I. Introduction
A. The letter to the Hebrews was written to a community of Jews who had come to know Christ, but whose faith was wavering. They had significantly underestimated how difficult it would be to follow Christ. From the start they knew it would be hard, but they expected it to be short — it seems they really expected Jesus to return and rescue them before it went on too long. But now Jesus hadn’t returned, and they were experiencing more persecution than they had bargained for. Mainly it was from their former friends, who were ridiculing their new faith and pressuring them to return to Judaism.
B. The author of Hebrews wants to communicate with his readers that what they’re experiencing is par for the course, that everyone who walks down the road of faith goes through these kinds of trials. To get this point across, in Hebrews 11 the author has been bringing to their attention an inspiring series of OT heroes of faith who faced similar troubles and yet put their faith in God nonetheless.
C. Like last week, this morning we have six stories and a lesson.
D. The title of this sermon is “Moses and Faith,” but this passage is not just about Moses. Though the first four stories have to do with Moses, it is also about other aspects and people from the Exodus story and the entrance into the promised land.
II. The six stories of Hebrews 11:23–31
A. The story of Moses being hidden by his parents (Exod.2:2-3)
1. You remember what Exodus 2:2–3 says of Moses’ mother: “The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the reeds by the river bank.”
2. Apparently there was something impressive about Moses’ appearance, something that made his family think that he had been blessed in some special way by God, that his remarkable appearance in some way implied that there was a special divine calling upon the child.
3. And so we read in 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. The story of Moses walking away from his privileges as a prince of Egypt and joining his fellow Israelites
1. We’re not told the details of how Moses turned his heart away from Egypt and identified with Israel. It may have happened in Exod.2:11, where we’re told that when Moses had grown up, one day he “went out to his people and looked on their burdens.” Either at this time or some other, in his heart Moses bonded with his people. (Probably he had heard about his people and God’s promise to them from his birth family while he was a child – Exod.2:10).
2. After killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, he fled to Midian, where he met Jethro and married Zipporah, and encountered God in the burning bush.
3. And so we’re told in Heb.11:24-27 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
4. If you’re familiar with this story in Exodus, you might be surprised that here in Hebrews 11:27 we’re told that Moses was not afraid of Pharaoh’s anger.
a. Compare: “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king” AND
b. Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. -Ex.2:14-15
c. There are various ways to understand this. Here’s the way I like to think of it:
(1) Moses acted courageously to defend the Israelite who was being beaten, refusing to fear Pharaoh but fearing God. His defense of the enslaved Israelite proved fatal to the Egyptian, so Moses tried to hide what he’d done.
(2) When it became apparent that his secret was out, he fled to Midian out of self-preservation. He feared the Pharaoh in a similar way that Paul feared those who were after him. He feared them in the sense of prudently fleeing their violent wrath, but he didn’t fear them in the sense of fearing them above God. If Moses had feared Pharaoh in an ultimate sense, he would never have sided with Israel.
C. The story of the original Passover (Exod.12:21-30)
1. After the first nine devastating divine plagues, God told the people to kill a lamb to eat and put its blood on the doorway of their homes. The tenth plague involved the angel of death coming to kill the firstborn of each household. The people of Israel believed God’s promise that the angel of death would pass over the homes where blood had been put on the lintels.
2. Thus, we read in Heb.11:28 “By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”
D. The story of Israel crossing the Red Sea (Exod.14:21-30)
1. God led His people out of Egypt and up to the Red Sea. When the Egyptian army came after them there they were trapped. But through Moses God parted the waters of the sea and the people of Israel went across on dry land.
2. And so Heb.11:29 says, “By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.”
E. The story of the conquest of Jericho (Josh.6) and the story of Rahab helping the spies (Josh.6:25)
1. Finally, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, Israel crossed into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua. God led them first to the city of Jericho, where two spies were sheltered by a prostitute named Rahab, who had come to believe in the Lord. The spies promising her that she and her family would be spared when God gave the city into Israel’s hands.
2. After following God’s strange instructions to circle the city for seven days, the walls of Jericho fell down and the Israelites easily took the city.
3. And so Hebrews 11:30-31 tells us, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.”
III. Of these six stories, there is one which is expanded on in more detail and with more application. That is the story of Moses forsaking the privileges of Egypt and siding with the people of Israel. So, let’s look into that one a little more.
A. First, let’s look at how faith is exemplified in this story.
1. Heb.11:24, 26 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter... He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”
2. Why is what happens here referred to as faith? Let me explain it: on the surface it looked like the privileges of his position in Egypt were fantastic while being considered an Israelite was full only with disadvantages.
a. What did the Israelites have? They were slaves. They didn’t own anything. They were owned.
b. But the Egyptians, with their glorious kingdom, had everything. They were the hammer, the Israelites were the nail.
c. Think about the choice Moses had before him!
