Hebrews 3:19

19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Ver. 19. Because of unbelief] A bloody sin, Joh 3:19. No sin will gripe so in hell as this. The devil will keep a holy day there, in respect of unbelievers.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 3:19. 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 exclusion from Canaan, as the Jews, their posterity, do at this day. But our apostle here lays it absolutely and wholly on their unbelief, which he proves to have been the chief spring and cause of all their provocations. From this, in particular, proceeded that cowardice which made them refuse to march against the Canaanites, when the spies brought them information concerning the giants whom they had observed in the country, the sons of Anak, and the large and well-fortified cities. But how inexcusable was this their unbelief, considering the many astonishing miracles which God had wrought for them, before he gave them the command to enter Canaan! “The conclusion,” says Macknight, “of the apostle’s reasoning concerning the sin and punishment of the ancient Israelites, contained in this verse, ought to make a deep impression on every reader, since it shows, in the strongest colours, the malignity of unbelief, and teaches us that it is the source of all the sin and misery prevalent among mankind. Our first parents sinned through their not believing God, when he said, In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die; and their posterity sin through their not believing what God hath suggested to them by their own reason, and by revelation, concerning the rewards and punishments of a future state.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:19 Unbelief and disobedience are closely associated in Hebrews and in the Old Testament passages being discussed (Num 14:11; Deut 9:23; Ps 78:22, 32). As a consequence of disobedience, they were not able to enter his rest by entering the land of Canaan (Deut 3:20; 12:10; Josh 1:13).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heb 3:19. Οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν, they were not able) though they afterwards had wished it.

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Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb_3:19. Closing result from Heb_3:15-18.

καὶ βλέπομεν] thus we see then. Grotius (to whom Carpzov and others assent): Ex historia cognoscimus. But more correctly Seb. Schmidt (with whom Owen, Bleek, Alford, and others agree): βλέπομεν non de lectione aut cognitione historiae, sed de convictione animi e disputatione seu doctrina praemissa.

διʼ ἀπιστίαν] on account of (their) unbelief. Placed with emphasis at the end.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 3:19 . They did not believe God could bring them into the promised land in the face of powerful opposition and so they would not attempt its conquest when commanded to go forward. They were rendered weak by their unbelief. This is pointed out in the concluding words καὶ βλέπομεν … where the emphasis is on οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν , they were not able to enter in, the reason being given in the words διʼ ἀπιστίαν . The application to the Hebrew Christians was sufficiently obvious. They were in danger of shrinking from further conflict and so losing all they had won. They had begun well but were now being weakened and prevented from completing their victory; and this weakness was the result of their not trusting God and their leader.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

they could not enter--though desiring it.

Next: Hebrews Chapter 4

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 19. So we see that they could not enter in] It was no decree of God that prevented them, it was no want of necessary strength to enable them, it was through no deficiency of Divine counsel to instruct them; all these they had in abundance: but they chose to sin, and would not believe. Unbelief produced disobedience, and disobedience produced hardness of heart and blindness of mind; and all these drew down the judgments of God, and wrath came upon them to the uttermost.

1. THIS whole chapter, as the epistle in general, reads a most awful lesson against backsliders, triflers, and loiterers in the way of salvation. Every believer in Christ is in danger of apostasy, while any remains of the evil heart of unbelief are found in him. God has promised to purify the heart; and the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. It is therefore the highest wisdom of genuine Christians to look to God for the complete purification of their souls; this they cannot have too soon, and for this they cannot be too much in earnest.

2. No man should defer his salvation to any future time. If God speaks to-day, it is to-day that he should be heard and obeyed. To defer reconciliation to God to any future period, is the most reprehensible and destructive presumption. It supposes that God will indulge us in our sensual propensities, and cause his mercy to tarry for us till we have consummated our iniquitous purposes. It shows that we prefer, at least for the present, the devil to Christ, sin to holiness, and earth to heaven. And can we suppose that God will be thus mocked? Can we suppose that it can at all consistent with his mercy to extend forgiveness to such abominable provocation? What a man sows that shall he reap. If he sows to the flesh, he shall of the flesh reap corruption. Reader, it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

3. Unbelief has generally been considered the most damning of all sins. I wish those who make this assertion would condescend to explain themselves. What is this unbelief that damns and ruins mankind? Their not permitting their minds to be persuaded of the truths which God speaks. απιστια, from α, negative, and πιστις, faith, signifies faithless or to be without faith. And this is an effect from another cause. In Heb 4:11, these very people are said to have fallen through unbelief; but there the word is απειθεια, from α, negative, and πειθω, to persuade. They heard the Divine instructions, they saw God's stupendous miracles; but they would not suffer themselves to be persuaded, that he who said and did such things would perform those other things which he had either threatened or promised: hence they had no faith, because they were unpersuaded; and their unbelief was the effect of their unpersuaded or unpersuadable mind. And their minds were not persuaded of God's truth, because they had ears open only to the dictates of the flesh; see on Heb 4:2. Here then is the damning sin, the not inferring, from what God has said and done, that he will do those other things which he has either threatened or promised. And how few are there who are not committing this sin daily! Reader, dost thou in this state dream of heaven? Awake out of sleep!

