“…until Adonai allows your brothers to rest, as he has allowed you; and they too have taken possession of the land Adonai your God is giving them. At that point, you will return to the land which is yours and possess it, the land Moshe the servant of Adonai gave you in ‘Ever-HaYarden to the east, toward the sunrise.”-Joshua 1:15
Today I want to talk about a concept that is both the means and goal the Lord uses for our salvation.
I’m talking about the word “rest”.
In Hebrew, this word is NUACH.
And it appears here in Joshua chapter one in the context of the 2 1/2 tribes helping their Hebrew brothers achieve “rest” in their allotted territories inside the Promised Land.
The use of this word actually introduces a shift in terms of how Scripture will speak of the redemption of Israel.
Up until now, the main term being used was “inheritance”…
…as in Israel would “inherit” their Promised Land.
However, from this point on and moving forward the use of the word “rest” or NUACH will assume a leading role in reference to Israel’s salvation.
This word will come to mean divine deliverance and speaks of a future time when Israel will be delivered from their hard labors.
In fact, rest is a promise the Lord has made to ALL of God’s people…
…just as much as He promised Israel would inherit the land of Canaan.
We can actually see this promise being established during the creation when the Lord rested on the 7th day and He ordained that all mankind should rest on the 7th day.
Yeshua said…
…”The Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath.”
The Greek word for “man” here is ANTHROPOS and indeed it refers to all mankind in general and NOT just Israel.
The principle of rest is woven into the very fabric of the universe.
Also note that since the Sabbath was established by God for man, man does NOT have the authority to change it or say it has been done away with.
In other words, the Sabbath is the center point around which man must pivot, not the opposite.
That’s the real meaning of Yeshua saying “man wasn’t created for the Sabbath”.
What he’s saying is that the Sabbath should NOT revolve around man but it should be the other way around.
The prophet Isaiah also preached on how NUACH or rest is the reward given to those who faithfully obey the Lord.
Later on, the term NUACH will be turned into a vigorous action verb in reference to the Holy Spirit resting on the Lord’s prophets and certain chosen men and kings.
Probably the most momentous use of the word rest was when the Holy Spirit “rested” on top of Yeshua in the form of a dove when he was baptized.
Or how about during Shavuot (“Pentecost” in gentile speak), when tongues of fire came to “rest” on top of the heads of all of those Jews who accepted Yeshua for their salvation.
From beginning to end, rest has always been the primary goal of salvation for His people.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
-Matthew 11:28-30
“Probably the most momentous use of the word rest was when the Holy Spirit “rested” on top of Yeshua in the form of a dove when he was baptized.”
I looked at Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, and Luke 3:22 (all KJV) and could not find any equivalent Greek word for the Hebrew nuach (rest) in these three verses.
I may be missing something.
What Greek word for “rest” are you using from the above verses?
Please ignore my previous email.
The Holy Spirit “descending” like a dove on Jesus is katabaino in Greek and its Hebrew equivalent is nuach for rest.
Thank you.