Faith in the life of Moses

Faith in the life of Moses in Hebrews 11:

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We have 3 ways we can define the Noun Pistis in Hebrews 11. Keep in mind it is the same reference, same use, same definition used every time repeatedly down through every reference. It can’t be one thing in one place, and another thing in another place.

Moses is an example of the type of Faith that has as its object bible doctrine resident in the soul.

These believers are about to give up on their understanding, their doctrine about Jesus being the Christ, the Messiah of Israel. These Jewish believers are under tremendous pressure to cave on the concept of Jesus as the Christ, and instead to return to Rabbinic Judaism which has rejected Christ. This will have terrible consequences.

Each of the examples in Hebrews 11 is an object lesson on how faith must point at the correct doctrine. Faith in the wrong object is useless and worthless. That means that incorrectly understanding biblical truth has a consequential negative impact on the believer. However, in Hebrews 11 we have examples of those who correctly believed, or believed in correct doctrine - and the eternal consequences were and still are staggering.

It turns out that faith is about WHAT you believe, and WHO you place your trust in. The concept of amounts of faith, is just pure poppycock that Christians use to hide their self righteousness behind. It is a means of immaturity, self agrandizement, puffery, over competitiveness; and is used to bully and intimidate. It can easily become a jousting fest to compare who thinks they can demonstrate the most faith. But in the NT, the concept of quantities of faith is reflective of whether you have faith in the right doctrine or don’t. It has nothing to do with the ability to speak in tongues, achieve the latest wind of charismatic, pentecostal, vineyard movement, prophetic movement, etc. IT is NOT about FAITH IN FAITH. It is about whether you have faith in the right doctrine, or you don’t.

For example we know of the faith of the mustard seed, that will move a mountain. We have parallel passages that cover Christ talking about this , in Matthew 17:14 - 21 , Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-42.

Be aware that at this point in Christ’s ministry he has been rejected as the Messiah by Israel. Israeli leadership have committed the unpardonable sin against God the Holy Ghost, and have blasphemed Him (this means they labeled God the Holy Spirit as a liar, in testifying through miracles that Jesus was the Meshiac, the Christos, therefore they stand condemned for refusing to recognize the work of God the Holy Spirit). Thereafter Jesus the Meshiac only heals people based on need or faith. He turns his back on Israel, and no longer presents Messianic signs to them - except one, the sign of Jonah - death and resurrection. He sends His disciples out to heal and cast out demons - to minister to the sheep of Judaiah. And then we have a little bump in the road. Jesus, and the three apostels, Peter, James and John come down from the mount where Christ is transfigured, and they find the Other Nine Apostles in a dispute, with a great multitude around them.

Some scribes while questioning the apostles had created a dispute, which stirred up the great multitude. they were using the failure to challenge Yeshua’s Messiahship.

In Matthew the Father described his sun as epileptic, suffering grievously, oft falling into the fire, oft into the water. Luke adds that a spirit takes him, he cries out, tears him, that he foams, bruses him sorely, and hardly departs (meaning gives him no relief).

This is an extreme case of demonic control, including epilepsy and suicidal attempts. The Apostles were experienced in performing exorcisms, but were unable to cast out this demon.

In Mark 9:19 Christ immediately responds - He emphasizes that this is a FAITHLESS generation, in that this is the generation that rejects Him as Messiah, but still follows looking for a sign. They have no Faith in Christ. In terms of our understanding of faith, which must always have a direct object - in this case, trusting, believing, knowing that Jesus is the Messiah.

Christ continues - Mk 9:19, How long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you. In Luke 9:41 He said Bring hear your son. Mark 9:20 says, they brought him unto Him. This means away from the multitude. The demon made one last attempt Mk 9:20 and Luke 9:42 and dashed him to the ground, tearing and foaming, attempting to destroy.

