Has (no) pleasure (2106) (eudokeo from eu = well, good + dokeo = to think) means literally to think well of and so to be well pleased, to take pleasure or delight in (This is the sense in which eudokeo is used in He 10:38). The idea is to find satisfaction in something or someone or to view with approval. To delight means to take great pleasure, to give keen enjoyment, to provide a high degree of gratification. In this regard it is notable that five of the first six uses (the Gospels) refer to the Father's taking pleasure in His Son (in Whom He was "well pleased") (cf. Matt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22; cp 2Pe 1:17). A related sense is to be well pleased with some object and thus to like, prefer or approve of (1Th 3:1, 2Th 2:12). Be content, pleased, delighted (2Co 12:10) Eudokeo means to consider something as good and thus worthy of choice (Lk 12:32, 1Cor 1:21, Gal 1:15). To be glad to do. To be willing. The sense is to take pleasure in doing, eg, in Lk 12:32 God expressed His pleasure by His willingness to grant His kingdom to His children. In 1Cor 1:21, God was "well pleased" or willing to save those who believe the Gospel. Thayer adds "as in secular authors, followed by an infinitive, it seems good to one, is one's good pleasure; to think it good, choose, determine, decide" Strong's summary definition... 1) it seems good to one, is one’s good pleasure. 1a) think it good, choose, determine, decide. 1b) to do willingly. 1c) to be ready to, to prefer, choose rather. 2) to be well pleased with, take pleasure in, to be favorably inclined towards one. NIDNTT writes that... The verb eudokeo is a colloquial term from Hellenistic times (attested from the 3rd cent. B.C.). It is thought to be derived from the hypothetical eudokos, formed from eu, good, and dechomai, to accept. In classic Greek it means to be well pleased or content, to consent, approve; in the pass. to be favoured, i.e. prosper; to find favour with.... In the Septuagint (LXX) eudokeo occurs some 60 times. Where there is an underlying Heb. text, it generally trans. rasâh, to take pleasure in, like, enjoy, decide upon, elect, and denotes a passionate and positive volition. The godly man rejoices over the sanctuary (1Chr. 29:3; Ps 101:15)... Yahweh takes pleasure in his people (Ps. 44:3; Ps 149:4), in a pious man (2Sa 22:20), in those who fear him (Ps. 147:11). A man prays that it may please Yahweh to deliver him (Ps 40:13). On the other hand, Yahweh has no pleasure in the calf (i.e. the strength) of a man’s leg (Ps 147:10), nor in anyone who does evil (Mal. 2:17). A penitent mind is more pleasing to Yahweh than a sacrifice (Ps. 51:16, 19; Jer 14:12). Zodhiates adds that eudokeo... means to think well of something by understanding not only what is right and good, as in dokeo, but stressing the willingness and freedom of an intention or resolve regarding what is good (Lk 12:32; Ro 15:26, 27; 1Co 1:21; Gal 1:15; Col 1:19; 1Th 2:8) Richards... The same meaning of pleasure regarding one's choice expressed in that person's will or purpose is in the verb (eudokeo), translated "to be pleased" fifteen times in the NIV (Mt 3:17; 17:5; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22; 12:32; Ro 15:26, 27; 1Co 1:21; 10:5; Gal 1:15; Col 1:19; Heb 10:6, 8, 38; 2Pe 1:17) out of the twenty-one times it occurs in the NT. Thus, a statement that the churches to which Paul ministered were "pleased" to make a contribution to the poor (Ro 15:26, 27) indicates not only their state of mind but also their determined choice. (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency or Computer Version - New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words) Eudokeo - 21x in 21v - NAS = am well content(1), am well-pleased(5), been pleased(1), chosen gladly(1), good pleasure(1), has...pleasure(1), pleased(2), prefer(1), taken pleasure(1), taken...pleasure(1), thought it best(1), took pleasure(1), well-pleased(4). Matthew 3:17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Comment: "God had examined, as it were, His beloved Son, who would offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of those with whom He was willing to identify Himself. No imperfection could be found in Him, and God was delighted." (MacArthur, J: Matthew 1-7 Chicago: Moody Press or Logos or Wordsearch) "What does it mean when the NT reports that God spoke of Jesus as one with whom he was "well pleased" (Mt 3:17)? It means, among other things, that Jesus was fulfilling the messianic role to which God had called him. In contrast, God was not pleased with the sacrifices and offerings of the OT system (Heb 10:6, 8). They could not be established in his purpose as a way to cleanse humanity from sin." (Richards, L O: Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Regency or Computer Version - New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words) Matthew 12:18 "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" Mark 1:11 and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased." Luke 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly (YLT = did delight; NET = "has been pleased") to give you the kingdom. Romans 15:26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things. Comment: Here eudokeo means "to be well pleased, to think it good, stresses the willingness and freedom of an intention or resolve as to what is good" (Vine) 1 Corinthians 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 1 Corinthians 10:5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. 