Introduction. The great men and women in the Scriptures all shared a single quality - an attribute exemplified by Jesus Christ, and to a lesser, but more attainable degree, by Moses. “Christ Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.” (Heb. 3:1-3). It is important to grasp exactly what is being said here so we too can attain it.
Both Moses and Jesus were commissioned by God to build something for Him. Moses built the tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices, feast days and laws of the first covenant. Everything God had planned was built by Moses. This quality of faithfulness was based on: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.” (Pr. 3:5). God’s wisdom, foresight, and power needed no help from anyone and Moses knew it. “Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle…” to be certain to “make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” (Heb. 8:5). Because Moses never leaned on his own understanding, but perfectly fulfilled exactly what God asked for, He was “faithful in all His house.” Whatever God told Moses to do was done exactly as God commanded.
Jesus was also commissioned by God to build. He said: “I will build My church.” (Mt. 16:18). He too had no intention of adding anything: “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Jn. 6:38; 5:30; Heb 10:7). Jesus knew that only if He did exactly what God wanted would “the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church.” (Eph. 3:10). God gave both Moses and Jesus the blueprints for His house and they both built it exactly as God had revealed
Both Moses and Jesus were commissioned by God to build something for Him. Moses built the tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices, feast days and laws of the first covenant. Everything God had planned was built by Moses. This quality of faithfulness was based on: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.” (Pr. 3:5). God’s wisdom, foresight, and power needed no help from anyone and Moses knew it. “Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle…” to be certain to “make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” (Heb. 8:5). Because Moses never leaned on his own understanding, but perfectly fulfilled exactly what God asked for, He was “faithful in all His house.” Whatever God told Moses to do was done exactly as God commanded.
Jesus was also commissioned by God to build. He said: “I will build My church.” (Mt. 16:18). He too had no intention of adding anything: “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (Jn. 6:38; 5:30; Heb 10:7). Jesus knew that only if He did exactly what God wanted would “the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church.” (Eph. 3:10). God gave both Moses and Jesus the blueprints for His house and they both built it exactly as God had revealed
This is the common theme that ties all of God’s faithful together. It is revealed in many different ways, but the result was always the same. Those who set aside their own thoughts, will and wisdom to do exactly what God revealed were always considered the faithful, while those who placed their own will and wisdom above God’s even in the slightest degree were unfaithful. Thus Noah was faithful because when God gave him the blueprints for the ark: “Noah did according to all that the Lord commanded him. (Gen 7:5). He had nothing to add. God knew the forces of the flood and the needs of all the animals while Noah did not.
It is all based on one central conviction. All of God’s commands are “for our good always,” (Deut. 6:2) and “His commands are not burdensome.” (1Jn. 5:3). Why would anyone who trusted God with all his heart, knowing that God has our success and best interests at heart, ever set aside or want to change any of His commands? From the very beginning in the garden of Eden, it was revealed that God was on our side, wanting us to succeed and be blessed. Every time someone thought they could improve on God’s command in any way, it failed and they were cast away unless they repented.
God made this very clear as He worked with the first two kings of Israel. Saul was unfaithful because he did not truly trust and respect God. God had good reasons for allowing only Aaron’s sons to offer sacrifices to Him. It had been an established practice for hundreds of years, yet for his own personal reasons, King Saul felt no concern to set it all aside and do it his own way. God made His disappointment clear: “the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue.” (1 Sam. 13:13-14) Yet he learned nothing! When God later sent him to punish Amalek for the evil they had done to Israel, only God knew the full extent of the crime they had committed and the punishment that exactly fit that crime. He specifically laid out exactly what He wanted and Saul again manifested a lack of respect by putting his own interests first. Once again God made His feelings known: “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." (1Sam. 15:1-23).
When God chose Saul’s successor, He revealed exactly what He sought. “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart.” God wanted someone like Moses and Jesus, who would do only His own will. Centuries later, God revealed exactly what David had done. First, He said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” God knew that at every crossroad, unlike Saul, David would always put God’s will above His own. Second, David “served the purpose of God in his own generation.” Everything God wanted done, David would do after God’s own heart. First, he would carefully seek to understand exactly what God wanted and then he would do it to the very best of his ability. (Acts 13:22, 36). Unlike Saul, God could trust David. He would never set aside God’s commands to do His own will.
