The Faith of Moses (2)
Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted
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By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
The Faith of Moses
This letter to the Hebrew Christians, who were under pressure, by the Jews around them and by their own religious background, to give up this new faith and to return to the long established ways of Judaism. And the founder of that long established way, the way of the law, was none other than the great law giver himself, Moses. Moses was a figure from their past, whom they placed alongside Abraham and David.
In the previous chapter the writer had carefully explained that the law was only a shadow of good things to come, that the law and the practices associated with it could never make perfect those who draw near to worship.
Heb 10:3-4 “But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
Heb 11:23-29
“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
At the beginning of the Book of Exodus we read how God’s people had gone to Egypt and how, by God’s providence, they had been fruitful and increased in numbers:
Exod 1:1-7
“These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt. Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died, but the Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them.”
What we do not read is that they had made Egypt their home. There is no indication that they had intermingled or intermarried with the Egyptians. We are at a time, generations after the time of Joseph, when they are still known as the Israelites and not Egyptians. It is clear that by the time Moses was born, when there was a king in Egypt who did not know Joseph or to whom Joseph meant nothing, these Israelites were seen as a threat to his power.
What was his fear? Exod 1:10
“Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”
“They will fight against us and leave the country” Joseph had brought the family to Egypt, to preserve them, but he knew, and they knew that there would come a time when they would leave, because God had promised them a land of their own and it was not Egypt. Remember what Joseph had said just before he died:
Gen 50:24
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
God will come to your aid and take you up out of this land. What would cause them to want to leave Egypt? After all, they were settled in one of the best regions of Egypt, Goshen; they were prosperous.
Gen 47:27
“Now the Isrelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.”
The answer to that question was a new King, to whom Joseph meant nothing. The Israelite people were undoubtedly an asset to the country of Egypt, and it is probably true that wherever God’s people are, the country in which they live prospers. This new king decided that labour and hardship was the way to keep these people, the Israelites, in their place. Was that plan successful?
Ex 1:12
“But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites”
This fear led to the King ordering the Hebrew midwives to kill the baby boys at birth. We must take note of the faith of the Hebrew midwives. Ex 1:17
“The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live.” And God rewarded their faith:
Ex 1:21
“And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.”
Pharaoh’s final solution was to issue a national decree: Ex 1:22
“Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.””
These were the circumstances in which the Israelites now lived in Egypt.
Egypt had been their home for several generations and there had been good years of prosperity, but everything has changed. Now their life has been turned upside down and there is no future for them in Egypt except as slaves for this Pharaoh who wants to build store cities in that very part of Egypt that the earlier Pharaoh had given to Joseph’s family:
Gen 47:11
“So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed.”
All they have now is the promise that one day they would leave Egypt and move to this Promised land that their forefathers had told them about, but none of them had ever seen. A hope that seemed impossible as they toiled under the lash of the Egyptians.
A Pharaoh who enslaves and oppresses the Israelites and a God whose plan is to free these Israelite slaves and take them to a new land. We asked earlier “what would cause the Israelites to want to leave Egypt?” This oppression would.
God was preparing his people for the promised Exodus and he was sending the one who is going to be their deliverer.
Among God’s people there were many who had faith. We saw the faith of the Hebrew midwives. Now the writer to the Hebrews directs our attention to the faith of Moses’ parents.
Heb 11:23
“By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”
The story of the infant Moses is well known: hidden for three months, then placed in a wicker basket in the reeds at the edge of the Nile, watched over by his sister Miriam; the discovery by Pharaoh’s daughter and the quick thinking Miriam suggesting Moses’ own mother as a nurse for him; and then being adopted and raised in the royal household as Pharaoh’s grandson, a Prince in the court of Egypt.
The King James Bible records verse 23 in this way;
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
Why does the writer to the Hebrews choose to highlight the faith of Moses’ parents. Wasn’t their desire to protect their child and the actions they took to do so just show what any parents would do? The law was that their child should be given up and destroyed by being cast into the Nile. As God fearing people they had to make the choice to preserve life than obey the instructions of the King. When the choice is to obey God or to obey a law which you know is contrary to God’s will, there is no question but to obey God and trust to his providence. That’s where their faith was plainly being worked out. Yes, it was something that they would have wanted to do anyway, and while it was still feasible, they hid him away from the eyes of the Egyptians.
