By Faith . . . Moses

Should I have oatmeal or eggs and bacon for breakfast? Should I wear blue jeans or black jeans? These decisions aren’t really life or death decisions. They probably won’t change the course of our life terribly much.

But there are other decisions that can be quite monumental. Do I compromise who I am as a person so I can get a job advancement? Am I willing to do a lower quality job than should be, so that I can accomplish a larger number of tasks to make an impression about my productivity? I’ve been with my spouse all these years; should I maybe consider starting a new life with someone new? These are some incredibly important decisions. And the choices made will be based upon what or Who is in charge of your life.

John MacArthur comments: Everything in a believer’s life is an opportunity to glorify God. The ancient Greeks had a statue called Opportunity. The front of the figure had long flowing hair, but the back of its head was bald—symbolizing the fact that we can grasp an opportunity as it comes toward us, but once it is past there is nothing to hold on to.

Many people have a fatalist attitude that there is not much we can do, since it’s all going to happen a certain way. Many also have the idea that circumstances control what happens in our life. These ideas are wrong. Especially for a true follower of Jesus Christ. We live our lives in faith. However, that doesn’t mean that our faith is controlled by circumstances or whatever happens to take place in our lives. I am convinced that a Christian’s true faith is based on an intimate relationship with Jesus, resulting in godly decisions. We make decisions based upon God and His Word, even if we don’t know the exact outcome.

A true believer’s faith is not as a result of our circumstances, but because of decisions we make as a result of genuinely knowing our Lord.

The Faith of Moses’ Parents - 11.23

It is a rarity to see a young person practicing biblical faith, without any parental role model, though it can happen. Moses was no different, as we see from this verse, a picture of his parents’ faith in God.

Hebrews 11:23 (NASB95)

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

The Jewish people were growing larger in number, so much so that, the pharaoh, or head of all Egypt, issued an order that all Hebrews males were to be drowned in the Nile River. Can you imagine that happening today? Well, actually this type of thing has been going on all around the world. Even in the U.S., there is a call from certain vocal individuals, for those who are Christians to be penalized if they have more than a certain number of children; two was the last number I have read. There always seems to be a Satan-driven fear that if God’s people become too many, they are a threat to the world.

Yet, here, we have a wonderful illustration of the faith of Moses’ parents, who were followers of God. The last part of this verse reads, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. We need followers of Christ, all over the world, to be willing to be labeled with Moses’ parents in this same way. Whether it be the rulers of the countries, employers, neighbors, etc. Our loyalty needs to be to the Lord Jesus Christ only.

Lest we think the parents decision was because Moses looked really cute, we look at Acts 7.20 “It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.” In other words, there was a special divine affection for Moses. And of course, we know that God knew what was coming, but Moses’ parents did not. But they did know that destroying human life was not of God. When the world’s laws and edicts contradicts God’s Word, then it is always right to disobey the world so that we might fully obey God.

So, how do we see the Faith of Moses’ parents being seen by their decisions? To place their child in a basket and place him in the river, fully trusting God for the outcome, is certainly a huge show of faith. Then when the pharaoh’s daughter came upon Moses in the river, it took amazing faith to believe that she would respond with pity and compassion, knowing her father had condemned all Hebrew males to death by drowning in that very same river. Yet, she ended up rescuing Moses, plus, God had supernaturally placed a family member there to offer her own mother (Moses’ mother) to raise him. In this whole process, Moses was also kept from the pagan, cultic spiritual teachings of Egypt and was raised as a young child in the ways of the Lord.

Because of their faith in God, Moses’ parents were permitted to train him in the ways of God. This woman of faith taught Moses the promises which had been made to their people all the way back to Abraham. She shared with him the truths that a Messiah would come to deliver His people and all those who would place their faith and trust in Him. It may not have made sense, but the faith of Moses’ parents was evident in the decisions they made.