2 Corinthians 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 12:10-note Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. Galatians 1:15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased ("to reveal His Son in me" Gal 1:16)) Colossians 1:19-note For it was the Father's good pleasure (was pleased) for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 1 Thessalonians 2:8-note Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 3:1-note Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best (ESV = we were willing, NET, NLT = we decided; ) to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 Thessalonians 2:12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. Hebrews 10:6-note IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE. Hebrews 10:8-note After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them" (which are offered according to the Law), Comment: Contrast "well pleased" in Mt 3:17 where eudokeo means, among other things, that Jesus was fulfilling the messianic role to which God had called Him. In contrast, God was not pleased with the sacrifices and offerings of the OT system here in (Heb 10:6 and He 10:8) for they could never fulfill his purpose as a way to cleanse humanity from sin. Hebrews 10:38-note BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. 2Pe 1:17-note For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased "-- Eudokeo - 36x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - Gen 24:26, 48; 33:10; Lev 26:34, 41; Judg 11:17; 15:18; 19:10, 25; 20:13; 2 Sam 22:20; 1 Chr 29:3, 23; 2 Chr 10:7; Esth 4:17; Job 14:6; Ps 40:13; 44:3; 49:13; 51:16, 19; 68:16; 77:7; 85:1; 102:14; 119:108; 147:10f; 149:4; Eccl 9:7; Jer 2:19; 14:10, 12; Hab 2:4; Hag 1:8; Mal 2:17 2 Samuel 22:20 "He also brought me forth into a broad place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. Psalm 40:13 Be pleased (Heb = ratsah; Lxx = eudokeo), O LORD, to deliver me; Make haste, O LORD, to help me Psalm 51:16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased (Heb = ratsah; Lxx = eudokeo) with burnt offering. Psalm 51:19 Then You will delight (Heb = ratsah; Lxx = eudokeo) in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar. Psalm 147:11 The LORD favors (Heb = ratsah; Lxx = eudokeo) those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness. Psalm 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure (Heb = ratsah; Lxx = eudokeo) in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation. After stating clearly the manner of gaining a righteous standing before God ("justification by faith", "justified by faith", "declared righteous by faith") is by faith in Jesus the Great High Priest, the writer warns those among his readers who had made a mere profession of faith ("lip service"), that if they draw back to the temple sacrifices, renouncing their professed faith in Messiah, God would have no pleasure in that person. Keep in mind that Hebrews is written to the assembly of those who professed belief in Messiah but that the assembly was composed of both true believers and false believers (unbelievers). In this passage the writer is addressing the one who professes to be justified or righteous in God's sight, but who in fact has only an intellectual faith (head knowledge) and who lacks a heart trust as evidenced by his "work" of shrinking back. In Acts we encounter Simon whose belief proved to be only a profession but not a genuine possession of new life in Christ... Acts 8:13 Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed. ", Acts 8:21 [Peter's direct pronouncement on Simon] = "You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God." ><>><>><> F B Meyer... Drawing Back Hebrews 10:38 THE Epistle has been for some time glowing with ever-increasing heat; and now it flames out into a vehement expostulation, which must have startled and terrified those Hebrew Christians who were still wavering between Judaism and Christianity. As we have had more than one occasion to remark, it had become a great question with some of them whether they should go back to the one, or go on with the other. The splendid ceremonial, venerable age, and olden associations of Judaism, were fighting hard to wean them away from the simplicity and spiritual demands of the later faith. But surely the retrograde movement would be arrested, and the impetus toward Christ accelerated, by these sublime and soul-stirring remonstrances. I. THE THREEFOLD CONCLUSION ALREADY ARRIVED AT IS Summed up in three momentous propositions. We may boldly enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus. The holiest was the chamber of innermost communion with God. To enter it was to speak with God face to face. And its equivalent for us is the right to make our God our confidant and friend, into whose secret ear we may pour the whole story of sin and sorrow and need. Nor need the memory of recent sin distress us; because the blood of Jesus is the pledge of the forgiveness and acceptance of those who are penitent and believing. We may go continually, and even dwell, where Israel's high priests might tread but once each year. Jesus has inaugurated a new and living way. The veil of the Temple was rent when Jesus died, to indicate that the way to God was henceforth free to man, without let or hindrance, and without the intervention of a human priest. Priests have tried to block it, and to compel men to pay them toll for Opening it. But their pretensions are false. They have no such power. The way stands open still for every trembling seeker. It is new, because, though myriads have trodden it, it is as fresh as ever for each new priestly foot. It is living, because it is through the living Saviour that we come to God. "No man cometh unto the Father but by me." Stay here to note that the veil, with its curious workmanship, was a symbol of the body of