Chapter 3:1-6
v1 Brothers and sisters in Christ who belong to God, you share the call to be with him in heaven. So let us take time to think about Jesus. God sent him to us to show what he is like and to be the chief priest whom we trust. v2 He did what God sent him to do, just as Moses did in the house of God. v3 The person who builds a house gets more honor than the house. That is why Jesus gets more honor than Moses. v4 Every house has a builder, but God is the one who builds all things. v5 God told Moses what to do and he did it as the servant of God in all his house. Moses spoke about what God would say in the future. v6 Jesus Christ was true as a Son over the house of God. We are his house, if we keep our confidence and boldly trust in him to the end.
Commentary
Verse 1
In Chapters 1 and 2 we saw how Jesus is greater than the prophets and the angels. This is because of his own greatness and because of what he has done for us. So now we are to think about him both as the apostle and as our chief priest. To the Hebrews, Moses was the first apostle and Aaron was the first chief priest.
The word ‘apostle’ means someone whom God sends. An apostle comes to people as the agent of God. So God sent Moses to the Hebrews when they were slaves in the land of Egypt. He came to set them free and to lead them out of that country. To do this he had to go to the king of Egypt and persuade him to let them go. At first, the king refused. But after God had done many powerful works, he sent them out. God sent Jesus to lead people out from the rule of the devil and to bring them to God. Jesus came to us to show us what God is like. He overcame the devil and set us free from his power.
The chief priest was a man who went to God as the agent of the people. He had to make sacrifices for all their sins. Then he asked God to forgive them. Aaron was the man whom God made the first chief priest. He had to make sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the sins of the Hebrews. Once every year he took the blood of an animal into the most holy place, and then God forgave the people their sins. Jesus is the one who is our chief priest. He made a sacrifice of himself for all our sins. He did not need a sacrifice for himself because he was without sin. Because Jesus took his own blood to God, God forgives us of our sins. (The word blood here is instead of the word sacrifice).
Verse 2
An agent must be true to the one who appoints him. God sent Moses to be over His house, that is, as leader of the Hebrews. He led the Hebrews out of the land of Egypt and for the 40 years that they lived in the desert. Moses did all that God asked him to do, although he did fail at times. The writer says that Moses was true to God. He was a great man and the Hebrews gave him great respect.
God also sent Jesus to be His agent on earth. He always did what God asked Him to do. He always spoke the words that God gave Him to speak. He completed the task that He came to do. He was perfect in all His life and He never failed.
Verse 3
Both Moses and Jesus deserve all the honor that we can give to them. But much more honor is due to Jesus than to Moses. Moses was true to God as a servant in the house of God. Jesus built that house and is the owner of it. The builder and owner has more honor than the house itself. That house is the people of God. The servant, who in this picture is part of the house, must be less than the builder. Moses was a great man among the people of God. Jesus is so much greater because the people of God are His house.
Verse 4
Jesus became a real man for the work He had to do. He was always God and even when He became a human being He was still God. Jesus said, ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30). That is why there is here no difference between God and Jesus. Each house has a builder and God is building this one. Verse 3 tells us that Jesus is the builder of this house. God is the author and maker of all things. He does this by Jesus Christ His Son. So Jesus is the maker of all things.
Verse 5
Moses was a good servant in the house of God. The word servant does not mean that he had to do only small tasks. He had an important part to play in the story of the Hebrews. He was the agent of God to bring them out of Egypt. He received the law from God and gave it to them. He was like a father to them in the desert. God sent him to be the apostle of the Hebrews. His task was not just for his own days, but it was to speak about the future. His life was to point to the work of an apostle who was to come. The Hebrews looked for a man like Moses to come and lead them. That man is the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ.
Verse 6
We now have the final proof that Jesus the Christ is greater than Moses. He is the Son who is over His own house. He must have more honor than Moses, who was only a servant in that house. Jesus as the agent of God brings to us far more than Moses could bring. We are part of His house, when we come to Jesus accepting all that He has done for us. We can have joy and confidence as we look to the future. We must hold on to this belief and not let it go. We can be certain that God will do all that He has promised.
