IT TAKES FAITH (part eight)
Hebrews 11:23-26
Now we come to Moses-the one who challenged Pharaoh and delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. The great leader of the nation of Israel in the desert wanderings. Although these are the things Moses is best known for, there was much going on in the life of Moses before all this took place. Moses exhibited faith well before he became the leader of the Israelites.
1) The faith of Moses' parents (23).
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 Hebrews being in the land of Egypt goes back to the time of Joseph. When there was a famine in the Canaan, Pharaoh told Joseph (who was 2nd in command) to go back and get all his family members and come and settle in Egypt.
Now, fast forward to the time of Moses and we have a different Pharaoh who wasn't so nice. Exodus one talks about how he didn't like how numerous the Israelites had become and sought to do something about it. His first shot was to make them all slaves but the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied. So when that didn't work he told the Hebrew midwives to kill every boy when it was born. But they feared God and would not do that.
Then the king gave the decree to everyone that every boy born to the Hebrews must be thrown into the Nile river. Now, with everyone knowing this, if anyone saw a Hebrew baby boy it could be reported to Pharaoh and action could be taken. But we see that Moses' parents ignored the decree and hid him for three months.
"She saw that he was no ordinary child". There was something unique about Moses. This may also be translated as, "fair in the sight of God". So it was somehow apparent to Moses' mother that this child was to be someone special in the service of God.
So when it was no longer possible to keep him hidden she puts him in a basket coated with pitch and sends him down the river where eventually Pharaoh's daughter happens upon it and takes him in as her own. Moses' sister, Miriam, had been watching all along and she when she sees Pharaoh's daughter find him she jumps into action, setting it up for her mom to be Moses' nurse. Pharaoh's daughter accepts the idea and, unbeknownst to her, has Moses' own mother nurse him and wean him.
We see that Moses' parents took a risk in hiding Moses from the king who had said that all newborn boys were to be killed. And they also took a risk putting him in a basket and sailing him down the Nile river. But this is how faith acts. Faith enables us to be willing to take risks for the right reasons. Moses' mother saw there was something special about him and that divine understanding superseded the king's order.
She would rather face the king for disobeying the order rather than face God for going against what she knew she needed to do with Moses. We need to be like that too. We shouldn't allow any concerns we might have to stand in the way of us doing what we know God wants us to do. But it takes faith to take risks. And now we will see that Moses' faith caused him to take some risks.
2) The faith of Moses (24-26).
Hebrews 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 pleasures of sin for a short time. 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."
"When he had grown up". Acts 7:23 says that Moses was 40 when this happened. Moses came to a defining moment in his life when he decided he didn't want to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. It probably wasn't her so much as it was the aspect of being an Egyptian.
How exactly he came to understand that he was a Hebrew is not exactly known. But the fact is he knew, at some point, who he truly was and he decided that he was going to leave it all behind and go be with his people. This is quite a sacrifice. Aligning himself with Hebrew slaves meant a much more humble and strenuous lifestyle rather than continuing to live in the comfort of royalty.
But for him, he may have lived a comfortable life on the outside but he would've been uncomfortable on the inside. He saw how his people were being treated. He could've taken the easy road and stayed where he was and quite possibly rose in power to become the next Pharaoh. But he knew in his heart he couldn't do that. He couldn't continue to serve Egyptian gods when his heart was with the one, true God.
Perhaps his defining moment of decision for Moses came when he saw an Egyptian beating a fellow Jew. Exodus 2:11-15, "One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Glancing this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well."
Here we see that Moses had an anger issue. And we see by him looking around to make sure no one else was around then burying the body that he knew it was wrong. Although his motive to avenge the mistreatment of one of his people was noble-he took it too far. Whether or not murder was his intent or not I don't know but it happened. We can have righteous indignation but we still need to approach the situation with self-control.
But I admire how quickly and thoroughly Moses switched sides. He grew up as an Egyptian for 40 years but when he comes across a situation where an Egyptian is attacking a Hebrew he has such indignation toward the Egyptian he kills him. Once he chose to connect with his own people he quickly defends the one whose culture he barely knows instead of the one he's known for his whole life.
But such was his allegiance; albeit a brand new one it was complete and undeniable. When we transition to the side of Christ may we be as all in as Moses displayed here. Although his act wasn't commendable, his devotion was.
And then the next day when he saw two fellow Hebrews fighting he tries to stop it. And the one in the wrong gets upset at him. Moses cared enough about his people to defend them when they were attacked and to try to reconcile them when they were fighting amongst themselves. Do we do that? When we see fellow believers being hostile to each other do we try to help them to reconcile?
