HEBREWS 11:23-27

Divisions of exemplary witnesses: “received a good report” [11:2].

§  Antediluvian period [11:1-7]; Patriarchal period [11:8-22];

§  The triumphs of perseverance in faith in the Mosaic era [11:23-31].

A.      MOSES – THE faith of HIS parents

1. The Biblical Background

The biblical background of the narrative is the oppression of the children of Israel in Egypt.

• The covenant-blessing of God: “the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew” [Exo.1:12]. * The decree of Pharaoh: “Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born you shall cast him into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive” [Exo.1:22].
• The action of Moses’ mother: “a man of the house of Levi took to wife a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and bore a son: when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months” [Exo.2:2].
1. The Faith

Example of faith: “by faith Moses…” [11:23].

a.       Moses’ Parents

The faith of the parents: “Moses was hid three months by his parents…” [11:23].  

§  ἐκρύβη - “hid” [11:23], passive, ‘protect’; ‘make invisible’;

§  διότι - “because” [11:23], ‘introducing causal clause’;

b.       The Motivation

The motivation: “because they saw he was a proper child…” [11:23].

• εἶδον - “saw” [11:23], ‘understand as a result of a perception’; ! §  avstei/on – “proper child” [11:23], literally ‘strikingly beautiful’; ‘not ordinary’; ‘chosen for a special mission’;

                                                                                                         i.            The Old Testament

The Old Testament reference: “when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months” [Exo.2:2].

§  ט֣וֹב - “goodly” [Exo.2:2], ‘morally good’; ‘pleasing’; ‘beautiful’;

§  The idea of ט֣וֹב in the Hebrew is applied to every thing that is on any account approvable and excellent in its kind.

§  God approved of all his works of creation, and declared their perfection: “it was all very good” [Gen.1:31].

                                                                                                       ii.            The New Testament

Stephen’s defence: “In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months” [Acts 7:20].

§  avstei/oj - “exceeding fair” [7:20],

§  The phrase reads - h=n avstei/oj tw/| qew/; the words tw/| qew are missing from the AV/KJV.

§  The ESV translation: “he was beautiful in God’s sight” [7:20].  

Application

The parents saw in Moses ‘a visible sign of God’s elective favour.

§  They saw a basis for faith in the as yet unseen purposes of God.

§  His unusual attractiveness was to them a visible sign that he enjoyed God’s favour and protection.

1. The Decision of Faith

a.       The King of Egypt

The king of Egypt: “they were not afraid of the king’s commandment” [11:23].

§  διάταγμα - “commandment” [11:23], ‘to arrange in its proper order’; ‘order or mandate’; ‘decree of a king’;

§  The decree: “Every son that is born you shall cast him into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive” [Exo.1:22].

b.       The Fearlessness of Faith

The decision of faith: “they were not afraid…” [11:23].

§  evfobh,qhsan – “afraid” [11:23], ‘panic, fear’; ‘state of fear, phobia’; ‘obsessive and persistent fear of’.

                                                                                                         i.      The Fear of God

Deduction from the text: ‘they chose to fear God rather than the might of the Pharaoh.

§  The command of Pharaoh to the Hebrew midwives: “if it be a son then you shall kill him” [Exo.1:16].

§  The Hebrew midwives: “but the midwives feared God and did not as the king commanded” [Exo.1:17].

                                                                                                       ii.      Covenant Revelation

God’s revelation of his covenant purposes so far: 

§  Covenant of Abraham: “seed shall be a stranger… and shall serve them” [Gen.15:13].

§  Promise to Jacob: “Fear not to go down to Egypt…I will make of you a great nation; I will go down with you; I will surely bring you up again” [Gen.46:3].

Application

The writer found in the conduct of Moses’ parents a paradigm for the capacity of faith to overcome fear.

§  Their confidence in God’s power to accomplish his sovereign purposes more than outweighed their fear of reprisals because they had defied the royal decree. 

B.      THE Faith of Moses

The section 11:24–26 we see that Moses shows his faith by solidarity with the people of God. The first episode [11:24-26] directs our attention to Moses’ decisive renunciation of privilege and power in determination to identify himself with his own people who were enslaved in Egypt.

