What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

What Does The Bible Say About Rest? In most cases, rest goes with relaxation. This makes it difficult to talk about one without necessarily talking about the other. “Rest” is defined as “peace, ease or refreshment.” “Relax” on its part means “to become loose or less firm, to have a milder manner, to be less stiff.” Rest is a frequently found theme in the Bible. In fact, it is a repeated theme throughout the Scripture, beginning with the creation week (Genesis 2:2-3). The Scripture clearly tells us that God created for six days; then He rested, not because He was tired but to set the standard for humanity to follow. It is in respect of this that the Ten Commandments made resting on the Sabbath a requirement of the Law (Exodus 20:8-11).

Behold, God said “Remember the Sabbath.” It is important to realize here that the Sabbath wasn’t something new; it had been around since creation. That is, all God’s people together with their servants and animals were to have one day in seven to rest. Get it once and for all that the command to rest on the sabbath was not an excuse to be lazy. All of God’s people were to work for six days before getting to the sabbath. Likewise, the land also needed to rest (Leviticus 25:4, 8-12). With this in mind, we can say that God is very serious about rest. He desires rest from us because it does not come naturally to us.

What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

What does the Scripture say about Rest?

To rest on the Sabbath means trusting God to take care of things on our behalf. It is in this light that we must trust that, if we take a day off, the world will not stop turning on its axis. Since the very beginning (Genesis 3), when made-up our minds to start taking all the decisions, humanity has become more tense and less able to relax. It was mankind’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden that started this problem. Luckily enough, obedience can bring forth the rest that God desires for His people (Hebrews 3:7 – 4:11). Since one of the definitions of “rest” is to “to become less firm,” loosening our grip on our own lives, families, belongings, careers, and handing them over to God in faith knowing that He is in control is the best way to rest.

It is important to understand here that for the Christian, the ultimate rest is in Christ Jesus. Christ invites all those who are “weary and burdened” to come and cast their cares on Him (Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 5:7). Truth be told, it is only in Christ that we find our complete rest. In Him, we mean the kind of rest from the sorrows that plague us, from the cares of the world, and from the need to work to make ourselves acceptable to Him. The reason we no longer observe the Jewish Sabbath is because Jesus is our Sabbath Rest. In Jesus Christ, we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort. This is simply because He alone is holy and righteous. He is the Perfect Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

Eternal Rest in Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” With this in mind, we can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but for all times. By ceasing spiritual labors here, we mean putting an end to thoughts and acts aimed at achieving self-righteousness because true righteousness is found in none apart from Christ, the beloved Son of God. Note that He/she who is in Christ is one who has Believed, Sincerely Repented, and is obeying His Teachings.

What The Bible Says About Rest

Psalm 4:8 – “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Psalm 23:1-2 – “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters.”

Psalm 62:1 – “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”

Jeremiah 6:16 – “This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

Matthew 11:28 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Hebrews 4:11 – “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”

Hebrews 4:9-10 – “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”

Psalm 34:8 – “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Matthew 11:29-30 – “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.”

Psalm 91:1-2 – “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

Group 1 – What The Bible Says About Rest

Exodus 33:14 – And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Deuteronomy 5:12-14 – “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.”

1 Peter 4:7 – “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”

Mark 6:31 – “And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”

Psalm 37:7 – “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!“

Psalm 4:8 – “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Group 2 – What The Bible Says About Rest

Isaiah 30:15 – “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,”

Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 127:2 – “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

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Jeremiah 6:16 – Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’”

Genesis 2:2-3 – “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Hebrews 4:9-10 – “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.”

Group 3 – What The Bible Says About Rest

Exodus 20:8-11 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Matthew 11:29 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Exodus 23:12 – “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.”

Genesis 2:3 – “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.“

Hebrews 4:9-11 – “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.”

Exodus 34:21 – “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.”

Group 4 – What The Bible Says About Rest

Mark 2:27 – “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

Matthew 8:24 – “And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.“

Psalm 62:1 – “To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.”

Matthew 11:28 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Proverbs 3:24 – “If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”

Jeremiah 31:25 – “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Psalm 55:6 – And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;”

Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Group 5 – What The Bible Says About Rest

Psalm 116:7 – “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.”

Exodus 20:8-10 – “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.“

Psalm 62:1-2 – “To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”

Matthew 11:28-29 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.“

1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

Ecclesiastes 5:12 – “Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”

Psalm 3:5 – “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.”

John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Group 6 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Psalm 91:1 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Genesis 2:1-3 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Proverbs 19:23 – “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”

Hebrews 4:1-11 – “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened, For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” …”

Group 7 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 23:1-6 – “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul, He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …”

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Psalm 23:2-3 – “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul, He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

Leviticus 25:4 – “But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.”

Psalm 23:1-2 – “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters.”

Psalm 91:1-2 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

Psalm 62:5 – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”

Group 8 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Hebrews 4:1-16 – “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened, For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.” ...”

Revelation 6:11 – “Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.”

Psalm 4:4 – “Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.”

Revelation 14:13 – And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Group 9 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Isaiah 14:3-4 – “When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: “How the oppressor has ceased, the insolent fury ceased!”

2 Corinthians 2:13-14 – “My spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

Jeremiah 33:12 – “Thus says the Lord of hosts: In this place that is waste, without man or beast, and in all of its cities, there shall again be habitations of shepherds resting their flocks.”

Psalm 127:1-2 – “A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”

1 Chronicles 16:11 – “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

Leviticus 23:3 – “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.”

Hebrews 4:11 – “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.“

Group 10 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Matthew 11:29-30 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Exodus 20:11 – “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Exodus 31:15 – “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.”

Psalm 34:8 – “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

1 Peter 4:7 – “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Deuteronomy 5:12-14 – “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.”

Genesis 8:4 – “And in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.”

Group 11 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Psalm 94:12-14 – “Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;”

Isaiah 58:13-14 – “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Hebrews 4:4 – “For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.”“

Philippians 4:7 – “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Proverbs 1:33 – “But whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Exodus 35:2 – “Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.”

Song of Solomon 1:7 – “Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?“

Group 12 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Genesis 2:1-25 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, …”

Group 13 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Isaiah 40:29-31 – “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Mark 6:32 – “And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”

Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Revelation 1:1-20 – “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. …”

Group 14 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Exodus 16:23 – He said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’”

Psalm 23:2 – “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Matthew 26:45 – “Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Revelation 14:11 – “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Zephaniah 3:17 – “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Isaiah 48:22 – “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

Group 15 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 – “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7 – “And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.”

Mark 4:39 – “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Isaiah 14:3 – “When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve,”

Proverbs 17:1 – “Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.”

Group 16 – What Does The Bible Say About Rest?

Isaiah 32:17 – “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”

Habakkuk 2:20 – “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

1 Chronicles 22:9 – “Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.”