THE PRUDENT WOMAN RETREAT 2023 - She Finds REST

Hello and welcome to THE PRUDENT WOMAN RETREAT 2023.

My name is Lisa Ann Spencer. In January of 2023 I was invited for a 2^nd time to participate in the Prudent Woman Retreat.  This is an online interactive retreat that features several speakers over the course of two days. This year’s theme was REST.  I am always thankful to have an opportunity to share the word of God with women.

I study the Bible doctrinally and dispensationally, rather than by life application only.  It’s not that I am against life-application, but I know it is important to first understand the doctrine of a passage before making application to ourselves.

By using the retreat theme of “REST”, I am going to demonstrate for you how I study the scriptures in order to get a solid, biblical understanding of all that the Bible has to say about the topic of REST. 

USING A CONCORDANCE

There was a time when carrying around this huge and heavy book, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, was the only way to find every reference to a word in the Bible.  The print is very small, the book takes up a lot of space, and it’s difficult to transport; so studying it is often limited to one location.  Now there are several concordances available for free using apps on our phones that we can carry everywhere we go.  There are also many websites available to help us search the scriptures.  I frequently use and recommend www.biblegateway.com and www.blueletterbible.org.  

LOOK UP REST

In the past, if I wanted to know how many times the word REST occurred, I would have to search alphabetically in the concordance and count those for myself.  If I wanted to know the entire verse in which the word is used, I would then have to turn in my Bible to each passage referenced in order to read them, because only a few words of each verse is given in the physical copy of the concordance.

By using the free apps on my phone, I can type the word into the search bar and instantly know how many times the word is found in the Bible.  I can also see a list of the books of the Bible in which the word is found, and how often it occurs in each book.  I can see each of the verses in their entirety.  Then, by simply clicking on those references, I can read each verse in its proper context.  Using this method, I can quickly establish a biblical definition of the word.

I was very grateful when I received my first physical concordance for my 25^th birthday.  Today, I am even more thankful for the technology that allows me to study my Bible more easily.

RESULTS

Using Blue Letter Bible, I found the word "rest" 275 times.

Using Bible Gateway, I found rest 380 times. The difference is because this search caught all forms of the word rest, plus other unrelated words:

• RESTED, RESTEST, RESTETH, RESTING
• RESTRAINED
• RESTORE
• RESTITUTION

Either way, this is quite a lot of references to read through, especially if you are in a hurry to quickly define the word.  However, it is a good practice to spend several hours reading through all of the results.  

For our lesson today, we will use the rule of Bible study called “The law of FIRST MENTION,” and see the first few times the word is used in the book of GENESIS.  I often look at the book of JOB too, as it is the oldest book in the Bible and the oldest book in the WORLD.  This is a helpful study method for establishing a quick, working definition of a Bible word.

GENESIS

The first time we see the word ‘rest’ is in Genesis 2:2. 

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

In context, the word is defined as the “end of work." We understand that after God ended His work then He rested.

Let's look at the next search result.

Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Our first thought might be to think that the word means ‘landed’, like a ship that has reached land. (The word "landed" is found in the King James Bible where it is used to describe a ship arriving on shore.) But if we keep in mind the way the word was first used, we could conclude that the ark rested from its work in the seventh month.  The ark had served its purpose and its work was ended.

EVERY WORD OF GOD IS PURE

Q: Why should we take such care about the details of the exact use of the words in the Bible?  

A: Because, God uses specific words for specific purposes.  

📔NOTE: God warns against adding to the word of God, taking away from the word of God and twisting the word of God. Please consider Deuteronomy 8:3; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 4:4, and 18:16 in regards to what the Bible says about “every word” of God. I would not change a word of the scripture, and I do not recommend that you change a word of scripture either.  Instead, I would encourage you to continue to study the scripture and ask God to enlighten your understanding as you believe every word of God. 

Let’s move on to the next reference.

The word ‘rest’ can also mean ‘remainder’ as it is used in Genesis 30:36.

And [Laban] set three days’ journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Here, I refined my search in Blue Letter Bible for the phrase “the rest of."  There are 97 exact uses of that phrase, and all mean the ‘remainder’ with one exception:

Exodus 16:23 And he [Moses] said unto them [the children of Israel], This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

This particular REST of the holy Sabbath was part of the covenant which God made with the nation of Israel. This has nothing to do with those of us who have been saved today and are members of the Body of Christ.  I'll share more about this at the end of this Blog.

ASSIGNMENT: I would challenge you to use this same method by searching a concordance for the word, Sabbath, paying particular attention to the first time it is used, making note of the books of the Bible in which you find the word, and discover who is speaking and who is being addressed.  Take the time to read everything that the Bible has to say about Sabbath. In this way you will have a complete understanding of everything that God has preserved for our learning in His Holy word regarding the Sabbath day.

