II.
(continued) The Excellence of the Christ (1:5–3:6)
D.
(continued) Superior to Moses ()
6.
() The name "Christ" is used here for the first time in this letter …
a.
The divine author adds a most important explanation as to the composition of this house. One might easily suppose that he was referring to the Jews or at least to the Jews of the Old Testament. They were, of course, in mind. But he is not thinking of the Jews as a race nor as a group of historical figures. He is thinking of the people of God. In Old Testament days, this had been the people of Israel. () But Israel had rejected the Son of God when He came, and now the people of God are the church. Perseverance is one of the marks of being a Christian. Without it, we are not Christ's. The teaching about final perseverance implies that the saints are the people who persevere. Now, this does not mean you can lose your salvation by not persevering. It means that once Jesus is in control of your life, you will persevere on the path He leads you on.
b.
We must hold on to our courage. The word used here has the feeling of being quite at home when words flow freely and so means "confidence" or "courage." "The boast of our hope" brings out the truth that membership in God's household is something of which we may be proud. However, this pride is not of self but to the glory of God.
III.
The Promised Rest (3:7–4:13)
The comparison between Christ and Moses leads to one between their followers. The writer uses the conduct of the Israelites as a means of challenging his readers to a closer walk with God. There is a promise in the Old Testament that God's people would enter rest. The writer sees this promise as fulfilled — not in anything in the Old Testament — but in Christ. In drawing attention to this, he shows from another angle that Christ is God's final word to humankind.
A.
Scriptural Basis ()
1.
The writer begins this section with a quotation from . Israel did not walk in fellowship with God but disobeyed and provoked Him. Therefore, they did not enter His rest. Anti-Christian Judaism, in the first century, is also not the way of entry into God's promised rest.
2.
() The divine author's intent is to instruct his readers not to repeat the mistake the Israelites made long ago. (; ; ) The quotation from is ascribed directly to the Holy Spirit (the human author is mentioned in ). The divine author is fond of the word "today," using it eight times. Here its prominent position gives it emphasis. Immediate action is imperative. The voice of God is sounding now. This voice must not be neglected.
3.
() To "harden" the heart is to disobey the voice of God and act in accordance with one's own desires. This is what Israel did in the wilderness. The psalmist refers to the incident when there was no water and the Israelites "test[ed] the LORD" (). In the LXX, the Hebrew place names "Massah" and "Meribah" are always translated by words such as "rebellion" and "testing." Through lack of faith and failure to appreciate God's purposes of grace, the people of Israel put Him to the test.
4.
() The thought of "testing" God continues. The Israelites ought to have proceeded in faith. Since God had done so much for them, they should have trusted Him where they could not see. Instead, they tested His works where they could see. This faithlessness was no passing phase but something that went on for forty years. Possibly when this letter to Hebrews was written, it was in the last quarter of the fourth decade since Jesus' crucifixion. The Israelites had rejected God for forty years, and it was now nearly forty years since their descendants had rejected Jesus — a reason for serious concern. Nearly forty years is very close to A.D. 66. Rome’s invasion of Israel in response to an uprising against Rome is very close to this time.
5.
() We should not miss the reference to the anger of God. The Lord is not impassive or indifferent in the face of human sin. (; ; ) He is a "consuming fire" (), and His inevitable reaction to sin is wrath. "Generation" refers to all the Israelites living at a particular time. They showed constancy in error, "always go astray." (; ; ) "Heart" as used in the Bible does not stand for the emotions as with us but for the whole inner being — thoughts, feelings, and will. Often the emphasis is on the mind. Thus, the writer is stressing that Israel went wholly astray; their inner state was not right with God. The last line of the verse implies that if people really knew the ways of God, they would walk in them. But these people did not know. Their ignorance was culpable, not innocent. They were not blamed simply for not knowing but for not knowing things they ought to have known and acted on.
6.
() The seriousness with which God viewed Israel's sin is shown by the divine oath; this points to an unshakable determination. The form of the oath in the Hebrew, reflected in the LXX, is "If they shall enter"; i.e., "If they shall enter into My rest . . . then My name is not God!!" () The oath refers to the time when the spies had returned from their survey of the Promised Land.
7.
The psalmist has brought together two incidents in Israel's history to make the impressive point that the Israelites of old consistently provoked God. God swore the oath in His "anger" (lit., "wrath" (Greek word orché); a different word from "angry." The divine author now focuses on the promised divine rest of the people of God. There is a promise in the Old Testament that God's people would enter rest. The writer sees this promise as fulfilled — not in anything in the Old Testament — but in Christ. The Israelites had rejected God for forty years in Old Testament times, and it was now nearly forty years in New Testament times since their descendants had rejected Jesus — a reason for serious concern. God is not passive in the face of wrongdoing; He actively opposes it. God did not allow the sinning Israelites in Moses’ time to enter His rest. Nor will He allow the sinning Israelites in New Testament times to enter His rest.
8.
(Greek word for “anger” [hapax legemeno = one reading] (óchthesa in vs. ). This word points to the passionate and settled opposition of God's holy nature to all that is evil and to His concern for what is right. "Rest" must be taken in a spiritual sense; it points to a place of blessing where there is no more striving but only relaxation in the presence of God. The wilderness generation would have no part in the world to come; their disobedience had cut them off from this blessing. Ditto for the first century generation who also disobeyed God by rejecting the Son of God.
