FAITH HAS COURAGE. Hebrews 11:29 By the time Moses returned to Egypt, he had learned to endure rejection without losing sight of the objective to which he was called. He was rejected by Pharaoh and even by the Israelites themselves, but under divine authority and power, he prevailed over Pharaoh when the ten plagues had run their course. His command to prepare for and keep the Passover was carried out by Israel, a fledgling nation of disorganized slaves.
Each event on the way out of Egypt strengthened his leadership as long as he obeyed God's commands. The crossing of the Red Sea, the healing of the bitter water at Marah, and the provision of manna and quails were all accomplished by God through the hand of his servant Moses, who had learned to obey the voice of God. To be in the presence of God on Mt. Sinai and there receive the covenant with Israel and the Ten Commandments; to receive all the instructions regarding the building of the Tabernacle; and to learn and pass on the reasons for and the way to sacrifice indicate the faith and convictions of Moses, the lawgiver. As a prophet and lawgiver, he was the author of the Pentateuch.
Even though the Israelites had left Egypt as a large tribe of redeemed, released, and rich people, when the first obstacle confronted them, Moses' faith proved effective. He had the faith to believe that Israel would cross the Red Sea, but he was not sure how until he called on the Lord. When he heard the word of the Lord and stretched out the rod over the sea as an act of faith, he had the faith to believe that Israel would cross on dry land, with walls of water on each side, and that they would not drown.
With the courage of faith, he moved the people to commit for the first time to an act of faith and to cross the Red Sea between those two walls of water to safety. This is the first time we read of an act of faith by those redeemed slaves. “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as on dry land.” “They were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”
We rejoice by faith that we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and have begun a new life in Christ. Following that good start, there is a necessity to surrender to the will of God in this new life. We will face difficulties we cannot handle, but by faith in God, He opens doors and ways that would have been impossible for us.
The act of baptism is an act of surrender, obedience, and faith that opens a path that those who oppose us cannot follow. By nature, the testimony of death, burial, and resurrection marks us as different and identifies us publicly with our Lord Jesus Christ. That act of faith takes courage because it commits us to a life of separation from the world and to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a public commitment that is obvious to anyone who knows us.
The Israelites reproached Moses for bringing them “out of Egypt to die in the wilderness,” but in faith, he cried to the Lord for deliverance. God’s miracle may have been an act of faith that passed through the hearts of the Israelites only temporarily, but Moses' faith will be remembered forever. It has been recorded in “The Song of Moses,” which was sung on the banks of the Red Sea, and it will be sung in the future when it is linked with “The Song of the Lamb.”
What happened to them happens to us when we are delivered from the wages of sin by the grace of God through faith. Then we have to wait upon the Lord and do His will. When God opens ways to live for Him that are naturally impossible for us, we will pass through trials and difficulties with songs of thanksgiving and praise.
The Holy Spirit teaches us, and we follow our Lord in resurrection life, with our affections set on things above, not on things on the earth. Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, and we “look off unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.” He is our Great High Priest, who lives and intercedes for us at the right hand of God.
After the events at Sinai, where he was called to God’s presence, received the law, confirmed the covenant with Israel, and spent forty days on Mt. Sinai, where he received the pattern of the tabernacle, Moses interceded for Israel's sins. Again, he went up the mountain and was recommissioned and encouraged. The tabernacle was built exactly as God required; Aaron was consecrated; the people were numbered, and they observed the Passover. Through all of these experiences, Moses acted in faith.
From the wanderings from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea and right to his death, Moses "endured as seeing Him who is invisible." Seventy elders were appointed; Moses was rebuked by Miriam and Aaron; he sent spies into the promised land and pleaded with rebellious Israel. During those years of wandering in the wilderness, he announced God’s judgment; "lifted up" the brazen serpent; gave instructions concerning inheritance; and gave farewell messages. He committed the written law to the priests; saw the promised land from Mt. Nebo; and died in full strength at one hundred and twenty years.
To live by faith is a spiritual warfare. God redeemed Israel, but used Moses to proclaim that redemption and lead the people out after they had been redeemed. God has told us of wrath to come, yet many do not warn their fellow man, as Moses did, to kill the lamb; to walk in faith across dry land with water piled up on each side (baptized unto Moses), and to expect food, flesh, and water in the wilderness of this ungodly world. Conflicts seemed to find Moses. Reaction was his usual response. When things needed righting, he was the one to do it. Whether defending a Hebrew slave or trying to stop a struggle between two kinsmen, Moses saw it and acted. As years went by, he learned to react correctly. When he had to mediate between God and His people, deal with Israel’s complaints, or take unjustified attacks on his character, he reacted as a leader should.