OLD TESTAMENT OVERVIEW

After the tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11, God gave up on the nations of the world and chose ONE MAN, Abram (later called ABRAHAM), to make for Himself ONE GREAT NATION.  God promised him an inheritance of land in the Middle East.  Abraham had a son, ISAAC, and Isaac had twin sons, ESAU AND JACOB.  God chose JACOB to inherit the PROMISE that he had made to Abraham.  God changed Jacob’s name to ISRAEL. Jacob had 12 SONS, which are the 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL.  From the tribe of LEVI, God called MOSES to deliver the descendants of Jacob out of slavery in EGYPT.  It was at that time that the descendants of Jacob became a NATION.  (See Exodus 4:22 and Hosea 11:1 to understand the birth of the nation of Israel).  God also promised a KINGDOM and a KING that would sit upon a throne in His Holy City, JERUSALEM.  That promise was given to David, who was a descendant of THE TRIBE OF JUDAH (one of the 12 sons of Jacob).  This promise was to the SEED of DAVID FOREVER.  This promise has not yet been fulfilled as Jesus Christ, WHO IS THE PROMISED SEED, has not yet ascended to the throne in Jerusalem.  This will happen at a future date in Israel’s history.

The fulfillment of these promises to ISRAEL regarding a GREAT NATION, A PROMISED LAND, and a KING to sit on the THRONE IN JERUSALEM is called a time of REST.

You can study THAT PARTICULAR REST in Hebrews chapter 4, with the understanding that this letter to the HEBREWS is written, not to us Gentiles today, but to THE HEBREWS.   It concerns the fulfillment of God’s promises to the NATION OF ISRAEL.  That REST has to do with inheriting a very specific piece of real estate in the Middle East, WITH A KINGDOM HEADQUARTERED IN JERUSALEM.

These promises have nothing to do with believers today. We are Gentiles! But we do not have to be jealous of the Promises made to Israel.  Those of us who are saved by faith alone in Christ alone today are REFERRED TO AS The CHURCH, THE Body of Christ.   We do not inherit land in the Middle East; we inherit Heavenly Places.  We TOO WILL experience a REST, but it is distinct from Israel’s rest. 

FILL IN THE FOLLOWING BLANKS.

 

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the _______ .

 

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in ________ places in Christ:

 

Ephesians 2:6 and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in ________ places in Christ Jesus

 

Colossians 1:5 for the hope which is laid up for you in ______, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

 

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are _____, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things _____, not on things on the earth.

 

1 Thessalonians 4:17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the ___: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 

2 Timothy 4:18 And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his ________ kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

THE OTHER MEANINGS of the word REST 

Let's consider what the Apostle Paul has to say about "Rest".

Q: Why consider Paul?  

A: There ARE MANY REASONS:

Paul is the Apostle that Jesus sent to the Gentiles (See Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8; 1 Timothy 2:7; and 2 Timothy 1:11.)

Paul was also the last person to see Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 15:8), and he received many NEW revelations from the risen LORD from heaven (2 Corinthians 12:7; Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 3:3). 

Paul completed the New Testament of the Bible (Colossians1:25) when he penned his second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 3:16-17); so he has the last words of God for us today; which is why he can truthfully say in his last letter to Timothy, “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN...” 

HE ALSO SAYS:

2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

Paul’s office of Apostle to the Gentiles should be magnified, not diminished.

Paul’s first use of the word REST:

Romans 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 

We can tell by the context that the use of the word ‘restest’ refers to presently trusting in.

We see the words ‘boast’ and ‘confident’ used in the context.  To trust in, means to put confidence in.

‘Confident’ is only found 9 times, but ‘confidence’ is found 39 times; and here is an example of being replaced by ‘trust’:

Psalm 118:8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

“Boast” is found 37 times, and here is an example of it being found to mean ‘trust’:

Psalm 49:6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

So when we read Romans 2:17, we can understand that Paul is speaking to the Jews who are trusting in the law for their salvation and righteousness.

We only see the word ‘restest’ used as meaning trust one other time in scripture (Job 24:23). 

📓NOTE:  KING JAMES BIBLE Usage of the Suffixes –EST and –ETH:

The use of the suffixes –est and –eth helps us differentiate between 2^nd and 3^rd person singular:

-EST indicates 2^nd person singular present

-ETH indicates 3^rd person singular present

📓NOTE:  Sometimes a word is only found 1 time in scripture, so there is no way to compare it with other verses.  What should a student of the Bible do in that case? Often the context will define the word for us, or we find other words in the passage that we can cross-reference.  In the example above, we see the word ‘confident’ and ‘boast’.  We could do a word search on each of those words in scripture to assist in confirming the meaning.

