Rest

Every one knows what it is to rest from labour, from weariness of body and mind. And every one who is acquainted with the Bible cannot but know that there is a rest promised to the people of God. (Heb. 4: 9.) But the sweetest of all thoughts to a poor, distressed, weather - beaten sin ner, is to behold Christ himself this rest for him to lie down upon for ever. The Holy Ghost, by Isaiah, gave account of this rest in Jesus when he said, "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest, and this is the refreshing." (Isa.28. 12. See also Ps. c16. 7. Matt. xi. 28, 29.)

In Mal 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.\par

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 (Mat 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 (Rev 14:13; Rev 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 (Rev 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."

anapausis (G372) Rest

anesis (G425) Ease

Our version translates both anapausis and anesis as "rest." Although this is not objectionable, on closer examination these words appear to derive from different images and to depict "rest" from different perspectives. Anapausis refers to a pause or cessation from labor (Rev_4:8) and is consistently used in the Septuagint to refer to the rest of the Sabbath. Anesis refers to the relaxation of chords or strings that had been taut; its exact and literal antithesis is epitasis. Thus Plato used the phrase "in the stretching and relaxing [anesei] of the chords." And Plutarch stated: "We relax the bows and the lyres in order to be able to stretch them." According to Josephus, in the year of jubilee Moses gave "rest [anesin] to the ground from plowing and planting." Perhaps the best illustration of anesis comes from De liberis educandis 13, a work ascribed to Plutarch:

anapausis anesis

One must give children respite from continuous toil, pondering that our entire life is divided between rest [anesin] and activity, and therefore there is not only wakefulness but also sleep, not only war but also peace, not only storms but also clear weather, not only energetic deeds but also festivals... in general the body is preserved by want and fulfillment and the soul by rest [anesei] and toil.

Plato distinguished anesis and spoude in the same way, and Plutarch contrasted anesis, a dwelling at large, with stenochoria (G4730), a narrow, straight room. Paul contrasted anesis with thlipsis; he did not want some churches to have "ease" (anesis) while the Corinthian church suffered "affliction" (thlipsis) because of an excessive contribution. When used figuratively, anesis refers to the relaxation of morals.

Luke's use of the phrase echein (G2192) anesin in Act_24:23 is an excellent one. Felix, who took a more favorable view of Paul's case, commanded the centurion in charge of Paul to relax the strictness of Paul's imprisonment and to keep him under honorable arrest, not in actual confinement. The partial relaxation of Paul's bonds is exactly what this phrase implies.

The distinction, then, is obvious. When our Lord promises anapausis to the weary and heavy laden who come to him (Mat_11:18; Mat_11:29), his promise is that they will cease from their toil, no longer laboring for that which does not satisfy. When Paul expressed his confidence that the Thessalonians, though presently troubled, will find anesis in the day of Christ (2Th_1:7), he anticipated not so much their cessation from labor as the relaxation of their chords of affliction that were stretched so tightly. Christ's promise and Paul's confidence are related, though they portray the blessings of Christ under different aspects and images. Each word has its appropriate context.

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 Psa 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. Mat 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. Mat 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; Rev 14:11.

REST.—1. There is in the Gospels frequent allusion to the value of rest as the purchase of preceding effort, the compensation that is provided for sore afflictions. The Sermon on the Mount, as the proclamation of the new Kingdom, guarantees such rest and peace to those who serve and suffer for the sake of that Kingdom (Mat 5:1-12). Prosperity in the world can make no such promises (Luk 12:20; Luk 16:25).

2. As rest, physical, social, and religious, is an organic necessity of life, and is protected by conditions of time and place, it should not be set aside for effort that is uncalled for, or that confuses the lower and higher forms of rest. Such was the lesson given in the home at Bethany (Luk 10:42). Similarly, the lilies of the field, while developing to the full their own character in their own place, are content to remain lilies (Mat 6:28-29).

3. There is an ignoble state of rest that may slothfully or blindly oppose the call to a higher and truer contentment (Mat 11:17; Mat 11:22, Luk 19:40). Christ’s gift is life abundant (Joh 10:10), but the bestowal involves asking, and faith’s exertion of knocking is expected at the entrance into life (Mat 7:7).

4. In the parable of the Sower, the recompense is in the abundant harvest. This increase is the way of nature where hindering things cease to operate. The list of obstacles typifies the things that impoverish or prevent altogether the fruitfulness of discipleship. In the Kingdom of heaven the instinct of citizenship is to be rich toward God. Its gratification is not toil but rest (Mat 11:28; see art. Repose).

