Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
The book of Hebrews is a letter written to early Jewish Christians who were under intense pressure — possibly considering abandoning their faith and returning to traditional Judaism. The author is building a careful theological argument about Jesus as the ultimate high priest, connecting him to a mysterious ancient figure named Melchizedek, briefly mentioned in the book of Genesis. Right here, the author pauses and says something blunt: there is more to teach about this, but it will be hard — not because the subject is too advanced, but because the readers have become spiritually sluggish. The Greek word translated 'slow to learn' literally means dull or lethargic — not intellectually incapable, but deliberately disengaged.
Lord, I don't want to just go through the motions. Show me where I've gotten comfortable and stopped growing. Stir something in me — hunger, curiosity, willingness to be challenged again. I want to know you more deeply, not just more familiarly. Amen.
There's a particular kind of tiredness that settles in after you've been a Christian for a while. Not the dramatic crisis-of-faith kind — just a quiet coasting. You know the stories. You know the right answers. Sunday feels familiar, prayers feel routine, and the Bible feels like a book you've already read. That's exactly the condition this letter is poking at. The problem isn't that these readers can't understand — it's that they've stopped wanting to. What's quietly confrontational about this verse is that it doesn't say 'you're not smart enough' or 'this is just too advanced.' It says you've become dull. And dullness, unlike inability, is something you can do something about. If your faith has felt thin lately — more habit than hunger — this isn't a condemnation, it's an invitation to get curious again. Ask a question you've been avoiding. Sit with a passage that genuinely confuses you. The author hasn't given up on his readers; he's just calling them back to the table. He still has something to say. The question is whether you still want to hear it.
The author describes his readers as 'slow to learn' — a spiritual sluggishness, not an intellectual one. What do you think causes that kind of dullness, and how does it develop quietly over time?
Where would you honestly place yourself right now — is your faith growing, plateauing, or quietly shrinking? What's driving that?
Is there a part of Christian teaching you've avoided engaging with because it feels too complicated, too unsettling, or too likely to challenge something you've already decided?
How does spiritual dullness in one person ripple outward — affecting a small group, a family, or a church community?
What is one specific thing you could do this month to re-engage your faith with genuine curiosity rather than familiar routine?
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
John 3:12
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Matthew 13:15
That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:12
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isaiah 6:10
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
John 16:12
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 3:7
Concerning this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull and sluggish in [your spiritual] hearing and disinclined to listen.
AMP
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
ESV
Concerning him we have much to say, and [it is] hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
NASB
Warning Against Falling Away We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn.
NIV
of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
NKJV
There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
NLT
I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening.
MSG