(1) On the one hand, there was deprivation, danger, and humiliation.
(2) On the other hand, there was luxury, security, and exaltation.
(3) It looked like a no-brainer!
d. But Moses knew better! Moses knew about something which couldn’t be seen. Moses knew about and believed the promises God had made to Abraham that his descendants would be a great people living in a land of plenty, a people through whom God would bless the entire world.
e. By faith Moses knew that the Israelites, though they looked poor and downtrodden, were actually far richer than the Egyptians.
3. That’s why Moses chose “rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”
4. And look how things turned out — even in historical terms!
a. Pharaoh is a name in a list of pharaohs in a book on Egyptian history somewhere.
b. Moses is one of the most well-known and respected leaders in history.
B. 27 “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”
1. He knew whom to fear. He didn’t fear the Pharaoh because he feared God, and knew that God was much bigger than Pharaoh.
C. When the author of Hebrews wrote these things, he was writing to help Jewish Christians not go limp in response to the sting of persecution and ridicule from their fellow Jews.
1. The author finds in this story the perfect analogy to the situation the Hebrew Christians found themselves in the midst of.
2. Just as Moses had to make the hard decision to forsake the people of his upbringing, the people who were in the driver’s seat in society, and to side with the poor and underprivileged people of God, so similarly the Hebrews who had come to Christ were being asked to forsake the people of their upbringing, the people who were in the driver’s seat in their society, and side with the poor and underprivileged people of God.
3. So the author is saying to his readers: “My Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ, like Moses you must refuse to be called the sons and daughters of rebellious Israel. You must choose rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. You must consider the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of being an accepted member of your former community of family and friends. For you are was looking to the reward. Don’t be afraid of their ridicule and disapproval, but persevere by keeping your eyes on the One who is invisible.”
D. But God knew that we’d need the same help as they did. And so, embedded in the story of Moses walking away from his privileges as a prince of Egypt and joining his fellow Israelites in Heb.11:24-27 are lessons which we need to hear to address the pressures we face in our lives.
1. Because we face the same kinds of pressures, don’t we?
2. A life of faith often means a life of being rejected by the people around you.
3. It involves choosing the inconveniences and the deprivations and the disadvantages of being associated with the Lord’s people. It involves accepting the fact that they won’t think you’re cool.
4. Jesus taught us this, didn’t He? “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
5. You lose a lot by being a Christian.
6. But it’s not like it’s a bad deal. The treasures of God are far greater than the pleasures of the world.
7. From a purely earthly perspective, it looks crazy, but it’s actually the deal of a lifetime!
8. Here’s the bottom line for each of us:
a. On the one side you have all of the world’s pleasures.
b. And on the other hand you have the promised treasures of the Lord.
9. You can only have one.
a. For a while you might be able to deceive yourself into thinking that you can have both. But you can’t. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)
10. So which are you going to choose? You’ve got to make a decision. Who’s side are you on?
11. What do you really believe in?
12. Do you want the temporary pleasures of sin? Or do you want the eternal treasures of Christ?
13. This isn’t about being good. This is about being smart.
14. This is deferred gratification.
15. You can have a little bit of pleasure now and then suffer for it for a long time or you can have a little bit of suffering now and then enjoy pleasures forever. That’s the choice we each have to make.
16. It all comes down to whether you believe it or not, doesn’t it?
17. Moses was looking at the true wealth, the eternal treasures, recognizing that the pleasures of sin are fleeting.
a. So, be like Moses and “Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” – Colossians 3:2
E. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
F. We don’t believe a different set of promises than Abraham and Moses. We believe the same ones.
1. We’re still waiting for the promised land.
2. Right now we’re mistreated. We’re reproached by those who seem to be much bigger and stronger than we are.
3. But we know God’s promises.
a. We know that the One who is for us is much bigger than the one who is against us.
b. We know that the land we’re going to is much better than the land we live in now.
c. We know that the people of Christ are far richer than the people of the world.
d. We know that things don’t look now like they will when the day of promise comes. We know that on that day the ones who are last now will be first, the ones who weep now will laugh, the ones who are poor will possess the kingdom of God, the ones who are hungry now will be satisfied, the ones who are hated and excluded and ridiculed and rejected because of Jesus will obtain a great reward on that day. And we know that those who are rich now, and those who are full now, shall be poor and hungry on that day. The ones who laugh now shall mourn and weep then. And the people who are loved by all are the ones who will be rejected. (Luke 6:20–26)
G. Mothers of young children
1. As a Christian mom, you’re going to have different ways of thinking about marriage, about parenting, about living than those who are not Christians. You might even be ostracized at times.
2. Don’t let it bother you. You are seeking an eternal treasure. Your thinking is not based on this world alone. Remember that Jesus is your Lord and also Your friend. Remember that He is coming back.