“For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God” (Hebrews 3:3-4).
While we typically associate the word “house” with a residential dwelling place, the Biblical Scriptures often use this word to describe an individual family unit. Perhaps the most famous use of the word “house” in this context appears in the Old Testament book of Joshua: “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Israel’s king David used this word in the same way as he discussed his ascension to the monarchy in 2 Samuel 6:21.
The New Testament also employs the word “house” as a means of identifying the church as a family unit. We can find one such example in the book of 1 Timothy: “…I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15).
God’s relationship with the nation of Israel is described in a similar manner here in verses three through six. As we progress through this portion of Hebrews, we’ll find that faithfulness served as a common denominator in the lives of Moses and Jesus. However, Hebrews 3:3-4 establishes an important difference that sets them apart from one another: Moses was a faithful member of God’s house, but Jesus constructed that house.
As great as Moses was, he would never be greater than the builder of the house in which he served. One author summarizes this idea and its implication…
“But now, having prepared the ground, the writer comes out boldly with the assertion that Messiah was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, on the basis of and measured by the principle that the one who builds a house has more honor than the house. Messiah built the house of Israel. Moses is a member of that house.
Since Messiah has more honor than the house of Israel, it follows that He is worthy of more honor than Moses, for Moses is a member of the house of Israel. Since Messiah is better than Moses, the Testament which He inaugurated must be better than the one Moses was instrumental in bringing in, and for the reason that a superior workman turns out a superior product.” (1)
(1) Kenneth S. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament [note on Hebrews 3:3] Copyright © 1942-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.