1. The Occasion   The occasion: “by faith Moses, when he was come of years…” [11:24].

• γενόμενος - “come” [11:24], aorist middle participle, ‘to come into being’; * μέγας - “to years” [11:24], basic meaning ‘great’; ‘measure of age’; ‘maturity’;

a.       The Old Testament

The phrase constitutes an allusion to Exodus 2: “And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown…” [Exo.2:11].

• The occasion: “that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens…” [Exo.2:11].
• The observation: “he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren” [Exo.2:11].

b.       The Narrative

                                                                                                         i.            The Greatness

The mature Moses: “Moses was grown…” [Exo.2:11].

• וַיִּגְדַּ֤ל - “grown” [2:11], ‘to be great’; ‘having high status’; ‘to grow up’;
• The greatness of Abraham: “Abraham’s servant…the Lord has blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he has given him flocks…” [Gen.24:35].
• The greatness of Isaac: “the Lord blessed Isaac…and the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew and became very great” [Gen.26:13].  

                                                                                                       ii.            The Renunciation

The renunciation: “went out and looked upon…” [Exo.2:11].

• וַיֵּצֵ֣א - “went out” [2:11], ‘leave an area with linear movement’;
• אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו - “brethren” [2:11], ‘brother’; ‘person of the same clan, family’;
• וַיַּ֖רְא - “looked” [2:11], ‘to see’; ‘to find out’; ‘to consider’;
• בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם - “burdens” [2:11], ‘forced labour’; ‘hard common labour with a focus on the difficulty’;

Application

The expression “went out unto his brethren” [2:11] was understood traditionally to mean that Moses chose to dissociate himself from the Egyptian court.

• The reference “was come to years” [11:24] could refer to his age of maturity or to his status in Egypt.
• The age of Moses: “when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren…” [Acts 7:23].

1. The Choice

a.       The Status

The status possessed by Moses in God’s providence: “called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” [11:24].

§  le,gesqai – “be called” [11:24], ‘to be spoken of as’; ‘referred’

§  The story of Moses: “the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son” [Exo.2:10].

                                                                                                         i.            The Roman Practice

The statement may reflect the Roman practice of adoption, which conferred upon the adopted son the legal status of a natural son in the family.

§  Moses had the legal status of a natural son in the family of Pharaoh’s daughter. This legal status in which Moses stood made him pharaoh’s heir.

§  The Roman practice of adoption also abolished the status of the adopted son in his natural family.

b.       The Renunciation  

Moses’ choice: “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” [11:24].

§  hvrnh,sato – “refused” [11:24], primary meaning is ‘to deny’; ‘to disown’ and ‘renounce’; ‘to deny knowledge of or relationship with’.

§  Peter denies the Lord: “he denied with an oath, I do not know the man” [Mat.26:72].

§  Moses “refused” [11:24] to take possession of, and to enjoy the privilege of, his ‘status of sonship in Pharaoh’s family.

c.        The Kind of Renunciation 

Was the renunciation of Pharaoh’s house by Moses a legal renunciation? It is preferable to recognise an interpretation of Exodus 2; by his forceful intervention on behalf of a Hebrew slave, Moses confessed himself to be a Hebrew:

• The observation: “he spied an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren…” [Exo.2:11]. * The forceful intervention: “he slew the Egyptian…” [Exo.2:12].

Application

The forced labour that the pharaoh had exacted from the Hebrew slaves angered Moses and alienated him from his prior allegiance to his adoptive parents.

• What is described is a personal moral decision between two alternatives, rather than a formal legal renunciation.
• To have acquiesced in that honorific designation inevitably would have demanded that he dissociate himself from his own people, who were the people of God.

1. The Definition of the Choice

a.       The Choice

The choice of Moses: “choosing rather to…” [11:25].

§  e`lo,menoj – “choosing” [11:25], ‘to select, prefer’; ‘choose between alternatives’; ‘choose for the purpose of showing special favour’;

§  The use of the aorist middle participle places the emphasis on Moses’ decision.

§  μᾶλλον - “rather” [11:25],  ‘higher point in the extent of something’;

§  Here the middle is followed by two infinitives, which is the classical construction; cf. Dt. 26:17; not, as in most biblical occurrences, by a direct object.

b.       The Embrace

                                                                                                         i.            The Suffering

The embrace of faith: “to suffer affliction with the people of God…” [11:25].

