 |  |
"If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a
vision, and will speak unto him is a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in
all Mine house. With him I will speak mouth to mouth, even apparently and not in dark
speeches and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold."
There can be no question that in all the range of Old Testament history no name could
mean so much to a Hebrew as that of Moses. The apostle had to shew them one who was
greater than Moses, inasmuch as the New Covenant of spirit and life was greater than the
Old Covenant with its ministration of death.
In the first case he would bid them consider the essential difference between Moses
and Christ. Moses was a part of the house over which he ruled, but Christ was the actual
builder of the house Himself. This of necessity spoke of the greater honour of Christ, but
in verse 4 the apostle brings forward the argument which formed the climax of his
testimony in Heb. 1::--
"For every house is builded by some one; but He that built all things is God."
There can be no purpose served by this statement unless the apostle intends the
Hebrews to understand that Christ was God. Verse 3 demands this meaning, and the
fitness of verse 4 is only preserved if we believe it to refer to the Person of Christ. In
Heb. 1:, after having spoken of the high dignity of the Son, he leads on to the same
point:--
"Unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O GOD, is for ever and ever . . . . . Thou, Lord, in
the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth" (1: 8-10).
Whether the "all things" of 3: 4 be taken to refer to the Creation at large, or in a
more restricted sense to all the dispensations, including the Mosaic and the Gospel, Christ
is the Builder.
The apostle now proceeds to another feature. Moses was faithful as a SERVANT in
all his house, but Christ as a SON over His own house. Not only is there the contrast
between Servant and Son, but between Moses IN, and Christ OVER, the house. Further,
the added words "Over His own house" confirm the interpretation of verse 4 of Christ.
The reason for this carefully debated point is revealed in verse 6. This house over
which Christ as the Son presides, is infinitely more glory than did Moses in the house of
which he formed a part, this house is a special people who are now to be named and
described. "Whose house are WE", the "we" being the holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling of 3: 1, and the many sons who are being brought to glory (cf. 2: 10).
Their peculiar characteristic is now added, and enforced by historical example.
"Whose house are we IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end" (3: 6).
This finds its echo in verse 14:--