©John Yerkes (whatyousee.kc)
Chapter 3:1-11 (ESV) - Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”
Question to consider: What comparison does the author make between Jesus and Moses?
Because Jesus has become our high priest and called us brothers, and because He has suffered when tempted and therefore can relate to us in our temptations and sufferings, the author is saying that we should think deeply about what He has done for us and His faithfulness toward God and realize that Jesus is the better Moses. Moses was the apostle and high priest of the Old Covenant and was therefore revered by all of Israel because he was a faithful servant, bringing the message of God. Jesus was also faithful in bringing both the message and salvation of God, and He was more than a servant. He was God’s son. To compare the two would be similar to comparing a beautiful house to the one who built it.
But even as highly revered as Moses was at the time in which the author wrote this letter, the Israelites who were led by Moses in the wilderness hardened their hearts and rebelled against God and never even made it into the promised land as a result. So the author is saying: one superior to the angels is here. One greater than Moses is here. So do not harden your heart again Him, but listen to Him! Trust in Him today!
Lord God, author and perfecter of our faith, open our hearts to Your great salvation. Teach us to listen to Your Word and let it change our lives. Help us to not take for granted what You have done for us but to live a life of holiness and thanksgiving. We also lift up those in our lives who are rebelling against You and ask that you soften their hearts and turn them to You. Amen.