Forty years: for which cause I was offended with this generation, and I said: They always err in heart. And they have not known my ways,

“Paul, having treated of hope, and having said that "We are His house, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end"; next shows that we ought to look forward with firmness, and he proves this from the Scriptures. His discourse was concerning Hope, and that it behooves us to hope for the things to come, and that for those who have toiled here there will assuredly be some reward and fruit and refreshment. This then he shows from the prophet. He says that there are "three" rests: one, that of the Sabbath, in which God rested from His works; the second, that of Palestine, into which when the Jews had entered they would be at rest from their hardships and labors; the third, that which is Rest indeed, the kingdom of Heaven; which those who obtain, do indeed rest from their labors and troubles. Of these three then he makes mention here. And why did he mention the three, when he is treating of the one only? That he might show that the prophet is speaking concerning this one. For he did not speak (he says) concerning the first. For how could he, when that had taken place long before? Nor yet again concerning the second, that in Palestine. For how could he? For he says, "They shall not enter into My rest." It remains therefore that it is this third. But it is necessary also to unfold the history, to make the argument more clear. For when they had come forth out of Egypt, and had accomplished a long journey, and had received innumerable proofs of the power of God, both in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness, they determined to send spies to search out the nature of the land; and these went and returned, admiring indeed the country, and saying that it abounded in noble fruits, nevertheless it was a country of strong and invincible men: and the ungrateful and senseless Jews, when they ought to have called to mind the former blessings of God, and how when they were hemmed in the midst of the armies of so many Egyptians, He rescued them from their perils, and made them masters of their enemies' spoils; and again, in the wilderness He clave the rock, and bestowed on them abundance of waters, and gave them the manna, and the other wonderful things which He wrought; when they ought, I say, to have remembered this, and to have trusted in God, they considered none of these things, but being struck with terror, just as if nothing had been done, they said, we wish to go back again into Egypt, "for God hath brought us out thither" to "slay us, with our children and wives." God therefore being angry that they had so quickly cast off the memory of what had been done, sware that generation, which had said these things, should not enter into the Rest; and they all perished in the wilderness. When David then, he says, speaking at a later period, and after these events, after that generation of men, said, "To-day, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts," that ye may not suffer the same things which your forefathers did, and be deprived of the Rest; he evidently said this as of some future rest. For if they had received their Rest (he says) why does He again say to them, "To-day if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts," as your fathers did? What other rest then is there, except the kingdom of Heaven, of which the Sabbath was an image and type?”

“Above the Apostle proved that Christ is of greater excellence than Moses; here he concludes that Christ is to be obeyed all the more. And he does this through the authority of the prophet David in Psalm 94. In this he does three things: first he sets forth the authority, which contains a certain exhortation; second he expounds it, at the place, "see, brothers"; third from the authority and the exposition he argues, in chapter 4, at the place, "let us fear therefore." Concerning the first he does three things. For first he suggests the authority of the words that follow; second he sets down the exhortation, which is contained in the authority, at the place, "today if the voice"; third he sets down a certain comparison, at the place, "as in the provocation," etc. The authority of the words is from this, that they were not uttered by human invention, but by the Holy Spirit. Hence he says, "wherefore, as the Holy Spirit says." As if to say: Christ is of more abundant grace than Moses; therefore if we have listened to Moses, we ought not to harden our hearts against listening to Christ. He himself alleges the words of the Old Testament on behalf of the New, lest it be believed that they are to be referred only to the Old Testament; rather they are also to be referred to the New, and to another time. And they are the words of the Holy Spirit, because, as it is said in 2 Peter 1:21: prophecy was not at any time brought by the will of man, but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Spirit. For David himself says of himself, in 2 Kings 23:2: the Spirit of the Lord has spoken through me. In this, therefore, he shows the authority