Thursday, June 11, 2020

Pictures of Truth

 
Thursday, June 11, 2020
Hebrews 3:1-5

And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest.  For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.  But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself.  For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.  Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant.  His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.  But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house.  And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.  

As God’s “undershepherd”, Moses was in charge of faithfully leading the flock to follow Yahweh’s direction…and that was always (and still is) pointed in the direction of home…to the Father.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that whatever leadership Moses exhibited as he shepherded the Israelites away from bondage in Egypt, and to the brink of the Promised Land was illustration of the truths God would reveal later. 
Whenever you look at a leader and make a judgment call as to how well he or she did, you focus on what is accomplished.  But, you also (should) want to know how it was done.  It’s that old saying about how you played the game that counts.  In the Kingdom of God it is entirely about “how”.  Consider:
·       In 2 Samuel 6:6-7 we see Uzzah near the ark of the covenant; he reached out to keep it from toppling over as it was being carried; Uzzah was immediately executed by God’s power.  He thought to accomplish something worthy, but he disobeyed in how by touching what God had said was too holy to handle.
·       In 1 Samuel 13 King Saul ignored God’s instructions to wait for Samuel to offer the sacrifice before battle.  Saul sealed his loss of the kingdom by dishonoring the how of serving God in favor of the what he wanted to accomplish.
If you pay attention to how Jesus accomplished what He did, you see why the Hebrews text says Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses.  For instance, in the wilderness temptations Satan offered Jesus power, might, and glory if he would just acknowledge Satan’s power.  Jesus didn’t blink; He told the devil to get lost! 
Moses’ faithfulness as a leader was only illustrative of the faithfulness of Christ, in the same way a road sign that points to the destination is never the destination itself; it merely shows you how to move in the right direction.  And, if you’ve read the sign, understood the sign’s meaning, and judged it to be true, but you never take the first step afterward…you’re no closer to the destination than a baby eagle flying, if he is too frightened or lazy to peck his way out of the shell his mother is sitting on.
Pictures are good.  Ever since the advent of the digitized world, we all take a lot more of them…a whole lot more!  The best pictures are high resolution, vibrant colors, and interesting subjects.  Moses was a pretty good picture of leadership that pointed to the truth of God’s best.  Jesus is the best, most complete picture of God’s beauty and holiness. 
Let’s Pray Together:

Father, thank you for the holy pictures we see in the Scriptures of how you are to be worshipped and served.  May our steps in this world not just accomplish what you desire – may we accomplish your will with the kinds of steps that honor how you would be served and worshipped.

For You Today
The signs you’ve seen in Scripture point to your journey with Christ; the kinds of steps you take, the how along with the what.  How’s that journey working for you?  Or did you forget to take that first step.  If you’ve still got one more breath left in you, it’s not too late to start.
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!       
Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For another post on Hebrews 3 see Think Carefully  

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