“For soil that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces crops useful to those for whose benefit it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God; but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned” (Hebrews 6:7-8 AMP).
A land that enjoys abundant rainfall but fails to produce a harvest indicates that something is wrong. The same might be said of those who claim to have a relationship with Christ but display little or no corresponding growth.
On the other hand, a land that absorbs that same rainfall and produces a harvest is one that receives God’s blessing. This second example represents a man or woman of God who acts on what he or she believes. Those who do so produce the kind of life that serves to honor God.
We’ll close our look at this important passage with a few observations from the following commentators…
“Just as the seed of the Word of God takes permanent root only in good soil, rain only yields a crop when it falls on good soil. This image lends support to the idea that those who fall away were never actually saved to begin with. Like the seed that never takes lasting root in Jesus’ parable of the sower but might for a time seem to produce a healthy plant, those who do not have saving faith may show some apparent growth as they experience the ‘rain’ of God’s blessings. As in the parable in the sower, however, if the soil is not good, the growth will not be lasting.” (1)
“It should also be noticed that the illustration does not speak of a parcel of land that first produces and later becomes void of life; so it does not illustrate someone saved then lost. It speaks of two kinds of fields, one maturing unto blessing and the other degenerating unto cursing.” (2)
“Believers not only taste of the word of God, but they drink it in. And this fruitful field or garden receives the blessing. But the merely nominal Christian, continuing unfruitful under the means of grace, or producing nothing but deceit and selfishness, was near the awful state above described; and everlasting misery was the end reserved for him. Let us watch with humble caution and prayer as to ourselves.” (3)
Fortunately, it appears that some among those who received the Epistle to the Hebrews fell into the “good soil” category. Our author will address those individuals next.
(1) R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2206.
(2) Edward E. Hindson and Woodrow Michael Kroll, eds., KJV Bible Commentary (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 2550.
(3) Henry, Matthew. “Concise Commentary on Hebrews 6”. “Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhn/hebrews-6.html. 1706.