Christ. "The veil, that is to say, his flesh." We get near to God through the death of that Son of man who, in real human sorrow, hung on the cross for us. We have a Great priest. We belong to the household of God by faith; but we need a Priest. Priests need a Priest. And such a one we have, who ever liveth to make intercession for us, and to offer our prayers on the golden altar, mingled with the much incense of his own precious merit. These are the three conclusions which recapitulate the positions laid down and proved up to this point. II. THE THREEFOLD EXHORTATION FOUNDED ON THE PREVIOUS CONCLUSIONS "Let us draw near" (Heb 10:22). "Let us hold fast" (Heb 10:23). "Let us consider one another" (Heb 10:24). And each of these three exhortations revolves around one of the three words which are so often found in combination in the Epistles-Faith, Hope, and Love (R.V). (1) FAITH Consists of two parts belief, which accepts certain declarations as true; and trust in the person about whom these declarations are made. Neither will do without the other. On the one hand, we cannot trust a person without knowing something about him; on the other hand, our knowledge will not help us unless it leads to trust, any more than it avails the shivering wretch outside the Bank of England to know that the vaults are stored with gold. A mere intellectual faith is not enough. The holding of a creed will not save. We must pass from a belief in words to trust in the Word. By faith we know that Jesus lives, and by faith we also appropriate that life. By faith we know that Jesus made on the cross a propitiation for sin; and by faith we lay our hand reverently on his dear head and confess our sin. Faith is the open hand receiving Christ. Faith is the golden pipe through which his fullness comes to us. Faith is the narrow channel by which the life that pulses in the Redeemer's heart enters our souls. Faith is the attitude we assume when we turn aside from the human to the divine. We ought not to be content with anything less than the full assurance of faith. The prime method of increasing it is in drawing near to God. In olden days the bodies of the priests were bathed in water and sprinkled with blood ere they entered the presence of God. Let us seek the spiritual counterpart of this. Relieved from the pressure of conscious guilt, with hearts as sincere and guileless as the flesh is clean when washed with pure water, let us draw near to God and keel) in fellowship with him; and in that attitude faith will grow exceedingly. It will no longer sit in the dust, but clothe itself in beautiful garments. It will wax from a thread to become a cable. No longer the trembling touch of a woman's hand, it will grasp the pillars of the Temple with a Samson's embrace. (2) HOPE Is more than faith, and has special reference to the unknown future which it realizes, and brings to bear on our daily life. The veil that hides the future parts only as smitten by the prow of our advancing boat; it is natural, therefore, that we should often ask what lies beyond. Foreboding is the prophet of ill; Hope of good. Foreboding cries, "We shall certainly fall by the hand of; Hope replies, "No weapon that is formed against us shall prosper." Foreboding cries, "Who shall roll away the stone? " Hope sings merrily, "The Lord shall go before us, and make the crooked places straight." Foreboding, born of unbelief, cries, "The people are great and tall, and the cities walled up to heaven"; Hope already portions out the land and chooses its inheritance. But Christian hope is infinitely better and more reliable than that of the worldling. In ordinary hope there is always the element of uncertainty; it may be doomed to disillusion and disappointment; things may not turn out as we expect: and so, being the characteristic of youth, it dies down as the years advance. But Christian hope is based on the promise of God, and therefore it cannot disappoint; nay, it is the anchor of the aged soul, becoming brighter and more enduring as the years pass by, because "he is faithful that promised." But how may we increase our hope, so as never to let it slip, but to hold it fast with unwavering firmness? There is nothing which will sooner strengthen it than to consider his faithfulness whose promises are hope's anchorage. Has he ever failed to fulfill his engagements? Do not the stars return to their appointed place to a hairbreadth of their time? Have not good men given a unanimous testimony to the fidelity of the covenant-keeping God? He has never suffered his faithfulness to fail-and never will. Our hope, therefore, need not falter, but be strong and very courageous. (3) LOVE Comes last. She is queen of all the graces of the inner life. Love is the passion of self-giving. It never stays to ask what it can afford, or what it may expect to receive; but it is ever shedding forth its perfume, breaking its alabaster boxes, and shedding its heart's blood. It will pine to death if it cannot give. It must share its possessions. It is prodigal of costliest service. Such love is in the heart of God, and should also be in us; and we may increase it materially by considering one another, and associating with our fellow-believers. Distance begets coldness and indifference. When we forsake the assembly of our fellow- Christians we are apt to wrap ourselves in the chill mantle of indifference. But when we see others in need, and help them; when we are willing to succor and save; when we discover that there is something attractive in the least lovable; when we feel the glowing sympathy of others-our own love grows by the demands made on it, and by the opportunities of manifestation. Let us seek earnestly