Here's a
post I made earlier in this thread regarding the Colossians passage you're referring to that I think you'll find interesting to read.
Regarding Hebrews; the passage you quote actually shows that the Sabbath was established way back in the garden of Eden (that's the "certain place" the writer is referring to), well before there were any Israelites at Mt. Sinai. That's the point he's making. The writer is speaking about returning to the garden/paradise (and the "rest" that it represents) at the end of days which can only happen through belief in what Christ did. That's the rest that remains for believers in God to reach.
Hebrews 4:1 & 11
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
And at the beginning of Hebrews 5 the write *immediately* goes into explaining what Christ did and what we have to believe in:
Hebrews 5:1
5 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
It's the law of "the sacrifices for sin" (i.e. the law of
sin &
death) that Christ fulfilled so that it no longer had to be performed. The Sabbath day (or its nullification) isn't the subject of Hebrews 4 or 5. The writer is using the reality of what the Sabbath means to show that believers no longer had to "labor" to atone for their sins through sacrificing of animals, but they could now approach God's throne of mercy (through faith in Christ's blood) and ask for mercy and grace;
resting from their labors of animal sacrifice (for their many sins) that happened day after day, year after year, with no change in the heart of a person (since it was only an external rehearsal of what Christ would do anyhow).
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Before Christ, a high priest was selected by man and then even before he could atone on behalf of someone else had to offer a sacrifice for his own sins. No one could approach the throne of God (to receive forgiveness for
sin) without blood. Something had to
die. Meanwhile Christ was selected by God and didn't have to atone for his own sins (because he had none) who died once for all, taking his blood into heaven.
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So to continue to sacrifice animals for sin AFTER Christ has risen is showing
unbelief that Christ is the High Priest in heaven managing the true version of that very same ministry; it's not "resting" in his work.
This passage doesn't have anything to do with nullifying the Sabbath day or nullifying any other commandments of God to avoid sinning. We still must obey God and sin not...but if we do sin, we have an eternal high priest we believe is in heaven ministering with his blood, so we don't have to kill an animal to approach God for forgiveness anymore. We're then given the gift of Grace to live godly helping us to "sin not" even more.