132 James Swetnam closes the entire section 3,7-4,7). With the mention of Joshua there is no longer question of failure through a culpable hardening of heart. Joshua was unable to bring about entry into God’s rest because his circumcision was not efficacious. Here the discourse shifts from culpable hardening of heart to simple inefficaciousness of means. And the rest in question, the author reminds the addressees, is God’s eternal rest. 3,7-4,7 spoke of the rest of the Exodus generation with the supposition that there was question of entrance into the promised land of Canaan, but of the Chris- tian generation with the supposition that there was question of entrance into the rest of God following creation, i.e., eternal life. Suddenly, with mention of Joshua in 4,8, the rest which he was unable to provide even those who believed was this eternal rest of God. Nothing Joshua (i.e., by implication, the Old Dispensation) could do would enable those of the Old Dispensation to enter the rest promised to the Christians. The negative warnings given to the Exodus generation were still entirely valid as regards the Christians, but with the supposition that they applied to individuals and not to the group. And this is why the citations from Scripture directed to the Exodus generation were still valid. But the posi- tive basis for the encouragement of the group was not to be found in the Old Dispensation. The text itself gives the reason why the Christians can count on an ef- ficacious means of entry into God’s eternal rest. At 3,14 the text indicates that participation in Christ is the basis for the positive exhortation the Christians are to give each other (cf. 3,13). This is not a new idea: it has been prepared for by 3,6, which introduces the whole section 3,7-4,12. Only by remaining in God’s house over which Christ has been placed as Son can success in entering God’s eternal rest be achieved5. This, then, is the preparation for 4,12. Only by union with Christ and his house (3,6) until the end (3,14) can success be achieved. Falling away from that union is a possibility for the individual Christian; but not for the group as a whole, i.e., the house itself. The individual Christian is responsible for the hardening or non-hardening of his or her heart. But the entering into the eternal rest of God is beyond the powers of the Christians, either as individuals or as a group. Only Christ is the one who can empower in this regard. And how does Christ empower Christians with regard to entry into God’eternal rest? As Λόγος, by giving through spiritual circumcision, i.e., circumcision of the heart. This refers to bap- 5 The enigmatic remark about the desert generation failing because of not being related in faith to the Christians (4,2) would seem to be intelligible only in this context.