Articles and Notes
Hebrews 3 Notes
"THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS"
Chapter Three
Having demonstrated Jesus' superiority to prophets and angels, the
author now compares Jesus to Moses (1-6). The comparison is followed
with a reference to Israel's unfaithfulness in wilderness which leads to
the second of six warnings in this epistle: a warning against
departing from the living God by developing an evil heart of unbelief
(7-19).
POINTS TO PONDER
* How Jesus compares to Moses
* The very real danger of departing from the living God
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
- Jesus' superiority over Moses - He 3:1-6
- A warning against departing - He 3:7-19
2) How are the original recipients of this epistle described? And
Jesus? (1)
- Holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling; Apostle and High
Priest
3) How are Moses and Jesus compared in this chapter? (3-6)
- Moses: faithful as a servant in the house of God
- Jesus: faithful as a Son over and builder of the house of God
(worthy of more glory)
4) Whose house are we? Under what conditions? (6)
- The Son's house; if we hold fast the confidence and joy of hope
firm to the end
5) What period of Israel's history is referred to in Psalms 95? (7-11)
- 40 years of wilderness wanderings
6) What three things can lead the Christian to fall away? (12-13)
- Developing an evil heart of unbelief
- Departing from the living God
- Becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
7) What three things can serve as an antidote preventing apostasy? (12-14)
- Beware of unbelief
- Exhort one another daily
- Hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end
8) Who rebelled in the wilderness and did not enter the Promised Land? (16-18)
- Those led by Moses out of Egypt, who did not obey
9) Why were they not permitted to enter? (19)
- Because of unbelief
Hebrews 3
The Son was faithful
[Heb 3:1-19 NKJV] 1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also [was faithful] in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things [is] God. 5 And Moses indeed [was] faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken [afterward], 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
Be faithful
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in [their] heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' " 12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."
Failure of the wilderness wanderers
16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, [was it] not all who came out of Egypt, [led] by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? [Was it] not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.