these best gifts; and that we may have them and abound, let us invoke the blessed indwelling of the Lord Jesus, whose entrance brings with it the whole train of sweet Christian graces. III. THE THREEFOLD REMONSTRANCE Go forward! otherwise penally (Heb. 10:26). If a man unwittingly broke Moses' law, he was forgiven; but if he willfully despised it, he died without mercy. What then can be expected by those who sin willfully, not against the iron obligations of Sinai, but against the gracious words which distill from the lips of the dying Saviour! The heart that can turn from the love and blood-shedding of Calvary, and ignore them, and trample them ruthlessly under foot, is so hard, so hopeless, so defiant of the Holy Spirit as to expose itself to the gravest displeasure of God, and can expect no further offering for its sins. There is no sacrifice for the atonement of the sin of rejecting Calvary. Go forward! otherwise past efforts nullified (Heb. 10:32). These Hebrew Christians had suffered keenly on their first entrance into the Christian life. The martyrdom of the saintly Stephen; the great havoc wrought in the Church by Saul of Tarsus; the terrible famines that visited Jerusalem, causing widespread destitution. They had become even a gazing-stock by reproaches and afflictions. But they had taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods, not shrinking from the ordeal. To go back to Judaism now would annul the advantages which otherwise might have accrued from their bitter experience; would miss the harvest of their tears; would counterwork the respect with which they were being regarded; and would rob them of the reward which the Lord might give to them, if they only endured to the end. "Cast not away your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward." Go forward! the Lord is at hand (Heb. 10:36). Jesus was about to come in the fall of Jerusalem, as lie will come ere long to close the present age; and every sign pointed to the speedy destruction of the Jewish polity by the all-conquering might of Rome. How foolish then would it be to return to that which was on the eve of dissolution: to the Temple that would burn to the ground; to sacrifices soon to cease; to a priesthood to be speedily scattered to the winds! There was only one alternative: not to go back to certain perdition, to the ruin of all the nobler attributes of the soul, to disgrace and disappointment and endless regret; but to go on through evil and good report, through sorrow and anxiety and blood, until the faithful servant should be vindicated by the Lord's approval, and welcomed into the realms of endless blessedness. Are we amongst those who go on to the saving of the soul? Here, as so often, the salvation of the soul is viewed as a process. True, we are in a sense saved when first we turn to the cross and trust the Crucified. But it is only as we keep in the current that streams from the cross, only as we remain in abiding fellowship with the Saviour, only as we submit ourselves habitually to the gracious influences of the divine Spirit, that salvation pervades and heals our whole being. Then the soul may be said to be gained (R.V., marg.), i.e., restored to its original type as conceived in the mind of God before he built the dust of the earth into man, and breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul. F. B. Meyer. The Way Into the Holiest Hebrews 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul (NASB: Lockman) Greek: emeis de ouk esmen (1PPAI) upostoles eis apoleian, alla pisteos eis peripoiesin psuches Amplified: But our way is not that of those who draw back to eternal misery (perdition) and are utterly destroyed, but we are of those who believe [who cleave to and trust in and rely on God through Jesus Christ, the Messiah] and by faith preserve the soul. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) Barclay: We are not men to shrink back from things and so to come to disaster, but we are men of a faith which will enable us to possess our souls. (Westminster Press) KJV: But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. NLT: But we are not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate. We have faith that assures our salvation. (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: Surely we are not going to be men who cower back and are lost, but men who maintain their faith until the salvation of their souls is complete! (Phillips: Touchstone) Wuest: But if he draw back in fear, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But as for us, we are not of the shrinking-back kind who draw back to perdition, but of the believing kind who believe to the end of the saving of the soul. (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: and we are not of those drawing back to destruction, but of those believing to a preserving of soul. BUT WE ARE NOT OF THOSE WHO SHRINK BACK TO DESTRUCTION: hemeis de ouk esmen (1PPAI) hupostoles eis apoleian: (He 6:6, 7, 8, 9; 1Sa 15:11; Ps 44:18; Pr 1:32; 14:14; Luke 11:26; 1John 5:16; Jude 1:12,13) (He 10:26; John 17:12; 2Thessalonians 2:3; 1Timothy 6:9; 2Peter 3:7; Revelation 17:8,11) But - This marks a stark contrast with those who briefly "flicker" (the "enlightened" ones) but in the end turn away from and shrink back from Christ. We - This would have been most encouraging to his readers, for with this pronoun the writer identifies himself with the readers. Are note of those who shrink back - Lit. we are not of shrinking back. Are (eimi) is the present tense which Vincent notes that "with genitive marks the quality or peculiarity of a person or thing." "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/hebrews_1038-39.htm#p