Good morning, we have now come to the part of our service where we spend some time opening God’s Word. So, if you have your Bible’s available you can turn to Hebrews chapter 4 verses 9 to 11
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”
Well, the title of this message today is “God’s rest through Christ. And this is part 2 of that message we began last week.
Last week, we began walking through the Old Testament Jewish calendar of Leviticus 23. We saw how God gave His people seven feasts—not randomly, but intentionally—each of these feasts is a Sabbath, a holy appointment, a day or days of rest and remembrance.
And we found that each of them gave a different kind of rest.
Seven appointed times to stop, remember, worship, and rest. Rest from slavery at the feast of Passover. Rest from corruption at the feast of Unleavened Bread. Rest in God’s provision at Firstfruits. Rest in revelation at Pentecost. Rest through repentance at Trumpets. Rest from guilt on the Day of Atonement. And rest in God’s presence during the Feast of Tabernacles. We finished the first 3 last week and we also found that all of them were shadows pointing to Christ. As it says in the passage we just read in Hebrews, “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” The ultimate purpose for the feasts of rest wasn’t fulfilled by these annual festivities, God had a greater rest in mind. That is an amazing thought. God had their rest in mind. God values rest. Your rest. Your spiritual rest. God knows our need for rest. People in our lives don’t always our rest. At our jobs, in our families. We need physical rest and spiritual rest- I read this this week.
According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing games with some little children. The man laughed and jeered at Aesop, and asked him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity.
Aesop responded by picking up a bow, from a bow and arrow lying there. loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, "Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows implies."
The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. So Aesop explained, "If you keep a bow always bent, - always in tension- it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use it was intended when you want it."
His point was that human beings are not physically or spiritually built to just work and work constantly. We all need to take time to rest. And God knows our need for rest. Jesus prescribed time off for His wearied disciples after they had returned from a prolonged period of ministry. He said, “Come aside and rest for a bit.” And in the Old Testament, God set a pattern for us when He "rested from all His work" (Gen.2:3). And commanded that we have a day of rest every week.
Today, we continue that journey. We’ve looked at the Sabbath day and the first three feasts of rest; rest from slavery, from corruption, and rest in God’s daily provision. Today, we will explore the final four feasts—each one rich in meaning, each one pointing forward to Jesus, and each one inviting us into a deeper kind of rest.
So, let’s continue walking the sacred calendar.
With each one of the remaining feasts of rest we will have a description of the feast, how Jesus fulfilled it, and a call to us to enter His rest.
Feast number 4 was the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost
It is described in Leviticus 23 verses15 through 22
“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering... You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved... baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the Lord.” skip down to verse 21
“You shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work.”
In May to June of our year it was May to June, fifty days after Firstfruits
And it’s original purpose was a Thanksgiving for the wheat harvest and a remembrance of the giving of the Law. So here’s a description of what that would have been like.
Imagine again a Hebrew household...
As the Sabbath of Firstfruits—known also as the Feast of Weeks—settled over the land, a Hebrew man and his wife reclined in quiet gratitude, the scent of freshly baked loaves wafting through their home. The wheat had been gathered, the firstfruits offered, and now they rested—not in weariness, but in worship. They remembered the long journey to this moment: from bondage in Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai, where God had thundered His covenant from the mountain. This was a day of remembrance and rest, a celebration of provision and revelation. As they paused from their labor, they gave thanks for both bread and Law—sustenance for body and soul.
This was a very special feast day. It was not only a reminder of God providing for them through the days of harvest, but it was a reminder of that day that God gave them the precious gift of His law on Sinai. It connected two kinds of rest: rest through God’s provision of bread at harvest, and rest through God’s provision of spiritual bread; God’s Word.
Even Old Testament Scripture acknowledges that we need both physical and spiritual bread.
Deuteronomy 8:3 says “He humbled you by letting you hunger, then feeding you with manna... to teach you that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”
Psalm 19:7–10 says “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul...More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”
And Proverbs 9:5–6 says “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
But even as this feast connected physical and spiritual bread, even as it taught this profound lesson that the law was sustenance, it’s purpose still wasn’t complete until Christ, when the law could leave the external tablet, and enter the heart through the indwelling Spirit.
