Thursday, September 13, 2018

03 Hebrews 3 – More than Moses – So Be Faithful!


“Consider Jesus” (Heb 3:1) could serve as a title for the entire book of Hebrews. The more clearly one understands His nature, His majesty, and His ministry, the more diligent and faithful one will be in following and imitating Him. So far we have seen His deity as God the Son, far above angels. We have noted His humanity, as He became briefly lower than the angels, in order to save us and serve as our high priest. What follows is the predictable comparison between Jesus and the greatest prophet of all, Moses himself. Those who knew Moses failed through unbelief and disobedience. Those who know Jesus could do the same and be lost – but we must not!
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These are lesson notes, not written in a polished or finished manuscript form.  
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3:1-6                    The Superior Savior
Jesus is greater than Moses.
Therefore … (based on 2:14-18)
Consider (Acts 7:31; 27:39; Luke 12:24, 27) (Heb 12:1-3)
Apostle (from God to man); High Priest (man to God)
Why would the Jews (and why do we) appreciate Moses?
Did Moses fail?  Was Moses a failure?
How does the NT compare / contrast Moses and Jesus?
Transfiguration – Matt 17
Here: architect greater than architecture
Moses: a faithful servant in God’s house (Num 12:6-8)
Christ: a faithful Son over God’s house
We are His house … IF … (2:3; 3:14; 4:1; 6:8; 10:26, 38)
When / why is it tough to hold fast our confidence?
What is the source of our “boast?” – HOPE!
Hope produces …
         True joy
         Sacrificial love
         Bold courage
         No-matter-what endurance
3:7-11        The Wilderness Warning
Israel disobeyed and perished.
Who spoke the words recorded in Ps 95? (Acts 1:16; 4:25)
Spoke … or (still) speaks?
To whom?  At what time?  Who is “you?”  When is “today?”
What happened at Massah (test, tempt), also called Meribah (quarrel)?  See Ex 17:1-7.
Why forty years?  And what were those years like?
And just where was this place, anyway?
Why is it so important for us to appreciate both the wrath of God and the mercy of God?
Was God patient with Israel?
Does God’s patience have a limit?
How is God’s anger different from man’s anger?
How does the NT describe the wrath of God?  John 3:36; Rom 1:18ff; 2:5; 2 Thess 1:5-9; Rev 6:16-17
How does Ps 95 use that event to exhort a later OT generation, perhaps in David’s day (1000 BC)?
How does Heb 3 use that event to exhort Jewish Christians in the first century AD?
How do we use that event to exhort each other “today?”
How might we provoke God, try God, or test God?
3:12-19      The Possible Peril
The same thing could happen to you.
Great qualities of Bible study and teaching seen here:
Observation: what does the text say?
Interpretation: what did / does the text mean?
Illustration: what light can we shed on the text?
Application: what would this text have us (not) do?
Exhortation: “Let us (we must) (not) do it!”
Can a saved brother in Christ develop an evil, unbelieving heart … and fall away from God?
If they missed the Promised Land … could we?
Teaching technique:
Ask a question, then answer it with, “Was it not …?”
[1] Who provoked? Was it not those who left Egypt?
[2] With whom was He angry? Was it not those who sinned and died?
[3] To whom did He swear? Was it not those who disobeyed?
The Slippery Slope:
·                 Lack of caution
·                 Openness to sin
·                 Weakening of faith
·                 Lack of encouragement
·                 Deceit of sin
·                 Hardening of the heart
·                 Loss of grip
·                 Declining confidence
·                 Loss of “hearing”
·                 Trying and provoking God
·                 Disobedience
·                 Falling away
The recounting of Israel’s failure in Hebrews 3 leads to this exhortation:
Heb 4:1 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.

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