Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:11-13)
Nothing can escape the incorruptible Judge. He knows everything precisely, even the movements of our very thoughts. He knows what is done under cover of darkness. He knows what is committed in secret, the wicked counsels of the soul did not elude him, what is hidden is laid bare to Him. He used the phrase “exposed to the eyes of him” as a metaphor from sacrificed beasts, which lie completely mute, the slaughter doing away with their life, and along with their life, their cries. In similar manner, he is saying, when we also are judged, we behold everything done by us in ungodly and lawless fashion, whereas we receive the sentence of punishment in silence, realizing as we do its justice.
Now, it was not just to them but also to everyone of us that the divine apostle wrote this. So it behooves us to consider that divine judgment constantly, be afraid and tremble, keep the divine commandments assiduously, and look forward to the promised rest. May we attain it in Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory and majesty, now and forever, for ages and ages. Amen.
Nothing can escape the incorruptible Judge. He knows everything precisely, even the movements of our very thoughts. He knows what is done under cover of darkness. He knows what is committed in secret, the wicked counsels of the soul did not elude him, what is hidden is laid bare to Him. He used the phrase “exposed to the eyes of him” as a metaphor from sacrificed beasts, which lie completely mute, the slaughter doing away with their life, and along with their life, their cries. In similar manner, he is saying, when we also are judged, we behold everything done by us in ungodly and lawless fashion, whereas we receive the sentence of punishment in silence, realizing as we do its justice.
Now, it was not just to them but also to everyone of us that the divine apostle wrote this. So it behooves us to consider that divine judgment constantly, be afraid and tremble, keep the divine commandments assiduously, and look forward to the promised rest. May we attain it in Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory and majesty, now and forever, for ages and ages. Amen.
Theodoret of Cyrus, “The Epistle to the Hebrews”
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