B.
Some Did Not Enter the Rest ()
1.
Having shown that Scripture looks for a rest for God's people, the divine author proceeds to show that Israel of old did not enter that rest. The implication is that it is still available for others. And there is also a warning here. When God opens an opportunity, that does not necessarily mean that those who have that opportunity will accept it.
2.
() The writer has a tender concern for every one of his readers. He exhorts them to beware lest any of them fall away. The "evil, unbelieving heart" stands in marked contrast to the faithfulness ascribed to both Jesus and Moses (vs. ). (; ; ) The divine author stresses the heinousness of this sin by speaking of it as turning away from or rebelling against "the living God". The rebellion he warns against consists of departing from a living, dynamic person, not from some dead doctrine. Jews might retort that they served the same God as the Christians, so they would not be departing from God if they went back to Judaism. But to reject God's highest revelation (Jesus Christ) is to depart from God, no matter how many preliminary revelations are retained. A true faith is impossible with such a rejection.
3.
() Contrariwise, the Hebrew Christians must encourage one another constantly and urgently. The divine author sees Christian fellowship as very important. (; ) It can build people up in the faith and form a strong bulwark against sin and apostasy. "Day after day" means that encouragement should be habitual. "As long as it is called Today" adds a touch of urgency, for "Today" does not last forever. The aim of the swift action desired by the writer is that not a single one of his readers be "hardened". This verb refers not only to "the heart" but is general. One's whole life may be hard, and in that case one is no candidate for spiritual progress. What hardens a person is "sin's deceitfulness." The readers were being tempted to go back to Judaism in the belief that by doing so they would be better off. But sin deceives those who think like this. Temporal and physical safety will be bought only at the price of spiritual disaster.
4.
() True believers "become partakers of Christ" (cf. ). The divine author here is stressing the privilege we have in being Christians. He suggests the two sides of a paradox appear in the phrases, "we have become" and "if we hold fast." What God has done God has done. But it is important that believers hold firmly to what God has given them (cf. vs. ). When the addressees first became believers, they had "confidence"; i.e., they had no doubts then, nor should they have any now. "Until the end" points to the end of the age.
5.
() The construction is uncertain. This verse may be taken with the preceding one or with what follows. Some link the words with verse and regard verse as a parenthesis: "Encourage one another day after day as it is still called ‘Today’ (vs. ). The statement is not an easy one, but it seems best to take things in order. The words, of course, have already been quoted (vss. ). So, verses , , and are treated in the order they appear.
6.
() The divine author presses home his point by three questions that emphasize that the psalmist of is thinking about the people who were in a position of spiritual privilege and yet sinned grievously. The first question asks, "Who provoked Him when they had heard?" The verb "provoked" means "embitter" or "make angry," and is a strong expression for the rebellious attitude that characterized the Exodus wilderness generation.
a.
The writer answers his question with another, this one phrased to expect a yes answer. "All those who came out of Egypt led by Moses" is comprehensive, but that Joshua and Caleb are not mentioned does not invalidate the argument. The nation was characterized by unbelief, and the faithfulness of two men does not alter this. More literally, the divine author said that they "came out … led by Moses" — implying that they acted of their own volition and made a good start.
7.
() The second question refers to those with whom God was angry for forty years (nrsee vss. ). In the earlier treatment of the incident (vss. ), the forty years referred to testing God and seeing His works. Here it refers to the continuing wrath of God. This wrath was not something transitory and easily avoided. It lasted throughout the "wilderness" period, as the Israelites wandered in the Sinai wilderness. The question is phrased in such a way as to leave no doubt whatever that God was angry with the sinners in question. Their punishment is mentioned in words reminiscent of . Those who sinned against God had been destroyed, just as He had prophesied through Moses.
8.
() The third question refers to those to whom the oath was sworn (cf. vs. already read). Those who would not enter God's rest were "those who were disobedient". This verb usually means "disobey," though it can mean "disbelieve". This translation is likely since for the early Christians the supreme disobedience was refusing to believe the Gospel. God did much for these people. Yet in the end they went their own way and refused to obey Him.
9.
() The depressing conclusion sums up what has gone before. The divine author does not say that they did not enter but that they "were not able to enter" the land of Canaan. Sin is self-defeating and prevents people from entering God's rest. This is not an arbitrary penalty imposed by a despotic God. It is the inevitable outcome of "unbelief." The warning to the people of the writer's day is clear. To slip back from their Christian profession into unbelief would be fatal because it would show their profession was not genuine.
C.
Christians Enter the Rest ()
The divine author argues that the purposes of God are not frustrated because Israel of old disobeyed Him and failed to enter the rest He had promised His people. The promise remains. If ancient Israel did not enter God's rest, then someone else will; namely, the Christians. But this should not lead to complacency on their part. If the Israelites of an earlier day, with all their advantages, failed to enter the rest, professing Jewish Christians ought not to think there will be automatic acceptance for them. They must take care lest they, too, fail to enter the blessing.