Hebrews 3:2

Heb_3:2

Faithful to Him that appointed Him

Fidelity in personal duties

The general prosperity of human life and the peace and comfort of individuals greatly depend on the diligence, the cheerfulness, and the spirit with which our personal duties are fulfilled.

I. I mention as the first, AN HABITUAL AND PRACTICAL REMEMBRANCE THAT GOD HATH APPOINTED US OUR DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, and that a proper discharge of the duties resulting from them, from a regard to His authority, is service due and done to God. Christianity thus brings religion home to the most minute departments of human life, to the house and to the field, to the shop and to the farm; and intimately unites earth to heaven.

II. Personal fidelity includes HONEST AND ASSIDUOUS ENDEAVOURS TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT DUTIES OF OUR SEVERAL CALLINGS OR CONDITIONS, AND TO ACQUIRE THE TALENTS NECESSARY TO PERFORM THEM WELL. But I must observe that a knowledge of the duties of a calling, and even the best talents for discharging them, are not sufficient. Personal fidelity chiefly consists in the diligence, animated by religious motives, which produces the activity which our separate duties require; and therefore I remark

III. That men discover their fidelity when they MARE CONSCIENCE OF THE MORE DIFFICULT AND BURDENSOME, as well as of the more easy duties of their particular callings.

IV. Men show their fidelity in their personal duties, when they do NOT NEGLECT, FOR THE SAKE OF PLEASURES, THEIR PROPER BUSINESS OR EMPLOYMENTS.

V. Fidelity to Him who hath appointed men their respective callings, requires that they shall Do AS MUCH GOOD IN THEM AS THEY HAVE THE

MEANS OR OPPORTUNITY TO DO; and that they shall manage them to the best advantage, for which their knowledge or abilities have qualified them.

VI. Personal fidelity requires that men REGARD AND FULFIL ALL THE DUTIES OF THEIR CALLINGS OR SITUATIONS, AND NOT MERELY A PART OF THEM.

VII. Personal fidelity requires that men shall do the duties of their proper stations, ALTHOUGH EVERY WORLDLY MOTIVE SHOULD TEMPT THEM TO NEGLECT OR TO VIOLATE THEM.

VIII. Fidelity in the duties of our proper callings ought ever to be ACCOMPANIED WITH PRAYER TO GOD, AND AN HABITUAL AND DEVOUT DEPENDENCE ON HIM FOR HIS BLESSING. I conclude with observing, that if a faithful discharge of social duties were the whole of religion, even on such terms no man could be justified by works. In fidelity to conscience, and in zealous endeavours for promoting the glory of God and the good of mankind, Archbishop Usher was perhaps exceeded by few of his own, or of any other order, Yet we find among his last, what were certainly none of his worst words, Lord, forgive my sins of omission. Even in the discharge of their secular callings, men of the worthiest characters are far from being already perfect, and after all their best attainments have need to pray, Lord, enter not into judgment with Thy servants. (John Erskine, D. D.)

Christ the Son and Moses the servant

1. And here that it is said, God appointed Him, we see the root of this love, that Christ should come a Saviour among us. And as we must give unto our Saviour Christ the glory of our redemption, in the sacrifice of His body, so we must give unto the Father the praise of His mercy, that hath freely loved us, and predestinated us eternally unto life; for as this is our profession, that Christ hath done the deed, so this is our profession, that God the Father hath appointed Him unto it.

2. The second thing here witnessed of Christ, and in which we are assured He is our only Prophet, and are provoked to hearken unto Him, is that lie was faithful in all the house of God. This faithfulness is truth and integrity in discharge of this office committed to Him, wherein He set all His care and industry, that He might be found faultless, that like as He was sent of God to be a Prophet to reveal His will, so He did faithfully perform it, teaching only doctrine and ordinances of His Father (Joh_7:16; Joh_8:28; Joh_17:8). How diligently then ought we to hear such a Prophet as hath so faithfully spoken. And here we have all a very good lesson taught us, in the person of Christ, to what calling soever we be called of God, in the same let us be faithful; if we be preachers, faithful preachers; if we be princes, faithful princes; if we be judges, faithful judges; if we be treasurers, faithful treasurers; if we be merchants, faithful merchants; whatsoever we be, faithfulness must be our praise.

3. It followeth, He was faithful as Moses in all His house. What was the faithfulness commended in Moses? That he did in every point according to that which God had commanded. This was then the faithfulness of Christ, to do nothing but at the will of His Father; and this St. John witnesseth expressly in many places. Here is the image of this faithful minister, like unto Christ, one that preacheth nothing but the Word of God, nor for any cause but Gods glory. Now, more touching this comparison here made between Christ and Moses, there is no doubt but the apostle useth it to join the Hebrews unto Christ; for how they accounted of Moses he knew well, and whatsoever was spoken of him they did willingly apply themselves to mark, and his praise did win their affections to be more equally bent to learn Christ. Taking this occasion, he beginneth his comparison, making this as common both to Christ and Moses: that either of them ruled in the house of God, and either of them was faithful in his charge, but yet so, as Christ was much more honourable, and therefore to be of us acknowledged our only Prophet. Now, lest the comparison should seem equal, or Moses should be accounted as great as Christ, he showeth the great excellence of Christ above Moses, that the Jews may also learn to honour their Messias as it becometh them. It followeth now in the fifth verse, And Moses was faithful in all His house, as a servant for the testimony of the things which should be spoken, but Christ as the Son is Ruler of His house. Now, how much more honour the son hath in his fathers house than he that is a servant, so far Christ is above Moses, and above all. And in this the apostle needed not use many words, for that Moses was a servant, all confessed that God calleth him oft His servant Moses. And that Christ was the Son no man doubted, and the Scripture giveth Him plainly the title of the Son of God. Here we have all taught us a lesson of good humility, and how to know ourselves, and what place we have in the Church of God. It followeth, For a testimony of the things which should after be spoken. For this purpose Moses was a servant, and in the performance of this duty was faithful: he was a servant to bear witness unto the people of all the words which God should speak unto them, that is, a servant faithfully declaring all the law of God. And Moses also himself did bear witness of Christ. And Moses, the most renowned of all prophets, what was he? a servant to declare unto the people all that the Lord had spoken. Who is he now will presume above Moses, to speak of his own head, ordinances, and laws? Who will establish decrees of his own in the house of God? Whosoever he be he shall carry his judgments. He is not a servant, as Moses was; but he exalteth himself to be a master; for if he were a servant he would do the work of a servant, and bear witness what his Master had said. It followeth, But Christ as the Son is over His house. So that, being the Son of God, who is heir of all things, He ruleth in this house as Lord and Governor, whose commandment alone doth stand. And again, being the Son of God, eternally begotten of His Father, He ever did, and shall do to the end, rule and have the sovereignty in His own house. Therefore, even as before the apostle made his exhortation, that they would consider this Apostle and High Priest of their profession, even so let us humble ourselves under this High Lord in the House of God; let us obey His voice, let us be all faithful in our calling, that before Him we may have a good account, especially the minister, that he will be a faithful servant, keeping his fellowship in the Church of God, and bearing witness of all that the Lord hath spoken. (E. Deering, B. D.)

