Hebrews 3:1-2
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, holy partners in a heavenly calling, consider that Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses also ‘was faithful in all God’s house.’” ~Hebrews 3:1-2, NRSV
Chapter divisions in the Bible have always perplexed me somewhat because they don’t always fall in a place that makes sense to me. Hebrews 3:1 is one of those places for me because the first word in the chapter is ‘therefore.’ It means we need to look back as well as looking forward. Simply starting at Hebrews 3 neglects the context. So, considering the last few verses was about testing, it is interesting to look at these two verses and see how they relate to that previous theme. Even in the midst of testing, Jesus was faithful in his calling. But Jesus was God. How on earth do we do the same?
The passage points to Moses as also being ‘faithful in all God’s house’ (v.2). And while Moses is often set apart as an example, he was very much human. He faced many trials and made many mistakes yet God appointed him to lead the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt. The lesson I take from this passage in Hebrews then is that, if Moses can make mistakes and still be classed as faithful, perhaps I can be too. I will never be on par with Jesus but I can strive to be faithful to the ‘one who appointed’ me (v. 2). Because, just as Jesus was appointed ‘the apostle and high priest of our confession’ (v.1), I have been appointed to a time and place. I have been given a purpose and a calling. I may not know what that is a lot of the time but the lesson of Moses is that God is always working even when we don’t see it. When tasked with asking Pharaoh to let God’s people go, Moses wasn’t entirely convinced it would work. But it eventually did.
Being faithful does not mean that there won’t be trials and that there won’t be heartbreak. Jesus and Moses both experienced those things. And it is sometimes really difficult but it is something worth striving for. So, today, take a moment to reflect on your faithfulness, to God and to others. Where are you perhaps falling short, and how can you grow in your calling to be faithful to the one who appointed you?
