3:7 Therefore, as the Holy
Spirit says, "Today, when you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of
testing in the wilderness,
9 where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for
forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said,
`They always go astray in their hearts; they have not known my ways.'
11 As I swore in my wrath, `They shall never enter my
rest.'"
12 Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil,
unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called
"today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we share in Christ, if only we hold our first
confidence firm to the end,
15 while it is said, "Today, when you hear his voice, do
not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
16 Who were they that heard and yet were rebellious? Was it
not all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?
17 And with whom was he provoked forty years? Was it not with
those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom did he swear that they should never enter his
rest, but to those who were disobedient?
19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of
unbelief.
4:1 Therefore, while the
promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to
have failed to reach it.
2 For good news came to us just as to them; but the message
which they heard did not benefit them, because it did not meet with faith in the
hearers.
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
"As I swore in my wrath, `They shall never enter my rest,'" although
his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way,
"And God rested on the seventh day from all his works."
5 And again in this place he said, "They shall never
enter my rest."
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those
who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
7 again he sets a certain day, "Today," saying
through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, "Today, when
you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later
of another day.
9 So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God;
10 for whoever enters God's rest also ceases from his labors
as God did from his.
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one
fall by the same sort of disobedience.
4:1 Fobhqw/men
ou=n( mh,pote kataleipome,nhj evpaggeli,aj eivselqei/n eivj th.n kata,pausin
auvtou/ dokh/| tij evx u`mw/n u`sterhke,naiÅ
2 kai.
ga,r evsmen euvhggelisme,noi kaqa,per kavkei/noi\ avllV ouvk wvfe,lhsen o`
lo,goj th/j avkoh/j evkei,nouj mh. sugkekerasme,nouj th/| pi,stei toi/j
avkou,sasinÅ
3 eivserco,meqa
ga.r eivj Îth.nÐ kata,pausin oi` pisteu,santej( kaqw.j ei;rhken( ~Wj w;mosa
evn th/| ovrgh/| mou( Eiv eivseleu,sontai eivj th.n kata,pausi,n mou( kai,toi tw/n
e;rgwn avpo. katabolh/j ko,smou genhqe,ntwnÅ
4 ei;rhken
ga,r pou peri. th/j e`bdo,mhj ou[twj( Kai. kate,pausen o` qeo.j evn th/| h`me,ra|
th/| e`bdo,mh| avpo. pa,ntwn tw/n e;rgwn auvtou/(
5 kai.
evn tou,tw| pa,lin( Eiv eivseleu,sontai eivj th.n kata,pausi,n mouÅ
6 evpei.
ou=n avpolei,petai tina.j eivselqei/n eivj auvth,n( kai. oi` pro,teron
euvaggelisqe,ntej ouvk eivsh/lqon diV avpei,qeian(
7 pa,lin
tina. o`ri,zei h`me,ran( Sh,meron( evn Daui.d le,gwn meta. tosou/ton cro,non(
kaqw.j proei,rhtai( Sh,meron eva.n th/j fwnh/j auvtou/ avkou,shte( mh.
sklhru,nhte ta.j kardi,aj u`mw/nÅ
8 eiv
ga.r auvtou.j VIhsou/j kate,pausen( ouvk a'n peri. a;llhj evla,lei meta. tau/ta
h`me,rajÅ
9 a;ra
avpolei,petai sabbatismo.j tw/| law/| tou/ qeou/Å
10 o`
ga.r eivselqw.n eivj th.n kata,pausin auvtou/ kai. auvto.j kate,pausen avpo. tw/n
e;rgwn auvtou/ w[sper avpo. tw/n ivdi,wn o` qeo,jÅ
11 spouda,swmen
ou=n eivselqei/n eivj evkei,nhn th.n kata,pausin( i[na mh. evn tw/| auvtw/| tij
u`podei,gmati pe,sh| th/j avpeiqei,ajÅ
This section of Hebrews is an exposition of Psalm 95:7-11. Some have suggested that it is essentially a sermon that the author already had prepared, which he incorporates here. This is impossible to prove, but it is not at all unlikely that this was not the first time the author ‘preached’ from this text! The exposition uses typical Jewish and rabbinic methods. In addition, the author takes for granted that, while the new covenant supercedes and transcends the old, there is a fundamental continuity and similarity between the temptations and hurdles faced by the people of God then and now. The author does not distinguish between ‘Israel’ and ‘Church’ here, or use any similar language that might undermine the unity of the people of God throughout the ages.
