It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward. It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
Hebrews 11:24-28
Before you even begin to read this Gem related to the faith of Moses I would like you to stop and consider for yourself – what elements of Moses’ story would you choose to highlight his faith? Just pick three moments in Moses’ life that you would choose to exemplify Moses’ faith and write them on the Comments section below this Gem on this website. I will tell you my three choices later via the Comments page at the right time. That right time being when some of you have listed your three Moses moments.
Do you notice something different about this example of faith? Do you see it is the only one where a single person used as an example of faith has the “by faith” element repeated three times. All others have one mention which kicks off the discussion concerning the way they exemplify faith. But for Moses, the “by faith” element is used three times. Why? Don’t ask me, try to work it out for yourself. I will leave this too, open ended and put my conclusions in the Comments slot. Ponder it for yourself.
It is fascinating to me that the examples the author chose to highlight Moses’ faith are curious to say the least.
- That Moses refused to be called Pharoah’s daughter’s son and aligned himself with God’s people and Christ’s suffering.
- That Moses left Egypt not fearing the Pharaoh’s anger and kept going.
- That Moses commanded the people to keep the Passover and sprinkle the door posts with the blood.
I am sure those three examples of faith didn’t make your list, if you made your list at all and without looking. You have to admit those are curious examples. Furthermore, I bet you wouldn’t have chosen the titles I chose below.
Refusing . . . Choosing . . . Considering
The emphasis in this first example is on the verbs: refusing, choosing, considering. When did these actions take place? Literally, when Moses was [megas]. What does that mean? The versions put it various ways: ‘grown up’, ‘became a man’, ‘became a great leader’, ‘come to years’, ‘fully 40 years old’. What was it that was in focus with the word [megas]? Was it age, maturity, something physical or was it his faith was that was in focus? Just saying!
The verbs in this first section are interesting. He refused [arneomai] to be known as son of pharaoh’s daughter. I.e. he rejected or disdained his Egyptian royal status. Rather he chose, preferred [aihreomai] the sufferings of God’s people (slaves and oppressed people) to the pleasures of the palace. He considered, counted, [hēgeomai] weighed in the balance or totalled up the ledger, enduring the affliction and degradation of the slaves in comparison with the future reward or treasures. Which all means that Moses thought through the pros and cons with each consideration. This is a very difficult concept to grasp in order to understand what the writer was saying. In what way was Moses looking to future heavenly rewards? It seems the focus was not the land promised to Abraham and the patriarchs; it’s more than that! What are the heavenly rewards Moses was focused on? He appears to be looking beyond the Promised Land. Was Moses really looking to the blessings of heaven, the great eternal reward, salvation in all its fullness? (Hebrews 11:39ff) How is that possible?
Believe me the complications are only just beginning. This first “by faith” example will tell you there are more deep thoughts to come. These verses (11:24-26) have to leave you with more questions than answers. In what way could Moses himself be suffering for Christ? This idea sends the commentators scrambling for answers. The suffering of the people of God appears to be compared with sufferings of Christ at the crucifixion or with the sufferings of the Hebrew Christians to come. Just what is being said here?
The commentators come up with five alternatives:-
- Moses suffered like Christ
- Moses suffered for the sake of Christ
- Moses suffered the reproach, having the coming of Christ in mind
- Moses suffered with the Anointed One like all who are ambassadors for Christ in a rebellious world.
- Christ suffered when Moses suffered.
How are we to interpret these comments? Allow me to suggest something radical here. There are two references in the Bible which connect Moses with Christ in time. The first one is here in this passage:-
He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
Hebrews 11:26
The other is:-
In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:2-4
Is there a closer connection between Moses and Christ than we realise? I once heard a rabbi say that there is a story told in rabbinical circles that when God took Moses to the top of Mt Sinai and showed him the pattern for the tabernacle and the details of the Law, that in fact He showed Moses more besides. God also is thought to have taken Moses back in time and showed him a snap-shot of creation. The belief is that Moses saw the creation of world from the beginning of time. Could it also be possible that Moses saw into the future to the time of Christ and beyond? I don’t hold to this thought as though it is biblical truth. It’s just a saying, an anecdote retold from rabbinical sources. But you have to admit it would unlock some answers to some deep unfathomable questions. Once again, just saying.
Not Fearing . . . Kept Going
This is the second example which begins with “By faith Moses left Egypt” not fearing the king’s anger. Once again commentators go into a frenzy on this statement.
- This was when Moses fled to Midian.
- This was when Moses left on the Exodus journey and took the slaves with him.
Actually this had nothing to do with any kind of fear in Moses at all. The author makes it very clear. Moses departure from Egypt on either of these times was not due to fear of Pharaoh. Rather it seems to me that the time in Midian was used by God to train Moses. In fact it all started with Moses taking the time to go out to visit with his people and take in what was happening to them. His killing of the Egyptian was a result of Moses wanting to protect the people. Again this happened when Moses was grown up. [Hebrew –gadal; Greek – megas]. Mmm interesting! You see God had training in mind when Moses went to Midian. The burning bush experience (Ex 3) and training in signs and wonders and in throwing the staff (Ex 4).
