Rest, physical

The need for physical rest is recognised in Scripture, and provision is made for ensuring that people are allowed time for rest.

Jesus Christ needed physical rest

John 4:6 See also Mark 4:38, Mark 6:31; Luke 9:58

Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

The provision of rest

The need for rest

Mark 6:31 See also Psalm 23:2–3; Proverbs 17:1; Ecclesiastes 4:6; Matthew 11:28–30

And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

Provision of sleep for rest

Psalm 4:8 See also Psalm 127:2; Ecclesiastes 5:12

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Provision of a Sabbath-rest

Exodus 34:21; Mark 2:27 See also Exodus 20:8–11 parallel Deuteronomy 5:12–15; Exodus 31:15, Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 23:3; Nehemiah 13:15; Isaiah 58:13–14

Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.

Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

The purpose of rest

To renew strength

Lamentations 5:5 See also Isaiah 40:29–31

We are closely pursued; we are weary and find no rest.

To know peace

Matthew 6:25–34 See also Job 11:18–19; Psalm 3:5, Psalm 16:8; Proverbs 3:24; Philippians 4:6–7

The character of rest

The absence of war

Joshua 11:23 See also Joshua 14:15; 1 Kings 5:4; 1 Chronicles 22:9; Psalm 46:9–10; Proverbs 1:33; Isaiah 14:3

So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to the allotments to their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

The absence of social strife

2 Corinthians 13:11 See also Ecclesiastes 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:11; Hebrews 12:14; James 3:17–18; 1 Peter 3:8

Finally, brothers, rejoice! Aim for perfect harmony, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

The absence of fear

Mark 4:37–38 parallels Matthew 8:24–25, Luke 8:23–24 See also Genesis 32:11; Psalm 127:2; Micah 4:4; Matthew 6:31 parallel Luke 12:29

Soon a violent windstorm came up, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him and said, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are perishing?”

The absence of anxiety

1 Peter 5:7 See also Matthew 6:25; Philippians 4:6

Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

The presence of God

Exodus 33:14 See also Deuteronomy 33:27; Matthew 11:28

And the LORD answered, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

The experience of security

Deuteronomy 33:12 See also Proverbs 19:23

Concerning Benjamin he said: “May the beloved of the LORD rest secure in Him; God shields him all day long, and upon His shoulders he rests.”

The experience of peace in death

Revelation 14:13 See also Deuteronomy 31:16; Job 3:13–17

And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead — those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds will follow them.”

The destruction of rest

By business

Psalm 39:6 See also Genesis 31:40; Ecclesiastes 1:13, Ecclesiastes 2:23, Ecclesiastes 8:16; Luke 21:34

Surely every man goes about like a phantom; surely he bustles in vain; he heaps up riches not knowing who will haul them away.

By conflict

2 Corinthians 7:5 See also Lamentations 5:5; 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 11:27

For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction — conflicts on the outside, fears within.

By grief

Jeremiah 45:3 See also Job 3:26; Psalm 77:4; Daniel 6:18

You have said, ‘Woe is me because the LORD has added sorrow to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.’”

By unconfessed guilt

Psalm 32:3–5 See also Genesis 4:12; Deuteronomy 28:65–67; Isaiah 48:22, Isaiah 57:20–21; Revelation 14:11

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

By sickness

Job 30:17 See also Job 7:4–5

Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest.