We are in the second major division of the book of Hebrews comprised of chapters 3 and 4, wherein the author continues his lengthy and varied warning exhortation concerning apostasy. In chapter 3 we saw the positive examples in the faithfulness of Moses and Jesus as well as the negative example of the Israelites who fell into the sin of unbelief in the wilderness. The author’s aim is to arouse godly fear (4:2) so that we would be moved to examine ourselves and persevere in the faith. In chapter 4, while continuing the same thoughts, he turns in emphasis to ‘the rest,’ from which the wilderness generation was excluded, which is now extended to God’s people, today. Whereas the tone and tenor of chapter 3 was that of stern warning, in chapter 4, he now introduces a promise that stirs hope among his readers. While condemnation comes to those who fall away into faithlessness; nevertheless, God extends a hopeful promise of entering His rest to those who obey the Gospel. This promise serves as an encouragement for us to endure to the end, and thus has the same aim as the warning of chapter 3.
