返回Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Heb. 3:1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
"Therefore," that is, after I have said that such is our High Priest – faithful and merciful toward our sins, and able to help – look and you will find that this is entirely so. He said "partakers of the heavenly calling," that is: we are called there, we should seek nothing here; there is the reward, there is the recompense.
Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ,
On account of the flesh — everything humbled, as is often said. The apostle says this because he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "The High Priest of our confession," that is, of our faith; for He is the High Priest not of the service under the Law, but of our faith.
Heb. 3:2. Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses in all His house.
Intending to depict the advantages of Christ over Moses, the apostle speaks about the high priesthood and says that both the one and the other were entrusted with the people, but Christ to a greater degree. At first he does not show the superiority of Christ, so that they would not turn away; for although they were faithful, they were still devoted to Moses. For now he likens the Lord to him, saying that He too is faithful to the Father, Who appointed Him high priest and apostle. Here the speech is not about essence, but about stewardship. "Faithful," that is, benevolent, interceding for those who belong to the Father, and not allowing them to perish, but on the contrary, seeking their salvation. "As also Moses in all His house," that is, among the people. He calls the people a house, as we also commonly say. For the people were also called Moses', as for example: "your people have corrupted themselves" (Exod. 32:7). Like a caretaker, he says, and a steward in a house, so was Moses among the people.
Heb. 3:3. For He was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house itself,
Heb. 3:4. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.
Here too is the superiority that the Lord has over Moses. He says that Moses too was faithful in all his house, that is, among the people, yet he himself was one of that house: he too was a man, like the rest; although holy, he was a servant together with them; just as stewards in households, although they surpass the others, are nevertheless servants together with them. Therefore, since he too was part of the house, he too was created by someone, and the one who created him undoubtedly surpasses him. And the Son of God created him, He who took on flesh and was called high priest for his sake: consequently, He also surpasses him. See how the apostle began with a comparison according to the flesh, but led up to the Divinity and showed that the Creator incomparably surpasses the creature.
Heb. 3:5. And Moses was faithful in all His house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken;
Heb. 3:6. but Christ – as a Son
Behold, he shows yet another superiority: Moses was faithful as a servant, appointed to convey the Lord's commands to the other servants and to be a witness before God at the judgment concerning what was told to them. For if he calls heaven and earth as witnesses, as for example: "Give ear, O heavens, and hear, O earth" (Deut. 32:1; cf. Isa. 1:2), and the valleys, as for example: "Hear, O strong foundations of the earth" (Mic. 6:2), then how much more a man. But Christ is faithful as a true Son and heir, fulfilling the works of the Father according to His will. Truly, the difference between such a Master and a servant is beyond comparison.
Heb. 3:6. over His house; and His house are we, if only we hold fast the boldness and the hope of which we boast firm unto the end.
The house of Moses was the people, of which he himself was also a part. And Christ has a house, that is, us, but only if we stand firm to the end and do not fall. Here he urges them to be steadfast in afflictions and not to lose heart: then we too, like Moses, will be the house of God. He praises them, showing that they have made a beginning of that which must be continued to the end. He well said: "the boldness and the boasting of hope." For everyone who firmly hopes that there will be a recompense already boasts of the expected as though it were present, and does not lose heart; on the contrary, he has even greater confidence when he endures afflictions for the sake of Christ whom he loves.
Heb. 3:7. Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, when you hear His voice,
Heb. 3:8. Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Heb. 3:9. Where your fathers tempted Me, tested Me, and saw My works forty years.