to be true, namely because it is from the Holy Spirit, against the Manichean. Then when he says, today if the voice, etc., he sets down the admonition, where he does three things. For first he describes the time when he says "today"; second he adds the benefit, at the place "if the voice"; third he subjoins his own admonition, at the place "harden not." The time is "today," namely the time of day. For the time of the old law was called night, because it was the time of shadow. Below, 10:1: for the law, having a shadow of the good things to come. But the time of the New Testament, because it drives away the shadow of the night of the law, is called day. Romans 13:12: the night is past, and the day is at hand. This time is also called day, on account of the rising of the sun of justice. Malachi 4: unto you that fear my name the sun shall rise, et cetera. This day is not followed by night, but by a clearer day, namely when we shall see the sun of justice itself with unveiled face in its wheel, when we shall see him through his essence. And in this day a benefit is shown to us. For there follows, if you shall hear his voice, because we hear his voice, which was not the case in the Old Testament, in which only the words of the prophets were heard. Above, 1:1: God, formerly speaking to the fathers in the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us in the Son. Isaiah 52:6: therefore my people shall know my name in that day, for I myself who spoke, behold, I am here. Canticle 2:14: let your voice sound in my ears. For in this a benefit so greatly desired is shown to us. Luke 19:42: in this your day, the things that are to your peace, et cetera. If therefore the benefit is so great, behold the admonition: harden not your hearts. A hard heart tends toward evil. That is hard which does not yield, but resists what impels it, and does not receive an impression. And thus a man's heart is called hard, when it does not yield to the divine command, nor easily receives divine impressions. Ecclesiasticus 3:27: a hard heart shall fare ill at the last. Romans 2:5: according to your hardness and impenitent heart, you treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath. Now this hardening is caused from two things. From one as it were negatively, namely from God not bestowing grace. Romans 9:18: God has mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardens. From the other, positively, and in this way the sinner hardens himself, by not obeying God, and by not opening his heart to grace. Zechariah 7:12: they made their heart as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets. Harden not your hearts, therefore, that is, do not close your hearts to the Holy Spirit. Acts 7:51: you always resist the Holy Spirit. Consequently he sets down the comparison when he says: as in the provocation. And this is a comparison from a past deed; for the faithful are instructed about the things that are to be done in the New Testament from the things that were done in the past, according to that saying of Romans 15:4: whatever things were written, were written for our instruction. Now he does two things concerning this: first he proposes the example in general, setting down the fault; second in particular, at the place, where they tempted me, et cetera. But in order that we may follow the exposition of the Apostle, it is necessary to set forth in this text the senses that agree with the exposition. Now we read that, among other faults of the sons of Israel, two were most gravely punished. One was the disobedience which they showed in the affair of the spies, concerning which see Numbers 13 and 14. On account of this deed the Lord, being indignant, willed to destroy the whole people. Hence he swore that none should enter the land of promise, except two, namely Caleb and Joshua. Now this he specially calls a provocation, because, although by other sins they had offended God, yet by this one they provoked him; for just as an unripe fruit, which is opposed to a ripe one, is not fit for eating, so then the wrath of God was inflexible. Psalm 77:40: they provoked him in the desert, and tempted him in the place without water. Baruch 4:7: you provoked him who made you. The other sin was the sin of temptation. For they frequently tempted God, because at one time over water, at another over meat, and at another over bread: so that they tempted him ten times. Numbers 14:22: they have tempted me now ten times. Job 19:3: behold, you confound me ten times. And therefore he says "according to the day of temptation." Now someone might think that the provocation and the temptation were the same sin, so that the Apostle meant to say: harden not your hearts as in the provocation, which was in the day of the temptation. But this is against the exposition of the Apostle. It must therefore be said thus: harden not your hearts as in the provocation, and again as in the day of temptation, so that there are two sins. Hence Psalm 77:41: they turned back, and tempted God, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. Consequently he pursues the faults in particular, when