-
For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.
-
“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future.
-
But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.
-
That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’
-
See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.
-
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
-
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?
-
And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?
-
A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.
-
Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
-
For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”
-
God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
-
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.
-
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
-
for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.
-
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
-
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
-
Jesus the Great High Priest
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
-
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
-
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-
Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
-
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.
-
This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
-
And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
-
In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
