FAITH AFFECTS OTHERS. Hebrews 11:28
Moses (drawn out) was a man of faith who walked before the nation of Israel, trusting God and acting on God's commands, even when opposition against him was strong. He knew he was engaged in spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness, as some of the miracles God performed through him were imitated by the magicians of Egypt. He had previously tried to deal with injustice by killing an Egyptian taskmaster, but now realized those tactics would not work.
The strengths and accomplishments during the third forty-year period of Moses' life were largely shaped by the eighty years of preparation. In the wilderness, he heard God's voice as the Lord revealed His plans to His servant. He learned there much more about who God is than before. He tried to argue with God about his own inadequacies and learned that God's "strength is made perfect in weakness." He learned to share leadership responsibilities with Aaron, who was a better speaker but a weak leader. By God's direction, he called the Israelites to assemble and learned that God can do what we cannot, even with our best efforts.
We need to remember that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” When faith is ready to respond to God and move forward, God is there to provide what we need. Faith is safe and sheltered by the power of the blood of Christ. We have trusted God’s word and have been accepted because of the value of what our Lord has done for us. He brought us near to God when He entered the Holiest of all with His own blood, and brought us there with Him.
The sin-cleansing power of the sacrifice our Lord Jesus Christ made for us has conquered sin and death, opening heaven to us. With cleansed hearts and consciences, we can go into the presence of God in the full assurance of faith. We live, work, worship, and rejoice in the power of the blood of Christ, our Passover. We keep the feast of remembrance, which focuses our minds and hearts on “the Lamb that was slain, who liveth again, and intercedes for us.”
Moses knew how to be saved from the wrath of God and openly encouraged the Israelites to find shelter behind the blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of their houses. Shelter for them, even though they had been serving “the gods on the other side of the flood (Red Sea),” was found only by applying the blood of the innocent Passover lamb. They acted by faith for the first time in response to Moses’s words. His words of redemption by blood came from God and were passed on to them, even though they didn’t have the faith Moses had. The yearly Passover celebration was to remind Israel of how God delivered them, but each person had to act on what God said to them through Moses.
We must warn people of the wrath to come, not just talk about love. We must have the courage of faith to preach what the Bible says, even though the majority of those who hear us will not put their faith where ours is – in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ alone. People must know that it is “by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”