FAITH CHOOSES ETERNAL LIGHT. Hebrews 11:24-26 To Moses, the phrase “people of God” was not empty words. He didn’t suffer affliction with the children of Israel because they were his people. He knew they were “The people of God.” He truly believed Israel stood in a special relationship with the living God and had a significant role to play in the redemption of the world. He had to choose between Egypt’s culture, wealth, and all it offered, and the belief in a coming world Savior.
Moses didn’t redeem Israel. God did. But Moses had a clear understanding of the principles of redemption and the faith to apply them. Moses’ parents, by faith, saw him as a potential deliverer of his nation. Their primary ambition for their son was that he would be an effective worker for God in the salvation of their countrymen. Moses, in turn, weighed the comparative value of things and made a calm, deliberate decision to pursue the valuable.
The life of Moses offers valuable lessons for us. If we want to act in accordance with God’s will, we must develop habits of obedience to God. Consistent obedience to God is best cultivated when we are not under stress. If we are committed to obedience, when stress comes, our natural reaction will be to obey God. Personal greatness does not make a person immune to error and its consequences. God did not reject Moses when he outright disobeyed. Moses simply disqualified himself from entering the promised land. We learn from this man of faith the value of walking in obedience to God despite obstacles, fear of the unknown, opposition from friends and foes, and self-doubt.
Caring parents who knew the value of a child – a mother who recognized uniqueness when she saw it – quiet crooning in a far corner when the baby was awake – but he grew, and so did his voice. Holy Moses – set apart for God from his birth! An act of careful calculation – slime and pitch applied – until waterproof – it really did float – the ark, that is – and in a safe watery place he lies, with watching eyes – now from a distance – Holy Moses – set apart from the crowd!
Dark Egyptian eyes watch, and careful hands lift the lid. A loud infant cry makes hearts all around melt with love. The child, preordained, is raised in the fear of God, then taken to “The Big House” and named “Drawn Out.” Holy Moses – set apart from his family! An act in haste by a man well- grown. The distance increases in miles and culture. A king-leader in training becomes a shepherd in learning. Lessons are unlearned and learned in God’s school. Holy Moses – set apart to give form to and lead a nation!
“Be ye holy for I am holy,” God speaks to me. A difference, obvious to both eye and ear, is expected from all who march to the heavenly drumbeat. Separate in morality and spirituality – even in culture – a holy people, a holy nation, a holy priesthood; and I am one with them!
For Moses, such a reproach was more honorable and valuable than all of Egypt's treasures. Moses’ personality was shaped by God. God took Moses’ characteristics and molded them until they were suited to His purposes. God wants to take what He created in the first place and use it for His unfolding purposes. The life of Moses is defined by three forty-year periods. He was a descendant of Levi, the second son of Amram and Jochebed. His older brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, were born under slavery. Because a death sentence had been issued against all Hebrew boys at the time of his birth, Moses was hidden by his mother in an "ark" from which he was taken by Pharaoh's daughter, who claimed him as her son. Instructed in Egyptian wisdom for forty years, he eventually refused Egyptian sonship. When he tried to defend his people and was rejected by the Hebrews, he fled to Midian.
When Moses identified himself with the people of God, he chose Christ, who would become the Messiah, the promised One Israel was looking for. The affliction he suffered was “the reproach of Christ,” what Christ suffered when He was on earth. “He was despised and rejected of men,” “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” However, such reproach brings great riches (rewards) from God. The courage of faith looks beyond the trials of the present.
Everyone lives by faith in something or someone. What we believe in is what we live for and love. The choice between an earthly life of faith in temporal things that can be seen and a life of faith in God that joins itself to live a divine, heavenly life that looks for unseen and eternal things is personal. One is “for a season,” and the other is “greater riches” that are the recompense of reward.
Moses’ choice is a remarkable illustration of this. On the one side were the “lust of the flesh,” “the pleasures of sin for a season,” “the lust of the eyes,” “the treasures of Egypt,” “the pride of life,”
“the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” On the other side were the facts that they would be evil entreated, bear reproach, and look forward to the recompense of the reward. In this context, the readers of the epistle of Hebrews were being taught a new way of life under the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me, there will be separation from the world that despised, rejected, and crucified our Lord. There will also be a choice to join the people of God or not. There will be a willingness to suffer the reproach of Christ. The contrast between living for Christ and pursuing the pleasures of sin for a season will be obvious. Living for Christ is not a quick, hot-headed, enthusiastic decision but the result of a calm, deliberate decision to go for what is valuable and lasting.
Pleasure or being treated badly are not necessarily good or bad. They are the result of a more fundamental choice. Do I believe my actions now will affect my eternal future? Do I truly believe there is an eternal future I am being trained for now? Do the things I may not get, or the reproach I may suffer now, make a difference to my future and the future of other people? Moses considered the reproach and rejection of the present that he shared with the people of God more honorable and valuable than anything Egypt had to offer.