THEREFORE, SINCE IT REMAINS FOR SOME TO ENTER IT AND THOSE WHO FORMERLY
HAD GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM FAILED TO ENTER BECAUSE OF DISOBEDIENCE: epei oun apoleipetai
(3SPPI) tieiselthein (AAN) eis auten kai hoi proteron euaggelisthentes (APPMPN)
ouk eiselthon (3PAAI) di apeitheian:
(9;
1 Corinthians 7:29)
(Numbers
14:12,31;
Isaiah 65:15;
Matthew 21:43;
22:9,10;
Luke 14:21-24;
Acts 13:46,47;
Acts 28:28)
(2;
3:19;
Galatians 3:8)
(3:18,19)
Since (epei) seeing or because, links words as dependent ideas
Remains
(620)
(apoleipo
from apo = from + leipo = lack, leave, forsake) means
literally to leave behind. Paul uses it in the active voice to describe
leaving behind of his cloak (see note
2 Timothy 4:13
cp the two other uses of the active voice -
2 Ti 4:20;
Titus 1:5)
The passive voice as used here in Hebrews means to be reserved or to remain,
to be left over.
Apoleipo in the present verse conveys the idea that the promise of
rest remains over from past times. The
present tense
indicates that it continually remains. In
other words, even though the promise of rest had not been appropriated (by
faith) by most of Israel in the wilderness, the promise of rest still holds
good.
A T Robertson says...
This left-over promise is not repealed, though not utilized by the
Israelites under Moses
Vincent
adds that...
The promise has not been appropriated. It must be appropriated in accordance
with God’s provision. The rest was not provided for nothing. God’s provision
of a rest implies and involves that some enter into it. But the
appropriation is yet in the future. It remains that some enter in. (Vincent,
M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament 4:423)
Apoleipo is apparently a technical term in wills in ancient Greek
writings.
Apoleipo is used 14 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Ex 5:19; 12:10; Lev. 22:30; Jdg. 9:9,
11, 13; 2 Ki. 10:21; 2 Chr. 16:5; Job 11:20; Prov. 2:17; 9:6, 12; 19:27;
Isa. 55:7) and 7 times in the NT...
2 Timothy 4:13 (note)
When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the
books, especially the parchments.
2 Timothy 4:20 (note)
Erastus remained at Corinth,
but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.
Titus 1:5 (note)
For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what
remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,
Hebrews 4:6 (note)
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had
good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
Hebrews 4:9 (note)
There remains therefore a Sabbath
rest for the people of God.
Hebrews 10:26 (note)
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the
truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Jude 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned
their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the
judgment of the great day.
Good news preached
(2097)
(euaggelizo/euangelizo
from euággelos = bringing good news from eu
= good, well + aggéllo = proclaim, tell) means to announce good news,
to declare or bring glad tidings.
The Israelites in the wilderness had good news preached to them. The
question is whether this good news was a reference to rest in a place
or a Person. In this passage the fact that the possibility of entering this
"rest" is still available for some to enter would exclude a "place".
The "rest" by default has to be God's rest available in the Person of the
Messiah by grace through faith (see Mt 11:28-30). And so, the author
parallels the failure of the Jews to enter God's rest with the potential
failure of his readers to enter that same "rest" by not exercising faith in
the Messiah.
The mode of rendering this verse in various translations also supports the
preceding conclusion...
(Amplified
Bible - Lockman)
Seeing then that the promise remains over [from past times] for some to
enter that rest, and that those who formerly were given the good news
about it (Ed note: About what? About the same rest that was
available to the readers of the letter of Hebrews) and the opportunity,
failed to appropriate it and did not enter because of disobedience. (Ed
note: Their disobedience served as evidence of their unbelief, the same
truth brought out by comparing
Hebrews 3:18,
Hebrews 3:19)
(Bolding added)
(NLT
- Tyndale House) So
God's rest is there for people to enter. But those who formerly heard the
Good News (Ed note: Who is he referring to? In context, Israel in the
wilderness) failed to enter (Ed note: Failed to enter what? God's
rest - see context
Hebrews 4:5!)
because they disobeyed God. (Comment: To reiterate - their
disobedience was visible evidence that they did not truly trust or belief
God.)
(Barclay's
paraphrase - Westminster
Press) Since then it
remains that some people must enter into it (Ed note: "rest") and
since those who in former times had the gospel preached to them did not
enter because of their lack of trust
Good News
in the Old Testament
Good news
could refer to the declaration of any kind of good news, but in the New
Testament refers, with rare exception, to the glad tidings of the coming
kingdom of God and the
salvation which is available by grace through faith in the atoning sacrifice
of the Lamb of God. In short, the most frequent NT use of euaggelizo/euangelizo
means to "evangelize"
or to preach the gospel.
