Warning against Retrograding, which leads to Apostasy—Encouragement to Steadfastness from God’s Faithfulness to His Word and Oath. Heb. 6:7-8
The high sovereignty of God is also exhibited in the manner of His bestowal and non-bestowal of rain: “Also I have withholden the rain from you… and I caused it to rain upon one city, and… one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereon it rained not withered” Amos 4:7. Thus it is absolutely in connection with His providential sending of the Gospel to nations, cities, and individuals: it is of God’s disposal alone. “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the Word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not” Acts 16:6, 7. “God sends His Gospel to one nation and not to another, to one city and not to another. The apostle distributes the plants into two classes: “herbs” (v. 7), “thorns and briers” (v. 8). The former, represent those who, having believed and obeyed the Gospel, brought forth the fruits of practical godliness. These constituted that “remnant according to the election of grace” (Rom. 11:5), which obtained mercy, when the rest of their brethren according to the flesh were blinded. These continued to be the vineyard of the Lord, a field which He cared for. They formed the first Gospel church, gathered out from the Hebrews, which brought forth fruit to the glory of God, and was blessed by Him. The latter were made up of obstinate unbelievers on the one hand, who persistently rejected Christ and His Gospel; and on the other hand, of those who embraced the profession of the Gospel, but after a season returned to Judaism. These were rejected of God, fell under His curse, and perished.” Pink Arthur W.
“The earth which receives the rain, is a figure of the hearts and minds of the Jews, to whom the Word of God had been sent, and to whom, in the days of Christ and His apostles, the Gospel had been preached… What response, then, will the earth make to the repeated rains? or, to interpret the figure, What fruit is brought forth by those who heard the Gospel? “And bringeth forth herbs”. So here the earth is said to bring forth… the rains causing the seeds to issue in fruit. “Meet for them by whom it is dressed” … “for whom” it is dressed: either makes good sense. The apostle’s design here is to show the importance of making a proper use of receiving God’s Word. As it is in nature, so it is in grace; the more frequently the rain falls, and the more the ground be cultivated, the better and heavier should be the yield. Thus it is with God’s elect. The more they sit under the ministry of the Word, and the more they seek grace to improve what they hear, the more fruit will they yield unto God. Thus it had been with the godly in Israel. “Receiveth blessing from God.” The “blessing” here is a consequence upon the bringing forth of “herbs” or fruit. What we have here is God’s acceptation and approbation, assuring His care unto a further improvement. Isa. 27:2, 3. receiveth. Gen. 27:27, Lev. 25:21, Ps. 24:5; 65:10; 126:6, Is. 44:3, Eze. 34:26. Three things then are included in God’s blessing of this fruitful field: First, His owning of it: He is not ashamed to acknowledge it as His. Second, His watch-care over it, His pruning of the branches that they may bring forth more fruit Jn 15:2. Third, His final preservation of it from evil, as opposed to the destruction of barren ground. All this was true of that part of Israel spoken of in Romans 11:5. Pink Arthur W. The Study continues.
