Hebrews 11:23-31 - By Faith Part 3 - Moses, Joshua, and Rahab
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Each of us has likely found ourselves at a crossroads at one point or another. Though we know the truth, we start to experience some pushback to it from those around us. The culture around us stands in stark contrast when compared to the values we know to be true through the Word of God. Even friends may even mock our convictions.
When standing at this crossroads, our situation brings us to the following questions that we must all ask ourselves…
Is it really worth it to keep moving forward? Wouldn’t it be easier to just quit going against the flow?
In these moments, our decision isn’t usually a knowledge problem. We know the Word of God. We know that Jesus is fully God, that He died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later. We know his commands in the Scriptures.
But when we arrive at the crossroads of knowledge and faith, we know that courage and action are necessary.
It isn’t enough just to know the right theology… we must believe and follow Jesus Christ.
This great chapter has been a picture of faith in action so far. And today’s Scripture is no less action-packed. We have discussed Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Issac, Jacob and even Joseph. This week, the author moves forward to discussing Moses along with his parents, Joshua, and Rahab. The accounts addressed today can be found in the books of Exodus and Joshua.
I pray that as we go through this great book of Hebrews, you are reminded of the importance of the Old Testament. We have much we can learn from these great pillars of faith.
With that said, join me as we turn to Hebrews 11:23-31 and read through our Scripture for today…
Read Full Scripture:
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Prayer
Today we will see three ways in which we must follow the Lord. The first is…
I. In Following the Lord, You Must Exercise Great Courage (23)
I. In Following the Lord, You Must Exercise Great Courage (23)
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
This initial ‘by faith’ actually refers to Moses’s parents.
Exodus 1:22 tells us of the king’s edict…
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”
Amram and Jochebed, Moses’s parents as seen in Exodus 6:20, had a difficult decision to make.
Listen to Exodus 2:2-4 as we see their situation and their action…
The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.
Instead of allowing her child to be thrown into the Nile, she hid the child - risking her life for three months. And then she placed the child in a basket. She had noticed something special about this child. Hebrews 11:23 tells us that the child was beautiful, and we are told in Exodus 2 that the child was a fine child. We don’t know what made him stand out to his parents, but they understood that there was a significant call on his life. Perhaps they were aware of this from an angelic messenger or even a dream or vision. We do not know and are not told how they knew he was special. But what we do know is that they understood that there was a special plan of God for this child.
After placing the child in the basket and watching it from afar, Moses’s sister saw that Pharoah’s daughter found the basket and decided to adopt the child.
And as God would have it, Jochebed was chosen to nurse the child - her own child - on behalf of Pharoah’s daughter.
And during this time of raising young Moses, she and her husband were able to instill the teachings of God to him. They were able to tell him about Yahweh choosing Abraham. They were able to tell him about the promised blessings to Israel. Though a young boy when he would have gone back to Pharoah’s daughter, it is likely that he still had some contact with his biological family. Either way, they had made a great impact on him. So much so that at 40, as we will see later, he chose to identify with the Hebrews instead of the Egyptians.
We can learn a lot from Moses’s parents here.
The Scriptures clearly teach us that we are to obey the laws of our land (see Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:13-14). However, when the law is evil and against the Word of God, we are to obey God rather than man.
Listen to Acts 5:29:
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.
When they are disciplined for sharing the Gospel and commanded not to share any longer, Peter and the apostles respond through civil disobedience (Acts 5:29).
The commands of God are what matters above anything else.
This commendation of Moses’s parents brings to mind the homeschool movement of the 20th century. Most of you know that homeschooling is near and dear to my heart. But what many of you might not know is that homeschooling wasn’t fully legalized in all 50 states until 1992. Due to compulsory education laws that were passed in the early 1900’s, homeschooling was deemed illegal throughout the United States.
There were many parents during the 20th century who broke the law by homeschooling their children. They faced legal threats and hurdles. They faced CPS investigations. Some were even incarcerated. In fact, Israel Wayne, a friend of mine who is a homeschool advocate, conference speaker, and theologian was one of those illegally homeschooled children of the 20th century. He was constantly warned by his mother to stay inside and keep the blinds closed during the day for fear of being investigated or prosecuted.
This illustration isn’t meant to guilt anyone who doesn’t homeschool. However, these parents provide us great examples of those willing to risk it all to follow what the Lord has commanded them to do.