Moses did the right thing but it was met with hostility. Our efforts may be met with hostility too but that shouldn't stop us from trying. But what about when we're on the receiving end? What about the times when someone confronts us? "Who made you ruler and judge over us?" How often are we like that when we're confronted? "Who do you think you are? Who died and made you boss? Don't judge me!" These are prideful responses.
So Moses knew the word had gotten out about what he had done. It was probably from the Hebrew who had been fighting with the Egyptian. So, Moses fled the region and lived in Midian. If you keep on reading in Exodus 2 you would see that Moses stayed in Midian for 40 years. He got married and had two sons and he worked in the field of his father-in-law tending sheep. Talk about a lifestyle change! Here he was just a short time ago living in luxury and now he was staying in an open field taking care of sheep.
Why Midian? In his commentary Matthew Henry wrote, "God guided Moses to Midian because the Midianites were of the seed of Abraham, and retained the worship of the true God among them, so that he might have not only a safe but a comfortable settlement among them. And through this country he was afterwards to lead Israel, with which (that he might do it the better) he now had opportunity of making himself acquainted."
As Moses spent the first 40 years under the direction and education of the Egyptians, he would now spend 40 years being instructed and trained in the teachings of the God of Abraham. God used this time to prepare Moses to be ready to go back to Egypt and free his people after God appeared to him in the burning bush (Exodus 3).
I can see how these 80 years afforded Moses to be the perfect one to be used by God to deliver the Hebrews. He was raised and trained as an Egyptian so he would be familiar with the way things operated in the Egyptian palace and court. So he would be equipped to approach and deal with Pharaoh when he appealed to him to let the Israelites leave Egypt.
And he was able to speak to his own people having spent 40 years in Midian. He was best suited to work with both sides. He understood the operations of both cultures. We're like that. When we've grown up in the world and then we come to Christ we become equipped to understand both sides. Therefore, we can make appeals to the lost because we understand them because we were one of them.
We forsake the world's ways and gods just as Moses forsook the Egyptian ways and gods, but we still know how to reach them and talk with them. If we left a life of alcoholism or drug abuse or prostitution we should go back and minister to those who are still 'stuck in Egypt'. If we were abused let us return to minister to the abused.
The danger is that when we spend some years removed from the world we can become so ingrained in our new life that we completely detach from the old one. And we should detach from its ways but not from its people (except for those who would pull us back in the world).
There's a saying that goes, "Some people are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good". That means we can become so "Christianized" that we forget where we came from and lose the desire to reach the lost. We need to focus on reaching those who are still ingrained in what we left behind.
3) Moses made a better exchange.
Moses decided to leave behind the protection and preferential treatment as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to give up the posh life in the palace in exchange for the impoverished life in the plains. Moses exchanged the role of the ruler for the role of the slave. It takes faith to make such bold move.
his peers definitely wouldn't have seen it that way. Imagine the gossip in the Egyptian society! “He did what? Are you serious?! What a fool! He could've been the next Pharaoh.” Ridicule can be a powerful weapon against those who want to do the right thing. But Moses wasn't a fool; he wasn't insane-he was actually wise. Moses left everything behind to gain something that was far better than anything he could have gained by remaining in the palace.
And there was much to be gained by staying in the palace. The Egyptians had it good. The priceless treasures of King Tut's tomb alone included several thousand pounds of pure gold. So you can just imagine what luxury a member of the royal household in Egypt was surrounded by. But to Moses, the reward of heaven was much more valuable than the reward of Pharaoh.
What have you felt you've had to give up in order to live as God wanted you to? Perhaps you gave up a good-paying job because you had to work Sundays or you were working under the table or doing something that you knew wasn't exactly godly. Perhaps you gave up a decent relationship because the other person wasn't willing to honor your commitment to Christ. Whatever it was, take comfort in knowing that although living for Christ involves a sacrifice and a forsaking of certain pleasures, what you will gain in return is a far greater reward.
Heb. 11:26, "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." [Story of Virginia giving up a singing career vs. Whitney Houston]
Jesus taught us to build up treasures in heaven instead of treasures on earth. It's not that we should have no pleasures in life but it's the chasing after them that can turn out to be dangerous. Enjoy life but don't make life all about seeking pleasure. If you do then you will make your life out to be the pursuit of money and material things instead of the pursuit of holiness. Your life will be about pleasing yourself rather than pleasing God.
Solomon taught us this lesson in Ecclesiastes. Ecc. 2:10-11, "I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun."