3:7 The Greek word Dio, ‘Therefore’, can introduce a new topic or the conclusion to one already under discussion, so on its own it gives no unambiguous indication of the relationship between this passage and what preceded it.
3:7b-11
Quotation from Psalm 95(LXX 94):7-11
Ellingworth notes that Hebrews follows the LXX over against the Hebrew in a few respects, and thus certain divergences between Hebrews and the LXX may be significant, although we will not go into them here. Note that the author (following the LXX) translates rather than transliterates the place names Massah and Meriabah, as ‘quarrelling’ and ‘testing’.
3:12 As you are probably aware, the heart in ancient thought was not merely the seat of emotion, but also of thought and reason too. The attitude being spoken of here is clearly not one of mere neglect or carelessness, but (as in the passage being expounded) one of willful rebellion against God, of refusal to believe. In both the OT and its NT analogue, the people of God have experienced the mercy and grace of God and his saving power has been powerfully revealed among them. To rebel against God in light of this is thus to be regarded as evidence of an evil heart, of sin of the most serious sort. To depart from the living God is to depart from the source of life and thus to move towards death.
3:13 To ensure that Christians do not head down this path, they must encourage/comfort one another, in marked contrast (Greek alla, ‘but’) to the attitude spoken of in the previous verse. This is to take place daily, and it seems likely that this Christian community did indeed meet daily (which 10:25 suggests some found burdensome).
Ellingworth notes that the use of the article to rather than hê before ‘today’ (Greek sêmeron) indicates that this is a one-word quotation from the Psalm that is being expounded. The Psalm was written long after the Exodus generation, and thus ‘today’ continues and refers to the present, as the author will soon make clear. The phrase in Greek ‘deception of sin’ may be understood to mean ‘sin which deceives’, or ‘sinful deception’, or ‘deception – i.e. sin’ (in other words, for those with ears to hear, the genitive may be objective, qualitative, or epexegetic).
3:14 There are similarities worth noting between the Greek of v6 and v14 (see Ellingworth’s commentary). The author here emphasizes that only those who maintain their ‘original confidence/assurance’ or ‘original basis’ of their faith can truly be called ‘partners of Christ’. There is no need to enter at this stage to debates between Calvinist and Arminian interpretations, since there is a fundamental agreement at this point: those who persevere until the end will be saved = those who are saved will persevere until the end. One thing that the author clearly does not give is a basis for looking back to some earlier conversion experience as a basis for one’s present assurance of salvation. Rather, continuing is the key to such assurance.
3:15 Here part of the quotation from Psalm 95 is repeated. These words prepare for the question asked in the next verse, which echoes the words of the quotation.
3:16-18 William Lane sets forth the use of the Jewish Scriptures in the exposition in these verses as follows:
v16a Psalm 95:7-8 v16b Numbers 14:13,19,22
v17a Psalm 95:10 v17b Numbers 14:10,29,32
v18a Psalm 95:11 v18b Numbers 14:30,33,43
The word tineV
in v16 could mean ‘Some…’ or ‘Who…?’, depending on how it is
accented, and in the original Greek there would not have been accents. Modern
commentators are in almost universal agreement that it should be taken as
‘who’, since then it begins a series of questions about the Exodus
generation. But in this case the adversative ‘but’ (alla)
is difficult. Both options thus have advantages and disadvantages. At any rate,
the point is that in the Exodus generation some heard God’s voice but
nonetheless rebelled, and this serves as a warning for Christians ‘today’.