he says, where your fathers tempted me, et cetera. And concerning this he does two things: first he sets down the sin of temptation; second the sin of provocation, at the place, and I said always. Concerning the first he does three things. For first he sets down the sin of temptation; second he shows its gravity, at the place, they proved; third he sets down the penalty, at the place, wherefore I was offended. He says, then, that in them was the sin of temptation in the desert, because there your fathers tempted me; and he speaks in the person of the Lord. Here it must be known that to tempt is to take a trial of a thing which one does not know. Hence the fact that someone tempts God proceeds from unbelief. But it must be known that sometimes someone tempts God, not with the intention of tempting and making trial, yet he behaves in the manner of one tempting. For he who uses his own thing for its usefulness does not properly tempt: for instance, if someone fleeing runs upon his horse, even if he puts it to the test, yet not with the intention of tempting. But when what he does is of no use, then he tempts. Likewise, if someone exposes himself to some danger, compelled by necessity, under hope of divine help, he does not tempt God. But if without any necessity, then he tempts God. And thus he himself says, Matthew 4:7: you shall not tempt the Lord your God, because there was no necessity that he should cast himself down. Thus these people tempted the Lord, because they doubted the power of God, crying out against Moses, as though God could not give them food, though they had experienced his power in greater things; and therefore it was the sin of unbelief, which is the greatest. Then the gravity of the fault is set down, when he says, they proved me, et cetera. For the greater the benefits of God someone receives, and the greater certainty of divine power he has, and afterward doubts, the more gravely he sins. But these people saw signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, the opening of the sea and other miracles, and yet they did not believe. Hence Numbers 14:22: the men who saw my majesty, and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now ten times, et cetera. And therefore he says "they proved," that is, they wished to make trial, and "they saw," that is, they experienced, "my works," that is, the effects which could not exist unless he who wrought the works were of infinite power. And all this not in one day, but for forty years, during which they remained in the desert, because they always had manna and the pillar of fire and of cloud; or, they proved that they saw me, namely because in nothing did I fail them. Yet what he says, "forty years," according to the intention of the Apostle is referred to what precedes, but according to the intention of the Psalmist it is referred to what follows, so that it is said he was offended or hostile toward them in the fortieth year. And thus reads the text of Jerome. Then when he says, wherefore I was offended, the penalty of the sin is set down; and there is a double reading, namely "offended," or "near," and it comes to the same thing. Wherefore, that is, on account of the sin, I was offended, that is, indignant — not that wrath is in God, except by way of likeness, because he punishes as one who is angry; concerning which penalty it is frequently found in Exodus 22: let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled, etc., and in the book of Numbers. For often they were laid low. Hence 1 Corinthians 10:5 treats of the penalty of this sin. Or, "I was near," namely by punishing them. For when the Lord comes to the aid of the good, and punishes the wicked, then he is near to them; but when he overlooks the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and overlooks the affliction of the just, so that their merit may increase, then he also seems far off. Job 22:14: the clouds are his covert, and he does not consider our things, and he walks about the poles of heaven. Or "near," as regards divine mercy, because this very fact, that he punishes them temporally, is a great sign of mercy. Augustine: burn here, cut here, that thou mayest spare forever. Then when he says, and I said, etc., he sets down the sin of provocation in particular. And this is clear from what is said below, to whom I swore that they should not enter, et cetera. And concerning this he does two things. For first he sets down the fault; second he adds the penalty, at the place, to whom I swore in my wrath, et cetera. Now he sets down a twofold fault. One is in obstinacy in evil; the other is in withdrawal from good. And this latter he sets down, at the place, but they have not known my ways. He says, then: I was thus near to them, namely by punishing them. And I said, namely by eternal foreknowledge, these always err in heart. Deuteronomy 31:27: you have always acted contentiously against the Lord. Jeremiah 13:23: if the Ethiopian can change his skin, et cetera. Thus, then, in one way someone provokes God when he obstinately clings to evil; in another way, when he despises the good. Hence he