Paul’s other uses FOR REST:

2 Corinthians 2:13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

COMPARE THIS WITH

2 Corinthians 7:5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears

If you want a study in life application, this is an excellent one, but it requires a lot of work, which I encourage you to do!

FOR HOMEWORK, you might like to read all of Acts chapter 16, then 1st and 2nd Corinthians to understand the context of what caused Paul to have NO REST in his spirit or his flesh, and then find out what helped him in his time of trouble.  I could have done all that work for you and just given you the life application, but I’m not helping you by doing that.  You will get the most out of the Scriptures, when you read and study and learn these things for yourselves.

I will point out for you that in the context of those two passages, we see words such as heaviness, and sorrow, much affliction and anguish of heart, many tears, trouble, fighting and fears; that Paul is experiencing both in his physical body and in his inner man.  These are things that we can certainly relate to, and the answer for FINDING REST in those situations is found HERE in what God has provided us, and that is HIS WORD.

The next reference will demonstrate this.

There are two more references to REST in Paul’s epistles.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he [God] said unto me [Paul], My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

In this context, the power of Christ is defined by God’s all-sufficient GRACE which RESTS upon the Apostle Paul, and also upon us today.  To REST UPON means that it abides with us and is in us forever! It’s a very comforting to know and understand !

📓NOTE ON MIRACLES:  

In this context, Paul had prayed to God to remove the thorn from his flesh. This indicates that he is referring to a physical infirmity in his body.  Early in Paul’s ministry, he was healed of physical and spiritual blindness (Acts 9:18), and we see Paul:

• Healing the lame (Acts 14:8-10),
• Performing miracles and wonders among the Gentiles (Acts 15:12);
• Performing special miracles with handkerchiefs and aprons that Paul sent to the sick, which caused the diseases and evil spirits to depart (Acts 19:11-12);
• Raise Eutychus from the dead (Acts 20:9-10); and
• Survived a venomous serpent bite (Acts 28:3-6).

Yet Paul cannot heal himself, nor was he able to heal Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23) or Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20) later in his ministry.  Miracles and healing ceased as the Scriptures were completed by Paul.  This passage in 2 Corinthians helps us understand that.  Believers today do not need signs, miracles and wonders because God’s grace is sufficient.  His Grace is enough, and it is all we need to be perfect (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The power of Christ rests upon us in the weakness of our flesh. That’s exciting because we are all growing weaker and weaker in our flesh each day, but we are being renewed daily in our inner man.

2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Last reference to REST:

I mentioned earlier that Israel’s rest is not our rest. Let’s finish with this.

2 Thessalonians 1:7 and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

We must read verses3-10 to get the complete sentence, and we really must read both epistles to the Thessalonians to get the complete context. 

There is a time in Israel’s prophetic history where God’s wrath will be poured out on the nation of Israel and the Gentile world.  It is known as the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), the 70^th week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24), and the great tribulation (Matthew 24:21).  As the passage above indicates, WHEN the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels taking vengeance in flaming fire (which EVENT takes place following that great tribulation period) we members of the Body of Christ will be at REST in our heavenly inheritance (According to Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 1:5, 3:2; and 2 Timothy 4:18; See FILL IN THE BLANK above for these references).

Israel must endure this trial of their faith (Zechariah 13:9; Matthew 3:12; 1 Peter 1:7) while THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST is AT REST. It is not until AFTER the TRIBULATION that ISRAEL enters their REST into the Promised Land on the earth, headquartered in Jerusalem. 

There are two different RESTS, in two different locations (Heaven and Earth) for two different groups of people.

IN SUMMARY

We may approach the scripture with many ideas about the meaning of certain words, such as REST; but when studying God’s word, we need to pay particular attention to all the details because every word of God is pure.  We need to understand all that God says about a subject, not just the things that we like.

As much as we may enjoy a literal day of rest one day a week while living here on earth, we are certain that there will always be trouble in this world; THE REST WE EXPERIENCE ON THIS EARTH IS AS TEMPORARY AS THE TROUBLE WE EXPERIENCE.  It will be that way until everything is reconciled back to the Son of God, for ever. 

There is A REST coming that we can be assured of, because God cannot lie.  And in our most difficult times we can rely on the all-sufficient grace of God THAT RESTS UPON US.

I hope this study has been helpful to you.  If you have any questions please reach out to me through my contact page.

The material covered in this Blog can be found in this YouTube video: