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history, it is personal. In that closely parallel epistle, Philippians, the Apostle shews that
he too had passed along this pathway as he sought perfection (3: 12-15) saying:--
"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am to be content. I know both what it is to be
brought low, and I know what it is to abound; in every place and in all things I have been
initiated both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to be destitute" (4: 11, 12).
This is the only pathway to scriptural perfecting. The Sermon on the Mount teaches it,
Philippians teaches it, Hebrews teaches it:--
"And having been perfected, He became to those obeying Him a cause of aionian
salvation, having been declared by God a High Priest according to the order of
Melchisedec" (5: 9, 10). [It must be observed that "obedience" is the word that is carried
over. "He learned obedience . . . . . those obeying Him."]
By reading Heb. 2: 10 with 5: 8 we understand that to be perfected through
suffering and to learn obedience through suffering are allied, and further, that He Who
became the Cause of aionian salvation to those obeying Him must be considered together
with Him Who became the Captain of salvation leading many sons to glory (2: 10) and
the Captain and Perfecter of faith who has endured and overcome before us (12: 1-3).
Concerning this High Priest with His suffering and glory, His perfecting and His reward,
the Apostle said he had "much to say, and of difficult interpretation", not because he
himself did not know, but because his hearers had become "dull of hearing". We drew
attention in the structure to the fact that the word here translated "dull" and the word in
chapter 6: "slothful" are the same, and as these are the only occurrences of the word in
the N.T. the parallel is evidently intentional.
The LXX uses the word in Prov. 22: 29 to translate "mean" in the expression "mean
men", and the verse speaks of one diligent in his business. In Prov. 12: 8 it is used for
"perverse". It would appear from the usage of the word that the A.V. "dull" is hardly
strong enough. The Hebrew word in Prov. 22: 29 is chashok = "obscure", or
"darkened", and the cognate choshek is translated scores of times "darkness".
The spiritual ear and eye are of the first importance. Peter in his second epistle uses
the word myopia ("cannot see afar off") of those who had become forgetful of the
purification of old sins. We trust our readers will immediately remember the strong
emphasis upon "purification for sins" found in Hebrews, especially the fact that in the
opening summary this alone is written of the Lord's work on earth. "When He had made
purification for sins" (Heb. 1: 3) (see also Volume IX, page 150). II Pet. 1: speaks of
"adding to their faith", a parallel expression to the words of Heb. 6:, "things that
accompany salvation". These added things have in view the rich furnishing of the entry
into the aionian kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Pet. 1: 11). So in
Hebrews the perfecting is connected with the aionian salvation.
This reference to the dullness of hearing is further a gathering up of the words of the
great historic type of chapters 3: and 4: "To-day if ye will HEAR His voice." "Some
when they had HEARD, did provoke." "The word preached did not profit them, because