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The Book of Hebrews – Part 5
December 14, 2007
Jesus is Superior to Moses
So far we have seen that Jesus is superior to the prophets and the angels and in today’s lesson, we will see why he is superior to Moses, the venerable prophet of Judaism. Since most Christians accept this truth anyway, why should we spend time studying it? Two reasons: (1) It’s in the New Covenant, placed there by the Holy Spirit for our instruction, and (2) it is the answer to Judaism. If you know the book of Hebrews well, you should be able to share the gospel with the Jews. In fact, we are commanded to share the gospel with the Jews first, something the Gentile Church has forgotten and does not practice. Evangelical Zionists are much too concerned about the tribulation temple, the Ark of the Covenant, etc. than they are about trying to win the Jews to Christ. They seem to be more enamored about the Old Covenant than the more superior New Covenant. Because of heretical teaching by men like John Hagee that the Jews do not need to accept Christ because they are promised a future deliverance via the Old Covenant and a misunderstanding of Romans 9-11 (the election chapters), evangelism to the Jews is nil. However, that is foreign to the New Covenant and especially the book of Hebrews.
Take your Bible and open to Hebrews 3: 1-19 and read the passage a couple of times to familiarize yourself with the text:
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who has built the house has more honor than the house.
4 For every house is built by some man; but he that built all things is God.
5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Spirit saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12 Take heed, 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 are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: however not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. KJV.
In this passage, the writer of Hebrews is contrasting the “House of Moses” with the “House of Jesus.” Both Moses and Jesus are declared faithful servants in their houses. Why does the writer use this terminology and what are the House of Moses and the House of Jesus? The Greek word for “house” is the derivative of oikos, which literally means a physical dwelling and figuratively, a family. In the Old Testament, the word is used primarily in the figurative sense and denotes a family unit, a king’s residence or palace, a kingdom and the temple. It can also mean an ethnic group:
Genesis 7:1 KJV
1 And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Genesis 12:17 KJV
17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife.
Genesis 20:18 KJV
18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.
Exodus 13:14 KJV
By strength of hand the LORD brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:
Joshua 21:45 KJV
45 There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.
Jeremiah 5:11 KJV
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 56:7 KJV
7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
From these passages, it is clear “house” can mean a family unit; a king’s family, palace or nation; an individual nation; and the temple (the house of prayer). Once the kingdom of Israel was divided in about 932 B.C., it was never again referred to as the House of Israel, but the Houses of Israel and Judah. Both were destroyed – the House of Israel (the northern kingdom) in 722 B.C. and the House of Judah (the southern kingdom) in 606 B.C. A remnant returned to the House of Judah, but the northern kingdom was completely destroyed and absorbed by the Assyrians; the surviving remnant later assimilated into Eastern Europe and finally the entire European continent. This is why they are called the “10 lost tribes.”
Since Moses was the leader of Israel during the wilderness wanderings and before the conquest of Canaan, his house consisted of the 12 tribes descended from the 12 sons of Jacob. Moses was a type of Christ in that he was chosen by God to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage. In addition, he was given “the Law” on Mount Sinai (the first Pentecost) and the pattern for the tabernacle that housed the Ark of the Covenant. He also wrote the five books of law – the Pentateuch or the Torah. Because of this, he is called “the Lawgiver.”
The Pentateuch closes with this statement about Moses:
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 NLT
1 Then Moses went to Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab and climbed Pisgah Peak, which is across from Jericho. And the LORD showed him the whole land, from Gilead as far as Dan; 2 all the land of Naphtali; the land of Ephraim and Manasseh; all the land of Judah, extending to the Mediterranean Sea; 3 the Negev; the Jordan Valley with Jericho — the city of palms — as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I told them I would give it to their descendants. I have now allowed you to see it, but you will not enter the land." 5 So Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. 6 He was buried in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever. 8 The people of Israel mourned thirty days for Moses on the plains of Moab, until the customary period of mourning was over. 9 Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did everything just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 There has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face. 11 The LORD sent Moses to perform all the miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh, all his servants, and his entire land. 12 And it was through Moses that the LORD demonstrated his mighty power and terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel.
