Written ~ 11-13-2024
Read Hebrews Chapter Three
Hebrews 3
Before we go into our study of Hebrews chapter three, take a moment to pray. Pray that your eyes and ears will be open to the passage we are going to study today. This chapter establishes who Jesus Christ is and will lay out a foundation for the rest of this letter to the Hebrew believers. It is important that we take time in this pivotal chapter to understand what it means not only to us, as believers, but for those who have refused to turn their hearts and lives over to the Lord.
If you’re ready, let’s begin…
Hebrews 3:1-6…
1 “And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. 2 For He was faithful to God, who appointed Him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.
3 But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself. 4 For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.
5 Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 6 But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.”
One thing to remember, the Jewish religious leaders placed the highest human authority onto Moses and onto whoever was the High Priest. Because God chose Moses to receive the ten commandments and the Levitical commands (all the rules and regulations you find in the Book of Leviticus) they placed his importance at the very top of everyone else. As the new church through Christ was growing in the New Testament, the highest authority became the apostles because of the messages they delivered regarding Jesus. But now, we must understand what verse 3:1 is declaring, “…Jesus is… God’s messenger and High Priest…” Jesus has the highest authority, and this is one fact that the religious leaders just couldn’t get passed, to see Jesus for who He was, their Messiah.
Yes, Moses was an important figure in the history of the Old Testament and God used Him mightily to deliver His commands and to lead His people through the wilderness to the promised land. But he is not the highest of authority. Yes, Moses had the responsibility to guard the temple of the Almighty God, the Holy of Holies where God’s presence rested. But again, Moses is not the highest authority. But, because the Jewish leaders refused to see Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah, they continued to honor Moses with the highest position. And referred to his teachings as the highest form of authority. But verse 3:5 makes it very clear what position Moses held, “…Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant…” Moses was God’s servant and did what God commanded him to do. It would be like this generation putting Rev. Billy Graham or Pastor Greg Laurie in the highest place of authority because of the many crusades they have done around the world and because of the many people who came to Christ through their ministries. But you and I know that Billy Graham and Greg Laurie are not the highest authority, they are vessels and servants of the Lord.
I love that the explanation about Moses comes to an end by showing us again who Jesus is, “But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.” Did you catch that? As believers, we are “God’s house.” As believers, we encapsulate everything the Lord pours into us, these bodies of ours house the very heart of the Almighty God. But did you notice a slight warning? There is that small word “if.” That small word pretty much indicates we have a choice in whether or not we want to house the heart of God. “…we are God’s house, IF we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ…” There is a definite spirit of defiance in the world today that opposes what the Word of God declares as truth. This isn’t the first time and definitely will not be the last time rebellion will sweep over the land. The Israelites, the people Moses led through the wilderness had the same defiance, the same rebellion…
Let’s see what happened to them when they chose to ignore the Word of the Lord and what can happen to us if we refuse to listen to God’s Word…
Hebrews 3:7-11…
7 “That is why the Holy Spirit says,
“Today when you hear His voice,
8 don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled,
when they tested Me in the wilderness.
9 There your ancestors tested and tried My patience,
even though they saw My miracles for forty years.
10 So I was angry with them, and I said,
‘Their hearts always turn away from Me.
They refuse to do what I tell them.’
11 So in My anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter My place of rest.’”
The unbelieving and hardened heart will not see God’s glory or experience God’s rest. The Lord God tried everything, and even in His infinite power the people would not obey. That refusal resulted in them never seeing God’s place of rest, His Promised Land. Look at it again…verse 3:7b says, “…today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts…” If you are someone who is fighting the call of the Lord, if you have positioned yourself in a stance of resistance, I pray that your heart will finally be softened, that you will hear the voice of the Lord calling your name. If you are a believer but have not fully given your entire life to the Lord, do it now, make the decision to give up your life and serve Him with full diligence. And if you are a believer who serves the Lord, reflects the love of Jesus and knows fully the joy that comes from living your life for the Lord… then pray, pray for those whose hearts are hardened, pray for those on the verge of making a decision for Christ, pray for those who are believers but are not fully living for the Lord. We all should want to enter God’s place of rest and have every one of our family members and each one of our friends joining us.