Heb. 3:10. Therefore I was wroth with that generation and said: they continually err in their heart, and they have not known My ways;
Heb. 3:11. Therefore I swore in My wrath, that they shall not enter into My rest. (Cf. Ps. 95:7–11)
Having spoken about hope and about the need to await with confidence the reward and rest there from the labors here, he next proves on the basis of the prophet's words: believers will enter into rest, but unbelievers will not enter, just as the ancients did not enter. For after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and received in the wilderness countless proofs of God's care for them and His power, they resolved to send spies to examine the nature of the land they intended to enter. Those who were sent returned and spoke with amazement about the nature of that land and about the fact that it was inhabited by unconquerable people. And so the people, who should have paid attention to the unconquerable power of God, struck by these words, murmured and decided that they should return to Egypt. Therefore God, angered that they had so quickly forgotten so many wonders, swore that the murmuring generation would not enter the land of promise — and indeed, all of them perished in the wilderness, except Caleb and Joshua. Therefore, if David, speaking after this generation had already passed, said: "Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 3:15), it was so that you would not suffer the same fate as your forefathers and not be deprived of rest; it is clear that he was speaking of some other rest, which we must obtain. For if they truly attained rest, then why does he say: "Today... do not harden your hearts," like the fathers, lest you too fail to enter into rest? What other rest is this, if not the Kingdom of Heaven, of which the Sabbath served as a type, and the entry into Palestine by the children of that unbelieving generation served as a foreshadowing? For there are three rests: the rest of the Sabbath, when God rested from His works. David was not thinking of speaking about this rest now, since it had been long ago. Another is the entry into the land of promise, upon entering which the Jews were to find rest from wars and wandering. And he is not speaking of this now either, for Palestine at that time, in the days of David, had already been occupied by the Hebrews. How then would David speak of it as something not yet obtained? Thus, he meant another rest, into which Joshua could not lead his people. What rest is this, if not the rest in heaven? Therefore strive so that you are not deprived of it through unbelief, like our forefathers. Such is the meaning of this entire very significant passage: it must be examined in parts. But note that one must not demand an account from God, but must believe in Him, whether He saves from calamities or not. He also accuses them of the fact that they tempted Him, that is, without testing they did not trust in Him as almighty.
Heb. 3:12. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
This is said for the purpose of intimidation. There were probably some who did not believe in the truth of what was said about retribution, and therefore wished to test the power of God and His care for them in the trials to which they were subjected. Therefore he guards them, reminding them of what those who did not believe endured in ancient times. For future terrors do not restrain many as much as past ones that are already known to all. Note also that from unbelief everyone passes to evil thoughts and to equally evil deeds.
Heb. 3:12. Lest you fall away from the living God.
Unbelief finds no other way out than for everyone to fall away from God. As long as a person holds to God and hopes in Him as the Almighty, he considers nothing impossible.
Heb. 3:13. But exhort one another every day, as long as it can be said: "today,"
That is, edify one another and strengthen each other, so as not to fall. And if anyone falls, correct him while he is still alive; this is what the expression means: "while it can be said: 'today,'" for there is hope. And especially, let there not be in anyone an evil heart; but if it happens, let him not fall into despair, but comfort him, and you will win him back again.
Heb. 3:13. lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
That is, lest from despair he come to hardness and remain incurable. For just as hardened and rough bodies do not yield to the efforts of physicians, so hardened souls do not obey the word of God. By "the deceitfulness of sin" he means either the deception of the devil—that is, not to hope that there will be recompense—or carelessness. For, he says, if I have sinned once, then I no longer have any hope—this is truly the deceitfulness of sin. Sin, deceiving and drawing one to itself, causes one to think in the way that is said: "When the wicked comes, contempt comes also" (Prov. 18:3). And whoever holds in contempt can no longer believe. Thus, from sin comes unbelief. "And they say: 'The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it'" (Ps. 94:7). And again: "saying in his heart: 'You will not require it'" (Ps. 10:13), and: "God has forgotten" (Ps. 10:11), and everything of that sort.
Heb. 3:14. For we have become partakers of Christ,
That is, we and He became one, and we became partakers of Him to the same degree that the body is of the head. Here he inspires them with hope, as if saying: He Who loved us so much that He even made us His body will not allow us to be torn away from Him, if only we ourselves do not desire it. At the same time he hints at what is said in another place: "if we endure, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12). Being now partakers in the same things as Christ, evidently in afflictions, let us strive to be partakers also then in glory.