I love MacArthur’s comments on this which are so applicable to us: Trying to improve on God’s plan is more pretentious than taking a felt-tipped pen and trying to improve the Mona Lisa. Our scribbling would do nothing but ruin the masterpiece. God needs our obedience, not our help, our trust, not our counsel. He makes the plans; we walk in them by faith.

The Faith of Moses’ Identification - 11.24-26

In these verses, we see quite readily that Moses’ faith was not based on his parents’ relationship with God. Moses had already made his faith his own, as we will see in a major decision he made in following the Lord.

Hebrews 11:24–26 (NASB95)

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.

When you consider that Moses basically had it all in pharaoh’s court; whether it be finances, education, culture, Moses never forgot about God and His promises to His people. We’re not sure what specifically required Moses to make a choice between the luxuries of this world and the Hebrew people, but around 40 years of age, that choice was made. In fact, the Bible says he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. This was Moses making a decision of identifying with God’s people, and specifically the one true God, based upon faith. We don’t have any specifics in the actual account of this event, except what Stephen shared in Acts 7.25 “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.” In other words, somehow, he recognized that God had a special calling for him among His chosen people.

What an incredible choice based upon Moses faith in God! Think about a decision to leave it all behind because you know that God is calling you to follow Him, trusting Him entirely with your future, all because you know you belong to God. Again, I quote John MacArthur: From the worldly standpoint, he was sacrificing everything for nothing. But from the spiritual standpoint, he was sacrificing nothing for everything. He renounced the world’s power, honor, and prestige for the sake of God, and knew that for so doing he would gain immeasurably more than he would lose, for he was looking to the reward (v. 26).

Does this type of thing still happen outside of the Bible? Let me share an illustration from the 1600s which is quite similar: Baron Justinian von Weltz renounced his title, estates, and income, and went as a missionary to what was then Dutch Guiana. Today his body lies there in a lonely grave, and he is forgotten by the world. But we can be sure he is not forgotten by God. As he was preparing to go into missionary service he said, “What is it to me to bear the title ‘well-born,’ when I am born again to Christ? What is it to me to have the title ‘lord,’ when I desire to be the servant of Christ? What is it to be called, ‘your grace,’ when I have need of God’s grace? All these vanities I will away with and all else I will lay at the feet of my dear Lord Jesus.”

Verse 25 makes it obvious that Moses knew that anything except identifying with God and His people would be sin. All that sin can offer is not only against God, but it is always passing. It may appear fun and better at the time, but one is never satisfied. Later on in the Old Testament, we have an example of someone who discovered this the hard way, King David. Thankfully, he repented and turned back to the Lord. I am not suggesting that Moses was involved in any active personal sin. All the worldly pleasures that Moses had experienced during the first 40 years of his life were not wrong in and of themselves. However, if he would have chosen to stay in that position, with all the treasures of Egypt, this would have become sin.

In fact, the word for considering in verse 26 shows that this was not a spur of the moment decision, but rather involved some deep consideration and thinking. Even though the world might have considered his conclusion a miscalculation, Moses had looked at this from an eternal perspective. Moses concluded that the reproach of Christ would far outweigh the greatest that the world could offer. Don’t you find it amazing that the author of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, noted that Moses considered the reproach of Christ even though Moses lived 1500 years prior to Christ’s time on earth. This shows that the Abrahamic covenant was still being remembered and God was revealing that Moses would be a type of the coming Messiah.

What a picture of how all believers in Jesus Christ ought to think when comparing what this world offers to what Christ has to offer.

The Faith of Moses’ Worship - 11.27-28

Moses’ faith was not just one where he made an obvious choice as to where he stood. Right alongside these choices, we see his love for the Lord and his desire to be obedient to the Lord in his worship.

Hebrews 11:27–28 (NASB95)

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.

We recall that Moses left Egypt twice; the first time after killing the Egyptian, and the second time when he allowed God to be in charge. In a touch of irony, he was in trouble with pharaoh both times. But these verses make it clear the anger of pharaoh caused no fear in Moses the second time, because Moses was operating in faith.

