Hebrews
Chapter 3
Vs. 1 Dear brothers and sisters who are believers and are going to heaven think about Jesus who is God’s Apostle (messenger) and a High Priest.
He was faithful to God who appointed (chose) him. He was faithful just as Moses was faithful.
This man, Jesus, was given more glory than Moses. Just as a person who builds the house has more honor than the house.
(In other words, Jesus should have more honor than Moses who was just a human man, because Jesus was more than a human man—- he was God/man. He was there at the beginning with God when God made man.)
Every house has a builder. God/Jesus made all things. Jesus was both God and man.
Vs. 5 Moses was faithful in his house. But he was a servant to God. He did what God asked him to do.
Moses’ faithfulness was an example to people later.
Jesus is God’s faithful son who was in charge of his own house.
As believers, we belong to God/Jesus’ house. We will keep on being part of God’s house if we keep on believing and trusting in Him.
This is the reason the Holy Spirit said:
“Today you must listen to his voice,
Do not make your heart hard toward the Holy Spirit and God.
The people of Israel made their hearts hard toward God.
They rebelled or went against what God told them to do.
They made it hard for God to be patient with them when they were walking through the wilderness for 40 years
They tested my patience even though they saw the wonderful miracles I did for them.
I was angry with them. I said that their hearts were turned away from Me.
They would not do what I told them to do.
I was angry with them. I made a promise that they would never enter into the land that I had planned to give them.
Vs. 12 So be careful dear brothers and sisters, Make sure that you do not have evil and sin in your heart. Do not have unbelief in your heart. Do turn your heart away from God.
Vs. 13 You must warn each other every day so that none of you will be deceived (fooled) by sin. Sin will make your heart hard toward God.
Vs. 14 If we are faithful to the end, if we keep on trusting as strong as you did when you first believed then we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
Vs. 15 But never forget the warning,
“Today you must listen to his voice.
Do not make your hearts hard toward God–as the people of Israel did.
Vs. 16 Who were those people who went against God?
Were they not the people who God by Moses led out of Egypt where they were slaves?
Vs. 17 Who made God angry for 40 years?
Was it not the people who sinned and because of their sin they died there in the wilderness? (They never got to go into the land God planned for them.)
Vs. 18 To whom was God talking when he said, I will not let you go into the land of rest that I had planned for you?
God was speaking to those people who sinned and would not obey God.
Vs. So we see that those people were not allowed to go into the land of rest because they did not believe what God said.
(God had promised to help them win over the people who lived in those lands. But the people of Israel saw that some of the people were giants. They became so afraid that they would not trust God to help them. So God said, “Then you will not go into the land. You can wander around in this wilderness for 40 years. When all you adults die off then I will let your children go into the land that I planned.)