The author of Hebrews focuses on the language of ‘entrance’ (the verb eisercomai) both here and in connection with entry into the heavenly sanctuary and presence of God. Some commentators suggest that the ‘rest’ referred to here is in fact identical with the heavenly sanctuary, and thus the term is a technical one and used with the same meaning throughout. Hebrews certainly disagrees with most traditional Jewish interpretation, which expected the rest for God’s people to be on a renewed earth rather than in heaven. This shows the influence of Greek Platonic thought on the letter’s author. The apistia of the Exodus generation is not merely unbelief or even unfaithfulness, but a refusal to believe in spite of the salvation which God accomplished for them in bringing them out of Egypt.
4:1-11 The exposition of Psalm 95 continues throughout this section, so this is another example of an unfortunately-placed chapter division. Here the implications of the example of the Exodus generation is applied to Christians in the present.
4:1 The author here tells his readers to ‘beware’ or ‘fear’, lest any of them “should think he has come too late/missed his chance to receive what God has promised” or “should be judged to have failed to reach God’s resting place”. The point being made is that the promise that some may enter God’s rest remains valid, and thus it would be unfortunate if some among his readers turned out to have missed the opportunity.
4:2 Here the author applies the technical language of ‘hearing the Good News’ or ‘being evangelized’ to the Exodus generation as to his Christian contemporaries. Or I should say, it came to his Christian contemporaries just as it came to the Exodus generation, since that is his point: the promise offered to them but not received with faith nevertheless remains valid still, and now applies to his readers, provided they respond with faith and not as the Exodus generation did.
F. F. Bruce says concerning the last part of this verse that there is a ‘bewildering diversity of readings’. The issues are complex, and a full discussion can be found in most commentaries on the Greek text.
4:3-5 Ellingworth suggests that this section can be seen as an alternation of statements and appeals to scriptural support:
v3a There is still a place of rest available to us
v3b Psalm 95:11 attests to its existence
v3c However, God’s place of rest existed from the time of creation
v4 This is attested by Genesis 2:2
v5a This is the same place of rest
v5b spoken of in Psalm 95:11
The relation of two seemingly unrelated passages on the basis of a common key-word was a common rabbinic strategy for interpretation. In comparison with other early Jewish and Christian authors, the author of the letter to the Hebrews is remarkably restrained inasmuch as he does not go off into speculation as to the character of the rest God offers.
4:6-10 Here we have more than simply a reiteration of what has already been said, but a distillation of the point the author has been arguing towards: if the rest has been there since the beginning, and David speaks of it in terms of ‘today’ even long after the Exodus generation failed to enter God’s rest, then the logical conclusion is that the offer of rest remains valid and that there are those who will as yet enter it. If the first Jesus, i.e. Joshua son of Nun, had led the people to enter the real rest of God, then David would not have spoken of it in terms of ‘today’ long after that. The idea of a final ‘Sabbath rest’ was common in Judaism as an eschatological motif. In the context of the theology of Hebrews, however, it would be better to class that rest as primarily heavenly rather than eschatological. It exists in the sphere of heavenly realities since the creation, and is available to all those who respond to God in faith.
4:11 In view of this, the author concludes this section of his argument, and also his exegesis of Psalm 95, by urging his readers to join him in pressing forward to enter the place of rest. If they do not do so, then the danger is there that they will follow the alternative example of the Exodus generation and refuse to believe, with the result that they shall be lost. The possibility that some within the Christian community could indeed be lost is taken with all seriousness by the author of Hebrews, and is obviously considered by him to be a genuine possibility, even though he says that he hopes for better things in the case of his readers. Again, the issue of whether those who refuse to believe and are thus lost could have done otherwise, whether God foreknew it or foreordained it, and other such issues are not addressed in the passage. And so the best response to the argument of the author in the passage we’ve been studying is to examine ourselves and to strive to enter God’s rest, rather than to speculate on how our belief or refusal to believe relates to hidden decrees and plans on the part of God.
For further reading and additional comments:
Ray Stedman’s IVP commentary on Hebrews
http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/hebrews2/index.html
A Free Commentary on Hebrews
http://members.tripod.com/~faithibmfaith/index-93.html
William G. Most - Commentary on Hebrews:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/HEBREWSM.TXT
Roger Hahn – Bible Study on Hebrews
http://www.cresourcei.org/biblestudy/bbheb.html