Twice in Hebrews 4, the author uses similar phrases to refer to the good
news...
we have had the good news preached to us (see note
Hebrews 4:2)
those who formerly had the good news preached to them (Hebrews
4:6)
Many find it difficult to believe that either of these references to the
good news represents the same gospel which is preached
today. Specifically, they do not interpret this proclamation of good news to
Israel in the wilderness as representing the gospel of Christ.
One first needs to ask...
"Was the gospel of the Messiah even proclaimed in the Old Testament?"
My experience as a Bible teacher for some 20+ years has been that many
Christians, even evangelical and conservative, are not clear on how
individuals were saved in the Old Testament, some even believing that
salvation was by keeping of the law. However Scripture fortunately never
contradicts itself and the clear New Testament teaching that men and women
are saved by grace through faith is the same teaching that is taught in the
Old Testament.
Observe the following New Testament passages and what they teach about the
good news in the Old Testament...
In the opening to Romans we read
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for
the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in
the holy Scriptures (See notes
Romans 1:1;
1:2)
So in his introduction to Romans, Paul explains that the gospel was
not "new" good news, but was the same "old" "good news" God
had promised in the Old Testament. In other words, the good news did not
originate with Paul or even with Jesus’ earthly ministry. Paul makes it
clear that the good news he teaches is really old news of the Hebrew
Scriptures now fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ. It follows that OT
believers were "looking forward" toward the Cross, and NT believers "look
backward" toward the Cross, the latter group obviously having a clearer
understanding of the gospel than OT believers.
So when did God promise the gospel through His prophets? The amazing answer
is that immediately after Adam had sinned and the curse of death fell upon
all mankind (see note
Romans 5:12)
God issued this promise...
I
will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman (Eve), And between your
seed and her seed (ultimately referring to the Messiah), He (the Messiah)
shall bruise you on the head (see note
Ro 16:20),
and you shall bruise Him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15) (Comment:
Theologians refer to this as the "first Gospel" or "first preaching of the
Gospel" [Protevangel or Protevangelium])
In Galatians Paul elaborates on this OT gospel writing that...
the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (declare righteous) the
Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham (at a
time before the Jews were known), saying, "ALL THE NATIONS SHALL BE BLESSED
IN YOU." (Galatians 3:8)
More than once in the book of Acts, Luke records passages that speak
of the good news in the Old Testament...
Acts 10:43 "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His
name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."
Acts 26:6 "And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise
made by God to our fathers
In 2 Timothy, Paul's last epistle, he credits the teaching of the Old
Testament as pivotal in the salvation of Timothy...
2 Timothy 3:15 (note)
and that from childhood you (Timothy) have known the sacred writings which
are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which
is in Christ Jesus. (Comment: "Sacred writings" refer to the Old
Testament Scriptures which Timothy's Jewish mother had exposed him to since
he was a young boy. The clear implication is that the good news of salvation
by faith in Messiah was taught in the Old Testament.)
Writing to the the saints at Corinth Paul states the Jews
all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, for
they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock
was Christ. (1Corinthians 10:3-4)
Paul speaking of the Jewish fathers in 1Corinthians 10 makes a statement
which implies an
understanding that the events they experienced,
the sacrifices they offered, the ritual they fulfilled, were all designed to
teach them truth about Messiah, Who was, to the eyes of faith, their
ground of atonement with God, though He had not yet appeared as God
incarnate. Of
course these same elements could be experienced mechanically
(intellectually), without genuine faith,
and were thus meaningless as far as personal salvation was concerned.
Lest their be any doubt about the "antiquity" of the gospel, observe that
Paul writes...
Titus 1:2 (note)
in the hope of eternal
life, which God, Who cannot lie, promised long ages ago (Comment: The
phrase long ages ago does not refer to ancient times but even before
the foundation of the world, because the phrase really means "before time
began". To be sure, God reiterated His plan of salvation to godly men such
as Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets but the origin of the "good news"
was in eternity past, even preceding the bad news of Adam's sin! Amazing
grace!)
Old Testament Gospel
by William Cowper
(Olney Hymns)
Israel in ancient days
Not only had a view
Of Sinai in a blaze,
But learn’d the Gospel too;
The types and figures were a glass,
In which they saw a Saviour’s face.
The paschal sacrifice
And blood-besprinkled door,
Seen with enlighten’d eyes,
And once applied with power,
Would teach the need of other blood,
To reconcile an angry God.
The Lamb, the Dove, set forth
His perfect innocence,
Whose blood of matchless worth
Should be the soul’s defense;
For He who can for sin atone,
Must have no failings of His own.
The scape-goat on his head
The people’s trespass bore,
And to the desert led,
Was to be seen no more:
In him our Surety seem’d to say,
“Behold, I bear your sins away.”
Dipt in his fellow’s blood,
The living bird went free;
The type, well understood,
Express’d the sinner’s plea;
Described a guilty soul enlarged,
And by a Saviour’s death discharged.
Jesus, I love to trace,
Throughout the sacred page,
The footsteps of Thy grace,
The same in every age!
