10-31-21 Today in the Word

A Faithful Servant Sunday, October 31 | Hebrews 3:1–6 On the Go? Listen to Today's Devotional The central theme of the book of Hebrews is the superiority, excellence, and perfection of Christ. We don’t know who wrote this epistle, but the audience seems to have been Christians being persecuted during the reign of Nero. They needed encouragement to persevere and hold fast to their faith in Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. We hope you’ve benefited from this month’s study of the life of Moses, but we need to conclude by putting Moses in his proper place. He was a faithful servant in God’s house, but he was not the Son. He was a “man of God” but only Christ is God! Moses would be the first to agree. Today’s reading puts Moses and Christ side by side for comparison. Both were faithful (v. 2), but Moses was faithful as a servant while Jesus was faithful as the Son (vv. 5–6; see Num. 12:7). Moses served the nation of Israel well as leader and Lawgiver, but God was the builder of the nation (vv. 3–4). It only makes sense to give more honor to the builder than to the house itself. Jesus is worthy of greater honor. If God built the house (v. 4), and Jesus also built the house (v. 3), then Jesus is God. God is clearly greater than Moses. There’s no shame in that. Moses did what God called him to do and he did it faithfully. He should be honored...but not above our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How does this matter for us? We, too, are part of the “house” that God is building. We Gentiles are branches grafted onto the original tree (Rom. 11:17–21). At all times in all ways, we should fix our thoughts on Jesus (v. 1)! >> Could you give an “elevator speech” (a quick summary speech of 30 seconds or less) about what you’ve learned from this month’s study? Doing so might help you crystallize what God wants you to learn. PRAY WITH US God of Israel, we have seen how You fulfill Your promises, how You readily dispense mercy, and how capable You are of protecting and guiding Your people. Like Moses, we are privileged to serve You!

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