the Fourth Week of Advent
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Read the Bible
Contemporary English Version
Hebrews 3
Jesus Is Greater than Moses
1 My friends, God has chosen you to be his holy people. So think about Jesus, the one we call our apostle and high priest! 2 Jesus was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in serving all of[a] God's people. 3 But Jesus deserves more honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house deserves more honor than the house. 4 Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything.
5 Moses was a faithful servant and told God's people what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is the Son in charge of God's people. And we are those people, if we keep on being brave and don't lose hope.
A Rest for God's People
7 It is just as the Holy Spirit says,
"If you hear God's voice today,
8 don't be stubborn!
Don't rebel like those people
who were tested
in the desert.
9 For forty years your ancestors
tested God
and saw
the things he did.
10 "Then God got tired of them
and said,
‘You people never
show good sense,
and you don't understand
what I want you to do.'
11 God became angry
and told the people,
‘You will never enter
my place of rest!'"
12 My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let's hold tightly to our faith until the end. 15 The Scriptures say,
"If you hear his voice today,
don't be stubborn
like those who rebelled."
16 Who were those people that heard God's voice and rebelled? Weren't they the same ones that came out of Egypt with Moses? 17 Who were the people that made God angry for forty years? Weren't they the ones that sinned and died in the desert? 18 And who did God say would never enter his place of rest? Weren't they the ones that disobeyed him? 19 We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith.
