Hebrews 4:7 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Hebrews 4:7

Comments

Because the invitation to enter in is still live and the opportunity is not yet past, the Holy Spirit repeats the promise and points out the significance of the timing. ‘Again, he limits [sets] a certain day, saying in David,’ – this is Psalm 95 again, ‘To day’, and in brackets he inserts ‘after so long a time;’ – 425 years after the entry into Canaan – ‘as it is said,’ – then back to the quote – ‘To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.’ So the day of rest is still with us, because David’s today was not just when the psalm was written, but for all time: today in the time of Moses; today in the time of David; today in the time of the letter to the Hebrews, today until the second coming. The rest of God is an ongoing, and the opportunity to enter that rest is ongoing. That is the argument here. The gospel promise is still in force.

Application

David employs surprise to arrest the attention of his readers: ‘There is still today an offer of entering God’s rest. This offer is made afresh to you and God never makes such an offer insincerely. Take him up on this offer and come to Christ for mercy which is held out to repentant sinners, no matter what they have done. Exercise faith, trust him, and do not harden your hearts in unbelief. Do not be shut out by unbelief as the wilderness generation of the Israelites were. There is no other remedy for unbelief but to repeat the promise and the offer of rest, and to warn against hardening of the heart. If we will not hear the message of the gospel then God has nothing else to say to us. This is about how we hear God’s voice, for the way we treat his word is so important: our eternal destiny depends on it.

Questions

How do men and women harden their hearts? By persisting in their sins and refusing to let go of them. By ignoring conscience. By convincing themselves that God is indifferent to their sin. By not taking seriously God’s warning of judgment to come. By not believing that his offer of mercy is genuine. By despising the grace of God and treating the sacrifice of Christ as nothing special.

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Purpose

Introduction

Hebrews 4:7 Commentary and Bible Study