us be diligent." Beside faith, we need to lead a practical life of faith and zealously to be great in spirit. Since the Israelites who passed through many tribulations in the wilderness were not worthy to enter the promised land and enjoy it because they grumbled, how can we deserve to go to heaven if we live in negligence and idleness? We need to be very zealous6.] What does this mean: "Let us be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall..." [11]? St. John Chrysostom says, [This means that our thoughts, our hopes and our expectations are in heaven, lest we fail7.] He also means that since we enjoyed the rest in Christ Jesus and entered with Him and in Him to the heavens, it is fit that we struggle to grow in Him, lest we fall and be deprived of what we have already gained. As St. Paul says to the Galatians, "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" (Gal. 3: 3) Thus, after some start with the spirit and enjoy the true rest in Christ Jesus, they may neglect their strife and continue to live as carnal, thus regressing from heaven to earth. Let 5 In Ioan, hom., 36:2. 6 In Hebr. hom., 7:1. 7 Ibid. Chapter 1 4 us strive to be spiritual and not carnal. As St. Jerome says, [We who follow Christ, why do we still want to be carnal, after we have crucified the flesh with its desires?8] In the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15), the Shepherd left the ninety-nine to look for the lost sheep among the mountains. This lost sheep represents the person, who after living according to the spirit, becomes carnal, and he is consequently deprived of the true rest. Our armor which helps us to enter the heavenly rest is the word of God, whether it is the written word or the Incarnate Word. "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” [12,13]. The Lord Jesus is the living and effective Word of God who penetrates into our inner life, working in the heart and senses, and sanctifies all our members, preparing us by His Holy Spirit to go to the bosom of the Father as heirs with Christ in His heavenly kingdom. He reveals our inner secrets, knows our depths, and can continuously renew us. St. Athanasius of Alexandria says, [The Son of God is living and effective, and works day after day, for the salvation of everyone9.] He also says, [Man works by his hands not by words, because he is created and his word has no significance, but the Word of God is living and effective, for He is the Creator of everyone and without Him nothing was made that was made (John. 1: 3). It is not fit to ask, "Why the word of God is not like our word? We have to realize that God is not like us10.] What we say about the Lord Christ that He is the Living Word of God, we repeat it for the written word of God. We enjoy the word of God, when we meet the Lord Jesus who is hiding behind the letters. The soul enters to the depth of the word through the Holy Spirit to enjoy the heavenly chambers and live with the Living Word of God to enjoy His work through His words! The psalmist tells us about the effect of the word of God in the life of believers saying, "Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path." I will never forget your precepts, for by them You have given me life." “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." "I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure" (Ps.119: 105, 93, 130, 162). The Psalmist found in the divine commandment life, mystery of enlightenment, fountain of wisdom , and a treasure of riches! 4. REST IN CHRIST Since Joshua, the son of Nun, could not offer complete rest, but there still remains a rest for the people of God [9], what is then this true complete rest? And who can make us enter in it? St. Paul says, "Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" [14-16]. We know that Joshua, the son of Nun, could not cross the Jordan River to Canaan unless the high priest and the Levitical priests carrying the holy ark of the covenant accompany him. Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people. The Lord said, "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap" (Josh. 3:13). But Christ, the "Son of 8 Adv. Jovin. 1;38. 9 Incar. of the Word, 31. 10 Adv. Arians, 2:35,36. Chapter 1 5 God" and "Our High Priest" did not carry the ark of the covenant to make us cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, but He, being one with His Father in the ousia (essence) of Divinity, passed through the heavens to make us enter the Heavenly Canaan and rest in the bosom of the Father! The Apostle says, "we have a great High Priest." He is not a mere high priest, but "we have a great High Priest," who offered Himself so we may carry Him inside us. We own Him and He owns us; he enters our hearts so we may enter into His heavens. For this reason Isaiah the prophet says, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6). He is born for us and is given to us. This is what the angel had emphasized to the shepherds when he announced them with the birth of Christ, "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) Christ became ours, so when He passes through the heavens, we may pass through Him and with Him to be with our Christ. The Apostle asks us to hold fast our confession, that is “faith,” and to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need... Our confession is our faith, that is, to hold on to our faith that He is the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, the Son of the Heavenly God who is able to make us cross to His eternal glory. Let us proceed struggling, and be filled with hope that His grace will help us in time of need. Let us ask that we may cross with our true Joshua not to the temporary promised land but to the heavenly Canaan. We enter its deposit here, taste its fruits, enjoy its glory in our hearts, utter its heavenly language and carry the traits of its citizens, so that in due course, we enjoy it in perfect glory. St. Paul does not want us to doubt that we cannot make it because of our weaknesses, so he encourages us by saying, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" [15]. St. John Chrysostom says, [He does not ignore what concerns us, as what happens with many high priests, for they do not know who are in trouble... For it is impossible for man to realize the grieves of those who are annoyed... However, our High Priest endured everything. He first suffered then He ascended, so He may be able to be compassionate on us and share our feelings11.] 11 In Hebr. hom 7:5.
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