4:1 - with connection with 4:8 indicates that the Promised Land is not God’s rest. Neither Moses nor Joshua was able to bring the people to God’s rest. Thus, God’s rest must refer to something beyond earthly reality.
As of now, the promise to enter God’s rest stands open, so no one should despair that they cannot enter anymore there.
4:2 - notice, the comparison between two Good News - one in the OT and one in the NT. You hear the Word of God and your response should be faith/trust in it. If, the faith is missing then the Word is being rejected. Thus, faith is necessary. It will expanded in chapter 11.
4:3 - Only those who believe in the possibility of entering God’s rest can achieve it.
4:4 - Sabbath was “created” as the day of rest, it completed the act of creation. Later on, the Sabbath was given to Israel Ex 16:23 as a day of rest. It is a symbol of future, a day of eternity that never ends.
God’s rest existed since the last day of creation and it set in front of our eyes as the aim of humanity. To enter God’s rest is presented in Hebrews as the object of our faith.
4:6 - the problem is that as in Ex 16:27, some doubts God’s command regarding the Sabbath - so we keep working and miss the entry to God’s rest.
4:7–10 - God then sets another day - “today”. It is a fitting term - every generation has its “today” as an opportunity to enter into God’s rest. From God’s perspective it is “today”, from our perspective it is our life time. God’s Sabbath is always accessible to all generations, but each generation has its own time of opportunity to enter there.
Sabbath is an image of the future world - fullness of life in God’s presence. As God rested after completing His work, so we shall participate in God’s rest upon completing our work.
4:11 - Be eager - be diligent to enter that rest. We should not imitate those Jews, who under Moses failed to enter the rest.
4:12–13 - a hymn about the power of God’s word
In front of God’s word, we cannot fake anything. God’s Word should be understood as in Heb 1:1–2. Moreover, we are going to report to God the deeds of our life.