In all the history of Israel up to the present time, there has never been another prophet like Moses with one exception – the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the reason the Holy Spirit guided the writer of Hebrews to make the comparison between Moses and Jesus. Both men were faithful servants of God in their respective houses, but one is far superior. The House of Moses includes his leadership to the people of Israel leading up to their entry into the promise land – the land of Canaan. As great as he was, God did not permit Moses to enter the promise land with Israel because he disobeyed God at the waters of Meribah – instead of speaking to the rock to bring forth water as God had commanded him, Moses struck the rock in anger against the Israelites. In doing so, he failed to sanctify God or set Him apart. As the leader of Israel, he was held more accountable than the people were. The book of James warns teachers not to take their position lightly for they will receive a greater judgment (James 3:1).
Moses told the Israelites that God would raise up another prophet like him, which we believe is Jesus Christ. The Rabbis do not believe Joshua was the fulfillment of this prophecy, but are looking for the Messiah to fulfill the prediction:
Deuteronomy 18:15 NASU
15 " The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.
Hebrews 3: 5 says the House of Moses was a testimony of those things, which would be spoken of afterward. What are those things that would be spoken after the House of Moses? If Moses, as the Judaizers teach, is superior to Jesus Christ, then why do the Scriptures say Moses was a type or shadow of things to come? Simply, because the House of Moses was about the law and the ceremonial animal sacrifices, which could not address man’s sin problem. The Old Covenant is the type and the shadow over which Moses was the faithful servant, never the substance. Moses was appointed by God as the steward of the law with its rituals and sacrifices in order to prepare the way for the greater house and the greater stewardship – the House of Jesus Christ, which the book of Hebrews presents as the greater revelation of God.
What is the House of Jesus and how was He faithful to his house and worthy of more glory than Moses? The entire book of Hebrews is written for this purpose – the show that there is only one God and high priest over the House of Israel and that is Jesus Christ. The House of Moses has come and gone – passed into history never to appear again, and has been replaced by a better house whose builder and maker is God. There is a phrase in Hebrews 3: 3b that most miss, but it is important to understand:
Hebrews 3:3-4 NKJV
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.
A close examination of this verse shows that Moses was not the builder of his house, only the appointed steward. God is the builder of His house, whose house has always been built on faith, and not on rituals and animal sacrifices. Romans 4:13-25 says that God approved Abraham though faith and not by any religious work. In fact, Abraham was found faithful and approved by God 430 years before the Law was given proving that God’s house is a spiritual house and not that of bricks and mortar; then why the temples of Solomon and Herod? God is holy and righteous and cannot dwell among sinners. The only way anyone could approach God before the cross of Jesus was by an animal sacrifice involving much ritual. The nation of Israel could only approach God and have their sins forgiven on the Day of Atonement when the high priest entered the holy of holies and offered the blood sacrifice on the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. Therefore, God’s presence was restricted to one place – the holy of holies in the tabernacle and temple. But when Jesus came and offered Himself as Israel’s Passover Lamb (to legally fulfill the law, Christ had to be slain by the priesthood of Israel), the Lord ended forever the House of Moses and established a new priesthood, a new house, and a new way to approach God, which we will study in more detail in future lessons.
Before we look at the House of Jesus, we need to understand that the House of Moses never included the entire nation of Israel, only the faithful remnant. Hebrews 3: 7-11, 16, 18-19:
Hebrews 3:7-11 NKJV
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.'"
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.
In giving this review of the history of the nation of Israel, the writer of Hebrews is appealing to the Jews not to reject the New Covenant and the new house of Israel – the Israel of God whose builder and founder is Jesus Christ. If they rebel as their forefathers did in the wilderness, they also will be rejected and not enter into God’s rest. The “rest of God” is figurative language that means the Israelite who comes into the New Covenant by faith in Jesus Christ, not depending on the old works or rituals prescribed by the House of Moses, enters into a relationship with God that is life eternal and world without end.
This is a brief study of the meaning of the House of Moses and why it is inferior to the better House – the House of Jesus, which we shall look at in the next study.
God bless.
Dr. Allen M. Barber, the Lord’s Servant