Hebrews 4:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says," he says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." Of which hardened men does he remind them, and of which unbelievers? Is it not the Jews? The meaning of his words is this: they heard, he says, just as we hear, but they received no benefit. Therefore do not think that you will benefit from the mere hearing of the preaching. They also heard, but received no benefit, because they did not believe. But Caleb and Joshua, who were not mixed with the unbelievers, that is, were not of one mind with them, escaped the punishment that befell them. And this is remarkable: it does not say that they did not agree, but that they were not mixed. That is, they did not take part in the uprising, while all the others rose up with one accord. Here, it seems to me, the Apostle is hinting at some disturbance.

By "those who heard" he here means those who believed. For they can truly be called hearers. Saint John Chrysostom understood those who were not mixed to mean the followers of Caleb and Joshua. They did not take part in the uprising. They were not mixed, were not stirred up, and did not perish with the rest who rose up, all of whom had one mind. But with whom were they not mixed? With those who heard and received no benefit. This saint spoke so according to his great and deep wisdom. But to me, unworthy as I am, he did not grant understanding of the sense in which he said this. In Blessed Theophylact the reading is μη συγκεκραμένους. In him it agrees not with λόγος, as in our text, but with εκείνους. Remarkably, he did not say "not agreeing," but "not mixed," μη σογκεκροιμένους, cf. Num 11:30-31, in order to indicate the highest degree of union.

The meaning of all this is as follows. When it is said, "Today, if you will hear His voice," and so on, as has already been explained above, let us fear.

While the promise of entering His rest still remains, let none of you be found to have lagged behind and fallen away.

For when the Holy Spirit said, "Today, if you will hear His voice," this means at any time whatever. By this word, "today," the whole time until the end of the present life is embraced.

Therefore this word extends both to us and to those who will be on earth until the end of the world. Thus the promise of entering into rest preserves its force for us also.

It extends to us, if only we do not harden ourselves. Likewise, the threat of being deprived of it will overtake us if we fall into unbelief.

"For the Gospel was preached to us, as also to them." That is, we too have received the promise of entrance, just as our forefathers mentioned earlier did.

"But the word they heard did not profit them." The word of promises they heard brought them no profit, because they did not believe. For hearing alone is not enough; obedience is also needed.

It is not enough merely to hear; one must also believe. It did not profit them, because even when it had been received by hearing, it was not mixed with faith in them.

Or else: they were not joined by faith to those who heard and believed. Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb believed the promises of God, while all the rest did not believe (Num 14).

Then, in explanation of what has been said, the Apostle says: "For some, when they had heard, provoked Him, but not all who came out of Egypt with Moses."

Thus hearing did not profit those who heard but did not believe. For those who did not believe provoked God, and through this they perished.

Yet not all provoked Him. Joshua, as has been said, and Caleb believed, and through this they were saved. According to David's words cited above, those who did not believe offended God by this unbelief.

Therefore the One in whom they did not believe punished them, and swore that they would not enter His rest.

The Apostle clarifies both this and that by way of questions and answers. Against whom, he says, was He angry for forty years? Was it not against those who sinned? Yes, precisely.

By "those who sinned" he means those who did not believe in Him, for unbelief is sin, and indeed the gravest of sins. "Whose bones," or members, fell in the wilderness.

Again he asks: to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest? Was it not to those who did not obey Him, who did not believe that they would possess the promised land?

We see that they could not enter it because of unbelief, and that for unbelief they all perished in the wilderness.

Such is the order of the Apostle's thoughts, beginning with the words, "some, when they had heard, provoked Him," and including the words, "that they could not enter because of unbelief."

In general, he expressed this thought. Just as mere hearing of the words of God brought no profit to those unbelievers, so mere hearing of the preaching of the Gospel will not profit us if we do not believe Christ's promises.

On the contrary, we too shall be deprived of His rest, by which I mean the Kingdom of Heaven, just as they were deprived of the promised land.

συγχεχραμένος, that is, λογος, is the generally accepted reading. Zigabenus adopts another reading, συγχεχραμένους, that is, ἐκεινους.

The Apostle proves from Holy Scripture that this promise has indeed not yet been fulfilled. The Hebrews, he says, heard the proclamation of rest, the word of hearing. But since this proclaimed word was not joined by faith, πίστει as dative of means, to those who heard it, nor to their inner being, it remained something external and foreign to them. Therefore it brought them no benefit. Only those who believe can enter God's rest by this invitation. Thus Christians also can enter the rest. More than this, they alone enter, while the Jews are deprived of this good.