If they are trusting in God’s providence, why not keep him openly, in plain sight? That would be to deliberately put him in harm’s way. No doubt God would have found a way to save Moses, but faith is often shown in what we would naturally do, and there are many examples through the Bible when we see that.
When threatened by Jezebel, Elijah was afraid and ran for his life:
1 Kings 19:3
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,” And this was just after that contest on Mount Carmel.
When persecution began in Jerusalem in the days of the early church we read this:
Acts 8:1
“... On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” The believers did what was sensible — they left Jerusalem.
When there was a threat against Paul’s life in Damascus: Acts 9:25
“But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.”
Jesus himself, when he became aware of a plot to kill him, removed himself from harm’s way: Matthew 12:14-15
“But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place.
The faith of Moses’ parents was evident in their actions to save the life of their child. That faith overcame their fear of the law of the land. While they could, they kept him at home, but when that became impossible, they put stage two of their rescue plan into action. The wicker basket in the reeds of the Nile. There are people who believe that they just put Moses in the basket and left it to float down the Nile, with Miriam walking along the bank, keeping an eye on it. I am not convinced that that is what really happened. What parent, having protected their child for three months, would suddenly now cast it adrift on a river, leaving it to providence?
This is what I think happened. Moses was wrapped up and carefully placed in the basket, which was set among the reeds before the sun came up, was watched over by Miriam until dark, when Moses could be safely brought home to be fed and washed and comforted overnight. The same would occur on a daily basis until… We know what happened. God’s hand was in all that they were doing.
Faith is in action not just at the big moments, but in the every day tasks and duties of life. Jesus talks of the every day when he said Matt 10:42
“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
And to the Collossian Christians Paul writes: Col 3:23
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”
There is no doubt that God gave encouragement to the faith of Moses’ parents. The King James version says: “because they saw he was a proper child” The NIV says “because they saw he was no ordinary child.” Stephen, gives us more of a clue, when he said in his speech in Acts 7:20
“At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family.”
That phrase “no ordinary child” can be translated as “Fair in the sight of God.” There was something about the baby that convinced them that God had a plan for their child.
What was the outcome? We have a pharaoh opposed to God and to God’s people, with the intention of denying them freedom, and a Prince who grows up in Pharaoh’s own court, who will one day rescue those very people and lead them out to freedom and on to that Promised Land that their ancestors had taught them about. Who would have believed that?
Here’s what it says in Psalm 2:2-4
“The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.”
Who but God could have such a plan and Moses’ parents had a central role in that plan. For the first few years of his life, Moses, who hadn’t yet received that name, was brought up in the family home. We don’t know just how old he was when he was handed over to Pharaoh’s daughter. We just know this: Exod 2:10
“When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.””
But you can be sure that while he was with his parents, Amram and Jochebed, he would have learnt just who he was, and how their God, the God of the Israelites had miraculously intervened to save his life. They would not have known how, but their faith assured them that God had a plan for their son. Their part in that plan was the same as for any parent who has a child. It is the same for us today and is expressed in Proverbs 22:6
“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”
When Moses’ mother gave him over to Pharaoh’s daughter and into a culture that was different from and hostile to all that she believed in, she had a firm faith that God would be with him.
Don’t we do that with our children? There comes a time when we send them with our blessing into the world, but we do so in the knowledge that they know of our faith, a faith that we have taught them, and we continue to pray, of course, that God will protect them as they make their way in this hostile world.
Train up a child in the way he should go:
And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Moses’ parents had instructed him in the faith, but it was for Moses himself, as it is for our own children, to choose the path he would follow.
The writer of this letter tells of the choice Moses made: Heb 11:24-26
“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
There comes a point in everyone’s life when a choice has to be made. You and I are here today because of a decision we made, probably some time ago, and for some of us it was many years ago. What was that choice? To put our faith in God. To choose to follow Jesus and his way and not the way of the world. When we made that decision it was made in faith, because we did not know where God would lead us, but we would trust him anyway. But it was not blind faith, because we could see and appreciate what the world had to offer. That choice that we made involved rejecting what the world has to offer and to stand with God against that world, to join with God’s people who had already made that choice.
