June 28, 2023

Hebrews 3:1-19 (HCSB)
Our Apostle and High Priest 
3 Therefore, holy brothers and companions in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession;  2 He was faithful to the One who appointed Him, just as Moses was in all God’s household. 3 For Jesus is considered worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder has more honor than the house. 4 Now every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God.  5 Moses was faithful as a servant  in all God’s household, as a testimony to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ was faithful as a Son over His household. And we are that household if we hold on to the courage and the confidence of our hope.  Warning against Unbelief 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works 10 for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.” 11 So I swore in My anger, “They will not enter My rest.”  12 Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs  from the living God. 13 But encourage each other daily,  while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened  by sin’s deception.  14 For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality  that we had at the start.  15 As it is said: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.  16 For who heard and rebelled? Wasn’t it really all who came out of Egypt under Moses?  17 And who was He provoked with for 40 years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  18 And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

Courtney Akers
In this chapter of Hebrews, the writer, which is considered unknown, was writing to Jewish believers to help encourage them to stand strong and firm in their faith. The author used different significant heroes to show how Jesus would fulfill God’s plan. One of these influential heroes was Moses. Moses was strong and encouraged his people to stand firm. The group began to have hard hearts and their faith was shaken. When Jesus came to complete God’s plan, He became the ultimate hero. By Jesus’ death and resurrection it eliminated the need for Old Testament sacrifices and offerings. All we need is to follow Jesus for salvation. All I can think about is how thankful I am Jesus came to set us free and gave the ultimate sacrifice so we would not have to. I would not have been good at keeping all the Old Testament laws and rules. The writer also encourages us not to harden our hearts like the Israelites did with Moses in the wilderness. This is encouraging us to think about the harder times of being a believer and not become cynical or rigid as Jesus helps us to have soft hearts.