Literature.—The subject is treated homiletically in many vols. of Sermons, as H. Allon, Indwelling Christ (1892), 41; Stopford Brooke, Gospel of Joy (1898), 123; R. Flint, Christ’s Kingdom (1865), 22; E. W. Moore, The Promised Rest (1904); R. Rainy, Sojourning with God (1902), 37; J. H. Jowett, Apostolic Optimism (1901), 87. See also ExpT [Note: xpT Expository Times.] ii. (1891) 110, viii. (1897) 239, x. (1899) 48, 104, xii. (1901) 466.

G. M. Mackie.

REST.—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 (Exo 33:14, Deu 3:20), and Zion is the resting-place of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] (Psa 132:8; Psa 132:14), the Temple being built by ‘a man of rest’ (1Ch 22:9; a contrast is implied with the desert wanderings in Num 10:33-36). At the same time no earthly temple can be the real resting-place of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] (Isa 66:1, Act 7:49). The rest of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year are connected with the rest of God after creation (Gen 2:2, Exo 20:11, Lev 25:4; see art. Sabbath). The individual desires rest, as did the nation (Psa 55:8); it is not to be found in ignoble ease (Gen 49:15 Issachar), but in the ways of God (Psa 37:7, Jer 6:10); it is the gift of Christ (Mat 11:28). Sinners fail to find it (Isa 28:12; Isa 57:20), as Israel failed (Psa 95:11). Heb 4:1-16 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; Job 3:17 [in Psa 16:9, see RV [Note: Revised Version.] ]), but also the opportunity of continued work (Rev 14:13).

C. W. Emmet.

(נוּח, nū^aḥ, מנוּחה, m^enūḥāh, “cessation from motion,” “peace,” “quiet,” etc.; ἀνάπαυσις, anápausis, κατάπαυσις, katápausis): “Rest” in the above sense is of frequent occurrence, and is the translation of several words with various applications and shades of meaning, chiefly of the words given above. It is applied to God as ceasing from the work of creating on the 7th day (Gen 2:2 f) ; as having His place of rest in the midst of His people in the temple (1Ch 28:2; Psa 132:8, Psa 132:14); as resting in His love among His people (Zep 3:17, the Revised Version margin “Hebrew, ’be silent’ “). The 7th day was to be one of rest (Exo 16:23; Exo 31:15; see SABBATH); the land also was to have its rest in the 7th year (Lev 25:4 f). Yahweh promised His people rest in the land He should give them; this they looked forward to and enjoyed (Deu 12:9; Jos 11:23). “To rest on” often means to come upon to abide, as of the Spirit of Yahweh (Num 11:25 f; Isa 11:2), of wisdom (Pro 14:33), of anger (Ecc 7:9). There is again the “rest” of the grave (Job 3:13, Job 3:17, Job 3:18; Isa 57:2; Dan 12:13). Rest is sometimes equivalent to trust, reliance (2Ch 14:11, the Revised Version (British and American) “rely”). Hence, rest in Yahweh (Psa 37:7, etc.); “rest” in the spiritual sense is not, however, prominent in the Old Testament. In the New Testament Christ’s great offer is rest to the soul (Mat 11:28). In Heb 4:1 ff, it is argued from God’s having promised His people a “rest” - a promise not realized in Canaan (Heb 4:8) - that there remains for the people of God “a Sabbath rest” (sabbatismós, Heb 4:9). For “rest” the Revised Version (British and American) has “solemn rest” (Exo 16:23; Exo 31:15, etc.), “resting-place” (Psa 132:8, Psa 132:14; Isa 11:10), “peace” (Act 9:31), “relief” (2Co 2:13; 2Co 7:5), etc. See also REMNANT.

So far as the apostolic writings are concerned, the teaching on rest in its relation to the believer’s life is confined to two great passages-Heb_4:1-11 and Rev_14:13. The basis of the idea is the Divine rest, the rest on which God entered at the completion of His work of creation. Participation in this rest is a Divine gift to man. The natural tendency is to conceive rest as mere cessation of work. So far as the Jews shared this misapprehension, it is corrected by our Lord in the discourse of Joh_5:17 ff. beginning with the words, ὁ ðáôÞñ ìïõ ἕùò ἄñôé ἐñãÜæåôáé, êἄãù ἐñãÜæïìáé. This idea of rest as freedom for further work finds expression in Rev_14:13 : ‘Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours (êüðùí); for their works (ἔñãá) follow with them.’ The ‘labours’ of the Christian’s life are ended at death; its ‘works’-i.e. habits, methods, and results-abide and remain in the new life.