So, it is later fulfilled in Christ – as I said to the Feast of weeks or Pentecost. Originally it marked the wheat harvest and was associated in Jewish tradition with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. But in the New Testament, this feast found its ultimate fulfillment in Acts 2. The calendar and precision of God are amazing. Jesus died on the exact day that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered. He was the unleavened bread being offered. He was the bread of life. And now, fifty days after His resurrection, on the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in Jerusalem. On that day, the Church was born. As fire once descended on Mount Sinai, now tongues of fire rested on God’s people. As the Law had once been written on stone tablets, now it was written on hearts. The feast was never intended to be the end of God’s physical and spiritual provision of bread. God said beforehand.
In Jeremiah 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
He said that there would come a day in
Ezekiel 36 verses 26 and 27 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
And Jesus had promised His disciples the Holy Spirit, saying, “He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13), and now that promise was fulfilled.
So, what do we do with this rest – Hebrews 4 – says we are to “strive to enter it.”
Jesus calls us to enter the rest of Pentecost—a rest praising God for bringing a harvest of souls, a rest from trying to live by external rules, and a new life empowered by His Spirit. Hebrews was written to Jewish people wrestling with following Christ but trying to hold on to the old Jewish practices. God now put the law in the heart. We are not left to struggle in our own strength. The Spirit not only convicts and comforts, He empowers us for witness and transforms us from the inside out. Pentecost reminds us that God is not distant; He is present and active within us. It is a rest of assurance: we are equipped, sealed, and sent. What is the next feast.
the Feast of Trumpets
Leviticus 23 says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
The Time of Year was September/October
This feast was called Rosh Hashanah. it was a call to repentance and preparation for another feast, the Day of Atonement.
this day began the civil new year. Trumpets were blown as a call to repentance and preparation for the Day of Atonement.
Here’s a description of what that would have been like.
As the Sabbath of Trumpets unfolded—Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the civil new year—a Hebrew man and his wife sat in solemn rest, the echoes of the shofar trumpet still lingering in their minds. The piercing blasts had broken the morning silence, not merely as a ritual, but as a call—a call to awaken, to repent, to prepare their hearts. No work was done this day; instead, they reflected on the year behind them and the holy reckoning ahead. The Day of Atonement was drawing near, and with it, the hope of cleansing. As they rested from their labor, they searched their souls, asking if their hearts were clean, if their lives were aligned with the covenant. This Sabbath was not just a pause—it was a turning point, a sacred moment to realign their lives with the mercy and justice of their God.
This was a time for Israel to awaken from spiritual slumber and examine their lives. It was an alarm sounding indicating that the Lord could come among them at any moment and they needed to be repentant and ready. There are some Old Testament passages that have the flavor of that announcement.
Joel 2:1
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; Verses 15 to 17 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
Isaiah 58 verse 1
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Zephaniah 1 verses 14 to 16 The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. So, what do we do with this – Jesus passover is our rest at his crucifixion, unleavened bread is his offering himself as the bread of life. Pentecost is the rest from external law to the law within us.
Jesus calls us to enter the rest of spiritual readiness—to live awake, alert, and repentant. It is a daily call to turn from sin and return to Him. This feast prophetically points to the second coming of Christ, when, as Paul says, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Jesus referenced this same event in Matthew 24:31, when He spoke of sending His angels with a trumpet call to gather His elect.
This rest is not passive; it’s a rest that comes through alignment with God’s will. When we repent, we are no longer at war with God. We stop justifying sin and begin walking in truth. The Feast of Trumpets reminds us to live with urgency, with eternity in view. Are we listening to the spiritual trumpet? Are we ready for His return?
The next Rest was the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur
It says in Leviticus 23 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
The Time of Year was September/October
it was a feast of Solemn fasting and sacrifice for the forgiveness of national sin.
The high priest entered the Holy of Holies to offer blood for the sins of the people and himself. It was a solemn day of fasting and repentance.
Let’s describe it.
As the Sabbath of the Day of Atonement unfolded, the Hebrew man and his wife sat in silence, their bodies weakened by fasting, their hearts heavy with reverence. No fire crackled, no bread was broken—this was not a feast, but a day of sorrow and soul-searching. In the stillness, they imagined the high priest moving beyond the veil, trembling as he entered the Holy of Holies with blood—not just for the nation, but for his own sin as well. Every breath felt fragile, every moment sacred, as they awaited the outcome of that hidden transaction between heaven and earth. They rested not in comfort, but in humility, casting their hopes upon the mercy of God. This Sabbath stripped away pride and pretense, reminding them that forgiveness came not by effort, but by grace—and only through the shedding of blood.
The Old Testament says...
Leviticus 16 verses 15 to 16 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering… and sprinkle it on the mercy seat... Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins.”
And Leviticus 16:21–22 “And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel...