Christ and Moses

Every word here is an echo of something going before, and is instinct with persuasive virtue. Brethren of Him who in a fraternal spirit identified Himself with the unholy, and for their sakes took flesh and tasted death. Holy, at least in standing, in virtue of the priestly action of the Sanctifier; and because holy in this sense, under obligation to make their consecration to God a reality by living a truly Christian life. Partakers of a heavenly calling--thus described, at once with truth and with rhetorical skill, with a backward glance at the greatness of the Christians hope as the destined lord of the future world, and with a mental reference to the contrast between that glorious prospect and the present state of believers as partakers of flesh and blood, and subject to death and the fear thereof; reminding them at the same time of the blessed truth that as Christ became partaker of their present lot, so they were destined to be partakers of His glorious inheritance, the unity and fellowship between Him and His people being on both sides perfect and complete. The titles here ascribed to Jesus also arise out of the previous context, and are full of significance. Specially noteworthy is the former of the two, Apostle, here only applied to Christ. The basis for the title is such a text as Exo_3:10 : Come now therefore, and I will send thee [ἀποστείλω, Sept.] unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses was an apostle, as one sent by God on the important mission of leading the enslaved race of Israel out of Egypt into Canaan. Christ was our Apostle, as one sent by God to be the Leader in the great salvation. The Apostle of our Christian confession and the Captain of salvation are synonymous designations. Consider the Apostle means, consider for practical purposes a subject already sufficiently understood; consider the High Priest means, consider the doctrine of Christs priesthood, that ye may first understand it and then prove its practical value. Christ the Apostle is the immediate subject of contemplation. That aspect is in view throughout the third and fourth chapters, the priestly aspect being presented at the close of the latter, as an introduction to the long discussion which commences with the fifth chapter and extends to the tenth. Consider the Apostle of our confession is the rubric of this new section. To guide consideration, a point of view is suggested congruous to the practical aim. The aim being to promote steadfastness in the Christian faith and life, the selected point of view is the fidelity of Jesus our Apostle. God made Jesus by giving Him His unique place in the worlds history, as the chief agent in the work of redemption. And Jesus was faithful to God by discharging faithfully the high duties entrusted to Him. What the Hebrews are invited to do, therefore, is to consider Jesus as the faithful Captain of salvation, who never betrayed His trust, shirked His responsibilities, or neglected duty to escape personal suffering, and who at the last great crisis said, Not My will, but Thine be done. For of course the theatre in which Christs fidelity was displayed was His earthly life of trial and temptation. He has already held up Jesus as Priest, as one who is faithful to the interests of those for whom He transacts before God, and therefore entitled to their confidence. The two views supplement each other, and complete the picture of the Faithful One. Faithful as Priest to men in virtue of sympathies learned on earth, faithful as Apostle to God in the execution of the arduous mission on which He was sent to the world; in the one aspect inspiring trust, in the other exciting admiration and inciting to imitation. The following comparison between Christ and Moses at once serves the general end of the Epistle by contributing to the proof of the superiority of Christianity to Judaism, and the special end of the present exhortation by affording the opportunity of extracting wholesome lessons from the fate of the people whom Moses led out of Egypt. In doing this, he simply does justice to the familiar historical record of the Jewish heros life, and to Gods own testimony borne on a memorable occasion, the substance of which he repeats in the words, as also Moses [was faithful] in His house. My servant Moses, faithful in all My house, he, God had said emphatically, to silence murmuring against him on the part of his brother Aaron and his sister Miriam. He lays hold of the suggestive words house and servant, and turns them to account for his purpose, saying in effect, Moses was as faithful as any servant in a house can be: still he was only a servant, while He of whom I now speak was not a mere servant in the house, but a Son; and that makes all the difference. Verses 3 to 6 are substantially just the working out of this thought. But it may be asked, the subject of comparison being the respective fidelities of the two apostles, is not a reference to their positions irrelevant? What does it matter whether Moses was son or servant, if he was faithful in all Gods house, in all parts of his work as the leader of Israel? If one were comparing two commanders in respect of bravery and military genius, would it not be an irrelevance to say of one of them, he was the better man, for he was the kings son? The question is pertinent, but it admits of a satisfactory answer. Reference to the superior dignity of Christ is relevant, if His position as Son tended to enhance His fidelity. That it did the writer doubtless meant to suggest. Farther on we find him saying. Though He was a Son, yet learned He obedience. Similarly he says here in effect: Christ, though a Son, was faithful to His vocation amid trial. It is a just thought. Beyond doubt we have in Christ as Son a more sublime moral spectacle of fidelity than in any ordinary man called to play a great and responsible part in history. To the fidelities which He has in common with other men, the Son adds this other: resolute resistance to the temptation to use His sonship as an excuse for declining arduous heroic tasks. But there is more than this to be said. The reference to the dignity of Christ looks beyond the immediate parenetic purpose to the ultimate aim of the whole Epistle It is designed to insinuate the great truth that Christianity is the absolute, eternal religion. This idea casts its shadow on the page at three different points

1. In the contrast between Moses and Jesus as respectively servant and Son.

2. In the representation of the Ministry of Moses as being for a testimony of things to be spoken afterwards (Heb_3:5).

3. In the representation of Christians as pre-eminently though not exclusively Gods, Christs, house (Heb_3:6). The assertion manifestly implies the transiency of the Mosaic system. It suggests the thought that the house aa it stood m the time of Moses was but a rude, temporary model of the true, eternal house of God; good enough to furnish shelter from the elements, so to speak, but unfit to be the everlasting dwelling place of the children of the Most High, therefore destined to be superseded by a more glorious structure, having the Spirit of God for its architect, which should be to the old fabric as was the magnifical temple of Solomon to the puny tabernacle in the wilderness. At Heb_3:6 transition is naturally made from Moses to the lessons of the wilderness life of Israel. The writer is haunted by the fear lest the tragic fate of the generation of the Exodus should be repeated in the experience of the Hebrew Christians. He hopes that the powerful motives arising out of the truths he has stated may bring about a better result. But he cannot hide from himself that another issue is possible. For the future fortunes of Christianity he has no anxiety; he is firmly persuaded that it will prosper, though the Hebrew Church, or even the whole Hebrew nation, should perish. That fatal catastrophe he dreads; therefore with great solemnity he proceeds to represent retention of their position in the house of God as conditional: Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the boasting of the hope. (A. B. Bruce, D. D.)

Faithful services

What God requires is faithfulness to that which He has entrusted to us. A poor man is responsible for the little of his poverty, and sins if he withhold his mite. The Church needs the gifts of the poor; the gifts of the industrial and labouring classes. She needs the influence of those who think they have no influence. She needs the sympathies and prayers of those who can only stammer out of their sin-burdened hearts, God be merciful to me a sinner. The most fertile summer showers are composed of unpretending little drops. Water-spouts are farless beneficial than the steady, soaking, noiseless rain.

Importance of fidelity in the Christian life

Though in the life and character of Moses there are many striking excellencies, the faithfulness of Moses is the feature on which the apostle dwells. It is, indeed, the most important feature in our character as servants of God. And well were it for us if we laid more stress on faithfulness, and thought less of gifts and talents, or of success and results. For while it belongs to God to appoint unto each of us severally our positions, to distribute gifts according to His wisdom, and to reward us with results hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold, it belongs to us to be faithful to God wherever He has placed us, and in the gift and task which His love assigns. We see the summary and result of the true disciples life in the decisive words of the Master (Mat_25:21). (A. Saphir.)

Moses and the Jews

More than Luther is to Germany, more than Napoleon is to France, more than Alfred, or Elizabeth, or Cromwell, or William III. is to England, Moses was to the Jewish people--prophet, patriot, warrior, lawgiver, all in one. (R. W. Dale, LL. D.)