Oh grant that I may faithful be
To clearer light vouchsafed to me!
Failed to enter - is more literally not to come into, where the word
for not (ou) signifies absolute negation. In absolutely no way did they
enter this rest.
As an aside the idea that the wilderness generation was finally rejected was
one the Jewish rabbis found difficult to accept. And so we find in their
writings statements such...
Into this resting-place they will not enter, but they will enter into
another resting-place (Mid Qoheleth 10.20.1).
The Jewish rabbis also had a parable of a king who swore in anger that his son
would not enter his palace. But when he calmed down, he pulled down his
palace and built another, so fulfilling his oath and at the same time
retaining his son.
Thus the rabbis expressed their conviction that somehow those Israelites
would enter their rest. The author of Hebrews, however, has no such reservations about the
wilderness generation. They disobeyed God and forfeited their place.
Because of disobedience - The KJV renders it that they "entered not
in because of unbelief" (because disobedience is the active
expression of unbelief). Remember the principle that genuine (saving)
faith is evidenced by obedience (cf. see notes
Hebrews 3:18;
4:6,
4:11;
Luke 6:46).
Disobedience
(543)
(apeitheia
from a = without + peítho = persuade) (Click
study of related verb
apeitheo) is
literally an unwillingness to be persuaded, and thus describes the condition
of being unpersuadable.
In the NT it always speaks of disobedience to God and is often shown as the
result of or with the connotation of unbelief (apistia). In
Ephesians 2:2
unbelievers are referred to as sons of
disobedience or those who are the "offspring" (as it were) of
disobedience.
The active expression of unbelief is manifested in disobedience.
Apeitheia thus denotes a willful
unbelief and obstinate opposition to God's will. Note that apeitheia is not ignorance but obstinance.
Apeitheia is the third of the vices personified as virgins in black
in Hermas Similitudes 9.15.3.
Apeitheia is not found in the
Septuagint (LXX)
and is used only 7 times in
the NT...
Romans 11:30 (note)
For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy
because of their disobedience
Romans 11:32 (note)
For God has shut up all in disobedience that He might show mercy to all.
(Here disobedience is virtually tantamount to sin).
Ephesians 2:2 (note)
in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now
working in the sons of disobedience.
Ephesians 5:6 (note)
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the
wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Colossians 3:6
For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of
disobedience (Note that this use of apeitheia is found only in the Greek
Textus Receptus from which the KJV is translated)
Hebrews 4:6
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who
formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of
disobedience,
Hebrews 4:11 (note)
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through
following the same example of disobedience.
Notice that the failure of the Israelites to enter did not mean God's
promise was no longer effective.
><> ><> ><>
Today in the Word (click
here) has the following
devotional...
If you saw a notice in the newspaper listing you among potential heirs being
sought for a great inheritance, would you make contact with the people
placing the ad? Probably so. And if you checked things out and discovered
you were a legitimate heir, would you be motivated to show up at the time
and place designated to claim your inheritance? You'd be foolish not to go!
That's similar to the situation facing the readers of Hebrews--and us as
believers today. God has a promised inheritance for His people called His
rest. This rest was offered to the generation that Moses led out of Egypt,
but they failed to claim it because they lacked the one prerequisite: faith.
The opening verses of Hebrews 4 continue the writer's train of thought.
Having previously described the generation that angered God by its unbelief,
he now applies the lessons of that generation to the believers of his day.
And, as always, believers in every generation need to learn the same
lessons.
The good news of this passage is that God's offer of a rest, a Sabbath rest,
still stands. Even though Moses' generation missed it, God's promise
remains. His rest has been available since the dawn of creation. God rested
from His work (Gen. 2:2) and decided it was such a good idea that He
commanded a rest for His creatures.
Notice that God's rest includes the cessation of work (Hebrews 4:10). In
God's case, He rested because He was finished with creation--His was a rest
of completion and satisfaction.
If we are to enter God's rest today, what work must we cease doing? Part of
the answer is that we are to rest from or give up our own efforts to save
ourselves, since God's rest includes our salvation. The ""rest"" of
salvation is entered only by faith.
The writer urges the Hebrews, ""Make every effort to enter that rest""
(Hebrews 4:11). So the rest must go beyond salvation, since they were
already believers. It seems clear that God's rest extends to the entirety of
our lives, as we give up our attempts to live the Christian life in our own
strength and rest in His promises.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY - The principle of Sabbath rest--one day in seven set
aside for rest and worship--stands out in this passage. This is a rest God
wants us to enjoy today. For us as Christians this special day is the Lord's
day. But sadly, for many of us, this day is as hectic and noisy as the rest
of the week. If your day of worship seems like every other day, except for
church services, make a commitment to turn off the noise, unplug some of the
activities, and spend more time in contemplation of God's goodness. (See
Moody
Bible Institute's Today in the Word)
