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for those who have toiled here there is some reward, and fruit, and rest. This very thing, therefore, he shows from the prophet, saying: Today if you will hear his voice. It must be known that he says there are three rests: one, that of the Sabbath, in which God rested from His works; a second, that of Palestine, into which the Jews, having entered, were to rest from their great hardship and toils; a third, the true rest, the kingdom of heaven, which those who obtain truly rest from their toils and pains. Of the three, therefore, he makes mention here. And for what reason, when discoursing about one, did he make mention of the three? So that he might show that the prophet, in speaking about this, meant the third. For concerning the first he did not speak, he says. For how could he speak of that which had happened long ago; but neither concerning the second, that in Palestine; for how could he? since he says, they shall not enter into my rest. It remains, therefore, that this must be the third, which is the kingdom of heaven. And the whole 95.945 meaning of the saying is this: David said, he says, speaking later after their generation, that Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, so that you do not suffer the same things which our forefathers did, and be deprived of the rest, since there is evidently some rest. For if they had received the rest, for what reason did he say to them, Today, harden not your hearts, as your fathers did, lest having suffered the same things, you be deprived of the rest? What then is the rest, but the kingdom of heaven, of which the Sabbath is an image and a type? If you are called there, seek nothing here. Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. Whence, instead of, for this reason. For from hardness comes unbelief. For since the account of things to come is not as persuasive as that of things past, he reminds them of an old story, in which they had need of faith. For if your fathers, because they did not hope as they ought to have hoped, suffered these things, how much more you. But exhort one another daily. That is, build one another up. Correct yourselves, that you may not suffer the same things. While it is called today. What is "today," he says? As long as the world stands. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Do you see that unbelief causes sin. For we are made partakers of Christ. We have become, he says, what he also is. And he is the head, and we the body. If we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end, while it is said: Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. What is, the beginning of our confidence? Faith, through which we have our being, and came to be, and were saved, as one might say. For who, when they had heard, did provoke? Having given the testimony, he adds a question, which makes the argument clear. But what he says is this: They too heard, he says, just as we hear, but it was of no benefit to them. Do not think, therefore, that from hearing the preaching you will be benefited, since they also heard, but were not benefited at all, because they did not believe. But not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. He speaks of Caleb and Joshua. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not 95.948 with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? and we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
CHAP. IV. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his
rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we are entering into the rest, we who
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τοῖς ἐνταῦθα πονέσασι μισθός τις, καὶ καρπὸς, καὶ ἀνάπαυσις. Τοῦτο οὖν αὐτὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ προφήτου δείκνυσι, λέγων· Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε. Ἰστέον δὲ ὡς τρεῖς φησι καταπαύσεις εἶναι· μίαν τὴν τοῦ Σαββάτου, ἐν ᾗ ὁ Θεὸς κατέπαυσεν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ· δευτέραν τὴν τῆς Παλαιστίνης, εἰς ἣν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι εἰσελθόντες ἔμελλον ἀναπαύεσθαι ἀπὸ τῆς ταλαιπωρίας τῆς πολλῆς καὶ τῶν πόνων· τρίτην, τὴν ὄντως ἀνάπαυσιν, τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἧς οἱ τυχόντες ἀνεπαύοντο ὄντως τῶν πόνων καὶ τῶν ὀδυνῶν. Τῶν τριῶν τοίνυν ἐνταῦθα μέμνηται. Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκα περὶ μιᾶς διαλεγόμενος τῶν τριῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν; Ἵνα δείξῃ τὸν προφήτην περὶ ταύτης λέγοντα τῆς τρίτης φῆσαι. Περὶ γὰρ τῆς πρώτης οὐκ εἶπε, φησί. Πῶς γὰρ ἔλεγε περὶ τῆς πάλαι γεγενημένης· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ περὶ τῆς δευτέρας τῆς ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ· Πῶς γάρ; ὅπου γε λέγει, οὐκ εἰσελεύσονται εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσίν μου. Λείπεται δὲ ταύτην εἶναι λοιπὸν τὴν τρίτην, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ὅλος 95.945 δὲ ὁ νοῦς τοῦ ῥητοῦ οὗτός ἐστιν· ∆αβὶδ εἶπε, φησὶν, ὕστερον μετὰ τὴν γενεὰν τὴν ἐκείνων διαλεγόμενος, ὅτι Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ πάθητε, ἅπερ οἱ πρόγονοι οἱ ἡμέτεροι, καὶ ἀποστερηθῆτε τῆς καταπαύσεως, ὡς οὔσης δηλονότι τινὸς καταπαύσεως. Ἐπεὶ εἰ ἀπειληφότες ἦσαν τὴν κατάπαυσιν, τίνος ἕνεκα αὐτοῖς ἔλεγε τὸ, Σήμερον μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ἴσα παθόντες ἀποστερηθῆτε τῆς καταπαύσεως; Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ κατάπαυσις, ἀλλ' ἢ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἧς εἰκὼν καὶ τύπος τὸ Σάββατον; Εἰ ἐκεῖ κέκλησθε, μηδὲν ἐνταῦθα ζητεῖτε. Βλέπετε, ἀδελφοὶ, μήποτε ἔσται ἔν τινι ὑμῶν καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας, ἐν τῷ ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ζῶντος. Ὅθεν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, διὰ τοῦτο. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς σκληρότητος ἀπιστία γίνεται. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁ τῶν μελλόντων λόγος, οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως πιθανὸς, ὡς τῶν παρελθόντων, ἀναμιμνήσκει αὐτοὺς παλαιᾶς ἱστορίας, ἐν ᾗ πίστεως ἐδεήθησαν. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἤλπισαν, ὥσπερ ἐχρῆν ἐλπίσαι, ταῦτα ἔπαθον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς. Ἀλλὰ παρακαλεῖτε ἑαυτοὺς καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν. Τουτέστιν, οἰκοδομεῖτε ἀλλήλους. ∆ιορθώσατε ἑαυτοὺς, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ πάθητε. Ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται. Τὸ σήμερον, φησὶ, τί ἐστιν; Ἕως οὗ συστῇ ὁ κόσμος. Ἵνα μὴ σκληρυνθῇ ἐξ ὑμῶν τις ἀπάτῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι ἡ ἀπιστία τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ποιεῖ. Μέτοχοι γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ γεγόναμεν. Ἐγενόμεθα, φησὶν, ἡμεῖς, ἃ καὶ αὐτός. Καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν κεφαλὴ, σῶμα δὲ ἡμεῖς. Ἐάνπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ὑποστάσεως μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν, ἐν τῷ λέγεσθαι· Σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε, μὴ σκληρύνητε τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ὡς ἐν τῷ παραπικρασμῷ. Τί ἐστιν, ἀρχὴν ὑποστάσεως; Τὴν πίστιν, δι' ἧς ὑπέστημεν, καὶ ἐγενόμεθα, καὶ ἐσώθημεν, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις. Τίνες γὰρ ἀκούσαντες παρεπίκραναν; Εἰπὼν τὴν μαρτυρίαν, καὶ ἐρώτησιν ἐπάγει, ὅπερ ποιεῖ τὸν λόγον σαφῆ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἤκουσαν κἀκεῖνοι, φησὶν, ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς ἀκούομεν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ὄφελος αὐτοῖς γέγονεν. Μὴ τοίνυν νομίσητε, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀκούειν τοῦ κηρύγματος ὠφεληθήσεσθε, ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνοι ἤκουσαν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ὠφελήθησαν, ἐπεὶ μὴ ἐπίστευσαν. Ἀλλ' οὐ πάντες οἱ ἐξελθόντες ἐξ Αἰγύπτου διὰ Μωϋσέως. Τοὺς περὶ Χαλὲβ καὶ Ἰησοῦν φησι. Τίσι δὲ προσώχθισεν τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη; οὐχὶ 95.948 τοῖς ἁμαρτήσασιν, ὧν τὰ κῶλα ἔπεσεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ; Τίσι δὲ ὤμοσε μὴ εἰσελεύσεσθαι εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἀπειθήσασι; καὶ βλέπομεν ὅτι οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν εἰσελθεῖν, διὰ ἀπιστίαν.
ΚΕΦΑΛ. ∆ʹ. Φοβηθῶμεν οὖν μήποτε καταλειπομένης ἐπαγγελίας εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν
κατάπαυσιν αὐτοῦ, δοκῇ τις ἐξ ὑμῶν ὑστερηκέναι. Καὶ γὰρ ἐσμὲν εὐηγγελισμένοι, καθάπερ κἀκεῖνοι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ὠφέλησεν ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀκοῆς ἐκείνους, μὴ συγκεκραμένους τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἀκούσασιν. Εἰσερχόμεθα γὰρ εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν οἱ