Raising Faith
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Hebrews 11:23-26 English Standard Version
Tonight, we look at Moses’ example of faith.
To be accurate, we begin by looking at the example of Moses’ parents’ faith and then move to Moses’ faith.
Hebrews 11:23
1. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful,
2. and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
a. Exodus 1:22 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.”
b. Exodus 2:1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman.
c. Exodus 2:2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
d. Acts 7:20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house,
i. Beautiful - beautiful, not ordinary, (Ac 7:20; Heb 11:23+); 2. cf. LN 30.86–30.107 ἀστεῖος τῷ θεῷ (asteios tō theō), chosen for a special mission, formally, beautiful to God[1]
ii. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Amram, Moses father had a dream from God about his purpose for the child (Antiquities 2.210-16).
Hebrews 11:24
1. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refusedto be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
a. Exodus 2:11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.
b. The phrase “when he had grown up” in Greek is paralleled in Exodus 2:11 LXX.[2]
c. Acts 7:23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
Hebrews 11:25
1. choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
a. The author represents the decision of Moses as a “rejecting” (arneomai) the designation of being her son and a “choosing” (aireomai) of God’s people.[3]
Hebrews 11:26
1. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealththan the treasures of Egypt,
2. for he was looking to the reward.
a. to look to v.— to turn one’s interests or expectations towards something and respond accordingly.
Hebrews 11:27
1. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king,
a. Left - to depart from a place, with implication of finality, leave[4]
b. Exit to Midian
i. Exodus 2:14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”
ii. Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.
c. Exodus to Promised Land
i. Exodus 10:28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die.”
ii. Exodus 10:29 Moses said, “As you say! I will not see your face again.”
d. That this reference to Moses’ leaving Egypt is to his flight to Midian is supported by the following: 1. The order of events. The Passover is mentioned in v. 28. Therefore, Moses’ flight seems to have preceded this event. 2. “He” left Egypt seems a strange way of referring to the Exodus of an entire nation. 3. The Exodus was the result of Pharaoh’s request (Exod 12:31–32). Yet it is possible to suppose that Pharaoh’s anger was not far away.[5]
e. Problem of chronology in Hebrews 11:23-28.
i. Hebrews 11:28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
f. The explanation may be that Moses feared that God’s purposes would be thwarted if he did not escape, but this is to be distinguished from personal fear.[6]
i. Acts 7:24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.
ii. Acts 7:25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
iii. Acts 7:26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’
iv. Acts 7:27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
v. Acts 7:28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
vi. Acts 7:29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
2. for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
a. Exodus 33:11 Thus the Lordused to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Work It Out – Raising Faith
1. Faith has vision.
a. Hebrews 11:23 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.
b. Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
c. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2. Faith has values.
a. Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
b. Hebrews 11:25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
c. Hebrews 11:26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
d. Hebrews 10:32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,
e. Hebrews 10:33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.
f. Hebrews 10:34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
g. Hebrews 10:35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
3. Faith is victory.
a. Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
b. 1 John 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
4. Faith has volume.
a. Exodus 3:6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
b. Moses’ parents saw something unseen in him; Moses saw something invisible (Hebrews 11:23, 27).
c. Moses’ parents were not afraid of the king; Moses wasn’t afraid of the king (Hebrews 11:23, 27).
i. Moses’ parents (Hebrews 11:23)
ii. Moses personally (Hebrews 11:24-28)
iii. Moses’ people (Hebrews 11:29)
Application
1. What do I need to see with eyes of faith instead of natural sight?
a. 2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
2. Which of my values are being shaped by my faith?
a. Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
b. Titus 2:12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
3. What am I fearing for which I need victory?
a. Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
b. Hebrews 13:6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
4. How is my faith adding volume to other people’s faith?
a. 2 Corinthians 4:13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak,
+ I have cited every reference in regard to this lexeme discussed under this definition.
cf. confer, compare
LN Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon
[1] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament)(Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
LXX Septuagint
[2] David L. Allen, Hebrews, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010), 559.
[3] Luke Timothy Johnson, Hebrews: A Commentary, ed. C. Clifton Black, M. Eugene Boring, and John T. Carroll, 1st ed., The New Testament Library (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 300.
[4] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 520.
[5] Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 127.
[6] Donald Guthrie, Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 15, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983), 242.