Hebrews 4:6-8

‘Seeing therefore it remains that some should enter into it, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, he again defines a certain day, “Today”, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as has been said before), “Today if you will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.’

The original offer to enter into His rest, as described in the Psalm, referred to the good news of Canaan. But because of disobedience they failed to enter into it, even though the offer was made clear to them. And the reason that they failed was because they did not believe.

But this Psalm in the book of David (‘David’ - The book of Psalms was often called ‘David’ because so many psalms in it were attributed ‘to David’) demonstrates that there was still an offer being made of entering into rest in the psalmist’s day, (compare Psalms 16:9; Psalms 37:7; Psalms 116:7; Psalms 132:14), and also demonstrates the same for the writer’s day (and for our day), for the Psalms were a continual offering of God’s mercies. They did not just refer to the past, but to the past as it affects the present. Thus the fact that the Psalms can still say ‘today’ in a way that is relevant to those who use it for worship, demonstrates that the rest is still one that was available ‘today’, in whatever day the Psalm was written, and indeed in any day in which it is used.

‘For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day.’ His argument is that had Joshua given rest to the people of Israel the Psalm would have had no relevance for today, indeed would never have been written, it would not have given the impression of a possibility of entering into rest. But the Psalmist speaking by the Holy Spirit (Hebrews 3:7) clearly considered it relevant to the ‘today’ in which he wrote it, and all ‘todays’ thereafter. Thus it is clear that God still offers a rest to His people.

(The Greek here says ‘Jesus’, but that is simply because ‘Jesus’ is the Greek for the Hebrew ‘Joshua’. In Hebrew ‘Jesus Christ’ is ‘Joshua Messiah’).

It is not without significance that what the first Joshua was unable to give, the second Joshua now gives. He is a greater than Joshua. The first Joshua strove to give the people rest, but failed. But where he failed the second Joshua has been successful. For He offers His people rest (Matthew 11:28-29).