{"id":25796,"date":"2011-01-25T19:17:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-26T01:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=25796"},"modified":"2024-12-12T13:42:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T19:42:39","slug":"who-are-them-in-hebrews-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-are-them-in-hebrews-42\/","title":{"rendered":"Who are “them” in Hebrews 4:2?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

“For unto us was the gospel preached,\u00a0as well as unto them:<\/strong>\u00a0but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).<\/p>\n

Who is the\u00a0“as well as unto them”\u00a0<\/strong>in this verse?\u00a0 Is this talking about the children of Israel in the wilderness?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it<\/em>” (Hebrews 3:17-4:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A general rule for pronouns is to back up until you find a noun that has the same gender and case. We typically do this, but sometimes we forget when we reach a chapter mark to go back to the prior chapter. You have to remember that chapter and verse marks were added long after the original text to make referencing easier. Sometimes those marks are in awkward areas.<\/p>\n

So, yes, “them” is referring to the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness. It strikes us odd to hear that the gospel was preached to the Israelites since we usually think of the gospel as the New Testament, or more specifically the first four books of the New Testament. But “gospel” means “good news” and the good news about God and His desire to save people did reach back to the early days. That is why Noah is referred to as a preacher: “and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly<\/em>” (II Peter 2:5). And Christ preached through Noah to the lost in his generation: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water<\/em>” (I Peter 3:18-20).<\/p>\n

The good news of the gospel is mankind’s salvation: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise<\/em>” (Ephesians 1:13). It is the gospel of Christ because Jesus was the means by which this salvation was offered. The Jews had a part to play in that salvation plan and they were taught a part of the gospel. “For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?<\/em>” (Hebrews 3:14-16). What the writer of Hebrews points out is that sadly the Israelites did not heed the good news, so we don’t want to make the same mistake.<\/p>\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Thank you for your answer and thank you for your web site. Since discovering it several weeks ago, I have spent untold hours on it, studying scripture, reading the many articles you have posted, and reading some of the questions others have asked. I even took one whole day and listened to the “Hutto-El Dareer” debate on the religion of Islam<\/a>. Fascinating stuff.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

You certainly know how to warm my heart. I’m thrilled the site is being put to such good use.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: “For unto us was the gospel preached,\u00a0as well as unto them:\u00a0but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews 4:2). Who is the\u00a0“as well as unto them”\u00a0in this verse?\u00a0 Is this talking about the children of Israel in the wilderness? Answer: “Now with whom…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[100,1098,1064],"class_list":["post-25796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-gospel","tag-grammar","tag-hebrews"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-does-obedience-relate-to-saving-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":0},"title":"How does obedience relate to saving faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How does obedience relate to saving faith? Answer: \"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, \"Depart\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14153,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-losing-your-faith-means-losing-your-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":1},"title":"Does losing your faith means losing your salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I was reading I Timothy and came across mention of Hymenaeus and Alexander.\u00a0 Not knowing anything about them, I did a google search and found your site with\u00a0your explanation of them.\u00a0 In it, you say that it is possible to lose one\u2019s faith as seen in Hymenaeus, Alexander,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28596,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-break-his-promise-to-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":2},"title":"Did God break His promise to Moses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Moses' time than God had promised him that he would go into the promised land right but then later when Moses strikes the rock twice and water comes out then god says that Moses will not Lead the people into the promised land because how can Moses be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18955,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-remembering-the-sabbath-a-perpetual-moral-duty\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":3},"title":"Isn’t remembering the Sabbath a perpetual moral duty?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: One question about the Sabbath that I have not seen addressed on this site is that the Reformed school (some Presbyterians and the Puritans) argue that the duty to sanctify one day in seven is a perpetual moral duty and that therefore Colossians 2:16 et al. do not eliminate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14550,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-hebrews-49-speak-of-the-sabbath-rest-remaining-if-the-sabbath-observance-is-no-longer-required\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":4},"title":"Why does Hebrews 4:9 speak of the Sabbath rest remaining if the Sabbath observance is no longer required?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read in your web site that we no longer follow the Sabbath, but in Hebrews 4:9 it saids, \"There remains, then a Sabbath rest for the people of God\" and then it continues \"let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest so that no one will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-is-abraham-famous-what-did-abraham-care-about-most\/","url_meta":{"origin":25796,"position":5},"title":"How is Abraham famous? What did Abraham care about most?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 11, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How is Abraham, or Abram, famous? What did Abraham care about most? Answer: Many, many years ago God promised a man named Abram, \"I will bless you and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing\" (Genesis 12:2). The blessing was conditional on Abram's willingness to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}