A faithful mother

The Bishop of Machester was giving the prizes one day to the scholars, in a school with which he is connected. A large number of the parents and friends of the scholars were present. They all knew and loved the bishop, as a good, and learned, and very useful man. In the midst of their exercises, as he stood surrounded by the scholars, the good bishop was led to speak of his mother. She was a widow, said he, with some children to support and educate. God helped her to be faithful. She sacrificed her own ease and comfort for the good of her children. Her home was a poor one. She had to struggle hard for our support. But she managed to make that home the brightest and the happiest place to us. Her children through her faithful efforts have since risen to positions of honour and usefulness, where they are helping to make the world better. She is now, said the bishop, and here his voice was broken with deep feeling--She is now living in my house, paralysed, speechless, helpless, but every time I look at her dear face, I thank God for giving me such a mother. All that I am, and all that I have I owe to her.

Faithful to duty

In the terrible April gale of 1851, the lighthouse on Minors Ledge, near Boston, was destroyed. Two men were in it at the time, and a vast multitude were gathered upon the shore, waiting in anxious distress for the expected catastrophe. Every hour, however, the bell tolled the time, and ever the light pierced the dark rating storm, and bid the sailor beware. No howling blast could silence the one nor rising wave extinguish the other. At last one giant wave, mightier than the rest, rose up and threw its arms around the tower, and laid it low in the waves. Then alone was the bell silent, then alone did the light cease to shine. (J. M.Reid.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 3:2. Who was faithful to him that appointed him — The sacred penman, entering upon a comparison between Moses and Christ, as he was the apostle of God, or one sent by him to reveal his will, he recommends him to the faith of the Hebrews, under the principal qualification of a person in that office; he was faithful, which faithfulness he further describes by its respect to that act whereby he was appointed by God to the office. God’s apostle is the chief steward or dispenser of his mysteries; and it is principally required in stewards that a man be found faithful. Now the fidelity of a legate, ambassador, or apostle consists principally in the full declaration of the mind and will of him who sent him, as to those ends for which he is sent. Faithfulness respects trust. Our Lord, therefore, must have had a trust committed to him wherein he was faithful. Accordingly he sought not his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him; declaring that he came not in his own, but in his Father’s name, Joh 5:43. He moreover sealed that truth with his blood, which he came into the world to bear witness to, Joh 18:37; and greater faithfulness could not be expressed. As also Moses was faithful in all his house — The church of Israel, then the peculiar family of God. The words are an allusion to the testimony which God bare to Moses, Num 12:7, My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house. It is true, Moses failed personally in his faith, and was charged of God that he believed him not, Num 20:12; but this was no impeachment of his faithfulness in the special office intended. As he was to reveal Jehovah’s mind, and institute his worship, he was universally faithful; for according to all that God appointed him so did he, Exo 40:16. He did not conceal any of the divine laws, on account of their disagreeableness to the Israelites; nor did he alter them in the least, to make them acceptable, but delivered the whole law as it was spoken to himself, and formed the tabernacle and the ritual of the worship exactly according to the pattern showed him. In like manner, Christ’s faithfulness consisted in his teaching the doctrines, appointing the laws, and establishing the worship which his Father had ordained for the church.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Faithful—Perfectly and absolutely true to all his trusts as legate.

Appointed—Literally, made. Allusion is here had to 1Sa_12:6, where it is said, “the Lord that advanced (Gr. Septuagint, made) Moses and Aaron.” The word, as here applied to Christ, should not be rendered created, as by Alford, but constituted, including, doubtless, his being brought into incarnate existence, not merely his appointment to his legation.

As also Moses—This image of a house is suggested by Num_12:7 : “My servant Moses… is faithful in all mine house.” The word house symbolizes the dispensation, or theocratic kingdom. Here is an analogy between Moses and Christ; they are similar in faithfulness, yet there is a great superiority on one side.

House—In this whole passage (Heb_3:2-6) the Greek word for house includes not only the building or material structure, but all the furnishings, family and servants, it contains to make it a complete establishment. And so the word builded, in the following verses, includes not merely the architecture, but the complete establishing, of the house and its contents.

His—Many commentators refer here, as in Heb_3:6, to God; but a more natural construction refers them to Moses and to Christ. Each of these divine legates had, under God, (Heb_3:4,) his own house; yet successively, under Moses and Christ, the house is the same one house, and Christ, as Son, is underlying proprietor even of the house of Moses, who is but servant or steward.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:2 Jesus was faithful to God and to the task to which the Father had appointed him (5:7-10; 12:1-3; Phil 2:5-11), just as Moses had been (Num 12:7). Many Jews of the first century regarded Moses as the greatest person in history, of even higher status than the angels.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Heb 3:2. Πιστὸν ὄντα, who is faithful) Num 12:7, at the end, עבדי משה בכל ביתי נאמן הוא, LXX., ὁ θεράπων μου (comp. presently afterwards, Heb 3:5) Μωϋσῆς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ μου πιστός ἐστι. He calls him faithful, who is both himself so, and is acknowledged to be so by GOD, and is praised on that account. From this flows faithfulness in office, and the faith of the hearers without exception, for this very reason that Moses is נאכון; comp. Num. same chap., Heb 3:8, likewise at the end.—τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτὸν, to Him that appointed Him) His heavenly Father made or appointed Jesus Christ to be both His Apostle and High Priest, ch. Heb 5:5; where τὸ γενηθῆναι, to be made, viz. by the word of the Lord, corresponds to τῷ ποιήσαντι. Add Act 2:36. And this rouses us to the exercise of faith. There is an expression which very much resembles this in 1Sa 12:6; 1Sa 12:8: “It is the Lord who made [Engl. Vers., advanced] (LXX., ὁ ποιήσας) and sent Moses and Aaron.”—ὡς καὶ Μωϋσῆς, as also Moses) So Deu 18:15. He praises Moses, and thus conciliates the Jews, before that he prefers Christ to him; although he has prepared their minds for hearing it, by his preferring the same Jesus even to angels.—οἴκῳ, in His house) A rare appellation in the time of Moses.—αὐτοῦ, His, of Him) of GOD, Heb 3:6, note.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb_3:2. The discourse takes a turn, by virtue of a further alleging of reasons for the κατανοήσατε, to the comparison of Jesus with Moses, in that first of all the relation of parity between the two is brought prominently forward. The O. T. passage which the author here has under consideration is Num_12:7, where Moses is designated by God as faithful in all His house.

ὄντα] characterizes the being faithful as an inherent property; the sense of a strict present is not to be asserted for the participle (with Seb. Schmidt and Bleek), according to which we should have to think only of an exalted Christ; rather does πιστὸν ὄντα attach itself as well to the notion Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀπόστολον τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν as to the notion Ἰησοῦν τὸν ἀρχιερέα τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν; ὄντα embraces, therefore, equally the time from which Christ, as the incarnate Son of God, had appeared upon earth, and the time from which He, invested with the high-priestly dignity, has returned to the Father, and now continues to fulfil in heaven His high-priestly office.

τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν] Periphrasis of God: Him who created Him. Only this sense of the calling forth into existence can the word ποιεῖν have when placed absolutely; comp. LXX. Isa_17:7; Isa_43:1; Isa_51:13; Hos_8:14; Job_35:10; Psa_95:6; Psa_149:2; Sir_7:30, al. Rightly is this accepted by the early Latin translation of the codd. D E (fidelem esse creatori suo), Ambrose (de fide, 3. 11), Vigilius Tapsensis (contra Varimadum, p. 729), Primasius, Schulz, Bleek, Alford, Kurtz, and Hofmann. Contrary to linguistic usagefor an appeal cannot be made to 1Sa_12:6 (where ποιεῖν (עָשָׂה) has its ordinary signification), and still less to Mar_3:14 (where a nearer defining is given to the verb by means of ἵνα κ.τ.λ.), or to Act_2:36 (where a double accusative is found)do Chrysostom, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Vatablus, Clarius [Calvin], Cameron, Piscator, Grotius, Owen, Wolf, Bengel, Böhme, Kuinoel, de Wette, Stengel, Tholuck, Stuart, Ebrard, Bisping, Delitzsch, Riehm (Lehrbegr. des Hebräerbr. p. 286 f.), Reuss, Maier, Kluge, Moll, MCaul, Woerner, and the majority, interpret τῷ ποιήσαντι either by: who appointed Him thereto (sc. Apostle and High Priest), or ordained Him thereto; orwhat amounts to the same thingexplaining the supplementing of a second accusative to ποιήσαντι as unnecessary, by: who set Him forth upon the stage of history. Whether, for the rest, the author referred the notion of having created to the incarnation of Christ, as the above-mentioned early ecclesiastical writers suppose, or to His premundane generation as the First-born (cf. Heb_1:5-6), which Bleek rightly regards as at least possible, cannot be determined.[55]

Ὡς ΚΑῚ ΜΩΫΣῆς] sc. πιστὸς ἦν τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν.

ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ] does not belong to ΠΙΣΤῸΝ ὌΝΤΑ Τῷ ΠΟΙΉΣΑΝΤΙ ΑὐΤΌΝ, in such wise that we have, with Calvin, Paulus, Bleek, Ebrard, and Hofmann, to enclose Ὡς ΚΑῚ ΜΩΫΣῆς within commas, but is to be comprehended with Ὡς ΚΑῚ ΜΩΫΣῆς (de Wette, Kurtz, and the majority). For not only, Num_12:7, do the words appended: ἘΝ ὍΛῼ Τῷ ΟἼΚῼ ΑὐΤΟῦ, stand in special relation to Moses,so that the author might very well derive from that place the same addition with the same special reference to Moses,but also the equal reference of ἘΝ ὍΛῼ Τῷ ΟἼΚῼ ΑὐΤΟῦ to Christ, as to Moses, would be unsuitable to the connection with that which follows, since the author, Heb_3:5 and Heb_3:6, definitely distinguishes the place occupied by Moses, as the position of a servant ἘΝ ὍΛῼ Τῷ ΟἼΚῼ, from the place occupied by Christ, as a position of ruler ἘΠῚ ΤῸΝ ΟἾΚΟΝ; and in harmony with this distinction, already Heb_3:3 characterizes Moses as merely a member of the ΟἾΚΟς itself; Christ, on the other hand, as the founder of the ΟἾΚΟς.

ΑὐΤΟῦ] refers neither to Christ (Bleek) nor to Moses (Oecumenius and others), but, as is also determined by the form of the expression with the LXX. (ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ μου), to God.

But the house of God is the people of God, or the kingdom of God; and ἐν denotes the province, in the administration of which the πιστὸν εἶναι was made manifest.

[55] That which Delitzsch urges against either possibility, namely, that although the man Jesus as such, so far as that which is essential in the notion of creation is the state of beginning in time, must be regarded as a creature, there could be no more unsuitable expressionbecause one almost unmeaningly colourless, or even indecorousfor the matchless and unique act of the formation of the humanity of the Son in the womb of Mary, than the term ποιεῖν, for the use of which, in this sense, no instances can on that very account be adduced; and that after the author has, Heb_1:2, employed ποιεῖν as expression of the pure idea of creation, he could surely not now have employed it of the sublimer genesis of the Mediator of the worlds creation, falls to pieces, because it rests upon mere subjectivity. For it is nothing more than a pronouncing upon the mind of the writer from the standpoint of the critics own ready-formed dogmatics.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Heb 3:2 . The characteristic, or particular, qualification of Jesus which is to hold their attention is His trustworthiness or fidelity. πιστὸν ὄντα might be rendered “as being faithful”. The fidelity here in view, though indirectly to men and encouraging them to trust, is directly to Him who made Him, sc ., Apostle and High Priest. τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν . The objection urged by Bleek, Lünemann and Alford that ποιεῖν can mean “appoint” only when followed by two accusatives is not valid. The second accusative may be understood; and in 1Sa 12:6 we find Κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὸν Μωυσῆν καὶ τὸν Ἀαρών , words which may have been in the writer’s mind. The Arian translation, “to Him that created Him,” is out of place. Appointment to office finds its correlative in faithfulness, creation scarcely suggests that idea. The fidelity of Jesus is illustrated not by incidents from His life nor by the crowning proof given in His death, nor is it argued from the admitted perfections of His character, but in accordance with the plan of the Epistle it is merely compared to that of Moses, and its superiority is implied in the superiority of the Son to the servant. He was faithful “as also Moses in all His house,” this being the crowning instance of fidelity testified to by God Himself, ὁ θεράπων μου Μωυσῆς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ μου πιστός εστι (Num 12:7 ), where the context throws the emphasis on ὅλῳ . “The ‘house of God’ is the organised society in which He dwells” (Westcott), cf. 1Ti 3:15 . Weiss says that the words ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ “necessarily belong” to πιστὸν ὄντα . This is questionable, because the writer’s point is that Jesus is faithful not “in” but “over” the house of God (Heb 3:6 ).

Heb 3:3 . The reason is now assigned why Jesus and His fidelity should eclipse in their consideration that of Moses. The reason is that “this man” ( οὗτος , “the person who is the subject of our consideration”) “has been and is deemed worthy of greater glory (‘amplioris gloriae,’ Vulg. πλείονος , qualitative as in Heb 11:4 ) than Moses, in proportion as he that built the house has more honour than the house.” The genitive follows the comparative πλείονα . The “greater glory” is seen in the more important place occupied by Him in the fulfilment of God’s purpose of salvation. This glory of Jesus is as much greater than that of Moses, as the cause is greater than the effect, the builder than the house. [The principle is stated by Philo ( De Plant. , c. 16. In Wendland’s ed., ii. 147) ὁ κτησάμενος τὸ κτῆμα τοῦ κτήματος ἀμείνων καὶ τὸ πεποιηκὸς τοῦ γεγονότος , and by Menander and other comic poets as quoted by Justin ( Apol. , i. 20) μείζονα τὸν δημιουργὸν τοῦ σκευαζομένου . Weiss, however, is of opinion that it is not a general principle that is being stated, but that τοῦ οἴκου refers directly to the house of God.] ὁ κατασκευάσας includes all that belongs to the completion of a house, from its inception and plan in the mind of the architect to its building and furnishing and filling with a household. Originally the word means to equip or furnish, κατασκευάζειν τὴν οἰκίαν τοῖς σκεύεσιν , Diog. L. Heb 3:14 . So συμπόσιον κατασ . Plato, Rep. , 363 C. σκεύεσιν ἰδίοις τὴν ναῦν κατεσκεύασα , Demosth., Polyc. , 1208. Thence, like our word “furnish” or “prepare,” it took the wider meaning of “making” or “building” or “providing”. Thus the shipbuilder κατασκ . the ship; the mason κατασ . the tower. So in Heb 11:7 κατεσκεύασε κιβωτόν , cf. 1Pe 3:20 . (Further, see Stephanus and Bleek). In the present verse it has its most comprehensive meaning, and includes the planning, building, and filling of the house with furniture and with a household. The household is more directly in view than the house. The argument involves that Jesus is identified with the builder of the house, while Moses is considered a part of the house. It is the Son (who in those last Days has spoken God’s word to men through the lips of Jesus), who in former times also fulfilled God’s purpose by building His house and creating for Him a people. And lest the readers of the epistle should object that Moses was as much the builder of the old as Jesus of the new, the writer lifts their mind from the management of the system or Church to the creation of it.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He confirmeth this exhortation with two reasons, first of all because Christ Jesus was appointed such an one of God: secondly, because he thoroughly executed the offices that his Father enjoined him.