§  συγκακουχεῖσθαι – “suffer affliction with” [11:26], present middle participle, ‘to join in suffering’; ‘to be mistreated with’;

§  The use of the sun – compound points to ‘identifying with’; ‘coming together as one’, for example: “has quickened us together with Christ…” [Eph.2:5].

                                                                                                       ii.            The People

The association with: “the people of God…” [11:25].

§  τῷ λαῷ τοῦ θεοῦ - “people of God” [11:25], ‘God’s possession’; ‘identified, elected, called’;

§  The covenant people: “I will bring you to me to be my people…” [Exo.6:7].

§  The children of Abraham: “the seed of Abraham my friend…” [Isa.41:8].

§  The affliction: “therefore did they set over them taskmasters to afflict them with burdens” [Exo.1:11].

c.        The Rejection

                                                                                                         i.            The Temporary Possession

The possession: “than to enjoy the pleasures of sin…” [11:25].

• ἔχειν - “enjoy” [11:25], present active infinitive, ‘to have, possess, own’; * πρόσκαιρον - “season” [11:25], from prós, ‘for’, and kairós, ‘a time or season, opportunity’; ‘for a season, transient, temporary, enduring for a while’;

                                                                                                       ii.            The Definition 

The description of the object: “pleasures of sin…” [11:25].

• ἀπόλαυσιν - “pleasures” [11:25], ‘fruition’; ‘enjoyment’; denotes ‘the cleaving or adherence of the mind or affection to an object’;
• Usually applied to signify such a fruition as hath gust and relish in it, yielding delight and pleasure unto them that have it: “but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy” [1Tim.6:17].
• ἁμαρτίας - “of sin” [11:25], ‘to miss the mark’;

                                                                                                     iii.            The Sin Rejected

Moses rejected the ‘temporary advantages of alliance with a sinful nation’ (the notes below from John Owen): 

• That the things here intended are those which accompanied his being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, called “the treasures of Egypt” in the next verse.
• That those things might absolutely and in themselves be enjoyed and used without sin; and so they were by him, until the appointed time came wherein he was called from them.
• They would therefore have become sin unto him, not in themselves, but in their enjoyment; and that for two reasons: (i) Because they would have hindered him from the performance of a duty necessary unto the glory of God and his own salvation, as we shall see immediately; and (ii) Because he could not so enjoy them without a conjunction with the Egyptians, it may be, in their idolatries, but, to be sure, in the persecution and oppression of the people of God.

Application

Wherefore, to have or hold the fruition of sin, in this place, is to continue in the enjoyment of all outward advantages by the means of the greatest sin imaginable, namely, the neglect of the only great duty incumbent on us in this world, or the profession of faith in God and the true religion on the one hand, and persecuting the church of God on the other.

• The “sin” Moses renounced was apostasy, which Moses would have committed had he united himself with the royal court rather than with the oppressed people of God?
• That those states, and an interest in them, were irreconcilable, so as that he could not enjoy the good things of them both, but adhering unto the one, he must renounce the other.
• If he cleaves to “the treasures of Egypt,” he must renounce “the people of God;” and if he joins himself unto the people of God, he must renounce all his interest in Egypt.
• This he saw necessary, from that profession which God required of him, and from the nature of the promise which that profession did respect.

1. The Clarification of the Choice

The grounds on which Moses made his choice are then explained.

a.       The Estimation

The estimation: “esteeming…greater riches…” [11:26],

§  h`ghsa,menoj – “esteeming” [11:26], literally, ‘to lead or go before, go first, lead the way’; ‘make decision after weighing the facts.

§  μείζονα - “greater” [11:26], ‘much in quantity’; ‘much in degree’;

§  πλοῦτον - “riches” [11:26], ‘riches’; ‘abundant, great, in value’;

b.       The Greater Riches

                                                                                                         i.            The Reproach

The greater riches: “esteeming the reproach of Christ…” [11:26].

• ὀνειδισμὸν - “reproach” [11:26], from oneidízō, ‘to revile’; “Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach” [13:13]. * The reproach of the Psalmist: “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none” [Psa.69:21, 11].

