The apostle, in the first chapter of this epistle, having affirmed that Jesus of Nazareth, by whom the gospel revelation was given to mankind, is God's _Son_, in a peculiar sense; a sense in which no man or angel is his son; and having proved, from the Jewish Scriptures, that God had constituted thi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who was faithful to him that appointed him_ The sacred penman, entering upon a comparison between Moses and Christ, as he was the apostle of God, or one sent by him to reveal his will, he recommends him to the faith of the Hebrews, under the principal qualification of a person in that office; he _w... [ Continue Reading ]
_For_, &c. The apostle proceeds in this verse, and the three following, with his design of evidencing the excellence of Christ above Moses, as he had done before in reference to angels, and all other revealers of the will of God to the church; the word _for_ denoting the connection of this paragraph... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Moses verily_ Another proof of the pre-eminence of Christ above Moses; _was faithful in all his house as a servant_ Θεραπων, _minister_, or _officer._ In describing the faithfulness of Moses, when, under God, he built the Jewish Church, God called him, (Numbers 12:7,) _My servant Moses._ From t... [ Continue Reading ]
Having demonstrated the pre-eminence of Christ above Moses in their respective ministries, the apostle, according to his design and usual method, now proceeds to the application of the truth he had evinced, in an exhortation to stability and constancy in faith and obedience. And this he does in a wa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore_ To speak after the manner of men; _I was grieved_ Highly displeased; _with that generation_ With the generality of this people; _and said, They do always_ Notwithstanding all that I have done for them before their eyes; _err in their heart_ Are led astray by their stubborn will and vile... [ Continue Reading ]
_Take heed_ Βλεπετε, _see to it_, consider, use care and circumspection; _brethren, lest_ Μηποτε, _lest at any time; there be in any of you_ As there was in your forefathers of old; he speaks to them collectively, to take care that none might be found among them with such a heart as he guards them a... [ Continue Reading ]
_For we are made partakers of Christ_ Of all the blessings procured by his death, and offered in his gospel, even of pardon, holiness, and eternal life; _if we hold_ If we retain with constancy and perseverance; _the beginning of our confidence_ That is, the confidence or trust we have begun to plac... [ Continue Reading ]
_For some_, &c. As if he had said, You have need to attend; be watchful and circumspect. _For some_ Yea, many; _when they had heard_ The voice of God in giving the law, and the various instructions which God granted them in the wilderness; _did provoke_ Literally, _bitterly provoke_, that is, God, w... [ Continue Reading ]
_But with whom was he grieved_ Or, _displeased_, as Macknight renders προσωχθισε; _forty years?_ The apostle's answer to this inquiry consists of a double description of them. First, By their sin; _was it not with them that had sinned?_ Secondly, By their punishment; _whose carcasses fell in the wil... [ Continue Reading ]
_So we see_, &c. The conclusion we draw from the whole is, _that they could not enter in because of unbelief_ Though afterward they desired it. In looking over the whole story of the sins of the Israelites, and of God's dealings with them, one would be apt to fix upon some other causes of their excl... [ Continue Reading ]