Hebrews 3-5:10

What’s Happening?

The book of Hebrews was written to Hebrews—people of the Jewish faith. As Jews, they followed their leader Moses, because he was the one who led them to their home with God. This home was the promised land and the promised rest God promised his people, Israel. But now, other Jews are saying there is a new leader who can bring them into a new and better home with God. This new leader is Jesus. 

The author of Hebrews explains that Moses brought people into God’s house like a servant (Hebrews 3:1-5). Moses brought Israel closer than they’d ever been to God’s home when he built the tabernacle. He even brought them to the border of a homeland with God in the Promised Land. The problem was, Israel would not enter it. Their hard, sinful hearts refused to believe God would give them what he promised (Hebrews 3:6-19). As a result, no one from that faithless generation got to rest from their wanderings and settle in their promised homeland (Hebrews 3:11, 16-19). So the author warns his readers not to make the same mistake by hardening their hearts against Jesus (Hebrews 3:12-14). 

The author then mentions Joshua, Moses’ successor who led the next generation of God’s people into the promised land (Hebrews 4:8). Joshua didn’t harden his heart but obeyed and trusted that God would give him the land. Through his soft-hearted obedience, Joshua led his people into their home with God. His sword cut off the evil in the land, so his people could live with God in a place of rest. Joshua led people into the promised land of rest with God. 

Yet, the author of Hebrews points out an interesting quote from the book of Psalms, which was importantly written after Israel found rest in the promised land. There in Psalm 95, God mentions another rest that remains for his people (Hebrews 4:9-10). Therefore, their ultimate home of rest was not meant to be in one localized place, like a tabernacle or a country. Instead, God’s home was meant to fill the world and bring a new and better rest to the whole earth. 

Where is the Gospel?

The author of Hebrews wrote to Jewish people wondering if they should follow Moses or Jesus. He argues that while Moses was a faithful servant in God’s house, Jesus was the builder of the house and God’s son (Hebrews 3:3-6). Therefore, Moses served in Jesus’ house. Moses served Jesus. Moreover, Jesus’ house is greater than the one Moses built, because Moses built a tent, and Jesus built the world. Moses was Israel’s leader, but Jesus was Israel’s founder. Moses led people to a land, Jesus leads us to inhabit the whole earth. Therefore, Jesus is the one building us up to be God’s people who will inherit the world (Hebrews 3:6). 

Jesus leads us into a new home with God like Joshua led Israel. Just as Joshua’s soft-hearted obedience granted his people access to a plot of land with God, so Jesus’ soft-hearted obedience grants his people access to a whole world with God. Joshua’s sword cut off the evil and hard-hearted from the land (Hebrews 3:14; 4:8-9). But Jesus does not bring us into his home by slaying the hard-hearted in the land, like Joshua. Instead, Jesus wields the story of Scripture like a sword to cut open our hearts and show us our need to believe in and trust him. Jesus uses the sword of his Word to cut off the evil in our own hearts to make us people of rest who can inhabit a home with him (Hebrews 4:12-13). 

This is why the author of Hebrews then calls Jesus our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:5-6). The priests led people into God’s presence in the temple—God’s home on earth. Like Joshua entered the promised land to lead God’s people in with him, the priests entered the temple to lead people into God’s house. But in a far greater way Jesus, as our final leader and priest, entered heaven itself (Hebrews 4:14-16). Because Jesus has gone before us we can enter his rest and our home with God. This new promise found in God’s Word cuts open our hard hearts and leads us to believe that we will enter a rest with Jesus forever. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who gives rest. And may you see Jesus as the one who brings us into our eternal home with God.