Apostle and high Priest.

Now he cometh to the comparison with Moses, and he maketh them like one to the other in this, that they were both appointed rulers over God’s house, and executed faithfully their office: but by and by after he showeth that there is great unlikeness in that similitude.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

He first notes the feature of resemblance between Moses and Christ, in order to conciliate the Hebrew Christians whom He addressed, and who still entertained a very high opinion of Moses; he afterwards brings forward Christ's superiority to Moses.

Who was faithful--The Greek implies also that He still is faithful, namely, as our mediating High Priest, faithful to the trust God has assigned Him (Heb 2:17). So Moses in God's house (Num 12:7).

appointed him--"made Him" HIGH PRIEST; to be supplied from the preceding context. Greek, "made"; so in Heb 5:5; Sa1 12:6, Margin; Act 2:36; so the Greek fathers. Not as ALFORD, with AMBROSE and the Latins, "created Him," that is, as man, in His incarnation. The likeness of Moses to Messiah was foretold by Moses himself (Deu 18:15). Other prophets only explained Moses, who was in this respect superior to them; but Christ was like Moses, yet superior.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Who was faithful to him] In Nu 12:7, God gives this testimony to Moses: My servant Moses - is faithful in all my house; and to this testimony the apostle alludes. House not only means the place where a family dwells, but also the family itself. The whole congregation of Israel was the house or family of God, and God is represented as dwelling among them; and Moses was his steward, and was faithful in the discharge of his office; strictly enforcing the Divine rights; zealously maintaining God's honour; carefully delivering the mind and will of God to the people; proclaiming his promises, and denouncing his judgments, with the most inflexible integrity, though often at the risk of his life. Jesus Christ has his house - the whole great family of mankind, for all of whom he offered his sacrificial blood to God; and the Christian Church, which is especially his own household, is composed of his own children and servants, among and in whom he lives and constantly resides. He has been faithful to the trust reposed in him as the apostle of God; he has faithfully proclaimed the will of the Most High; vindicated the Divine honour against the corrupters of God's worship; testified against them at the continual hazard of his life; and, at last, not only died as a victim to cancel sin, but also as a martyr to his faithfulness. Christ's faithfulness, says Leigh, consists in this: "That he has as fully revealed unto us the doctrine of the Gospel, as Moses did that of the law; and that he hath faithfully performed and fulfilled all the types of himself and all the things signified by Moses' ceremonies, as Moses hath faithfully and distinctly set them down."

But there is a sense given to the word נאמן neeman, Nu 12:7, which we translate faithful, by several of the Jewish writers, which is well worthy of note: it signifies, say they, "one to whom secrets are confided, with the utmost confidence of their being safely and conscientiously kept." The secret of God was with Moses, but all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were in Christ. Life and immortality were comparatively secrets till Christ revealed and illustrated them, and even the Divine nature was but little known, and especially the Divine philanthropy, till Jesus Christ came; and it was Jesus alone who declared that GOD whom no man had ever seen. Moses received the secrets of God, and faithfully taught them to the people; Jesus revealed the whole will of God to mankind. Moses was thus faithful to a small part of mankind, viz. the Jewish people; but in this sense Jesus was faithful to all mankind: for he was the light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. Who was, or is faithful, etc. This is a commendation of the apostleship of Christ, in order that the faithful may securely acquiesce in him; and he commends it on two grounds, because the Father has set him to be over us as our teacher, and because Christ himself has faithfully performed the office committed to him. These two things are always necessary to secure authority to a doctrine; for God alone ought to be attended to, as the whole Scripture testifies; hence Christ declares, that the doctrine which he delivered was not his own, but the Father’s, (John 7:16;) and in another place he says, “He who received me, receiveth him who has sent me.” (Luke 9:48.) For we say of Christ, that as he is clothed with our flesh, he is the Father’s minister to execute his commands. To the calling of God is added the faithful and upright performance of duty on the part of Christ; and this is required in true ministers, in order that they may obtain credence in the Church. Since these two things are found in Christ, doubtless he cannot be disregarded without despising God in him.

As also Moses, etc. Omitting for a while the priesthood, he speaks here of his apostleship. For as there are two parts in God’s covenant, the promulgation of the truth, and so to speak, its real confirmation, the full perfection of the covenant would not appear in Christ, were not both parts found in him. Hence the writer of the epistle, after having mentioned both, roused attention by a brief exhortation. But he now enters on a longer discussion, and begins with the office of a teacher: he therefore now compares Christ only with Moses. The words, in all his house, may be applied to Moses; but I prefer to apply them to Christ, as he may be said to be faithful to his Father in ruling his whole house. It hence follows, that none belong to the Church of God except those who acknowledge Christ.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) Who was.—Rather, as being; or that He was. Not merely, fix your thought on Jesus; but also (and especially), think of Him as faithful to God (Heb_2:17).

Appointed him.—Literally, made Him, an expression which some ancient (Ambrose and other Latin fathers,—apparently also Athanasius) and many modern writers have understood as relating to the creation of the human nature of our Lord. It is probable, however, that 1Sa_12:6 is in the writer’s mind. “It is the Lord that made Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt.” As there Samuel speaks of the raising up of Moses and Aaron, constituted by God deliverers of the people; so here our thought must rest on Him who constituted Jesus “Apostle and High Priest.”

As also Moses.—These words, which give the key to the following verses, are quoted from Num_12:7, where Moses is placed in contrast with prophets in Israel to whom the Lord will make Himself known by vision or dream. “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth.” The “house” or household is God’s. people Israel. To others will God reveal Himself in various ways in regard to the many parts of the house, the many concerns of the household. Throughout the whole house Moses was the recipient of the divine commands, and was faithful—“faithful” (as one of the Targums paraphrases), “as chief of the chiefs of my court.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. who was faithful] Lit., “Being faithful,” i.e. as Cranmer excellently rendered it, “how that he is faithful.” The word is suggested by the following contrast between Christ and Moses, of whom it had been said “My servant Moses is not so, who was faithful in all mine house,” Num_12:7.

to him that appointed him] Lit., “to Him that made Him.” There can be little doubt that the expression means, as in the A.V. “to Him that made Him such,” i.e. made Him an Apostle and High Priest. For the phrase is doubtless suggested by 1Sa_12:6, where the LXX. has “He that made Moses and Aaron” (A.V. “advanced”); comp. Mar_3:14, “And He made (ἐποίησε) Twelve, that they should be with Him.” Act_2:36, “God made Him Lord and Christ.” The rendering “appointed” is therefore a perfectly faithful one. Still the peculiarity of the phrase was eagerly seized upon by Arians to prove that Christ was a created Being, and this was one of the causes which retarded the general acceptance of the Epistle. Yet even if “made” was not here used in the sense of “appointed” the Arians would have had no vantage ground; for the word might have been applied to the Incarnation (so Athanasius, and Primasius), though not (as Bleek and Lünemann take it) to the Eternal Generation of the Son. Theodoret and Chrysostom understood it as our Version does.