It is in Heb_4:1-11 that we find the most exhaustive treatment of this theme. The whole passage may almost be called a homily or discourse having for its text the words of Psa_95:11, ὡò ὤìïóá ἐí ôῇ ὀñãῆ̣ ìïõ, åἰ åἰóåëåýóïíôáé åἰò ôὴí êáôÜðáõóßí ìïõ. The rest to which God, as quoted by the Psalmist, refers is the Divine rest, after creation, of which Gen_2:2 speaks: êáὶ êáôἐðáõóå ôῇ ἡìÝñᾳ ôῇ ἑâäüìῃ ἀðὸ ðÜíôùí ôῶí ἔñãùí áὐôïῦ ὦí ἐðëßíóå, a passage which links the idea of Divine rest indissolubly with the Sabbath. The writer’s argument is briefly this. The inspired oracle in Psalms 95 speaks of a ‘rest’ of God. The Psalmist tells how in the days of Moses this rest lay open to God’s people, but they did not enter in through disobedience. Neither then nor at the entry into Canaan under Joshua was the Divine idea of rest realized. The Psalmist, in fact, implies that the Divine idea still remains unrealized, it still awaits fulfilment; and the author of Hebrews, taking the Psalmist’s word as the last utterance of the OT on the subject of rest, applies it with confidence to his hearers of the NT epoch. He draws the inference ἂñá ἀðïëåßðåôáé óáââáôéóìὸò ôῷ ôïῦ èåïῦ.

The word óáââáôéóìὁò (Revised Version ‘Sabbath rest’) occurs here only in the Greek Bible. It is not a coinage of the author’s, because it is found in Plutarch, de Superstit. 3. Its occurrence therefore in Justin Martyr, Dial. 23 B, is not necessarily dependent, on Hebrews. The substitution of this word for êáôÜðáõóéò, the word employed throughout the remainder of the passage, is not accidental. It not only denotes the Divine rest as a Sabbatic rest; it links together, in a most suggestive way, the end with the beginning, the consummation with the creation. It implies too that the rest which God gives is one which He also enjoys, and it strikes the note of universalism, for the Divine rest is prior to the very existence of a chosen people. Just as in the case of salvation, the Christian rest may be viewed both as a present possession and as a future blessing. On the one hand, ‘we which have believed do enter into that rest.’ On the other hand, the very conception of the rest as God’s rest involves fuller realization yet to come.

The word ἀíÜðáõóéò occurs now and then in the sub-apostolic writings with reference to the heavenly rest. 2 Clem. v. 5 speaks of the ἀíÜðáõóéò ôῆò ìåëëïýóçò âáóéëåßáò êáὶ æùῆò áἰùíßïõ, and in vi. 7 we read, ðïéïῦíôåò ãὰñ ôὸ èÝëçìá ôïῦ ×ñéóôïῦ åὑñÞóïìåí ἀíÜðáõóéí. The verb êáôáðáýù occurs throughout an interesting passage (Ep. Bran. 15) in which the hallowing of the Sabbath is discussed as something which will find its fulfilment in Christianity (as opposed to Judaism) in the impending Messianic Age. It is quite possible that the treatment here may be influenced by the thought and language of Heb_4:1-11.

In 2Th_1:7 the Revised Version agrees with Authorized Version in using ‘rest’ to translate ἄíåóéò. This word is used in the NT only by St. Paul, always with a contrast to èëßøéò expressed (as here) or implied. That the idea of rest here has an eschatological reference is seen from the following words: ἐí ôῇ ἀðïêáëýøåé ôïῦ êõñßïõ Ἰçóïῦ ἀðʼ ïὐñáíïῦ ìåôʼ ἀããÝëùí äõíÜìåùò áὐôïῦ.

Literature.-Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , article ‘Rest’; H. B. Swete, Apocalypse2, London, 1907, p. 187; A. B. Bruce, Hebrews, do., 1889, pp. 92-100; G. Milligan, Thessalonians, do., 1908, p. 89.

Dawson Walker.