Parenting children in today’s society takes great courage. We have to stand against any ungodly edicts of our government. We must teach our children that anything outside of Biblical sexuality is sinful. We must teach them that life begins at conception. We must teach them how to lovingly stand for the truth in a world that doesn’t believe in actual truth. And most importantly, we must teach them that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. In a world of relative truth, we must instill into our children an understanding that there is only One Truth - and that is found in the person of Jesus Christ who is the Truth.
May we take the example of these wonderful parents of Moses and lead our children well.
And for those here who do not have children or have grown children, you are no less called to live courageously.
This first century audience receiving this letter would have understood the difficulty of balancing following the Lord and living among pagans. They would have understood the courage and cost of following Jesus. They lived in a time where the Emperor considered himself a god. They understood extremely well the difficult balance of respecting the government and following Jesus.
For you - perhaps it is in your workplace that you encounter sinful edicts. Maybe you are asked to participate in celebrations that you do not agree with. Perhaps it is even within your family or around some of your friends. Are you willing to stand courageously for the truth?. We are to do it in love - but we are to do it with a solid foundation on the Word of God.
In following the Lord, you must exercise great courage… which brings us right into our second point which is…
Scripture References: Exodus 1:22, Exodus 6:20, Exodus 2:2-4, Romans 13, 1 Peter 2:13-14, Acts 5:29
II. In Following the Lord, You Must You Must Live Counter to the Culture (24-28)
II. In Following the Lord, You Must You Must Live Counter to the Culture (24-28)
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Moses had grown up with all the wealth one could imagine. He was schooled in the best of schools. He was treated as royalty. Yet, he knew that he was a Hebrew. And at 40, he rebelled against his country of Egypt. He actually killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. This led to him fleeing into the wilderness and eventually to the land of Midian where he would spend 40 years before being called by God (Exodus 2:11-22).
We are told that Moses had decided in his heart to choose to identify with the Hebrew people instead of being able to enjoy the worldly pleasures of being royalty in Egypt.
Think about what he gave up. He could have possibly even become Pharoah himself one day. He was the adopted grandson of Pharoah and had all of the privileges one could imagine.
Brothers and sisters - would you be willing to give up such privileges for the Lord?
We must be of those who do not seek to enjoy the pleasures of sin and instead choose faith and faithfulness to God.
Note that the Bible doesn’t say that sin is not fun for a time. But it is clear that this earthly pleasure is only temporary - it is fleeting. And it ends in death and depression and darkness.
As we have discussed already, there may be a time where you have to make a decision. Do you follow the culture and the world or do you follow Christ?
Like Moses, we also have a decision to make. Are we going to live for the world or are we going to live for the Lord?
Like Moses, may we always choose to live for God.
It seems that some within the original audience of this great book were not passing this test of faith. They were not exercising courage and countering their culture. Hebrews 10:24-25 reminded us of this - namely that they were not joining the fellowship in regular worship. The author points to Moses as a great man of faith to emulate. He didn’t choose the comforts of this world - he chose to be united with the people of God. He made the people of God his priority and not the world - even at the risk of his life.
May we do likewise. May we make the Lord and His commands our number one priority - despite what the culture does around us. May we stand courageously as these saints of old did as well.
Moving forward to verse 26 we see that…
He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
Here the the author speaks of the heavenly kingdom that Moses aspired to. We are told that he considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt for he was looking to the reward. This reward was eternal life.
Here we see another teaching of the eternality of Jesus Christ. Moses lived some 1500 years before Christ came in human flesh, yet we are told that Moses looked forward to the coming of Christ.
How can this be? And how could Moses know about Jesus years before He came in the flesh?
Interestingly…
We actually see many Messianic writings from Moses that are included in your handout:
Messianic References Written By Moses in the Pentateuch:
Genesis 3:15 - the protoevangelium (first Gospel) was written by Moses which speaks of the coming of Christ who would crush the head of the serpent - namely Satan. Deuteronomy 18:15 speaks of a future prophet who would be raised up which appears clearly a reference to the Messiah. Genesis 49:10 tells us that an eternal ruler will come from Judah. Numbers 24:17 tells us that a star shall come out of Jacob with a scepter - likely referring to the coming Messiah.
There are many typological references to the Messiah seen in these books as well. Some of these include the offering of Isaac by Abraham (Genesis 22), the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12, Leviticus 23:5-8, Deuteronomy 16:1-8, 1 Corinthians 5:7, John 1:29), the bronze snake lifted up in the wilderness (Numbers 21, John 3:14-15), water from the rock (Exodus 17, Numbers 20, Psalm 78:15-16, 1 Corinthians 10:4), manna from heaven (Exodus 16:4, Psalm 78:24-25, John 6:51, Revelation 2:17), the ark with one door (John 10:9, John 14:6, Genesis 6:8, Genesis 6:16, Genesis 7:16, 1 Peter 3:20-21), among others.
