Albert Barnes Commentary Hebrews 6:7

"For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also tilled, receiveth blessing from God:" — Hebrews 6:7 (ASV)

For the earth. The apostle's design in this comparison is apparent. It is to show the consequences of not making proper use of all the privileges Christians have, and the effect that would follow if those privileges were not improved. He says it is like the earth. If it absorbs the rain and produces an abundant harvest, it receives the Divine blessing. If not, it is cursed or is worthless. The design is to show that if Christians become like the barren earth, they will be cast away and lost.

Which drinketh in the rain. This compares the earth as if it were "thirsty"—a comparison common in all languages.

That cometh oft upon it. This refers to the frequent showers that fall. The object is to describe fertile land that is often watered with the rains of heaven. The comparison of "drinking in" the rain is designed to distinguish a mellow soil that receives the rain from hard or rocky land where it runs off.

And bringeth forth herbs. The word herbs we now limit, in common discourse, to the small vegetables that die every year and are used as articles of food, or to those in general that do not have ligneous or hard woody stems. The word here means anything cultivated in the earth as an article of food, and includes all kinds of grains.

Meet for them. Useful or appropriate to them.

By whom it is dressed. The margin says, "for whom." The meaning is, on account of whom it is cultivated. The word "dressed" here means cultivated. Compare Genesis 2:15.

Receiveth blessing from God. It receives Divine approbation. It is in accordance with His wishes and plans, and He smiles upon it and blesses it. He does not curse it, as He does the desolate and barren soil.

The language is figurative and must be understood to denote that which is an object of Divine favor. God delights in the harvests the earth brings forth, in the effects of dews, rains, and suns in causing beauty and abundance; and on such fields of beauty and plenty He looks down with pleasure.

This does not mean, as I suppose, that He renders it more fertile and abundant, for:

1. It cannot be shown that it is true that God thus rewards the earth for its fertility; and
2. Such an interpretation would not accord well with the scope of the passage.

The design is to show that a Christian who makes proper use of the means of growing in grace that God bestows upon him, and who does not apostatize, meets with Divine favor and approbation. His course accords with the Divine intention and wishes, and he is a man on whom God will smile—as He seems to smile on the fertile earth.

Further notes: "earth" can be understood as "land." The term "meet" means "useful." In the phrase "by whom it is dressed," the marginal note offers "for" instead of "by." An alternative meaning for "dressed" is "belong to," though the commentary explains it as "cultivated." Regarding "blessing," compare Psalm 65:10.