Be Faithful: Obey
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Key Verse: “We are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” Selected Scripture: |
IN OUR LESSON FOR TODAY we are reminded to “consider” Jesus, our High Priest, his obedience and faithfulness. (Heb. 3:1) Jesus’ house is spiritual, higher than any earthly one. Moses was faithful and obedient over the house of servants, and his was an earthly house.—vs. 5
Jesus is building a spiritual house in the heavens. We are admonished to be faithful, to hold fast the “confidence” of hope we have “unto the end.” As Moses was faithful over his house, the Jewish house, so we too must be faithful as members of the spiritual house.—vs. 6
The house that Moses was chief over, was found unfaithful. God tested them forty years in the wilderness. Through all this they did not obey him and were never able to enter into the rest that God had promised.—vs. 11
Now, we are the spiritual house, (the house of sons) under the antitypical Moses, our Lord Jesus. We are warned not to have a “heart of unbelief” as did the nation of Israel but to “exhort one another daily [pray or entreat].” (vss. 12,13) What a privilege to be able to pray for one another daily. We are to build up one another.—Eph. 3:16-19; James 5:16
The word sabbath (Shabbat) from the Hebrew, means ‘rest, an intermission.’ Antitypically, the word sabbath—rest—is a rest of faith and obedience in Christ Jesus. What were to be the benefits of this rest? Had the nation of Israel been faithful to the Word of God they would have entered into the same rest, but they failed through “unbelief.”—Heb. 3:19
One of the benefits of rest—sabbath—would be the study of God’s Word. The nation of Israel was to discuss the Word with others, and especially teach it to their children. “These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.”—Deut. 6:6-8
The apostle admonishes the Hebrew brethren, and us, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you [or us] be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Heb. 3:12,13) How easy it is to be led away from our belief and trust, and in obeying our God. Our adversary, the Devil, wants our attention. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”—II Cor. 4:4
In chapter four of Hebrews, the apostle tells us that we should fear lest we “come short” of entering into God’s rest. (vs. 1) If we have believed the Gospel message and entered this rest through faith and obedience, there yet remains “a rest to the people of God,” in the eternal home promised in heaven. (vs. 9) We then must be faithful.