The warning is real, our hearts can be turned, if we allow other things to play a bigger role in our lives other than Jesus, we risk our hearts turning towards the twisted lies of the world instead of the truth found in Scripture.
Hebrews 3:12-14…
12 “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”
Did you catch what it said in verse 3:13? “You must warn each other every day…” That means we must be accountable to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. We mustn’t let a day go by that we don’t challenge each other with the truth we find in our study of God’s Word. We can so easily be deceived if we aren’t studying the Word of God or if we are trying to walk our Christian Walk all on our own. That’s not what Jesus wants, that’s why He expressed so deeply that we are His brothers and sisters. We need to treat each other as though we know that to be the truth! We wouldn’t want to see someone in our own family walking straight into a disastrous and dangerous situation, that same concern goes for the family we have in Jesus Christ. If we see a fellow believer walking towards the evil of this world and turning their heart away from the Lord, we need to be able to step in and provide the much-needed accountability so we can keep each other strong and confident in the hope we have in Jesus.
Let’s continue…
Hebrews 3:15-19…
15 “Remember what it says:
“Today when you hear His voice,
don’t harden your hearts
as Israel did when they rebelled.”
16 And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard His voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? 18 And to whom was God speaking when He took an oath that they would never enter His rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed Him? 19 So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter His rest.”
Ok… these are some pretty poignant questions being asked.
Let’s apply them to our lives, right now, today…
Depending on how old you are at this very moment, think about the last 40 years of your life (I realize some of you are not yet 40, maybe even far from 40, so maybe think back on the last 10 years, or 20 years) … What have you done for the Lord? Have you spent the last 10, 20 or 40 years in rebellion? Have you spent your life disobeying the Word of the Lord? Do you see yourself relating to the people being spoken about in these last few verses? Rebellion, unrepented sin, disobedience and disbelief are all linked to the hardened heart. Until that heart can be softened to hear the voice of the Lord and receive the gift of Salvation, the reality is that they will never enter into God’s Resting Place and Eternal Life with Him.
This chapter should have given you a lot to think about. It should have brought people into your mind who need prayer for Salvation. It should compel your own heart to soften so you can listen to the voice of the Lord. It should cause you to reach out to another Christian brother or sister if you need accountability in your walk with the Lord.
Don’t leave this chapter without giving your whole heart to the Lord. Don’t flip the page until you have dedicated your heart, mind and soul to serving the Lord and loving Him with everything you do and speak. By doing that, the rest of the Book of Hebrews will be all the more meaningful. You will see how it will apply to your life and impact how you live for the Lord not only on this day but each day forward.
For any of you reading these words today who have felt that tug on your heart to give your life to Jesus… if you have been hearing the voice of the Lord calling your name, but up until now you have rebelled, you have kept your heart hardened, it’s time to let go… it’s time to ask Jesus to come into your life and begin a new life with Him… Your heart is ready, and your mind is sincere, you know that you are ready to make a stand! You know you are ready to say the following prayer and begin a transformation which only Jesus can do… Pray this prayer…
Dear Jesus, You know my heart, everything I have done and said. Please forgive me for all of my sins. I believe You are the Son of God. I believe You came to earth to die on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose from the dead to give me freedom from sin and death. By faith through believing in Who You Are, I accept You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life, cleanse my heart white as snow. Breathe life into me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Shine Your light through me. And use me for Your Glory. Amen.
- If you solemnly prayed this prayer, tell at least one person, so they can share in your joy!! I rejoice with you! All the angels in Heaven rejoice with you!
- It is very important to me that those who might be reading these journal pages of mine and don’t yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, that you make that decision. Today. Your heart and mind may not understand everything you have been reading, but if you open your heart to the truth of who Jesus is, you will be saved from sin and death. By the Power of the Holy Spirit you will be amazed at how quickly after giving your heart to the Lord your eyes and ears will be opened to the truth.
~AMEN and AMEN~