John Calvin Commentary Hebrews 2:1

"Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away [from them]." — Hebrews 2:1 (ASV)

Therefore we ought, etc. He now declares what he previously intended by comparing Christ with angels: namely, to secure the highest authority for his doctrine. For if the Law given through angels could not be treated with contempt, and if its transgression was met with severe punishment, what will happen, he asks, to those who despise that gospel, which has the Son of God as its author and was confirmed by so many miracles? The meaning of all this is that the greater Christ's dignity is than that of angels, the more reverence the Gospel deserves than the Law. Thus he commends the doctrine by mentioning its author.

But if it seems strange to anyone that, since the doctrine of both the Law and the Gospel is from God, one should be preferred to the other (inasmuch as lowering the Law would degrade God’s majesty), the clear answer is this: He should indeed always be heard with equal attention whenever he speaks. Yet, the more fully he reveals himself to us, it is only right that our reverence and attentive obedience should increase in proportion to his revelations. This is not because God is intrinsically less at one time than at another, but because his greatness is not always equally revealed to us.

Here also another question arises. Was not the Law also given by Christ? If so, the Apostle’s argument seems not to be well-founded. To this I reply that this comparison considers a veiled revelation on one hand, and a manifest one on the other. Now, since Christ, in bringing the Law, revealed himself only obscurely or dimly, and, as it were, under coverings, it is not strange that the Law is said to have been brought by angels without any mention of his name. For in that event he never appeared openly; but in the proclamation of the Gospel his glory was so conspicuous that he may justly be considered its author.

Lest at any time we should let them slip—or, as some translate, “lest we should at any time flow abroad,” or, if you prefer, “let dip”—although in reality there is not much difference. The true meaning is to be gathered from the contrast, for to pay attention and to let slip are opposites. The first means to hold something, and the other to let it escape, like a sieve or a perforated vessel allows whatever is poured into it to drain away. I do not, indeed, approve of the opinion of those who interpret it as meaning dying, according to what we find: We all die and slide away like water (2 Samuel 15:14). On the contrary, as I have said, we should consider the contrast between attention and flowing out. An attentive mind is like a vessel capable of holding water, but a mind that is wandering and indolent is like a vessel with holes.