Do you find yourself facing fear? It may not be fear from a political leader, but it could be a multitude of other causes. It could be your job situation, your relationship with family members, your co-workers, or simply the fear of the unknown. Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that Satan places fear in people’s lives, taking their focus off of faith in Jesus Christ and His perfect ways. This is why you never see that God causes fear in the life of a believer, but instead provides peace, joy, contentment, etc.

Here, it is obvious that Moses was fully determined to do what God had called him to do. The picture from the Greek wording implies that Moses completely turned his back on Egypt and the world, to follow after God. There was going to be no turning back because of his faith in God. This was even when his own people were less than ready to follow at the beginning. He kept his faith in God even when the majority would not.

My friends, part of making the godly decisions because of our faith walk, sometimes involves receiving things that we’re not necessarily excited about, nor does it always make sense. It is important to keep the mindset that everything or anything we receive from the Lord is a blessing.

Now having your firstborn saved as a result of obedience to God and acting in faith was pretty sweet. The actual elements themselves are not what saved, but the obedience and faith that what God said was true—that is what saved. That act of faith, their obedience in their worship, resulted in an amazing miracle of salvation, already showing the type and the reality that it is the blood that is required to provide life. Even though this was possibly a foreign idea to them, in faith Moses led them in this worship and the people were rewarded as a result.

Even for today, anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, believing fully that what He did on the cross in shedding His blood to take away sin, will be saved. Knowing that Jesus rose from the dead, gives us further assurance that what was done on the cross was what God required. It may not make sense to most, especially knowing that we don’t have to do anything but place our trust and faith in Christ, but our faithful obedience gives us the greatest of all rewards.

The Faith of Moses’ Actions - 11.29

There comes along in most everyone’s life, that particular moment when you have to make a decision that is absolutely illogical to the world and how it thinks. Circumstances want to get us to make choices and decisions based on them. However, we will see that Moses’ faith had been strengthened to the point he was willing to take actions based on his knowledge of Who God Is.

Hebrews 11:29 (NASB95)

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

You can almost feel the adrenalin kicking in as you identify with a million plus people escaping a place of brutality and slavery, being followed behind closely by an army that might not kill you, but then again, they might. Or they might just capture you and you find yourself in even worse conditions. The people definitely were filled with fear; yet Moses, by faith, followed God’s instructions. Remember Moses reminded the people that there was no need to fear. Listen to his statement from Exodus 14.13-14 “But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. “The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” As a result, we see that they experienced God’s blessing once again, even though their overall faith was not where it should have been, except in brief, amazing moments like this.

Imagine the earlier fear with the enemy behind you, closing in, and this huge body of water right before you; trapped like rats. Then there is that incredible miracle where God parted the waters, so that Israel could walk across on a dry bottom, with the waters piled up high on each side of this large group. Then after the last person was across and the Egyptians began to think they could do the same thing, God supernaturally let the waters return to their high stage and the entire Egyptian army was drowned.

Remember, the Hebrew nation that crossed over had never experienced such a miracle before. Most likely, they had been so caught up in their lives in Egypt, they had forgotten all about God’s promises. My friends, we may be surrounded by people very much like this, who have forgotten God and His amazing blessings. If you have the kind of faith Moses had, you may be called by God to lead these people out of fear and slavery back into the faith walk which God has called them.

God’s Word is all we need for us to exercise our faith in Him. Then we allow it to be seen in our willingness to take the actions to which He has called us. When you think about it, our walk with the Lord is based purely on our faith in His Word, which contains all of His promises to His people. Even when everything all around us might seem like the waters are piled up on each side and ready to drown us, we don’t need to make decisions in response to what we see and think. Rather, we can live our lives in faith and make decisions according to God’s Word.

A true believer’s faith is not as a result of our circumstances, but because of decisions we make as a result of genuinely knowing our Lord.