The Faith Of The Children Of Israel

Heb 11:

Hebrews 11:23–31 KJV 1900

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

We come and we sing of faith to God. “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey”. “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus”, “It is well with my soul”. And it is well with our soul when our family in healthy, we have a secure job, and a home to live in, all of our needs and most of our wants taken care of. Our heart can truly say blessed be the name when the Lord gives. But how about when the Lord takes away? Our scripture this morning speaks of those who had faith even in the midst of adversity. In adversity is where our faith truly shines or where we find out how frail it is.

The Birth of Moses

The circumstances around the birth of Moses were extraordinarily difficult. The order from Pharaoh was that all male children were to be killed in order to control the expansion of the Hebrew race. First he ordered the midwives to kill the babies as soon as they were born. However, The midwives feared God more than they feared Pharaoh. This Godly fear was of faith. They couldn’t see God but they could see Pharaoh. They knew that Pharaoh would not tolerate insubordination. Pharaoh was as a god, no one dared to disobey him and yet these midwives by faith feared God more than Pharaoh. Pharaoh could take their life but they would face God afterwards. When Peter and the other apostle were brought before the council of the high priest and were commanded to stop preaching and teaching Christ they answered we ought to obey God rather than men. The time is coming where we will have to make this same choice more and more. May we have the faith to fear God and obey God rather than men.

After the Pharaoh’s plan to kill the children through the midwives failed he gave the command to all Egypt that every male child they was to be cast into the river. This was the world into which Moses was born.

Hebrews 11:23 KJV 1900

23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

In the midst of a dark time in Israel history, babies were being slaughter by the thousands and this mother and father see there baby boy for the first time and see that this child is a gift from God. A beautiful child is what is meant by proper. The Bible says that it is the Lord that opens and closes the womb, David said you knit me together in my mother’s womb, God said to Jeremiah before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee. God has an active part in the creation of every child they are a gift from God always. No person ever has the right to destroy God’s creation. And yet Satan has actively attached babies since the beginning and he still does it today.

Moses’ parents saw this child and recognised by faith that this was a gift from God and that God has a great purpose for this life and so they took it upon themselves to do all that they could to protect this child. They hid him for three months and when they could no longer hide the child they by faith made a basket and put him in the basket and placed him in the river among the reeds where they trusted that God would cause a merciful person to find him. This they did risking their own lives because if they had been found out not only would the child be killed but likely they too would have been put to death. But by faith they feared God who sent them this beautiful child more than Pharaoh.

Perhaps you are faced with the prospect of losing something of great value to you, something that you know God blessed you with. Have faith in God and don’t fear man. If God has blessed you then what ever it is that you stand to lose belongs to Him. So trust God once you’ve done what you can to protect it turn it over to God and trust Him.

The Choice of Moses

In life we faced with choices every day, some more important than others. Essentially our life in the sum of our choices. But we can only make the choices that we are presented with and every choice we make changes future choices. Faith will change the choices we make.

Moses was faced with a choice as a young man. As a Hebrew child raised as an Egyptian prince he had two heritages but they were not compatible with one another. He could identify as an Egyptian and he would have inherited the wealth and status of a prince of Egypt. Or he could identify as a Hebrew slave and suffer the affliction of his people. Moses choose to suffer with his people. In hindsight we know that he made a wise choice. But what would you have done in the moment. From the outside this appears to be the worst career move ever. But faith changes everything. When my parents decided to become missionaries....

Hebrews 11:24 KJV 1900

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

Hebrews 11:24–25 KJV 1900

24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

Moses knew deep in his heart that for him to live as a prince while God’s people suffered was a sin. The pleasures of that sin were very real, they were tangible and he had already had a good taste of this pleasurable lifestyle but He knew that that pleasure was temporal and by Faith Moses could see what others could not.

Hebrews 11:26 KJV 1900

26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

Heb 11:

You see it’s not an irrational choice. Moses, by faith could see what others could not. He could see that there was a reward for doing the right thing. He believed God and he also believed that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. And so he recognised that to suffer reproach with the king of kings and the lord of lords was greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt.

Hebrews 11:27 KJV 1900

27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

Not only did he refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter but he also forsook Egypt itself. He forsook Egypt when he fled to the wilderness and he forsook Egypt when he returned to rescue God’s people. Why? because by faith he could see him who is invisible. When we fear God we fear nothing else, not even the wrath of Pharaoh.

The Obedience of the Israelites

Hebrews 11:28 KJV 1900

28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

Hebrews 11:18 KJV 1900

18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Heb

The final plague that brought all of Egypt to their knees. God sent the angel of death to kill every firstborn. And it was by faith that Moses and the Israelite obeyed God and kept the passover. They sprinkled the blood on the on the door as they were commanded by God because they believed God. Faith leads to obedience. We obey God because we believe God. Because of their faith they obeyed God and their firstborns were spared. Sometimes doing what God tells us to may not make a lot of since at the time but if we trust Him we will obey Him and He will reward us.

The Crossing of the Red Sea

Hebrews 11:29 KJV 1900

29 By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.

Heb 11:

After they left Egypt God told Moses to go to a place where they would be trapped.

Exodus 14:1–3 KJV 1900

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.

Exodus 14:1–2 KJV 1900

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baal-zephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.

So Moses led the people to this trap knowingly. He didn’t know at this point that God would part the sea, who would have thought that?

He only knew that this is where God wanted them to go. The best place in the world to be is where God wants you to be.

As the Egyptian army marched after them they where trapped with no place to go. God then told Moses to raise up His staff and the sea parted. Perhaps you feel trapped this morning with the enemy pressing behind you and you have no place to go. Trust God.

The Battle of Jericho

Hebrews 11:30 KJV 1900

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

God told the Israelites to march around the walls 7 times in 7 days and blow their trumpets. They were exposed, the Canaanites could have attacked them and yet they obeyed God by faith and they were delivered. They believed God.

The Faith of Rahab

Hebrews 11:31 KJV 1900

31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Joshua 2:9–11 KJV 1900

9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

When trials come into our life it may seem like God’s not there. Moses’ parents could have easily looked at what was going on and said God’s not in this place, God doesn’t care, If God cared about us then He wouldn’t allow such terrible things to happen to us. But instead they took one look at that baby and said this is a gift from God, God has blessed us with this child and by that faith they hid him and put him in the basket in the reeds.

At the Red sea Moses could have said with all the others God has forsaken us but he believed.

We challenges come into our life we have a choice believe God or believe what we see and how we feel.