Heb. 3:14. If only we hold firmly to the life we have begun until the end,
That is, faith; for through it we exist and realize a divine and spiritual existence and regeneration. And here he requires standing firm in the faith until the end.
Heb. 3:15. While it is said: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation."
He confirms in what sense he said "to the end," and says that this is signified by the expression "today." For "today" means: always, as he also said above: "but exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today'" (Heb. 3:13). Or, what is more approved, as stated by Saint John Chrysostom, the apostle makes a transition from the words "as long as it is said: 'today, when you hear His voice,'" to what follows: "Therefore let us fear, lest, while a promise remains" (Heb. 4:1), and so on.
Heb. 3:16. For some, when they had heard, did provoke;
Having heard, he says, God's promise — "I will give you the land of Canaan" — they did not believe, and by their unbelief they provoked God to anger. See to it, then, that you also do not be unbelieving in the promises. For hearing alone will not benefit you if you do not also believe. Just as hearing did not benefit them either, but on the contrary, they perished with complete justice precisely because they did not believe the words of God.
Heb. 3:16. But not all who came out of Egypt with Moses.
Caleb and Joshua the son of Nun were not among the unbelievers, and therefore attained the promise and entered Palestine.
Heb. 3:17. And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bones fell in the wilderness?
He concludes his speech with a question for greater clarity and less contradiction. Questions are posed to those who are confessing. He also proposes the punishment. Their bones fell in the wilderness, he says, that is, the large thighbones. Through a part he indicated the whole bodies.
Heb. 3:18. And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, if not to those who were disobedient?
Heb. 3:19. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Above he said: "was it not against those who sinned," but now: "the disobedient." He seems to be alluding to such believers from among the Hebrews, because many of them fell into other transgressions as well, besides faintheartedness and unbelief in the future. From this we see that the disobedient did not enter; that is, the punishment for sin is before our eyes and is acknowledged by all.
Heb. 3:1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
"Therefore," that is, after I have said that such is our High Priest – faithful and merciful toward our sins, and able to help – look and you will find that this is entirely so. He said "partakers of the heavenly calling," that is: we are called there, we should seek nothing here; there is the reward, there is the recompense.
Consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ,
On account of the flesh — everything humbled, as is often said. The apostle says this because he was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "The High Priest of our confession," that is, of our faith; for He is the High Priest not of the service under the Law, but of our faith.
Heb. 3:2. Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses in all His house.
Intending to depict the advantages of Christ over Moses, the apostle speaks about the high priesthood and says that both the one and the other were entrusted with the people, but Christ to a greater degree. At first he does not show the superiority of Christ, so that they would not turn away; for although they were faithful, they were still devoted to Moses. For now he likens the Lord to him, saying that He too is faithful to the Father, Who appointed Him high priest and apostle. Here the speech is not about essence, but about stewardship. "Faithful," that is, benevolent, interceding for those who belong to the Father, and not allowing them to perish, but on the contrary, seeking their salvation. "As also Moses in all His house," that is, among the people. He calls the people a house, as we also commonly say. For the people were also called Moses', as for example: "your people have corrupted themselves" (Exod. 32:7). Like a caretaker, he says, and a steward in a house, so was Moses among the people.
Heb. 3:3. For He was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who built the house has more honor than the house itself,
Heb. 3:4. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.
Here too is the superiority that the Lord has over Moses. He says that Moses too was faithful in all his house, that is, among the people, yet he himself was one of that house: he too was a man, like the rest; although holy, he was a servant together with them; just as stewards in households, although they surpass the others, are nevertheless servants together with them. Therefore, since he too was part of the house, he too was created by someone, and the one who created him undoubtedly surpasses him. And the Son of God created him, He who took on flesh and was called high priest for his sake: consequently, He also surpasses him. See how the apostle began with a comparison according to the flesh, but led up to the Divinity and showed that the Creator incomparably surpasses the creature.