And the goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area…”
The Key Idea is that One goat was killed to represent the covering of sin through blood; the other (scapegoat) symbolically carried sin away—a vivid picture of full atonement.
So, what do we do with it.
The Day of Atonement was the holiest day of the year for Israel. On this day, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place and offered blood sacrifices—first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. This annual act of intercession pointed to something greater. Hebrews 9:12 tells us that Christ entered the greater, heavenly sanctuary once for all, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, securing eternal redemption. He became both the High Priest and the sacrifice. His work on the cross fulfilled the atonement perfectly and completely.
Jesus now invites us to enter the rest from guilt. No more sacrifices are needed. No more striving to be good enough. Hebrews 10:14 says, “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” We do not fast to earn God’s mercy; we humble ourselves in light of His mercy already given. The Day of Atonement reminds us of both the seriousness of sin and the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. We rest in the truth that our sins are forgiven, our record is clean, and our conscience is made new. We no longer carry the burden of shame. In Jesus, we are free to draw near to God.
The last feast is the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
The Time of Year was September/October
it was a Joyful remembrance of God’s provision during the wilderness journey.
The Israelites lived in temporary shelters to remember their wilderness journey and God’s provision. It was the most joyful of all the feasts.
Here’s a description.
As the Sabbath of the Feast of Booths settled into the seventh day, a Hebrew man and his wife leaned against the woven walls of their temporary shelter, gazing up at the stars through the thatched roof above them. Laughter from nearby families drifted through the night air, mingling with the scent of shared meals and the songs of praise. Though they had left their sturdy homes behind for a week, they felt no lack—for this was a time of joy, a celebration of God’s faithful provision in the wilderness. Each branch overhead reminded them of the journey their ancestors had taken, led by the cloud by day and fire by night. And now, in this restful pause from labor, they rejoiced not in what their hands had built, but in the God who had sustained them through every season. This Sabbath was not a burden—it was delight, a living memory of a God who dwells with His people in every wilderness and every harvest. It was a rest remembering that God had provided a way that His people could live with Him.
Psalm 27 verses 4 to 5 “One thing have I asked of the Lord... that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent...”
Zechariah 2 verses 10 to 11 “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord.”
And we know that it was Fulfilled in Christ:
The Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles) was a joyful celebration remembering how God provided for Israel during their wilderness journey. For seven days, the people lived in temporary shelters to recall that they once wandered without a home, but God was with them. This feast looked back to God’s provision, but also forward to His promise of dwelling permanently with His people. John 1:14 declares, “The Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us.” Jesus is the fulfillment of this feast—God dwelling in human flesh. And in Revelation 21:3, we are told, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.”
What do we do with it? These feasts were not permanent. They were shadows of a greater things to come – Jesus.
Jesus invites us to enter the rest of His presence. In a world full of impermanence and uncertainty, He is our shelter. We are still pilgrims, still journeying toward our eternal home, but we do not walk alone. Just as God was with Israel in the wilderness, Jesus is with us today by His Spirit, and one day He will dwell with us forever in glory. The Feast of Booths reminds us to rejoice, to celebrate God’s provision, and to rest in the promise that our future is secure. Even now, we find joy and contentment in His nearness, knowing that no matter where we dwell, He is our true dwelling place.
Together, these final feasts show that our rest in Christ is both now and not yet. He fulfills every promise, and He invites us into the fullness of His grace—resting in revelation, readiness, redemption, and relationship.
Let me remind you again of the promise from Hebrews 4:9:
“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”
You don’t have to strive anymore.
You don’t have to carry the guilt.
You don’t have to wonder if you’re alone.
Christ is our Sabbath.
In Him, the work is finished. The burden is lifted. The tent is taken down, and the temple has come. Every feast pointed to Him—and now, He points to you and says,
“Come to Me… and I will give you rest.”
Let me share this.
A missionary once visited a refugee camp in a war-torn country. As he walked past the makeshift shelters of wood and cloth, he noticed one family had written Psalm 90 on their tent:
“Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.” Astounding words on a shelter in a refugee camp.
Despite their poverty and displacement, they smiled, shared their food, and sang praise songs. When asked how they could rejoice in such conditions, they said, “Our homes are gone—but our God is with us. That is enough.”
That’s the faith of Passover.
The supply of unleavened bread.
The promise of firstfruits.
That’s the spirit of Tabernacles.
That’s the peace of Atonement.
That’s the hope of Trumpets.
That’s the power of Pentecost.
Jesus has fulfilled the calendar.
Now it’s time to rest.