4. Where there are so many snares and dangers it is impossible to be too watchful and circumspect. Satan, as a roaring lion, as a subtle serpent, or in the guise of an angel of light, is momentarily going about seeking whom he may deceive, blind, and devour; and, when it is considered that the human heart, till entirely renewed, is on his side, it is a miracle of mercy that any soul escapes perdition: no man is safe any longer than he maintains the spirit of watchfulness and prayer; and to maintain such a spirit, he has need of all the means of grace. He who neglects any of them which the mercy of God has placed in his power, tempts the devil to tempt him. As a preventive of backsliding and apostasy, the apostle recommends mutual exhortation. No Christian should live for himself alone; he should consider his fellow Christian as a member of the same body, and feel for him accordingly, and have, succour, and protect him. When this is carefully attended to in religious society, Satan finds it very difficult to make an inroad on the Church; but when coldness, distance, and a want of brotherly love take place, Satan can attack each singly, and, by successive victories over individuals, soon make an easy conquest of the whole.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(19) So we see.—Rather, And we see. It is not the general conclusion that is here expressed; but, as in Heb_3:18 we read of the oath of exclusion, this verse records the fact, and also states the cause under an aspect which is most suitable for the exhortation which is in the writer’s thought. There is force in “could not enter”:—not only disobedience, but cowardice and weakness, sprang from “unbelief.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. So we see] Lit. “and we observe.” The translators of the A. V. seem by their version to regard the words as a logical inference from the previous reasoning. It is better, however, to regard them as the statement of a fact—“we see by the argument,” or ex historia cognoscimus. Grotius. See Psa_106:24-26.

that they could not enter in] They did make the attempt to enter, but failed because they lacked the power which only God could give them (Num_14:40-45).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So we see ... - We see from the direct testimony of the Old Testament that unbelief was the reason why they were excluded from the promised land. Let us learn in view of the reasoning and exhortations here:

(1) The evil of unbelief. It excluded that whole generation, consisting of many hundred thousand souls, from the land of promise - the land to which they had looked with ardent hopes, and with warm desires. It will exclude countless millions from heaven. A “lack of confidence in God” is the great source of evil in this world, and will be the cause of wretchedness to all eternity of unnumbered hosts. But surely that was not a small or unimportant thing which strewed the desert with the bones of that whole generation whom God had in so remarkable a manner rescued from Egyptian servitude. And that cannot be a small matter which will cause multitudes to sink down to infinite wretchedness and despair.

(2) Let us who are professed Christians be cautious against indulging unbelief in our hearts. Our difficulties all begin there. We lose confidence in God. We doubt his promises, his oaths, his threatenings. In dark and trying times we begin to have doubts about the wisdom of his dealings, and about his goodness. Unbelief once admitted into the heart is the beginning of many woes. When a man loses confidence in God, he is on a shoreless ocean that is full of whirlpools, and rocks, and quicksands, and where it is “impossible” to find a secure anchorage. There is nothing to which he may moor his driven bark; and he will never find safety or peace until he comes back to God.

(3) Let us live a life of faith. Let us so live that we may say with Paul, “The life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” So living, we shall have peace. The mind will be at rest. Storms and tempests may blow, but we shall be secure. Others may be troubled in the vicissitudes of life, but our minds will be at peace.

(4) Let us live expecting the future “rest” that remains for us. Let us keep our eye fixed upon it. To us there is a rest promised, as there was to the Hebrews whom God had delivered from the land of oppression; and we may by faith attain to that “rest” as they might have reached the land of Canaan.

(5) Let us persevere to the end. He that draws back must be lost. He that does not endure to the end of life in the ways of religion can never have been a Christian. There is nothing which will furnish certain evidence of religion unless our piety is such as to lead us to persevere until death. The man who enters on the professed Christian life expecting to fall away, or who can look upon the possibility of falling away without concern, has never known anything of the nature of true religion. He cannot be a Christian. He may have had raptures and visions; he may be a loud professor and a noisy and zealous partisan, but he has no evidence that he has ever known anything about religion. That religion which is not connected with a firm and determined purpose by the grace of God to persevere to the end of life, is no true religion; and a man who expects to fall away and go back again to the world, or who can look at such an idea without alarm, should regard it as a settled matter that he has no true knowledge of God.