Heb. 3:5. And Moses was faithful in all His house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken;
Heb. 3:6. but Christ – as a Son
Behold, he shows yet another superiority: Moses was faithful as a servant, appointed to convey the Lord's commands to the other servants and to be a witness before God at the judgment concerning what was told to them. For if he calls heaven and earth as witnesses, as for example: "Give ear, O heavens, and hear, O earth" (Deut. 32:1; cf. Isa. 1:2), and the valleys, as for example: "Hear, O strong foundations of the earth" (Mic. 6:2), then how much more a man. But Christ is faithful as a true Son and heir, fulfilling the works of the Father according to His will. Truly, the difference between such a Master and a servant is beyond comparison.
Heb. 3:6. over His house; and His house are we, if only we hold fast the boldness and the hope of which we boast firm unto the end.
The house of Moses was the people, of which he himself was also a part. And Christ has a house, that is, us, but only if we stand firm to the end and do not fall. Here he urges them to be steadfast in afflictions and not to lose heart: then we too, like Moses, will be the house of God. He praises them, showing that they have made a beginning of that which must be continued to the end. He well said: "the boldness and the boasting of hope." For everyone who firmly hopes that there will be a recompense already boasts of the expected as though it were present, and does not lose heart; on the contrary, he has even greater confidence when he endures afflictions for the sake of Christ whom he loves.
Heb. 3:7. Wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today, when you hear His voice,
Heb. 3:8. Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Heb. 3:9. Where your fathers tempted Me, tested Me, and saw My works forty years.
Heb. 3:10. Therefore I was wroth with that generation and said: they continually err in their heart, and they have not known My ways;
Heb. 3:11. Therefore I swore in My wrath, that they shall not enter into My rest. (Cf. Ps. 95:7–11)
Having spoken about hope and about the need to await with confidence the reward and rest there from the labors here, he next proves on the basis of the prophet's words: believers will enter into rest, but unbelievers will not enter, just as the ancients did not enter. For after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and received in the wilderness countless proofs of God's care for them and His power, they resolved to send spies to examine the nature of the land they intended to enter. Those who were sent returned and spoke with amazement about the nature of that land and about the fact that it was inhabited by unconquerable people. And so the people, who should have paid attention to the unconquerable power of God, struck by these words, murmured and decided that they should return to Egypt. Therefore God, angered that they had so quickly forgotten so many wonders, swore that the murmuring generation would not enter the land of promise — and indeed, all of them perished in the wilderness, except Caleb and Joshua. Therefore, if David, speaking after this generation had already passed, said: "Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 3:15), it was so that you would not suffer the same fate as your forefathers and not be deprived of rest; it is clear that he was speaking of some other rest, which we must obtain. For if they truly attained rest, then why does he say: "Today... do not harden your hearts," like the fathers, lest you too fail to enter into rest? What other rest is this, if not the Kingdom of Heaven, of which the Sabbath served as a type, and the entry into Palestine by the children of that unbelieving generation served as a foreshadowing? For there are three rests: the rest of the Sabbath, when God rested from His works. David was not thinking of speaking about this rest now, since it had been long ago. Another is the entry into the land of promise, upon entering which the Jews were to find rest from wars and wandering. And he is not speaking of this now either, for Palestine at that time, in the days of David, had already been occupied by the Hebrews. How then would David speak of it as something not yet obtained? Thus, he meant another rest, into which Joshua could not lead his people. What rest is this, if not the rest in heaven? Therefore strive so that you are not deprived of it through unbelief, like our forefathers. Such is the meaning of this entire very significant passage: it must be examined in parts. But note that one must not demand an account from God, but must believe in Him, whether He saves from calamities or not. He also accuses them of the fact that they tempted Him, that is, without testing they did not trust in Him as almighty.
Heb. 3:12. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
This is said for the purpose of intimidation. There were probably some who did not believe in the truth of what was said about retribution, and therefore wished to test the power of God and His care for them in the trials to which they were subjected. Therefore he guards them, reminding them of what those who did not believe endured in ancient times. For future terrors do not restrain many as much as past ones that are already known to all. Note also that from unbelief everyone passes to evil thoughts and to equally evil deeds.