Moses understood what really mattered - namely eternity. Which we see also shown in verse 27…
By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
By identifying with the Hebrew people and taking a stand for them, he drew the ire of Pharoah who sought to have him killed (Exodus 2:15).
Unfortunately, the Hebrew people were not ready for a leader at the time, and it appears Moses that wasn’t ready to lead either.
Though Moses had good motives for wanting to protect and fight for the Hebrew people, he wasn’t prepared spiritually to lead them at that particular time.
Moses then left Egypt and ended up in Midian. God would have him there some 40 years as he continued growing in maturity. We are told that Moses knew that God was with him which helped him endure.
Can you think of a time of waiting in your own life? Maybe you are in the time even now. How are we to wait upon the Lord? We learn here that we are to wait upon the Lord by seeking Him. In faith we are to continue growing in our knowledge of God and continue growing in our reliance on Him.
He uses this time of waiting as preparation for what He has for us.
He knows what we need far greater than we do. He understands our deficiencies, our areas of needed growth, and our pride that needs humbled.
May we patiently wait upon the Lord’s timing as Moses did.
In verse 28, we fast-forward some 40 years, and now we have seen that Moses has come back to Egypt after being called by God speaking through a burning bush (Exodus 3).
By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
After a series of 9 plagues that God sent on Egypt to show His power, Pharoah had continued to refuse to let the people of God go.
That brings us to the Passover. We have discussed the Passover many times in the past.
Exodus 12 tells us of this amazing event.
We see the death of all of the firstborn of Egypt as the final plague on Pharoah and his people. These plagues came because Egypt refused to let God’s people go. God commanded the people of Israel to sacrifice a lamb and place its blood on the doorposts of their homes. This blood would cause the Destroyer to pass over their house, and God’s people would be safe from harm.
We can see the beautiful parallel here with Jesus Christ Who is our Passover Lamb. His blood covers our sins so that eternal death passes over us, and we are given eternal life.
Moses showed great faith by instituting the Passover. He trusted that God would keep His promise of passing over those homes that were covered by the blood of the lamb.
We are asked to exercise great faith as well. We are to trust in God’s promise like Moses did. We are to trust that the blood of the Lamb - namely Jesus Christ - covers us so that eternal death will pass over us as well.
God is a God Who always keeps His promises. And because of this, you can stand in faith courageously - you can stand against the culture - and lastly…
Scripture References: Exodus 2:11-22, Hebrews 10:24-25, Exodus 2:15, Exodus 3, Exodus 12
III. In Following the Lord, You Must Follow God’s Commands (29-31)
III. In Following the Lord, You Must Follow God’s Commands (29-31)
I think we would all agree that we as believers should follow the commands of the Lord as John 14:15 so clearly teaches.
However, the commands we are going to see God give to His people in these three verses seem extremely difficult! Let’s start with verse 29…
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
Many of us have read and heard this account countless times. We recall the deliverance of Israel from Egypt after the Tenth Plague. We recall that they were up against the Red Sea with Pharoah with his army fuming at them after he changed his mind and realized his free labor had been let go.
But let’s stop and take a good look at what God did as well as look at the response of Moses and the people to this great miracle.
God split open the Red Sea with a huge wall of water on both sides and dry ground in the middle. This is an amazing miracle of God.
But even after this amazing miracle, the people had a decision. They could turn around and go back to Pharoah and peacefully surrender, or they could walk through the unknown. They had to trust that God was going to keep the wall of water from collapsing on them! They had to trust that they had enough time to cross this large body of water on dry land. And they had to trust that God wasn’t going to allow Pharoah and his army to come across and get to them anyway.
There was tremendous faith in Moses and the people of Israel for them to go across this vast sea. There was no precedent for this. None of them had crossed a dry sea bed with walls of water beside them.
Yet, they were charged to follow the command of God even when it seemed impossible and dangerous.
Friends, is there a path in your life that the Lord has opened that seemed very unlikely months, days, or even moments ago?
You would have never even considered it possible for you to have a choice to take a certain path - but it seems the Lord has opened an unlikely door for you?
Take some time and explore those times in your life. Be sure that you don’t avoid following the path God has laid out for you because is seems impossible or dangerous. You might just miss out on seeing an amazing work of the Lord in your life.
