The Faith of Moses

Mark Dunagan
11/09/14 - Sunday Morning

The Faith of Moses

Imagine a young man being adopted by a highly successful, liberal and trendy thinking East Coast family, surrounded by every luxury, growing up in a country club atmosphere: ski trips to the Alps, vacations in the south of France, boarding school, and having access to a constant circle of very powerful and influential people. Imagine that this young man goes to private school and then a prestigious college alongside the sons and daughters of presidents, senators, movie producers, and heads of American corporations. He also excels in every way and is fully accepted in this world in which he has been adopted, and yet he decides to turn his back on all of it, and becomes a loyal follower of Christ, worshipping and serving alongside the faithful in a humble congregation for the rest of his life. Meet Moses: a man of faith.

The Decision

“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict” (Hebrews 11:23).

From this passage in Hebrews we learn that both of Moses' parents had great faith in God and were involved in the courageous decision to hide their baby son (Exodus 2:2). In Acts 7:20 Stephen speaks of Moses as being beautiful to God. It seems that the text is meaning more than that Moses was simply a cute child, but rather that God had revealed to Amram and Jochebed that this child was beautifully suited for God’s plan and purposes. Note that since they did this by “faith” they must have "heard" God's word on the matter (Romans 10:17). 

Pharaoh’s Daughter

In the book of Exodus, we learn that the loving mother of Moses was allowed to continue having contact with her son even after Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him (2:7-8). What chance did Moses have of growing up loyal to the one true and living God, when surrounded by all the luxury and idolatry of Egypt? Such concerns did not stop Moses' mother from doing all she could to care and be with him. Stephen in Acts chapter 7 adds that Moses was thoroughly educated in all the learning of the Egyptians (Acts 7:22), which means that he was given the Egyptian point of view in every the subject he was taught. 

• The Egyptians had plenty of time and opportunity to fully indoctrinate Moses in their way of thinking and believing.
• On the surface it looked like all that the Hebrews could offer him was suffering, poverty and hardship.
• The Egyptians looked successfully, sophisticated and smart, while the Hebrews were slaves, and on the surface it looked like the gods of the Egyptians were far more powerful than the God of the Hebrews.

How encouraging that Moses does not lose his faith, but rather, in this adversarial environment, he finds his faith. We too can arm our young people with enough truth and demonstrate a close, heartfelt relationship with our Savior so that they can spiritually weather any spiritual onslaught our enemy has in mind as they leave the family nest or go off to college. 

The Refusal

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Hebrews 11:24).

May we never forget: There exists things that faith will surely reject. It was not that Moses was kicked out of the family and that he had no other choice than to side with the Hebrews, for the term refused suggests that Moses had been fully accepted as a member of the royal family and there may have been a lot of pressure from the family and others to remain in his Egyptian family. Moses was around 40 years old when he made this decision of refusal (Exodus 2:10). Whoever the daughter was, this refusal meant that Moses would have sacrificed access to tremendous power, great influence, instant pleasure and luxurious wealth.

The Choice

“Choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the power of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

The text makes it clear that this was a choice made by Moses. God did not overwhelm him or force him to act. In addition, this section makes it abundantly clear that Moses fully understood the ramifications of his choice. He knew that he was turning his back on tremendous earthly wealth, fame and all sorts of earthly pleasures that he could enjoy virtually any time he wanted. The text also suggests that Moses understood that the pleasures offered or available to him were sinful, pleasurable and very temporary. On a smaller scale, we too, when every temptation sparkles with all its charm, and so much seems to be stacked in its favor, can make this kind of heroic and noble choice.

The Power of Faith

What Moses understood was that compared to genuine faith, all that Egypt had to offer looked incredibly weak. Notice that God does not seek to compete with the temporary pleasures of Egypt, rather He simply holds out his arms and offers himself and eternal life. People at times speak of leaving home, going off to school and losing their faith, but the example of Moses makes us rethink such a claim. They may have lost something, but genuine faith will always sides with God.

Passing Pleasures of Sin

One temptation that faces each generation is to think that the temptations which confront them are stronger than anything that previous generations have faced. Yet such is not true. Sin was very accessible for Moses. The lesson is that even easily accessible sin, such as pornography, which on every smart phone is one click away, is not an unfair test of any person. Moses lived in a world in which he could enjoy just about any sinful pleasure at a moment’s notice or with one command — yet he refused. The real test of our faith is not how we do when in a safe or controlled environment, but how we do all by ourselves when no one is watching. Moses was honest about sin. It was enjoyable, but it was also quite short-lived.

“Considering”

I am impressed that the Holy Spirit in this section links faith with:

• Refusing what is not in our best eternal interest.
• Making a clear choice.
• Considering the cost of the decision.
• Not being afraid of any threats.
• Focused on the eternal reward.
• Resisting temptation that is right before us and so accessible.

“The Reproach of Christ”

This expression may mean simply a general suffering for Christ, that is, for God’s cause. Suffering would befall Moses because, in a sense, like Jesus, he was God’s anointed, he was the "savior" for his generation. This may also mean that Moses understood that his role was to deliver God’s people and all of this was done in light of the arrival of a future Messiah. Both Abraham and Moses understood the promises about a Messiah (John 8:56; Deuteronomy 18:15). In deciding to side with God and His people, Moses fully realized that the terrible things that people said about the true God would likewise be directed at him. Centuries later, Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (John 15:18). In becoming a Christian, we, like Moses, are freely accepting and are more than willing to take on the role of receiving some of the flak that unbelievers direct toward God. 

“Greater Riches”

People can only be pulled away from God when they lose sight of the “greater riches”. May we all resolve that when tempted to side with the world for the sake of popularity or comfort, to never lose sight of the value of our precious relationship with our Heavenly Father. May we, like Moses, look to the reward.

May we have a faith that is focused on being with the God who loves us and is willing to walk thru the wilderness and endure any hardship in order to reach that goal. He deserves our heartfelt loyalty.

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net