The choice and decision that Moses made was not done in haste, nor did he have a sudden revelation from God. He had known all his life that he was a Hebrew, who by the providence of God had been raised as a Prince in Egypt. From Stephen’s speech in Acts 7:22
“Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.”
He had reached the age of forty and he had reasoned that God had a purpose for him: Acts 7:25
“Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.”
Just imagine Moses’ shock and dismay when the two Israelites who were quarreling said to him: Acts 7:27
““But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?”
Moses, this Prince in Egypt, had, by God’s providence, found himself in a privileged position from which he could influence how the Israelites would be treated and even be set free from their Egyptian masters. At least that is what Moses probably believed at the time.
There are many Christians today who are in positions of influence, and maybe power, who can and do stand up for God, whether it be in business or politics or entertainment or sport or any other area of society. That is good and to be encouraged and supported. That was probably what Moses thought; “I can save the Israelites from where I am. After all. that’s where God has put me.” But that was not God’s plan, as you know.
Do you remember that verse in Numbers 12:3?
“(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)”
Was that true of Moses when he killed that Egyptian or when he challenged the two Israelites who were fighting? I doubt that very much. Moses was right to believe that God had a plan for him in rescuing the Israelites from slavery, but he was wrong in assuming that he was going to do it his way. He was certainly not humble at this point in his life.
It was as if God was saying to Moses, “I am going to use you to save my people, but you are not yet ready.” Just as with Joseph, who was taken away from his family and all that he knew in order that God might change him from the arrogant person that he had been to a humble person that he could use to save his family, so God took Moses away from all that he knew so that he might begin the process of preparing him to save his people.
How did he do that? He made it impossible for Moses to stay in Egypt. Pharaoh now sought to kill him, and the Israelites rejected him, not wanting him to interfere in their lives. Having been brought up as Prince in the Egyptian Pharaoh’s household, he could no longer remain there. And even though he was an Israelite, his own people regarded him with suspicion and did not want him living among them.
So Moses fled to the Land of Midian
It took another forty years till Moses was ready.
But let’s look at what the writer to the Hebrews says about the decision Moses made
Heb 11:25-26
“He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
The King James version puts it this way:
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
Moses chose the reproach of Christ over the treasures of Egypt. He chose to align himself with a people who had no wealth, who had no land, who were enslaved. But what they did have was the hope that had been passed to them from the patriarchs and their forefathers. All the treasures of Egypt would be disappear, but the reward that was to come would be eternal. This is what Moses saw in faith.
Heb 11:1
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Just like Abraham in John 8:56
“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad”
Moses, perhaps more clearly than anyone else saw that hope that was evident in the faith of the Patriarchs before him.
When the writer to the Hebrews stated that Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, he was affirming that from now on his life would be with God and his people.
Heb 11:27
“By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.”
The writer of this letter stressed the faith of Moses, who was held by the Jews as the Law giver, and indeed their whole system of religion was based on the Law of Moses. Moses, to them, had been the supreme example of the importance of living by the Law. Moses, the law giver lived by faith, not by the law. And any disgrace, any hardship, any reproach that he had to endure was as nothing, compared to the reward that he was looking forward to.
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
And that’s what the writer reminded the Hebrew Christians of in the previous chapter. Hebrews 10:32-35
Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
Like Moses, they had suffered reproach for the sake of Christ, and like Moses, if they persevered in their faith, they would receive the reward of faith.
This message is the same for Christians today. The world we live in will always be opposed to Christianity and Christ is continually being reproached. Our society cannot attack Christ directly, so it turns its attention on the followers of Jesus. Occasionally its attack comes into the open, as recently, when that lady who wished to stand for leadership of the Scottish National Party. When she honestly stated her Christian views several of her sponsors withdrew their support immediately and others told her explicitly that she could hold her views privately so long as she advanced publicly the policies on gender and gay rights adopted by her party.
That is just one current example and I am sure you can think of many others.
But here is the message contained in the faith of Moses:
If you endure the reproach as a follower of Jesus, you will receive the reward of faith.