as also Moses … in all his house] Rather, “in all His (God’s) house,” Num_12:7. The house is God’s house or household, i.e. the theocratic family of which the Tabernacle was a symbol—“the house of God which is the Church of the living God,” 1Ti_3:15. The “faithfulness” of Moses consisted in teaching the Israelites all that God had commanded him (Deu_4:5) and himself “doing according to all that the Lord commanded him” (Exo_40:16).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who was faithful to him that appointed him,.... Or "made him"; Christ, as man, was made, but not as God; nor is the apostle speaking of the divine nature of Christ, but of his offices: wherefore this phrase designs the constitution and settlement of him in office; which may take in the eternal appointment of him as Mediator; the open promise of him in time; his mission, unction, and attestation from God; and his manifestation and declaration as such, at his ascension and session at God's right hand, when he was made Lord and Christ. Now, as Mediator, he had a trust reposed in him; as the persons of all God's elect, and a fulness of all grace for them; the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and eternal life and happiness; and also the glory of God in their salvation: which trust he has faithfully discharged as an apostle, and high priest; in a declaration of the whole will of God; in acknowledging it was his Father's doctrine he brought, and in seeking not his own, but his Father's glory; in redeeming and saving the persons committed to him; in distributing his grace to them; and in bringing them safe to glory; and in taking care of things pertaining to God:

as also Moses was faithful in all his house; the passage referred to is in Num 12:7 and which seems not so much to intend the fidelity of Moses in managing the affairs of God's house, as the largeness of the trust reposed in him, the dignity and honour conferred on him, and the power and authority he was invested with, in having the whole house of Israel committed to his care and charge, in which he exceeded all other prophets; and so the faithfulness of Christ is not so much to be understood of the discharge of his trust, as of the trust itself; and the sense is, that he was trusted much by God the Father, who constituted him Mediator, even as Moses was; and this sense best agrees with Heb 3:5. And De Dieu has observed, that the Hebrew word in Misnic writings (t), signifies, as it does, one that is trusted, or is fit to be trusted, as Christ and Moses were; though the former is much more worthy than the latter, as follows.

(t) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 3. sect. 2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

Ver. 2. As also Moses was faithful] And yet how unworthily handled by the author of the Marrow of Modern Divinity, that sly Antinomian, in various passages of his book, as might easily be instanced. How much better (herein at least) Bellarmine! Moses vir Deo longe acceptissimus, saith he, quo nihil habuit antiqua aetas mitius, satientius, sanctius: Moses a man highly accepted in heaven for his meekness, wisdom, holiness.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who was faithful - see the note, Heb 2:17. He performed with fidelity all the functions entrusted to him.

To him that appointed him - Margin, “made.” The word “made,” however, is used in the sense of constituted, or appointed. The meaning is, that he was faithful to God. Perhaps Paul urges on them the necessity of considering “his fidelity” in order to keep “them” from the danger of apostasy. A leading object of this Epistle was to preserve those whom he had addressed from apostatizing from God amidst the temptations and trials to which they were exposed. In doing this, what could be a more powerful argument than to direct their attention to the unwavering constancy and fidelity of the Lord Jesus? The “importance” of such a virtue in the Saviour is manifest. It is seen everywhere; and all the great interests of the world depend on it. A husband should maintain inviolate fidelity toward a wife, and a wife toward her husband; a child should be faithful to a parent, a clerk and apprentice to his employer, a lawyer to his client, a physician to his patient, an ambassador to the government that commissions him.

No matter what may be the temptations in the way, in all these, and in all other relations, there should be inviolate fidelity. The welfare of the world depended on the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus. Had he failed in that, all would have been lost. His fidelity was worthy of the more attentive consideration from the numerous temptations which beset his path, and the attempts which were made to turn him aside from his devotedness to God. Amidst all the temptations of the adversary, and all the trials through which he passed, he never for a moment swerved from fidelity to the great trust which had been committed to his hands. What better example to preserve them from the temptations to apostasy could the apostle propose to the Christians whom he addressed? What, in these temptations and trials, could be more appropriate than for them to consider the example of the great apostle and high priest of their profession? What more proper for us now in the trials and temptations of our lives, than to keep that great and glorious example continually before our eyes?

As also Moses was faithful - Fidelity to God was remarkable in Moses. In all the provocations and rebellions of the Jews, he was firm and unwavering. This is affirmed of him in Num 12:7, to which place the apostle here alludes, “My servant, Moses, is not so, who is faithful in all his house.” The word “house,” as applied to Moses, is used probably in the sense of “family,” as it often is, and refers to the “family” over which he presided - that is, the Jewish nation. The whole Jewish people were a “household,” or the family of God, and Moses was appointed to preside over it, and was faithful in the functions of his office there.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Faithful to him, &c. To be made, may apply to Christ as man; but here the sense is, who made him head over all his Church. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The Spirit enforceth the duty counselled on them from the fidelity of that grand gospel Minister in his offices; exemplified in a parallel with Moses, whom he did exceed.

Who was faithful to him that appointed him; he did most exactly perform all he was intrusted with, according to the intention and end of his commission. He did most faithfully reveal God, Joh 1:18, and his whole saving will, to whom God sent him, Joh 3:31-34; 5:34; Joh 8:28,38; as his great Prophet, Act 3:22. He as faithfully discharged the office of his priesthood in sacrificing himself to atone God for sinners, and as faithfully intercedes for all with him unto this day, and will do so for ever, with all truth and fidelity discharging his trust, Heb 7:24-28; 9:11,12,14,24,26. He was faithful in fulfilling all his types, and in changing and finishing all the ceremonial constitutions, and filling them up with gospel ones, according to God’s will revealed to him about it. He was true to his Father, who appointed and constituted him to these offices, and solemnly invested him in them; ποιησαντι here not signifying the making of a creature, but the making of an officer, the person existing before; he puts him into this special charge and office by anointing him for it, Act 2:36.

As also Moses was faithful in all his house: Moses was the Jewish mediator, and brought them the law moral, judicial, and ceremonial from God; as he was highly esteemed by them, so God testifieth of his fidelity. Christ was not only like to him in fidelity, but, as to both the truth and degree of it, exceeding him. Moses kept to his pattern shown him in the mount, and Christ fulfilled entirely his Father’s will, Joh 5:30; 6:38, and is preferred to him. Moses was so in the whole church of Israel, set out by this metaphor of a house; but Christ ill all God’s house and family both in heaven and in earth; not the least thing that concerned the family, but Christ fulfilled; not the meanest person in it, but he careth for and saveth.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Who was faithful (or, as being faithful) to him that appointed (literally, made) him, as also Moses was in all his house. The reference is to what was said of Moses, (Num_12:7) "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house," and serves aptly to introduce the intended comparison of Christ with him. In respect of faithfulness to him who constituted him in his office, Christ resembles Moses; in respect to his office itself, it is to be shown that he is far above him. Observe

(1) that "his house" means God"s house, as" is plain from the text cited, i.e. the house of him who appointed him;

(2) that "in all his house" has reference to Moses only, not to Christ; for the main point of what follows is that Christ is over God"s house, not in it, as Moses was. As to the verb poihsanta (translated in A.V "appointed"), it may have been suggested by 1Sa_12:6, where the LXX reads Kuriov o poihsav to ton , the Hebrew verb being hc, which seems to mean in this case "constitute," not "create" (so Gesenius). The preceding words, apostolon kai arcierea , though it is not necessary to supply them as understood, may be taken here to rule the meaning of poihsanti (cf. for a similar use of the verb without a second accusative following, Mar_3:14, kai epoihse dwdeka . Thus the Arian inference from the word, that Christ is represented as a creature, is groundless. Nor need reference be supposed to his human birth or conception, the temporalis generatio of the man Jesus (Athanasius, Ambrose, and other Fathers). Certainly not to his eternal generation (as Bleek and Lunemann); such reference is foreign to the idea of the passage; nor could the word poiein with any propriety be so used.

Vers. 2-6. Christ greater than Moses.