(6) No man should delay the work of salvation to a future time. today is the accepted time; today the only time of which we have any security. God speaks “today,” and today his voice should be heard. No man on any subject should defer until tomorrow what ought to be done today. He who defers religion until a future time neglects his own best interest; violates most solemn obligations; and endangers his immortal soul. What security can anyone have that he will live to see another day? What evidence has he that he will be any more disposed to attend to his salvation then than he is now? What evidence can he have that he will not provoke God by this course, and bring condemnation on his soul? Of all delusions, that is the most wonderful by which dying people are led to defer attention to the concerns of the soul to a future period of life. Nowhere has Satan such advantage as in keeping this delusion before the mind; and if in respect to anything the voice of warning and alarm should be lifted loud and long, it is in reference to this. O why will not people be wise “today?” Why will they not embrace the offer of salvation “now?” Why will they not at once make sure of eternal happiness? And why, amidst the changes and trials of this life, will they not so secure the everlasting inheritance as to feel that that is safe - that there is one thing at least that cannot be shaken and disturbed by commercial embarrassment and distress; one thing secure though friends and kindred are torn away from them; one thing safe when their own health fails, and they lie down on the bed where they will bid adieu to all earthly comforts, and from which they will never rise?

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The execution of the matter sworn was felt by these Hebrews, which should make them and all that read it to dread both their sin and punishment, which the gospel would as justly inflict on them, if unbelievers. It is to be seen in God’s written record of it, and the experienced downfal of such, that God’s oath had shut the door as to their entrance there, and his judgments consumed them in the wilderness, because of their denial of resting on God’s word, and the impious practices that issued from it, in their rejecting promises, rebelling against precepts, and murmuring against providence. God is no respecter of persons; if we sin so against his Son and gospel, how much sorer punishment will overtake us! Heb 10:27,29.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

19. So we see—Conclusion from the whole history, deeply bearing on our own case.

Unbelief—Want, not merely of intellectual acknowledgment of the divine facts, but want of fidelity of heart and the spirit of obedience to God, and harmony with his divine and glorious purposes. Full, hearty accord with God would have made Israel great and glorious, a divine, triumphant theocracy, thrilling the world with the greatness and glory of Jehovah. As it was, Israel barely lived along until the Messiah came and chose another, a spiritual, Israel, in Israel’s place. To that spiritual Israel our author now addresses the warning not to fail by like unbelief.

This chapter ought to have closed at close of Heb_4:2.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So we see they could not enter in - Though afterward they desired it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

19. So we see … because of unbelief. It was unbelief that kept them out of Canaan. Hence, the lesson which is given more fully in the next chapter. These warnings show us that the Hebrew Christians addressed were subjected to trials, and some of them in danger of apostasy, falling away through unbelief. Hence, the fate of Israel in the wilderness is pointed out. If unbelief shut out the Israelites from the rest in Canaan, unbelief will shut the gates of heavenly rest to those who have started on the way.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

19. καὶ βλέπομεν. Lit., “and we observe.” Βλέπειν means to see with the eye of the mind and soul, as in Heb 2:9, Heb 11:1. The translators of the A.V. seem by their version, “so we see,” to regard the words as a logical inference from the previous reasoning. It is better, however, to regard them as the statement of a fact—ex historia cognoscimus, Grotius. See Psa 106:24-26.

οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν εἰσελθεῖν. They did make the attempt to enter, but failed because they lacked the power which only God could give them (Num 14:40-45).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19.] And (thus) we see (Grot., al. give it, “ex historia cognoscimus:” but Bleek quotes from Seb. Schmidt, and it seems the correcter view, “βλέπομεν non de lectione aut cognitione historiæ, sed de convictione animi e disputatione seu doctrina præmissa”) that they were not able to enter in (however much they desired it: they were incapacitated by not fulfilling the condition of inheriting all God’s promises, belief and resulting obedience) on account of unbelief (see above on ver. 12. This verse forms a kind of ‘quod erat demonstrandum’ (as Ebrard), clenching the argument which has been proceeding since ver. 12. The Writer now proceeds to make another use of the example on which he has been so long dwelling).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19. καὶ βλέπομεν... And we 466..

The conjunction introduces the gene-

88 THE EPISTLE ΤῸ THE HEBREWS.

ral conclusion: ‘And so on a review of the record (or of the argument) we seo...’ Βλέπομεν may mean ‘We seo in the familiar record of the Pentateuch,’ or, ‘We see in the details just set forth.’ The two interprotations really pass one into the other.

οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν Their exclusion from Oanaan was not only a fact (οὐκ εἰσῆλθον), but a moral necossity.

δὲ ἀπιστίαν] The failure of the firat generation of redeemed Jows, who corresponded in position with the

first generation of Ohristians, is traced back to its source. The faith which they had at the beginning failed them. They fell into unbelief; and unbelief issued in its practical consequences, disobedience, opensin. For the general relation of ‘unbelief’ and ‘disobedience’ see Rom. ii. ὃ (rots ἀπειθοῦJohn iii. 36 (ὁ πιστεύων, ὁ ἀπειθῶν). ᾿

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901), The Epistle to the Hebrews (1889) and The Epistles of St John (1883) — public domain (pre-1929). Text recovered from Internet Archive / Google Books OCR scans. Westcott’s Gospel of John commentary is not included (its OCR lost the chapter running-heads required for reliable verse-keying). Some Greek quoted in the Hebrews volume is imperfectly rendered by the OCR.