Hebrews Chapter 3
Introduction
The Book of Hebrews, Chapter 3, can be divided into three sections:
- The Glory and Preeminence of Jesus over Moses (Verses 1-6)
- A Strong Warning Against Unbelief, Harkening Back to the Time of Moses When Almost Everyone Who Came Out of Egypt Died in the Wilderness (Verses 7-12)
- An Exhortation for Believers to Persevere Versus Unbelief (Verses 13-19)
Jesus Our High Priest
Hebrews 3:1, “¶Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;“
This verse is rich with information. “Consider“, or take a close look at, “Christ Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest Whom we confess and profess as ours!“
- Jesus Is the Apostle because He was sent of God to preach the Gospel of Salvation as we read in Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” and secured that Salvation through His Obedience and Atoning Sacrifice in death as we read in Romans 5:19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” and Hebrews 9:26, “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.“
- Jesus Is the High Priest because He Alone can enter into the Holiest of Holies with His Atonement and intercede with the Father on behalf of all believers as we read in Hebrews 9:11&12, “¶But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption [for us].” Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” and Hebrews 10:19-22, “¶Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And [having] an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Malachi 3:1, “¶Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.“
Romans 15:8, “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises [made] unto the fathers:” But please also note the next five verses, Romans 15:9-13, which address the ingathering also of the Gentiles.
Jesus is the Master Builder of the Church (the Eternal Israel)
Hebrews 3:2, “Who was faithful to him that appointed (“made” or “created for the purpose”) him, as also Moses [was faithful] in all his house.“
Numbers 12:7, “My servant Moses [is] not so, who [is] faithful in all mine house.”
Moses was faithful in that he was chosen of God to be entrusted with the care and leadership of whole house of Israel. Likewise Jesus, Who Is Faithful and True Is entrusted with the eternal Household of God, the Elect of God, to bring them all to glory. Jesus will not fail in His Mission as we read in John 6:37-39, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.“
Hebrews 3:3, “For this [man] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.“
Moses was a servant of God and lesser in glory, but Jesus is the Master Builder as we read in,
Zechariah 6:12, “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name [is] The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.“
and Matthew 16:18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.“
Hebrews 3:4, “For every house is builded by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God.“
The Planner and Builder of all things is our Lord Jesus Christ. This verse is speaking of the Church, or the body of believers as we read in 1 Peter 2:5-8, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ¶Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.”
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” and further down into Ephesians 2:19-22, “¶Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner[stone]; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.“
In 1 Corinthians 3:10, The Apostle Paul writes, “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.“
Hebrews 3:5, “And Moses verily [was] faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;“
Exodus 14:31, “And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.“
Deuteronomy 3:24, “O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God [is there] in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?“
Hebrews 3:6, “But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.“
A Son is an Heir and Above a Servant
Is it not interesting that Moses was a “servant”, but Jesus (Christ) is called a “son”? What does this remind you of? Yes, Galatians 4:1-7, “¶Now I say, [That] the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ¶And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.“
Romans 8:16&17 also tells us, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with [him], that we may be also glorified together.“
Moreover we should also remember again what we read earlier in Hebrews 1:2, “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” The “Son”, Jesus Christ, Is The “Heir” of all things and above the servant!
The Temple of God
1 Corinthians 3:16, “¶Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (For more on this, please see “The Temple of God“)
Continuing in Faith
Matthew 10:22, “And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” and Romans 5:2, “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” and Colossians 1:23, “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;”
Remember also that true living stones, installed by God, will endure, while counterfeit/imitation stones will fall away, as we are told in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” and Matthew 15:13, “¶But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.“
It is also noteworthy that while 1 Timothy Chapter 2 makes clear that women are not to speak or have authority in church they, as representatives of “the Church” which is the “Bride of Christ” are to continue in childbearing which is saying that spiritually, the body of Christ, the church, is to be the means of bringing new members into that body and to continue in faith. 1 Timothy 2:15, “Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.“
The Warning Against Unbelief and Its Perils
Hebrews 3:7, “¶Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,”
Acts 1:16 tells us that it (as is the case for all Bible scripture) was authored by the Holy Ghost, where Peter is hearkening back to Psalm 41:9, even though it was spoken as a Psalm of David, “Men [and] brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.”