says, but they have not known my ways, that is, not with respect to simple ignorance, but to affected ignorance, so that the sense is: they have not known, that is, they were unwilling to know. Job 21:14: we do not want the knowledge of your ways. Psalm 35:3: he would not understand, that he might do well. Or, "they have not known," that is, they have not approved, as the Apostle says, 2 Timothy 2:19: the Lord knows who are his. Consequently he shows the penalty when he says, to whom I swore. In this word he sets down immutability, in that he wills oaths to be firm. For when God or an angel is found to swear, it is a sign of the immutability of that concerning which he swore. Psalm 109:5: the Lord has sworn, and he will not repent, et cetera. Yet sometimes he swears only under a condition, namely that if they do not repent, these evils will befall them. He also indicates that this penalty is not for a threat, but rather for extermination, because he says "in wrath." Psalm 6:1: Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath. He swore, therefore, in wrath, if they shall enter into my rest. The construction is defective, after the manner of one who is angry, who cuts short his words. And the word "if" is taken for "not," that is, they shall not enter into my rest. Now there is a threefold rest. One is temporal, concerning which Luke 12:19: you have many goods laid up for many years, take your rest, et cetera. The second is the rest of conscience. Ecclesiasticus 51:35: I labored a little, and found much rest. The third is the rest of eternal glory. Psalm 4:8: in peace, in the very same, I will sleep and take my rest. It can, therefore, be explained that what is said here refers to each of these, so that it is said: but they entered neither into the rest of the land of promise, nor into the rest of conscience, nor into the rest of eternal enjoyment.”

“Wherefore I was grieved with that generation,.... , "the generation of the wilderness", as the Jews often call them; and which they say was more beloved than any generation (e); and yet they will not allow them a part in the world to come; See Gill on Heb 3:11. When God is said to be grieved with them, it is to be considered as an anthropopathy, as speaking after the manner of men, as in Gen 6:5. The word signifies, that he was wearied by them, and weary of them; that he loathed them, and was displeased with them; it shows the notice God took of their sin; the heinousness of it, his displicency at it, and determination to punish it: the cause of his grief and indignation were their unbelief, ingratitude, and idolatry: and said, they do alway err in their heart; all sins are errors, or aberrations from the law of God; all men err in this sense: these people erred in their hearts, for there is error in the understanding, and will, and affections, as well as in life and actions; and they may be said to err in their hearts, because their sins not only sprung from the heart, but they were done heartily, or with their hearts, and that continually; which shows the sottishness of this people: their stubbornness and rebellion; their want of integrity, and their constancy in sinning: heart sins, as well as others, are taken notice of by God: and they have not known my ways; they did not take notice of God's ways of providence towards them; nor did they approve of, and delight in his ways of worship and duty, or in his commands. (e) T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 39. 2.”

“Wherefore I was grieved - God represents himself as the Father of this great Jewish family, for whose comfort and support he had made every necessary provision, and to whom he had given every proof of tenderness and fatherly affection; and because, they disobeyed him, and walked ill that way in which they could not but be miserable, therefore he represents himself as grieved and exceedingly displeased with them. They do alway err in their hearts - Their affections are set on earthly things, and they do not acknowledge my ways to be right - holy, just, and good. They are radically evil; and they are evil, continually. They have every proof, of my power and goodness, and lay nothing to heart. They might have been saved, but they would not. God was grieved on this account. Now, can we suppose that it would have grieved him if, by a decree of his own, he had rendered their salvation impossible?”

“grieved--displeased. Compare "walk contrary," Lev 26:24, Lev 26:28. that generation--"that" implies alienation and estrangement. But the oldest manuscripts read, "this." said--"grieved," or "displeased," at their first offense. Subsequently when they hardened their heart in unbelief still more, He sware in His wrath (Heb 3:11); an ascending gradation (compare Heb 3:17-18). and they have not known--Greek, "But these very persons," &c. They perceived I was displeased with them, yet they, the same persons, did not a whit the more wish to know my ways [BENGEL]; compare "but they," Psa 106:43. not known my ways--not known practically and believingly the ways in which I would have had them go, so as to reach My rest (Exo 18:20).”