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God’s promise that we may enter his place of rest still exists. We are afraid then lest some among you seem to fail to enter his place of rest. 2 Indeed, we have heard the good news about God’s promises, just as they did. But that message did not benefit them because they did not go along with those who believed God, listened and obeyed. 3 Oh yes, we do enter that rest, as do those who have believed. But those who do not believe do not enter, as he has said, “Because I was angry with the people of Israel, I solemnly declared, ‘They will not enter the land where I would let them rest.’” God said this even though his plans for a place of resting had been finished from the time he created the world. 4 What the scriptures say about the seventh day shows that this is true. God spent six days creating the world and then rested.
“Then, on the seventh day, God rested from his work of creating everything.”
5 But note again what God said about the Israelites in the passage that I quoted previously:
“They will not enter the land where I would let them rest.”
6 So then, it is clear that some people still enter God’s rest. But the Israelites who first heard God promise that they would rest—they did not enter that place of resting, because they refused to believe God. 7 But God set another time when we may enter that place of resting. That time is now! We know that is true because much later than when the Israelites rebelled against God in the desert, he caused King David to write what I have already quoted,
“Right now, when you understand what God is saying to you, do not stubbornly disobey him.”
8 If Joshua had led the Israelites to enter the only place of resting God would give them, then much later God would not have spoken again about another day of rest. But he did give them another promise of rest. 9 So, just as God rested on the seventh day after he finished creating everything, there remains a time when God’s people will rest eternally. 10 Whoever enters God’s place of resting has also ceased from his work, just as God finished doing his own work of creating everything.
11 So we eagerly enter into that rest of God, in order that there be no one among us who fails to believe as the others failed to believe. 12 God’s words are alive and powerful, and they are able to cut sharper than any two-edged sword—cutting so deep that it can separate out the difference between our soul and our spirit. God’s words cut deeply, down through the joints into the marrow within the bones. God’s words are like a judge, deciding what thoughts are good or what thoughts are bad, and his words show the motives hidden deep within each of our hearts. 13 God knows everything about everyone. Nothing is hidden from him. Everything is completely open to him and he sees everything we do. We must all appear before God and we must tell him how we have lived our lives.
14 So we have a great high priest who ascended through the heavens. He is Jesus, God’s Son. So let us courageously say openly that we trust Jesus the Messiah. 15 Our high priest can indeed have mercy on us and encourage us, we who tend to sin easily, because Satan also tempted him to sin in every way that he tempts us to sin—but he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the Messiah, who rules from heaven and does for us what we do not deserve, so that he might kindly help us and have mercy on us when we need him to do so.