Mk 9:21 Christ asks the father of the boy “how long since this had come to him”? “From a child”

the Father said in Mk 9:22 “If you can do anything, have compassion on us, and help us”. However, the phrase if you can was not a confession of faith, but rather of doubt. Yeshua would have to correct this.

Mk 9:23 He responded: If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes . Mk 9:24, the father of the child immediately understood and responds with tears, Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Mk 9:25 we see that Christ having removed them from the multitudes, quickly cast out the demon, as He saw a multitude running towards them. The demon left violently. Although the miracle was a private matter, the masses could not fail to see the result, and Luke says Luke 9:43 that they were all astonished at the magesty of God.

But the issue is not settled for the perplexed disciples. How come they were unable to cast out his demon despite having dones so successfully many times?

Christ gave two reasons: First, this kind can only come out by prayer Mk 9:29. Prayer and fasting is a Hebraism for … prayer!. so first we see that THIS kind is unique. What kind? A dumb spirit according to Mark 9:17. Dumb demons were different. Pharisees could cast out all kinds of demons, but not the demons that caused dumbness. The disciples could cast out demons in Yeshua’s name. But dumb demons could only be cast out by prayer, according to Christ. Huh? Well, prayer means that God is doing the casting out. But you will see in Mark 9:25 that Christ commands the Deaf and dumb spirit to come out of him and to enter him no more. But that isn’t Yeshua praying, is it? If you remember, back in Matthew when John the Baptist questioned if Jesus was the Meshiac, Jesus answered: The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor (not the rich) are given the good news (of the Meshiac, the Messiah). These are the signs of the coming of the Messiah. Then in Matthew 12:22-30 Jesus heals the blind and mute man who was demon possessed - who no pharisee could heal. This is the messianic miracle that results in the Pharisees accusing Christ of healing, based on the power of Satan. In this Jesus points out that Israel has committed the unpardonable sin - the rejection of Christ as Messiah, and in that sin they have committed the blasphemy of God the Holy Spirit - they called the work of God the Holy Spirit the work of Satan. And Christ apprises them of the consequence in Matthew 12:31-32, of eternal unforgiveness. These men, and this generation, will be judged based on what they said about the miracles of Christ. Matthew 12:33-37 informs us that the words are the indicator of the central thoughts of the soul … and by these words will be justification or condemnation.

As an aside - this is the point in which Israel is condemned and judged as a nation - based on their unbelief and lying words which reject Christ as the Messiah. They are cut off, at this point, in this passage - though they do not recognize it, and their standing among all nations will be destroyed in AD 70, when Titus sacks the temple. But I want to note, that in Romans 10, the Apostle Paul addresses this exact issue, and almost the exact same words. Israel seeks to be established as righteous by the Law of Moses. But they do not see that Moses is a type of Christ. The type is always inferior to that which it represents - the object that is revealed in the typology, what we call the anti-type. In Romans 10:4 we learn that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words righteousness comes through Christ and His work - not through the laws of Moses which in part serve to depict Christ. Fulfillment of the law, including for Israel, comes at believing in the Messiah. Matthew 10:9-10 speaking of the Jews, resumes the very concept stated by Christ in Matthew 12. And we are told in Matthew that belief and words are joined, resulting in condemnation or justification. Paul here states the same in Romans 10:9-10, and then concludes in Romans 11:26 that all Israel will be saved. These are the parenthetical points in the timeline of Israel’s being cut off based on their rejection of Christ as their Meshiach, and of Israel’s being restored based on belief and confession of Jesus as their Meshiac.

Back to our account in the Gospels, so that we might better understand faith. Matthew 17:20 tells us the second reason, the apostles could not heal the possessed boy: They lacked faith. He said, because of your little faith. Their improper methodology revealed that they had a lack of faith. If they had faith - they would have prayed. But without faith, they were engaged in a protocol of casting out demons in the name of Christ. Some would follow, pharisees, and others who are not believers or followers of Yeshuah the Mishiac, who would be casting out demons in His name.