Hebrews 4:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Here "Today" means "always." What do these words mean? Since someone must certainly enter, he says, and those men did not enter, God appoints another, third rest. Let us hear how he proves that someone must enter, and that someone certainly will enter. He proves it by the fact that "after so long a time" David again says, "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." 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.

Through all this he tries to show that Joshua could not bring them into this rest, of which David speaks and of which we now speak. For Joshua did not bring them in.

But the Apostle set forth the Sabbath rest as a type of the true and eternal rest. Therefore he said, "It remains for some to enter it." That is, not into that Sabbath rest which served as a passing type, but into the true rest which was proclaimed beforehand to the Hebrews in figure. Yet they did not enter, because they did not believe.

"Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience," He "again appoints a certain day, Today, saying in David after so long a time. As it was said before: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation." Then, teaching that the Prophet does not say this about Palestine, the Apostle draws his conclusion.

"Since therefore it remains for some to enter it," that is, into rest, as was said above. "And those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience." Those who first received the promise of entering rest did not enter because of unbelief and murmuring.

"Since therefore it remains for some to enter it." That is, to enter rest. Having indicated how rest is to be understood, the Apostle proceeds to prove that the promised rest has not yet come, and that Christians must strive to attain it.

If, as has become clear to all, the rest is precisely God's rest, continuing always and at all times, and if someone, τινάς, must enter it, then God again invites people to enter this rest. He does this because He sees that the Israelites could not enter His rest because of their unbelief. He does this long after the Hebrews entered the land of Canaan and, in their opinion, had already entered God's rest, namely in the time of David.