This brings up an important question. What about the sins that were recorded about them? David did sin grievously with Bathsheba, Moses struck the rock when told to speak to it, and Noah drank himself into a drunken stupor. Truly, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23). How then are Moses or David any different from the rest? The answer is simple, and centers on the terms repentance and confession. The goal of the faithful was to keep God’s commands to the best of their ability. Only in moments of weakness did they fall short of this. But when they come to their right mind again, they always repented (changed their mind and conduct) and confessed (freely admitted that God was right all along, and what they had done was evil and wrong). This is the critical difference. While some continued to enjoy the fruits of their sin without repentance and confession, the faithful always repented, confessed and turned back.
Conclusion. With this as a scale upon which to measure ourselves, how do we see ourselves? More importantly, how does God see us? Are we like Moses and David, faithful in building, men and women after God’s own heart, serving God’s purpose and counsel in our own generation as they did in theirs? The churches today must follow the pattern of Jesus’ commands just as Moses followed God’s commands. The finished product must look exactly as God envisioned it and not as we might want it to be. Our code of conduct is revealed in the Scriptures. Only when our lives reflect God’s plan are we seen as being faithful. The church we attend must be built according to the pattern found in God’s word. On the day of judgment will God be able to say of us, “I found ____ to be after my own heart doing all My will?” Are we truly “serving the purpose of God in our own generation” or are we at critical moments modifying the Scriptures to our own ends? Jesus was faithful in all His house and He expected His disciples to be just like Him.
It is all based on one central conviction. All of God’s commands are “for our good always,” (Deut. 6:2) and “His commands are not burdensome.” (1Jn. 5:3). Why would anyone who trusted God with all his heart, knowing that God has our success and best interests at heart, ever set aside or want to change any of His commands? From the very beginning in the garden of Eden, it was revealed that God was on our side, wanting us to succeed and be blessed. Every time someone thought they could improve on God’s command in any way, it failed and they were cast away unless they repented.
God made this very clear as He worked with the first two kings of Israel. Saul was unfaithful because he did not truly trust and respect God. God had good reasons for allowing only Aaron’s sons to offer sacrifices to Him. It had been an established practice for hundreds of years, yet for his own personal reasons, King Saul felt no concern to set it all aside and do it his own way. God made His disappointment clear: “the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue.” (1 Sam. 13:13-14) Yet he learned nothing! When God later sent him to punish Amalek for the evil they had done to Israel, only God knew the full extent of the crime they had committed and the punishment that exactly fit that crime. He specifically laid out exactly what He wanted and Saul again manifested a lack of respect by putting his own interests first. Once again God made His feelings known: “I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments." (1Sam. 15:1-23).
When God chose Saul’s successor, He revealed exactly what He sought. “The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart.” God wanted someone like Moses and Jesus, who would do only His own will. Centuries later, God revealed exactly what David had done. First, He said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” God knew that at every crossroad, unlike Saul, David would always put God’s will above His own. Second, David “served the purpose of God in his own generation.” Everything God wanted done, David would do after God’s own heart. First, he would carefully seek to understand exactly what God wanted and then he would do it to the very best of his ability. (Acts 13:22, 36). Unlike Saul, God could trust David. He would never set aside God’s commands to do His own will.
This brings up an important question. What about the sins that were recorded about them? David did sin grievously with Bathsheba, Moses struck the rock when told to speak to it, and Noah drank himself into a drunken stupor. Truly, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23). How then are Moses or David any different from the rest? The answer is simple, and centers on the terms repentance and confession. The goal of the faithful was to keep God’s commands to the best of their ability. Only in moments of weakness did they fall short of this. But when they come to their right mind again, they always repented (changed their mind and conduct) and confessed (freely admitted that God was right all along, and what they had done was evil and wrong). This is the critical difference. While some continued to enjoy the fruits of their sin without repentance and confession, the faithful always repented, confessed and turned back.
Conclusion. With this as a scale upon which to measure ourselves, how do we see ourselves? More importantly, how does God see us? Are we like Moses and David, faithful in building, men and women after God’s own heart, serving God’s purpose and counsel in our own generation as they did in theirs? The churches today must follow the pattern of Jesus’ commands just as Moses followed God’s commands. The finished product must look exactly as God envisioned it and not as we might want it to be. Our code of conduct is revealed in the Scriptures. Only when our lives reflect God’s plan are we seen as being faithful. The church we attend must be built according to the pattern found in God’s word. On the day of judgment will God be able to say of us, “I found ____ to be after my own heart doing all My will?” Are we truly “serving the purpose of God in our own generation” or are we at critical moments modifying the Scriptures to our own ends? Jesus was faithful in all His house and He expected His disciples to be just like Him.
- For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. (2Cor. 10:18)