Solomon was the richest person who ever lived. When he said denied himself no pleasure-he means there was no pleasurable thing this world had to offer that he didn't partake in-because he could afford to do anything he desired to do. And at the end of it all he concluded that it was meaningless. Solomon's endeavor shows us that no matter what we desire it won't truly make us happy.
So therefore in the grand scheme of things it's not worth it. That's why Solomon concluded his account by saying in Ecc. 12:13-14, "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."
There it is; that sums it up. That's what Moses did. He had it all and he could've kept it all-but it would've cost him-it would've eaten away at him knowing he was making a compromise and he decided he couldn't live with himself for rejecting God. When we compromise God will not allow us to be comfortable with that. When you're a child of God and you choose to "go back to Egypt", God will not let that happen without feeling the discomfort of making that poor choice.
Hopefully we make the faith choice of forsaking the pleasures of sin so we can enjoy the freedom of righteousness. George Mueller (Evangelist who established schools and orphanages) said, "I was converted in November, 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July, 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else.
And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing with which you are taken up irrespective of God? I can say from my heart, God is an infinitely lovely Being. Oh, be not satisfied until in your own inmost soul you can say, God is an infinitely lovely Being!"
I was listening to a podcast from Ravi Zacharias recently from his message titled, "What is worthwhile under the sun". In it he stated, "Pleasure for pleasure's sake will leave you empty." Seeking pleasure only for the sake of pleasure will eventually wear out. Ravi said that pleasure has a perpetual shelf life and that pleasure can be a means but never an end in itself.
He shared a story where he went to Hong Kong and met with a Billionaire who had come to Christ and Ravi asked how that came to be and he stated that he had everything he could ever want but still felt empty. He went to a church service and after a few times realized that Jesus was what he had been missing. When seeking pleasure and having your pleasures met are the primary thing you will find yourself to be empty inside.
With that said, there is a place for legitimate pleasure to be found. When we find legitimate pleasure in the things of God we will be well off. When we enjoy the things God gives us to enjoy and give thanks to him we are well off. When we honor God instead of the thing that brings us pleasure we will be well off.
In that, the focus is not on pleasure so much as it's kept on God. In that we are not simply seeking pleasure for pleasure's sake we are seeking God who is pleasurable. Although we value the pleasure that derives from the blessings he bestows upon us, the primary focus remains on God as it should.
We should find pleasure in the healthy things we do; especially when they're the things of God. Because when the enjoyment of something is not there you will no doubt grow tired of it soon enough. Take the things of God. If I read the bible only because I feel I should I will get no enjoyment out of it; it will bring me no pleasure. Put anything else in that slot and you have the same result whether it be prayer or church attendance or whatever.
I've had to contend with that myself regarding reading and studying God's word. I found myself only doing it when there was a means to an end-preparing a bible lesson or a sermon. I had pushed aside reading the word of God for the pure enjoyment of it.
Are you doing the things of God but they have become a chore to you? Pray to have the purpose of pleasure regarding the things of God returned to you-that you may continue doing the valuable things of God with passion and zeal.
Because when we find pleasure in the things of God we will find intimacy with God. We will be worshipping God and in worshipping God we find intimacy with God and in our intimate moments with God we become inspired by the Holy Spirit and when we become inspired we become a force, we become an influence, we become bright light; we become a sweet and nourishing fruit-bearer.
This is what happens when the enjoyment of God returns to us. No pleasure the world has to offer comes anywhere close to what the pleasure of God will do for you.
So we must decide which life has the greatest value. Moses was taught the wisdom of the Egyptians but he forsook that because he knew the wisdom of God was greater by far. Paul arrived at the same conclusion. He was well-educated; an esteemed Pharisee. Yet, in Phil. 3 he said he considered it all loss for the sake of knowing Christ.
"He was looking ahead to his reward".
Moses delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and spent the last 40 years of his life wandering around in the desert. Moses gave up a lot for God and didn't get his reward; he wasn't allowed to enter into the Promised Land of Canaan. That would be reserved for his successor-Joshua. However, his reward was a future one when he would enter the real Promised Land; which would make all the sacrifice worth it.
So it is with us. If we feel we're not "compensated" very much for the sacrifices we make for the Lord we can take comfort in knowing we will be later. 2nd Cor. 4:16-18, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Moses was able to forsake the visible pleasures of sin because of his faith in the invisible pleasures of God.
Our faith enables us to persevere through our trials and troubles because we believe that there is something better for us waiting on the other side when this life is over. It takes faith.