Verses 7-19
v7-8 So, as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today, when you hear me speak, do not oppose what I say. That is what the Hebrew people did when they were in the desert. v9 There they tested me and tried me. They saw what I did for 40 years. v10 So I was angry with those people. I said, ‘Their hearts are always wrong. They have not known my ways’. v11 In my anger I declared, ‘They shall never enter my place of rest (Psalm 95:7-11)’. v12 Be careful, my Christian brothers and sisters, that none of you has an evil heart that does not trust God. Such a heart will turn you away from the God who is alive and active. v13 Encourage each other daily, as long as it is still ‘today’, to be true to God. This is so that sin will not lead you away and your hearts become hard towards God.
v14 We are partners with Christ, if we trust him to the end, as we did at first. v15 God is still saying, ‘Today, when you hear me speak, do not make your hearts hard. That is what the people in the desert did, when they turned away from me’. v16 Who heard God, yet turned away from him? It was the people whom Moses led out of the land of Egypt. v17 Who made God angry for 40 years? It was the people who had turned away from him. These all died in the desert. v18 To whom did God declare that they would never enter his rest? It was the people who did not obey him. v19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because they did not trust God.
Commentary
Verses 7-9
Moses was true to God and trusted in Him. Most of the people who came out of Egypt with him failed to trust in God. They did not listen to what God said to them. They did not obey what God told them through Moses. As a result, God did not take them to the promised land. Instead, He led them in the desert for 40 years. Although they saw God’s great works, they still refused to obey Him. They strained God’s patience. The Holy Spirit now says to us, "Do not be like them." When God speaks, we are to listen to what He says and to obey Him. In those days God spoke by Moses. Today God speaks by one who is greater than the prophets or the angels or Moses. The Word of God to us is Jesus and He demands that we put our trust in Him and obey Him. The Hebrews in the desert let their hearts become hard as they turned from God. It would be easy for us to do the same, but the Holy Spirit warns us not to do so.
Verses 10-11
The Hebrews did not trust God. They turned away from him in their hearts and minds. They refused to do what He wanted them to do. They did not know God's ways because they would not listen. For these reasons, God was angry with them. God was so angry that He declared that they would never know His rest. So it was that all the adults who came out of Egypt died in the desert (Deuteronomy 2:14). Only a couple of them, Caleb and Joshua, did go on trusting in God. They entered the promised land.
The rest of God points to a future of peace and plenty. It is a place where God will bless and keep His people forever. It is the promised land, where the Messiah is king. It is the place that will be home to all who trust in Jesus. (Verses 7-11 are from Psalm 95:7-11)
Verse 12
The writer warns us to take care that we do not turn away from God. It is possible for Christians to go back to their old ways and forget God. We must make sure that we do not do that. To God that would be the action of an evil heart that does not trust in God. To go back from following Jesus would be to fight against the God who is alive and active. All who do turn back will one day have to stand before Him and face His judgment.
Verse 13
We need to help each other to be strong in our belief in Jesus. Each one of us needs the strength that comes by sharing our lives with others who trust God. We should at all times encourage each other to be true to God. There is much in this world that would lead us away from God. There are many things that speak lies into our hearts and could make us forget that we belong to God. With the help and teaching that we can bring to each other, we can be strong in our beliefs. Without this help, it is easier for the devil to cause us to fall away from our God.
Verse 14
When persons first trust in Jesus, they have real confidence in what He has done. The new believer is sure that he has a new life in Jesus. This life is sharing in the very life of Jesus. But to start the Christian life is not enough. We must go on in this life and grow in Jesus until He takes us to be with Himself. We do not dare to turn away from our confidence in Him.
Verse 15
In the desert, the Hebrews had made their hearts hard. They turned away from God. As a result, God did not let them go into the promised land. This is a warning for us. In our day when we hear the word of God, we should obey it. We must not be like them and refuse to listen to God.
Verse 16
In verses 16 to 18 the writer asks 3 things and gives 3 answers. These are about the people who turned away from God. Who were the people who heard God's voice and yet would not obey Him? It was the men and women whom Moses led out of Egypt. They had seen all the wonderful works that God had done to make the king set them free. God gave them food and drink and all that they needed. In the desert, He led them and kept them safe. Yet they would not accept God as their ruler.
Verse 17
Who was it that made God angry for the 40 years in the desert? It was those people who did not trust Him. They all died in the desert because of their sins. God is always angry about sin, but He will forgive all who repent of their sin. He can do this because Jesus has accepted our punishment by dying for us on the cross.
Verse 18
Who did God say could never come in and rest with him? It was those people who would not obey him. God had done so much for them, yet they still went their own way. They refused to do what God wanted them to do.
Verse 19
They would not accept God as their leader. They did what they knew to be wrong. They would not obey God but did what they wanted to do. They did not put their trust in God. They could not enter the land of blessing that God would have given to them. They are a warning for us. We must put our trust in God and do what He wants us to do. As we believe in Jesus, we can be sure that God will bring us to His promised land. If we do not trust and obey him, we too shall not be able to go in.
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