Also Romans 5:5, makes clear, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.“
Which leads us to the following four verses…
Hebrews 3:8, “Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:“
Hebrews 3:9, “When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.“
Hebrews 3:10, “Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known my ways.“
Hebrews 3:11, “So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)“
And the above five verses are specifically recalling what the Jews knew to have been spoken by The Holy Spirit as it is a direct quotation from Psalm 95:7–11 , “For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with [this] generation, and said, It [is] a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.“
The Peril of Unbelief
Hebrews 3:12, “¶Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.“
Let us take a closer look at verse 12. “Take heed, brethren.” This warning is written to us (founded upon the Old Testament historical account) as a cautionary example, lest we follow that same erroneous path and miss the eternal “rest” in Jesus Christ in Heaven (which was typified in the Old Testament by the Land of Canaan). Unbelief is a most grievous sin…
- Unbelief renders the Word unprofitable as we read in 1 John 5:10-13, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
- Unbelief closes the door to prayer as we read in Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.“
- Unbelief sets up other gods, such as human wisdom, reasoning, and philosophies.
It is also worth reviewing 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 that also directly addresses the same issues hearkening back to the time of Moses with the same admonition to avoid Israel’s mistakes.
“¶Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.¶Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as [were] some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.¶Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].”
A summary verse for those referenced verses together with the above particular section of Hebrews, Chapter 3, can be found in 1 Corinthians 10:11, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” and is corroborated by the similarly worded verse: Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” It will not hurt to also remember 2 Timothy 3:16, “¶All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.“
“Departing from the Living God”
And what does it mean to “depart” from the Living God? We can see that “departing” is like “falling away” (in unbelief) and goes back to the original sin of disobedience, hence “unbelief”, of Adam, which we also know as the “Fall” of Adam.
For reference we have this from Jesus’ Parable of the Sower in Luke 8:13, “They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” and
1 Timothy 4:1, “¶Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
The Need For Believers to Persevere
Hebrews 3:13, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.“
We are to encourage one another by exhorting one another, instructing and teaching one another while we still have life breath in our earthly tabernacles and while the grace of God is still available. How can we do this? We do it “daily“:
- By worshipping, praying and praising God together as we read in Hebrews 10:24&25, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” [Note that the word “provoke” that is used is more like goading or contending/inciting for good direction, as the word in the original Greek is παροξυσμός (paroxysmos) G3948. It can be compared to like the sharp goads/pricks used to direct oxen under yoke in the fields and to keep them moving forward. If they rebel and kick backward, they get jabbed. That is what God made this charge against Saul (Paul) during Paul’s conversion in Acts 9:5, “And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I amJesus whom thou persecutest: [it is] hard for thee to kick against the pricks.“
- By teaching, preaching and studying the Scriptures as we read in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned [them]; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.¶All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.“
- By talking together about Divine things and less about foolish things of this world
- By warning and admonishing as appropriate when we see signs of indifference and worldliness.
Hebrews 3:14, “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”
This verse points us back to Verse 6
Faith that saves is God-given, genuine and continues growing in strength and confidence as we read in:
- Colossians 1:21-23, “¶And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in [your] mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;” and
- Hebrews 10:38&39, “Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; butof them that believe to the saving of the soul.” Note to the reader, please also see Habakkuk 2:4, “…but the just shall live by his faith.”, which prophetically refers to the faith of Jesus Christ.
And let us not forget what the Apostle Peter warns in 2 Peter 3:17&18, “¶Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and forever. Amen.“
Hebrews 3:15, “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.“
This verse points us back to Verse 7
Hebrews 3:16, “¶For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.“
[Note that the original Greek word for “provoke” as is used here is παραπικραίνω (parapikrainō)G3893, which is indeed the word we know as “provoke” or “to exasperate” or to “rouse to indignation”]
Numbers 14:2, “And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!” and
Numbers 14:22&23, “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:“
Deuteronomy 32:20, “And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end [shall be]: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom [is] no faith.“
Psalm 106:24, “Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, [and] hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness:”
Hebrews 3:17, “But with whom was he grieved forty years? [was it] not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?“
Num 14:29, “Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,“
Number 14:32&33, “But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness.And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.”
Hebrews 3:18, “And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?“
Numbers 14:30, “Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning] which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.”
Hebrews 3:19, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.“
Unbelief is perhaps the greatest sin and is akin to pride. And “belief” is having faith in the Word of God. God uses Abraham as an example of such belief/faith as we read in Romans 4:20-25, “He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.¶Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.“
Finally, Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.“
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