Moses: Man Of Faith Series

A Study of the Book of Hebrews

Jesus is Better

Sermon # 20

“Moses: Man of Faith”

Hebrews 11:23-29

To the Jews Moses is the most important figure in history. The book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses unparalleled epitaph (Deut. 34:10-12) “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, (11) in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, (12) and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.” To Israel Moses was the greatest prophet. He was the great lawgiver. He was Israel’s greatest historian (authoring everything from Genesis to Deuteronomy). He was considered Israel’s greatest saint, being revealed by God’s word as the humblest of the entire human race (Numbers 12:3). He was also Israel’s greatest deliverer, delivering Israel from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Because Moses ranks so highly among the Old Testament figures, to show that he lived by faith and not adherence to the Law was a powerful argument to convince the Jews that God’s way had always been the way of faith.

First, Moses Had a Heritage of Faith

(vv. 23-24)

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

The faith of Moses begins with the faith of his parents. Verse twenty-three says that the parents of Moses saw that he was a “beautiful child” - implies not merely a handsome or beautiful child - literally they saw that he was no ordinary child. All normal parents feel that their child is beautiful, even when the truth may be that it is “A face that only a mother could love!” He was not only handsome but was a gifted and unusually promising one. John Calvin remarks, “…but there was some sort of mark of excellence to come, engraved on the boy which gave promise of something out of the ordinary for him.” [W. B. Johnson. trans. Calvin’s Commentary: The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews and First and Second Epistle of St. Peter. (Grand Rapids: Erdman’s, 1963) pp. 175-6 ]

To stem the population explosion among the Hebrew slaves in Egypt the Pharaoh gave an edict that all male babies were to be drowned in the Nile. To protect their newborn child Amram and Jochebed (Ex 6:20) first hid him for three months, and then put him in a water-proofed basket and placed him in the Nile near the place where the Pharaoh’s daughter bathed.

The parents of Moses were willing to risk their lives to follow God’s will. Their decision was clear: save the child, whatever the consequences. It was no light thing to defy the royal decree, but faith drove out fear.

The great risk that Amram and Jochebed took in secretly keeping their son in spite of the command of Pharaoh was evidence of their faith. Yet their faith was even more severely tested when it became impossible to conceal him any longer. They placed him in a specially prepared basket and place him in the reeds by the bank of the river.

From a human perspective, his parents had no way of knowing even that his life would be spared, much less that, for all purposes, he would be given back to them. Yet they willingly let him go, entrusting him to God.

Jochebed put the baby Moses in a woven basket and placed the basket in a certain place among the reeds...a place where she knew the princess came to bathe. Then she sent Moses’s pre-teen sister, Miram, to watch. I think they must have rehearsed the whole carefully thought out plan over and over again, watching every day and timing the princess’ arrival, helping Miriam memorize her lines so she sounded convincing. And, the plan went flawlessly. As you know, the daughter of the Pharaoh "found" the baby Moses, adopted him as her own son, and without realizing it even hired his own mother, Jochebed, to nurse and raise him. Scripture infers that she and Amram took care of him well past the age of weaning. They probably had him into the mid-childhood years -- certainly long enough to firmly establish his Hebrew roots and teach him of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. For, when Moses became old enough -- when he reached the age of accountability -- he decided to follow his parent’s example and place his faith in the one true God.

You know six million Americans – a significant number of them right here at FBC - will take a life-changing step this year.... they will have children. And HOW they raise these youngsters will have a greater impact on our society than anything else they do in life. In the next 12 months, six million new Americans will become a part of our culture and, depending on how they are raised, will either become a part of the solution or a part of the problem.