Most of us know how this account ended. The people crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and made it all the way across. Pharoah and his army attempted to cross as well and the Lord brought down the walls of water on them wiping them all out (Exodus 14).
God is a God who keeps his promises. He only asks that we obey His commands.
Now we come to our next two heroes in the Hall of Faith - Joshua and Rahab.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of Israel. He was trained by Moses for many years before taking over. And one his first big tests of leadership was the city of Jericho.
The city of Jericho had two massive walls that were six and twelve feet thick. It was also built on a mound of land making it extremely difficult to approach.
Conveniently located within these two walls were many small and simple houses. These houses often were occupied by the city’s poor as well as prostitutes. Rahab was one such prostitute who lived within the walls of the city.
Joshua, wishing to learn some more information about the city, sent out two spies. They were welcomed by Rahab who expressed her confession of faith in Joshua 2:9.
and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
God had revealed His goodness to her and she had responded in faith. Her faith was shown through courageous action when some officials from the city came looking for these men. She hid them on her roof under stalks of flax and later let them down through her window.
Rahab exhibited great faith in God by choosing to follow God instead of pagan idols. And because of her faith, she was delivered. The spies told her to place a scarlet cord in her window, and that she and her household would be spared (Joshua 2:18). Not only was she delivered, but she also eventually became part of the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5)!
The scarlet cord placed in Rahab’s window reminds us that the blood of Christ can cover anyone. Anyone who casts themselves entirely upon the mercy of God through faith and repentance can be saved. I pray that each of you have done this as well. I pray that you have repented of your sins and placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. There is no more important decision than that.
Getting back to the wonderful account of the fall of Jericho, Joshua was commanded by God to have the people of Israel silently march around the city once per day for 6 days and then the 7th day they were to march around the city 7 times. After rounding the city the 7th time, the people did as God commanded and blew ram’s horns and gave a massive shout and the walls of Jericho fell down. They city was destroyed other than Rahab and her family who were spared (Joshua 6).
The faith shown by Joshua and Israel was great here. The command of God seemed strange. For almost an entire week they were to walk around the city quietly. And even on the 7th day they were to walk around quietly until finishing the 7th go around the city.
And we know that blowing horns and yelling doesn’t break down thick walls.
The logistics of this battle seemed irrational. Yet they followed the command of the Lord, and the Lord delivered Jericho into their hands.
Here is another example of a difficult call and command.
How do you handle something that seems like a waste of time?
We live in a world that is all about efficiency and speed. What if God tells you to wait?
Talk about delayed gratification - they had to wait a week before they saw God move.
And there was danger in this call as well. What if the archers started shooting at them while they circled the city? What if the people started dropping things on them from atop the wall? Wasn’t there a better battle plan?
Something we need to note is that we don’t need to understand the why or even the how in order to follow Christ’s commands. We just need to know the what.
What He commands us to do is what we are to do.
A beautiful example of this can be found by the late missionary Robert Moffatt. He had worked for years in South Africa without seeing a single convert. When some friends in England wrote asking what they might send him as a present, he requested a communion set. Since there were no other believers there, they were surprised, but went ahead and sent the set anyway. When the set arrived several months later, more than a dozen natives had been won to Christ and were served their first Lord’s Supper.
Moffatt had been given the what from God - a communion set. By the how and why seemed completely unclear. There weren’t even any converts yet! However, God is a God of the how’s.
In exercising courageous faith and living in obedience to Christ, you must…
Leave the how up to God, and just do what He has commanded you to do.
Church, may we obey the commands of God no matter the cost, no matter the risk, and no matter the difficulty. May we focus on the what far greater than we focus on the how and why. Sometimes God asks us to take that step of faith in obedience before we see the how and the why. That is why it takes true faith to follow Christ in obedience.
Scripture References: John 14:15, Exodus 14, Joshua 2:9, Joshua 2:18, Matthew 1:5, Joshua 6
Conclusion:
Today’s message has been filled with difficult lessons from these heroes of the faith.
We have been charged to walk by faith exercising great courage, to live counter to the culture, and to follow God’s commands even when they might seem dangerous or not make sense to us.
In light of all of these examples, may we fearlessly follow our Savior by faith.
As we close today, I want each of you take a few moments to consider areas of your life in which you need to exercise more faith. During our time of prayer and reflection as we sing this last song, spend some time asking the Lord where He wants you to courageously and fearlessly step out in faith.
