SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:1
¶ Temamos, pues, alguna vez, que dejando la promesa de la entrada en su Reposo, parezca alguno de vosotros haberse apartado.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Hebrew 4:1
Verse 1. Let us therefore fear] Seeing the Israelites lost the rest of Canaan, through obstinacy and unbelief, let us be afraid lest we come short of the heavenly rest, through the same cause. Should seem to come short of it.] Lest any of us should actually come short of it; i.e. miss it. See the note on the verb dokein, to seem, Luke viii. 18. What the apostle had said before, relative to the rest, might be considered as an allegory; here he explains and applies that allegory, showing that Canaan was a type of the grand privileges of the Gospel of Christ, and of the glorious eternity to which they lead.
Come short] The verb usterein is applied here metaphorically; it is an allusion, of which there are many in this epistle, to the races in the Grecian games: he that came short was he who was any distance, no matter how small, behind the winner. Will it avail any of us how near we get to heaven, if the door be shut before we arrive? How dreadful the thought, to have only missed being eternally saved! To run well, and yet to permit the devil, the world, or the flesh, to hinder in the few last steps! Reader, watch and be sober.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. Let us therefore fear , etc..] Not with a fear of wrath and damnation; nor with a fear of diffidence and distrust of the power, grace, and goodness of God; but with a cautious fear, a godly jealousy, a careful circumspection, and watchfulness: lest a promise being left [us] of entering into his rest ; not the land of Canaan, the type of heaven, but rather heaven itself, the ultimate glory: there is a rest of the body in the grave, from work, service, and labour, and from distempers and diseases, where it rests under the guardianship of the Spirit, until the resurrection morn; and there is a rest of the soul before the resurrection, in the arms of Christ, with whom it immediately is, upon its departure from the body; and there is a rest both of soul and body after the resurrection, from sin, from afflictions, from Satan's temptations, from unbelief, doubts, and fears, and from all enemies: and this may be called the rest of God, because he is the author and giver of it; and it will lie much in communion with him; and besides, heaven is the place of God's rest, ( Isaiah 66:1,2) and the possession and enjoyment of the heavenly glory is often signified by an entering into it: and there is a promise of this, which is left in Christ's hands, and shall never fail; though some who have hoped for it may come short of it, or at least seem to do so: but rather a rest under the Gospel dispensation is here intended, since it is a rest believers enter into now, ( Hebrews 4:3) and since the Gospel church is represented as a state of peace and rest, ( Isaiah 11:6-10) and which lies in a more clear and comfortable application of the blood and righteousness of Christ to the saints; in a freedom from a spirit of bondage to fear, and from the yoke of carnal ordinances, and in the enjoyment of Gospel privileges and ordinances; and this is God's rest, which he has provided for New Testament saints, and into which they enter by faith, and a profession of it; and the Gospel is the promise or declaration which was left among these Hebrews, and in the world, to encourage them so to do: lest any of you should seem to come short of it ; either of the promise, or the rest promised; which if understood of the heavenly glory, the sense is, that though true believers shall not come short of that, yet they may seem to others to do so; and therefore should be careful of their lives and conversations, that they might not seem to come short; and this they should do, for the glory of God, the honour of Christ and his Gospel, and the good of others; but if the rest, and the promise of it, intend the Gospel and its dispensation, the meaning is, that saints should be concerned so to behave, that they might not seem to fail of the doctrine of the grace of God, and to be disappointed of that rest and peace promised in it. One of Stephens's copies read, lest any of us; which seems most agreeable both to what goes before, and follows.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-10 - The privileges we have under the gospel, are greater than any had unde the law of Moses, though the same gospel for substance was preache under both Testaments. There have been in all ages many unprofitabl hearers; and unbelief is at the root of all unfruitfulness under the word. Faith in the hearer is the life of the word. But it is a painfu consequence of partial neglect, and of a loose and wavering profession that they often cause men to seem to come short. Let us then giv diligence, that we may have a clear entrance into the kingdom of God As God finished his work, and then rested from it, so he will caus those who believe, to finish their work, and then to enjoy their rest It is evident, that there is a more spiritual and excellent sabbat remaining for the people of God, than that of the seventh day, or tha into which Joshua led the Jews. This rest is, a rest of grace, an comfort, and holiness, in the gospel state. And a rest in glory, wher the people of God shall enjoy the end of their faith, and the object of all their desires. The rest, or sabbatism, which is the subject of the apostle's reasoning, and as to which he concludes that it remains to be enjoyed, is undoubtedly the heavenly rest, which remains to the people of God, and is opposed to a state of labour and trouble in this world It is the rest they shall obtain when the Lord Jesus shall appear from heaven. But those who do not believe, shall never enter into thi spiritual rest, either of grace here or glory hereafter. God has alway declared man's rest to be in him, and his love to be the only rea happiness of the soul; and faith in his promises, through his Son, to be the only way of entering that rest.
Greek Textus Receptus
φοβηθωμεν 5399 5680 ουν 3767 μηποτε 3379 καταλειπομενης 2641 5746 επαγγελιας 1860 εισελθειν 1525 5629 εις 1519 την 3588 καταπαυσιν 2663 αυτου 846 δοκη 1380 5725 τις 5100 εξ 1537 υμων 5216 υστερηκεναι 5302 5760
Vincent's NT Word Studies
1. Being left (kataleipomenhv). Still remaining: not being neglected. It is not a reason for fearing that is given, but a circumstance connected with the thing to be avoided. As there is now left a promise, let us fear. Being left announces the thought which is afterward emphasized, and on which the whole treatment of the subject turns - that God's original promise of rest remains unchanged, and still holds good. Such being the case, he who doubts the promise itself, or thinks that it is too late for him to enjoy its fulfillment, runs a risk.
Should seem to come short (dokh usterhkenai). According to this rendering, the meaning is that one must avoid the appearance of having failed to enter into the rest; the perfect tense (usterhkenai) placing the reader at the parousia, when judgment will be pronounced. This is forced, tame, and irrelevant to the previous discussion. Rend. lest any one of you think he has come too late for it. This accords with the previous admonitions against unbelief. For one to think that he has come too late to inherit the promise is to disbelieve an immutable promise of God. Hence the writer may well say, "Since this promise remains, let us fear to distrust it." JUsterein is to be behind; to come late; to come short; hence, to suffer need, as Philip. iv. 12; of material deficiency, Luke xv. 14; John ii. 3; of moral and spiritual shortcoming, Rom. iii. 23; 1 Corinthians viii. 8; Heb. xii. 15.