If the focus was on the Exodus journey, then surely the training was in dealing with God’s people. Then it included the need for the leader to develop the perseverance and the grace to deal with an obstinate people prone to grumbling. The author of Hebrews summed it when he wrote, “He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” That demonstrates faith if nothing else does.
Commanding . . . Keep on Sprinkling Blood
The third “By faith . . .” statement related to Moses
It was by faith that Moses commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill their firstborn sons.
Hebrews 11:28
is yet another enigmatic one. I think this statement has an on-going sense to it. Yes of course, in the first instance the focus is on the immediate threat to the Israelites during the plague of the first-born. But you and I know there is a future element to this as well. (Exodus 12:14-20) It is all to do with the ultimate covering of the blood in Christ. Isn’t that the hint that is in this verse? I believe it is. I wonder therefore whether Moses knew more than we give him credit for. Could it be that the LORD ALMIGHTY gave Moses more of a glimpse than just the creation week? Did Moses get a glimpse into the role of the coming Anointed One and what His shed blood would mean? If that is the case then Moses was not just talking about the institution of the Passover but also its on going effect. Don’t miss the fact that Moses commanded the people of God not to stop sprinkling the blood. Once again, did he know more than we credit him for? I suspect so.
If all this is true then Moses’ faith was outstanding on all levels. I will leave you to ponder it all.
Does this spark a response in you now to:
want to come up with your own list of Moses’ exploits which demonstrate faith?
or does it lead you to some conclusions as to why there are three “by faiths” connected with Moses? Talk to me.
It is not who you were but who you are willing to be that will take you to a better future.
Moses son of Amram
Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.
Ian
One of the great tests of your faith is how positive you remain when everything has gone wrong or everyone is against you.
Rick Warren
Timing plays an important part in learning to trust God. If He did everything we asked for immediately, we would never grow and develop.
Joyce Meyer
Ian’s Response to the Choices and the 3 ‘by faith’ Repetitions
Most of you have chosen for your three examples Moses acts in the God’s action by way of response. That is natural for us to do as humans. I wonder, like Mike Clancey, whether the issue at heart here is the difference between ‘short term’ and ‘long term’ faith as Mike put it. I think it has something to do with what the psalmist wrote in the sense that the Israelites saw God’s act but Moses knew His ways. (See Psalm 103:7) We tend to see the action that resulted, but I think we are being told that Moses’ faith was more longer term than that. It strikes me that each of the ‘by faith’ examples chosen for Moses are long term responses.
- Moses refusal to be enticed by the trappings of wealth and ease of life in Egypt in preference to suffering with the Jewish slaves.
- Moses leaving Egypt and keeping going himself and the people too despite their constant desire to quit and go back to Egypt.
- Instructing the people to keep practising the sprinkling of blood knowing there was a higher, eternal purpose.
These aren’t short term acts of God type examples. They relate to long term ways or purposes of God. It strikes me that it’s easier to stick with something hard when you know the purpose or the end result of it. Is that the reason behind the difference? And furthermore is that the reason why the author separates each of the examples he uses for Moses with three “by faith” repetitions? Emphasising with each example the deep structure, long term nature of each example he has used. I don’t know for sure, but it’s worth thinking about.
When I see him I will ask him and then tell you his response. If you get to him first then you ask him and tell me.
I can see why you asked the question. Its hard to distinguish between ‘long term’ faith that drives someone forward and ‘short term’ faith in response to an instruction…..or does that distinction need to be made? So for me the 3 would be:
1. Going back to Egypt from Midian as leader in spite of his doubts.
2. Facing Pharaoh with the demand for the release of a people..
3. Receiving the law on Sinai.
My three would be
1. Responding by going to Pharaoh
2. Raising his arms for the battle with the help of two others so his people would win
3. Going up the mountain to hear from God
My three picks for faith examples of Moses are the Burning bush, the 10 plagues and crossing the Red Sea.
Before reading your gem I would have said I think it took tremendous faith to take God at his word and
1. throw down the staff expecting it to turn into a snake
2. Hold up the staff and see the waters retreat
3. The first time he was told to hit the rock in front of the people when they needed water.
And I chose my three because of the huge crowd of witnesses that would have not believed God if the events did not happen as God said it would.
I have held my comment on the choices until now to give more of you the chance to make your choice and comments. I am also aware that some of you have had trouble in adding your comment. So I figure it is time to add my comments now. I will add to the bottom of the Gem rather than in this Comment slot. I typed my answer before and then lost it because I think it was cut off when I reached a certain number of words or characters. For that reason I will add my comment at the foot of this Gem (2144) after the quotes. Including my take on the “by faith” repetition in the case of Moses.
Hahaha, thanks Ian. Yes one day all will be clear to us! I also have a few other questions of a simplier nature I want to know. E.g. Why did God give a new set of teeth to seven year olds when he could also have arranged it to give us another new set when we reached our fifties…? What were the dark ages about and where was the true faith through those times? Etc etc etc. I am looking forward to the deeper and the simple insights.