                                                                                                       ii.            The Surprising Qualification

The surprising qualification: “reproaches of Christ…” [11:26].

• τοῦ Χριστοῦ - “of Christ” [11:26], genitive of ‘source, possession’;
• The choice of Jesus Christ: “who for the joy set before him…” [12:2].
• Psalm 89 is concerned with God’s covenant, God’s people, and God’s king: “wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed” [Psa.89:51].

                                                                                                     iii.            The Interpretation

We cannot simply write this statement off as saying something like ‘Moses had the same kind of sufferings and persecution that Christ had’ because of his faith.

• All the persecutions of the church arose from the enmity between the two seeds, which entered upon the promise of Christ: “I will place enmity between you and the woman; and between your seed and her seed…” [Gen.3:15].
• Christ is the promised seed: “and to thy seed, which is Christ” [Gal.3:16].
• From the first promise concerning the exhibition of the Son of God in the flesh, Christ was the life, soul, and the all of the church, in all ages; from him all was derived, and in him all centred: “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to day, and for ever” [13:8]. 
• Christ and the church were considered from the beginning as one mystical body; so as that what the one underwent, the other is esteemed to undergo the same. Hence it is said, that “in all their affliction he was afflicted…” [Isa.63:9].
• The accusation laid against Paul: “why do you persecute me…” [Acts 9:4].

c.        The Lesser

The lesser riches of Egypt: “the treasures of Egypt…” [11:26].

• θησαυρῶν - “treasures” [11:26], ‘treasure, wealth’; ‘silver, gold, precious stones’;
• In summary, all the riches he would have had as a “son of Pharaoh’s daughter” ]11:24].

Application

The deeper significance of his choice was that he was deliberately rejecting the wealth of Egypt in order to identify himself with Christ in his humiliation (v. 26a). He did so, believing that he would ultimately receive a (greater) reward.

• What matters ultimately is his choice to identify himself with God’s people, and thus with Christ in his humiliation and the reward which God will give.
• Nowhere does the author express more strongly his sense of the continuity between Israel and the Christian community.

1. The Perspective

a.       The Future Perspective 

The explanation: “he had respect unto the recompense…” [11:26].

• ἀπέβλεπεν - “had respect” [11:26], from apó, an intensive, and blépō, ‘to see, look away from’; ‘to behold or look toward something, to fix the eyes earnestly or attentively’; ‘concentrated attention’; * The imperfect tense emphasizes the continuous disposition displayed in past time.
• μισθαποδοσίαν - “recompense reward” [11:26], ‘payment of wages’;
• The reality of God: “he is the rewarder of all those who diligently seek him” [11:6].

                                                                                                     iv.            Faith & The Future 

The writer here gives is a pregnant instance of that description of faith: “faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen” [11:1].

• Faith gave Moses an evidence of the invisible things of the eternal reward; and caused them so to subsist in their power and foretaste in his mind, as that he chose and preferred them above all things present and visible.
• The God of the covenant: “I am your shield and your exceeding great reward…” [Gen.15:1].
• The promises of the covenant God: “the promise to Abraham that he should be heir of the world…” [Rom.4:13].

b.       The Personal Perspective

The personal perspective: “he endured as seeing him who is invisible” [11:27].

• κατέλιπεν - “forsook” [11:27], ‘to leave behind’; ‘to abandon’;

                                                                                                         i.            The Exodus 

The exodus narrative: “Pharaoh said to him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more…” [Exo.10:28].

• Moses’ response: “thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more” [Exo.10:29].
• The courage of Moses before Pharaoh: “all these thy servants shall bow down before me…” [Exo.11:4-10].
• The reference cannot be to the first departure from Egypt: “Moses feared and said, Surely this thing is known” [Exo.2:14-15].

                                                                                                       ii.            The

“he endured seeing him who is invisible…” [11:27].

• ἐκαρτέρησεν - “endured” [11:27], aorist active indicative, ‘to be strong, steadfast, endure’; 
• ὁρῶν - “seeing” [11:27], present active participle, ‘to see’; ‘to understand as a result of perception’; 
• ἀόρατον - “invisible” [11:27], ‘that which cannot be seen with the physical eyes’;
• The invisible presence of God: “certainly I will be with you…” [Exo.3:12].

Application