Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 10:37

"For yet a very little while, He that cometh shall come, and shall not tarry." — Hebrews 10:37 (ASV)

Now the writer encourages his readers with passages in Scripture that point to the coming of God’s Messiah in due course. The “very little while” (cf. Isaiah 26:20) points to a quite short period. The argument is that the readers ought not let the “very little while” rob them of their heavenly reward.

The author goes on to quote from Hab 2:3–4, which he interprets as referring to the coming of the Messiah (cf. Matthew 11:3; 21:9). He reverses the order of the clauses from Habakkuk, finishing with the words about shrinking back; this enables him to apply them immediately to his readers. By using the LXX, the author is able to interpret Hab 2:3 as the prophet waiting for a deliverer to come. Christ will come in due course. In the meantime, the readers must patiently await him.

The words about the “righteous one” living by faith are used again in Ro 1:17; Galatians 3:11. In those passages the emphasis is on what happens to those who have faith (they will be declared righteous), whereas here the author conveys the meaning that the person whom God accepts as righteous will live by faith. Paul is concerned with the way someone comes to be accepted by God, while the author here is concerned with the importance of holding fast to one’s faith in the face of temptations to abandon it.

Mention of “faith” (GK 4411) leads us into the most sustained treatment of this subject in the NT. The term is mentioned again in v.39 and then throughout ch. 11. The first point made is that faith and shrinking back are opposed to each other. The passage does not say from what the shrinking back is. In the context, however, it must relate to proceeding along the way of faith and salvation. The quotation from Habakkuk makes it clear that God is not at all pleased with those who draw back. It is important to go forward in the path of faith.