It was a delicate thing to utter such a thought even to many of the Jews who had embraced Christianity, for the whole Hebrew nation guarded with intense jealousy the name and fame of Moses. But the writer acknowledges to the full the lofty dignity and splendid services of the ancient lawgiver, and then proceeds to show that Jesus Christ has been counted worthy of still greater honor.

I CHRIST"S SIMILARITY TO MOSES. (Ver. 2.) The very fact of a comparison being instituted between Jesus and Moses reminds us of Moses" greatness. Moses had a romantic personal history; his character was adorned with the grandest gifts of grace and genius; and he accomplished an illustrious life-work. He was a type of Christ both in character and career. The Jews venerated him almost to idolatry as their deliverer, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and advocate with God. Now, Christ was "a Prophet like unto Moses". (Deu_18:15) He is the Moses of the New Testament. Ver. 2 suggests points of resemblance between the two.

1. Each introduced a new dispensation. "The Law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The Jews were "baptized unto Moses;" Christians are "baptized into Christ." The writings of Moses are to the Old Testament Scriptures what the granite formation is to the other strata of the earth"s crust; so the written life of Christ is the foundation of New Testament Scripture.

2. Each was divinely commissioned and supported in his work. Moses, with his marvelous gifts, was raised up and trained and called by Providence to his life-task; and so was Jesus. Moses enjoyed peculiarly intimate intercourse with God, for "the Lord knew him face to face;" and so did Jesus.

3. Each was divinely recognized as faithful. " Fidelity to duty is the crown and flower of character. "My servant Moses is faithful in all mine house". (Num_12:7) "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him". (Mat_17:5)

II CHRIST"S SUPERIORITY TO MOSES. (Vers. 3-6.) It was right that the memory of the lawgiver should be cherished with profound veneration; but, behold, a greater than Moses is here. Jesus has merited still larger honor.

1. Christ is the "Builder" of the Church; Moses was only one of the stones in it. (Vers. 3, 4.) The Son of God, "through whom also he made the ages", (Heb_1:2) is the real Founder of every dispensation of religion. He redeemed the Old Testament Church, not less than the New, with his blood, and caused it to grow by his Spirit. Moses only introduced the Hebrew economy; it was God in Christ who founded it. Moses was a constituent member of the Jewish Church, i.e. a ransomed sinner, saved by grace like other men; a "living stone" built into the spiritual house by Christ the Master Builder.

2. Christ is a Son" set over God"s house; " Moses was only a servant" within it. (Vers. 5, 6.) Moses ministered in the Church as a confidential house-steward, or honored upper-servant; but Christ entered it as its Master, to preside over it by virtue of his Divine sonship. The author has already expatiated on this theme in Hebrews 1.; and surely Jesus, the Apostle of Christianity, is more renowned than Moses, seeing that he is the very Image of God, and. the Lord of all the angels.

3. Christ is the incarnate Word of God; Moses was only his forerunner. (Ver. 5.) Moses bore testimony" to "those things which were afterward to be spoken to the new and final revelation to be made at last, when God should speak "in his Son". (Heb_1:2) "Moses was the harbinger, Christ the illustrious Prince himself; the revelations of Moses were the faint twilight of the morning, those of Christ the full splendor of noonday; the institutions of Moses were the scaffolding, those of Christ the finished fabric of religious truth" (Lindsay).

CLOSING PRACTICAL REFLECTION. (Ver. 6.) If we remain perseveringly steadfast in our gospel faith, and joyful in our spiritual hope, we have therein the evidence that we ourselves belong to God"s house, the Church.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His house - The church of Israel, then the peculiar family of God. Num. xii, 7.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Because the Jews had generally too high an opinion of Moses, our apostle here enters upon a comparison between Christ and Moses, thus, "As Moses was faithful, so was Christ in declaring the will, the whole will, of God unto his church. Was Moses universally faithful, faithful in all his house; so did the faithfulness of Christ extend itself to all the church. Did Moses do everything according to the institution and appointment of God; so was Christ faithful to him that appointed him, doing all that in and for the church which God had commanded him, and nothing else."

Learn hence, That the worship of God in his household and family, the church, is, for the substance of it, no less perfectly and completely ordered and ordained by our Lord Jesus Christ, now under the gospel, than it was by Moses of old under the law; I say, as to the substance of it, not as to every particular circumstance.

As, for example, the manner of celebrating the passover in every minute circumstance of it is set down by Moses, how it must be killed, and how eaten; but Christ has not set down by Moses, how it must be killed, and how eaten; but Christ has not set down so for the sacrament.

A general command we have to do this in remembrance of him; but neither the time when, nor place where, nor gesture in which, is particularly and expressly mentioned. The gospel, which teaches us a more spiritual way of serving God, is not so particular in the circumstantials of worship as the law was; and yet Christ was faithful to him that appointed him, as Moses was faithful in all his house.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Christ is perfect man and perfect God. The man Jesus was created by the Almighty like all other creatures. The God Christ, uncreated, existed from all eternity.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Who was faithful. As Moses was faithful to his trust, so has Christ been. In all his house. The house of Israel, the nation, the congregation of God. Israel, a type of the church, is spoken of under the figure of a building. In Numbers 12:6–8, it is declared that Moses was faithful in his house.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2. πιστὸν ὄντα, “being faithful,” i.e. as Cranmer excellently rendered it, “how that He is faithful.” The word is suggested by the following contrast between Christ and Moses, of whom it had been said “My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house,” Num 12:7.

τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτόν, “to Him that made Him” (Heb. עָשָׂה). There can be little doubt that the expression means, as in the A. V., “to Him that appointed Him,” “made Him such,” i.e. made Him an Apostle and High Priest. For the phrase is doubtless suggested by 1Sa 12:6, where the LXX. has “He that made Moses and Aaron” (A. V. “advanced”); comp. Mar 3:14, “And He made (ἐποίησε) Twelve, that they should be with Him.” Act 2:36, “God made Him Lord and Christ.” The rendering “appointed” is therefore a perfectly faithful one. Still the peculiarity of the phrase was eagerly seized upon by Arians to prove that Christ was a created Being, and this was one of the causes which retarded the general acceptance of the Epistle. Yet even if “made” was not here used in the sense of “appointed” the Arians would have no vantage ground; for the word might have been applied to the Incarnation (so Athanasius, and Primasius), though not (as Bleek and Lünemann take it) to the Eternal Generation of the Son. Theodoret and Chrysostom understood it as our Version does. It may be noticed that the LXX. have ἔκτισέ με in Pro 8:22 (of Wisdom), and that the Fathers perplexed by this, as they referred it to the Christ, argued that the verb was used of His human nature.

ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, “in all His (God’s) house,” Num 12:7. The house is God’s house or household, i.e. the theocratic family of which the Tabernacle was a symbol—“the house of God which is the Church of the living God,” 1Ti 3:15. The “faithfulness” of Moses consisted in teaching the Israelites all that God had commanded him (Deu 4:5) and himself “doing according to all that the Lord commanded him” (Exo 40:16).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2.] First, a point of likeness between our Lord and Moses is brought out, and that by a reference to an O. T. declaration respecting the latter (μέλλει προϊὼν τὸν κατὰ σάρκα χριστὸν προτιθέναι Μωυσέως. ἀλλʼ ἐπειδή, εἰ καὶ πιστοὶ ἦσαν οὗτοι πρὸς οὓς ὁ λόγος, μεγάλας ἔτι δόξας εἶχον περὶ Μωυσέως, ἵνα μὴ εὐθέως ἀποφράξωσιν αὐτῶν τὰ ὦτα, οὐκ εὐθέως προτίθησι Μωυσέως τὸν χριστόν, ἀλλὰ τέως ἐξισοῖ· εἶτα προϊὼν προτίθησιν Œc.), who is (not, ‘was.’ The present participle may always be contemporary with a previously expressed verb, of any tense, provided that verb be absolutely in construction with the participle, as ἀνέβλεψε τυφλὸς ὤν, “he, being blind, received sight” = he was blind and received sight. But a present participle standing absolutely, or with a present verb, must retain its present force; as τυφλὸς ὢν ἄρτι βλέπω, “I, being a blind man, now see,” = ‘whereas I am (by infirmity, as every one knows, not, “whereas I was,” as in E. V. in loco, Joh 9:25) blind, now I see.’ And so the present sense must be retained here. Then a question arises: are we to understand it strictly of present time, of Christ now in heaven,—or as in the case cited, of general designation? Clearly, I think, of the latter: Jesus, whose character it is, that He is πιστός. For the strict present would, to say nothing of other objections, not apply to the ἀπόστολον portion of the Lord’s office, but only to the ἀρχιερέα. It, as Lünemann has well expressed it, charakterisirt das Treusein als inhärirende Eigenschaft) faithful (it is questioned, whether or not this word refers back to the πιστὸς ἀρχιερεύς of ch. 2:18. The sense is certainly not the same: the faithfulness there being the fidelity wherewith He being like His brethren would, so to speak, reproduce their wants before God,—that here spoken of being His faithfulness to God, over whose house He is set, ver.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who was faithful [πιστον οντα] . Rend. "is faithful." A general designation of inherent character. He is faithful as he ever was. To him that appointed him [τω ποιησαντι αυτον] . Constituted him apostle and high priest. Some render created, referring to Christ 's humanity or to his eternal generation. So the Old Latin, creatori suo; but this does not suit the context. Poiein often in Class. in the sense of institute, as sacrifices, funerals, assemblies, etc., and in the middle voice of adoption as a son. See 1Sa 12:6; Mr 3:14; Act 2:36. As also Moses [ως και μωυσης] . The highest example of human fidelity known to the readers.

In all his house [εν ολω τω οικω αυτου] . Const. with was faithful. Jesus was faithful even as Moses was faithful.

The subject of the high - priesthood of Christ, introduced in this verse, is not carried out in detail by showing the superiority of Jesus to earthly high priests. This is reserved for chs. 5 - 7. Instead, the writer proceeds to show that Christ is superior to Moses, as he has already shown his superiority to angels. He will thus have shown Christ 's superiority to both the agencies by which the old covenant was mediated. The subject is a delicate one to treat for Jewish readers to whom Moses was the object of the deepest veneration; but the treatment displays tact by placing Moses in the foreground beside Christ as an example of fidelity to his commission. Justice is thus done to the familiar historical record, and to God 's own testimony, Num 12:7. The general sense of the comparison is that Moses was as faithful as any servant in a house can be, while Christ was not a servant in the house, but a son, and displayed his fidelity in that capacity.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. πιστὸν ὄντα τῷ ποιήσ. av.) faithJui in His perfect humanity to Him who appointed Him to His authori-

εἷς καὶ Muycfc én [ὅλῳ] τῷ οἴκῳ δύτοτ.

tative and mediatorial office. Comp. 1 Cor. fv. 2.

τῷ ποιήσαντι) Old Lat. creatori suo (qut creavit cum). Vulg. οἱ qut fecit tiem. The phrase is capable of two distinct interpretations. It may be understood (1) of the Lord’s humanity, or (2) of tho Lord’s offico.

The language of i. 3 absolutely excludcs tho idoa that the writor spenks of Christ Ilimsclf personally as ποίημα, OF κτίσμα.

In favour of tho first view it is urged that the phrase is commonly usod of the Creator in roforonce to xeiv. (xcv.) 6; Pa exiix. 2.

And the fathers constantly speak of the Lord's humanity in theee terms, as, for examplo, Athanasius de sent. Dion. (i. p. 496 Migne), though he appears to interpret this passage of the Lord’s office as well as of His humanity: c. Ar. ii. 7.

In iteclf thie interpretation is admissible, but such a reference to the Lord’s human nature apart from ITis office secms to be out of place.

It is botter therefore to adopt the socond interpretation and refer the ‘making’ to the Lord’s office: ‘who invested Him with His office, who appointed Him, who made Him Apostic and [igh Pricst’ comp. Acts ii. 36). This sense is porfectly natural (comp. 1 Sam. xii. 6; Mark iif. 14).

τουτέστιν ἀπόστολον καὶ ἀρχιερέα"... ποίησιν δὲ οὐ τὴν δημιουργίαν ἀλλὰ τὴν χειροτονίαν κέκληκε. And Chrysosοὐδὲ περὶ τῆς θεότητος, ἀλλὰ τέως περὶ ἀξιωμάτων ἀνθρωπίνων.

Primasins refers the word to the Lord’s humanity, being led astray by the Latin rendering of Rom. i. 3: qui Socit illum, juxta quod alibi dicitur

A 4 SerXelovos ‘yap οὗτος

qué factus est ei ex semine David secundum carnem.

ds καὶ Μωυσῇ.) The former discussion has the way for this comparison of ‘ Jesus’ with the founder of the Old Theocracy.

ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ οἴκῳ] The point of comparison lies in tho fact that Moses and Christ were both engaged, not as othor divine mossengors with a part, but with the whole of the divine economy. The prophets dealt severally with this or that aspect of Truth, — the Kings with another region of life, tho Pricsts with anothor. But Moses and Christ dealt with ‘the whole house of God.’

The words, taken from Num. xii. 7, may go either with ‘Moses’ or with ‘Josus. In cither case the sonse is the same. Perhaps the reference of avrov to God, and the emphasis which is naturally laid on the fact that the office of Christ was as wide as that of Moses, favours the connexion of the words with ‘ Jesus.’ |

In their original reference to Moscs tho words were much discussed by Rabbinical writers, who found various deeper meanings in gar ( faithful), as one who could speak with authority, to whom the secrets of the Lord were entrusted. Comp. Philo, Leg. Alleg. ili. § 72 (i. 128 M.); 8 8: (i. 132 M.).

For the perfect faithfulness of Moecs in his work seo Ex. xi. 16, The nobility of his service is recognised when that of Christ is set above it. Comp. r Clem. xvii. 5.

τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ] His house, i.e. the house of God, not of Christ or of Moses. This is decided in the original context: The Lord...said...My sercant Moees...i2 faithful in all Mine house, where the Targums give the sense rightly ‘in all My people.’ The familiarity of the words left no room for misunderstanding to a Jew.

έφηνεν (Chrys.).

Some have referred ὁ κατασκενάσας to Christ, as the real Founder of that Kingdom of God of which the Jewish economy was ushadow. This thought is completely in harmony with the argument of the Epiatlo, but it is not directly expressed elaowbere. And on this interprotation Ὁ. 4 must be taken as a parenthetical remark designed to guard the sovereign authorship of God in all things and His part in the ordering of the Law, a view which appears to be unsatisfactory. The compressed suggesativoness of the argument is not unlike John viii. 31—

ὁ κατασκενάσαςἾ he that established, Vulg. gut fabricavit. The word (κατασκευάζειν) expresses more than the moro construction of tho house. It includes the supply of all necessary furniture and equipment. Comp. c. ix. 2,6; xi. 7; Num. xxi. 27.

Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901), The Epistle to the Hebrews (1889) and The Epistles of St John (1883) — public domain (pre-1929). Text recovered from Internet Archive / Google Books OCR scans. Westcott’s Gospel of John commentary is not included (its OCR lost the chapter running-heads required for reliable verse-keying). Some Greek quoted in the Hebrews volume is imperfectly rendered by the OCR.