Heb. 3:12. Lest you fall away from the living God.
Unbelief finds no other way out than for everyone to fall away from God. As long as a person holds to God and hopes in Him as the Almighty, he considers nothing impossible.
Heb. 3:13. But exhort one another every day, as long as it can be said: "today,"
That is, edify one another and strengthen each other, so as not to fall. And if anyone falls, correct him while he is still alive; this is what the expression means: "while it can be said: 'today,'" for there is hope. And especially, let there not be in anyone an evil heart; but if it happens, let him not fall into despair, but comfort him, and you will win him back again.
Heb. 3:13. lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
That is, lest from despair he come to hardness and remain incurable. For just as hardened and rough bodies do not yield to the efforts of physicians, so hardened souls do not obey the word of God. By "the deceitfulness of sin" he means either the deception of the devil—that is, not to hope that there will be recompense—or carelessness. For, he says, if I have sinned once, then I no longer have any hope—this is truly the deceitfulness of sin. Sin, deceiving and drawing one to itself, causes one to think in the way that is said: "When the wicked comes, contempt comes also" (Prov. 18:3). And whoever holds in contempt can no longer believe. Thus, from sin comes unbelief. "And they say: 'The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it'" (Ps. 94:7). And again: "saying in his heart: 'You will not require it'" (Ps. 10:13), and: "God has forgotten" (Ps. 10:11), and everything of that sort.
Heb. 3:14. For we have become partakers of Christ,
That is, we and He became one, and we became partakers of Him to the same degree that the body is of the head. Here he inspires them with hope, as if saying: He Who loved us so much that He even made us His body will not allow us to be torn away from Him, if only we ourselves do not desire it. At the same time he hints at what is said in another place: "if we endure, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12). Being now partakers in the same things as Christ, evidently in afflictions, let us strive to be partakers also then in glory.
Heb. 3:14. If only we hold firmly to the life we have begun until the end,
That is, faith; for through it we exist and realize a divine and spiritual existence and regeneration. And here he requires standing firm in the faith until the end.
Heb. 3:15. While it is said: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as in the provocation."
He confirms in what sense he said "to the end," and says that this is signified by the expression "today." For "today" means: always, as he also said above: "but exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today'" (Heb. 3:13). Or, what is more approved, as stated by Saint John Chrysostom, the apostle makes a transition from the words "as long as it is said: 'today, when you hear His voice,'" to what follows: "Therefore let us fear, lest, while a promise remains" (Heb. 4:1), and so on.
Heb. 3:16. For some, when they had heard, did provoke;
Having heard, he says, God's promise — "I will give you the land of Canaan" — they did not believe, and by their unbelief they provoked God to anger. See to it, then, that you also do not be unbelieving in the promises. For hearing alone will not benefit you if you do not also believe. Just as hearing did not benefit them either, but on the contrary, they perished with complete justice precisely because they did not believe the words of God.
Heb. 3:16. But not all who came out of Egypt with Moses.
Caleb and Joshua the son of Nun were not among the unbelievers, and therefore attained the promise and entered Palestine.
Heb. 3:17. And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bones fell in the wilderness?
He concludes his speech with a question for greater clarity and less contradiction. Questions are posed to those who are confessing. He also proposes the punishment. Their bones fell in the wilderness, he says, that is, the large thighbones. Through a part he indicated the whole bodies.
Heb. 3:18. And to whom did He swear that they would not enter into His rest, if not to those who were disobedient?
Heb. 3:19. So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
Above he said: "was it not against those who sinned," but now: "the disobedient." He seems to be alluding to such believers from among the Hebrews, because many of them fell into other transgressions as well, besides faintheartedness and unbelief in the future. From this we see that the disobedient did not enter; that is, the punishment for sin is before our eyes and is acknowledged by all.