31  Moses: The Decisions of  Faith (11:23-29)

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. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people 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. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn might not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. (11:23-29)

Life is made up of decisions. Some are simple and unimportant, and some are complex and extremely important. Many are made almost unconsciously, whereas others we think about carefully for a long time. Some decisions are made by default. When we put off deciding, a decision is made for us. But it is still our decision, because we decide to put it off. The course and the quality of our lives are determined much more by our decisions than by our circumstances.

Christian living involves making right decisions. You can note the maturity of a Christian by the decisions he makes. Holiness is making right decisions, carnality is making wrong ones. Our Christian living rises or falls in maturity and holiness on the basis of the decisions we make. When Satan tempts us, we decide either to say yes or no. When we have opportunity to witness, we either take advantage of it or we do not. We decide whether or not to take time to read the Bible and to pray. It is not a matter of having time but of taking time, and taking time requires a decision. In business we often have to choose between making more money and being honest and ethical, or between getting ahead and giving enough time to our families and to the Lord’s work. Virtually everything we do involves a decision.

Shakespeare said,

There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

Napoleon believed there is a crisis in every battle, a period of ten to fifteen minutes on which the outcome depends. To take advantage of this period is victory, to lose it is defeat.

Everything in a believer’s life is an opportunity to glorify God. The ancient Greeks had a statue called Opportunity. The front of the figure had long flowing hair, but the back of its head was bald—symbolizing the fact that we can grasp an opportunity as it comes toward us, but once it is past there is nothing to hold on to.

Since the beginning of time, God has given men choices that determine their lives. The first man to choose was Adam. He made the wrong choice, and started the tragic chain of wrong choices that has plagued his descendants ever since.

Speaking to Israel in the wilderness, God said, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants” (Deut. 30:19). At Shechem, Joshua charged the people, “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15). And on Mt. Carmel, Elijah asked the wavering Israelites, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).

Abel chose God’s way by offering the proper sacrifice, and was blessed. Cain rejected God’s way by offering his own kind of sacrifice, and was cursed. Enoch chose God’s way by walking with Him all his life, and God took him directly to heaven. Noah and his family chose God’s way by continually obeying Him, and they were saved from the Flood. Everyone else on earth rejected God’s way and was drowned. Abraham chose God’s way by believing Him, regardless of how things looked from his own perspective, and he was counted righteous. Others in his day rejected God’s way and died in their sins. Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph chose God’s way, and they exhibited faith that conquered death. The unbelieving peoples around them chose another way and death conquered them.

Right choices are made on the basis of right faith. Often we cannot see the consequences of our choices. Satan tries to make his way seem attractive and good and God’s way seem hard and unenjoyable. When we know God’s will in a matter, we choose it by faith. We know it is the right choice because it is God’s will, even before we see the results. God’s will is the only reason we need. When we choose God’s way, we put up the shield of faith, and the temptations and allurements of Satan are deflected (Eph. 6:16).

The opposite of choosing God’s way is always Satan’s way, and not believing God is believing Satan. Whenever we sin, we believe Satan; we believe that his way is better than God’s. We believe the father of lies above the Father of truth.

Moses lived most of his life before the covenant of Mt. Sinai, with its system of commandments and rituals. But both before and after Sinai he lived by faith, not by works. No person in Scripture, other than Jesus, illustrates the power of right decision better than Moses. His decisions were right because his faith was right. Because Moses received the covenant from God at Sinai, he was always associated with God’s law. This law, in fact, was often referred to as the law of Moses. In the Jewish mind he was associated with commandments, rituals, and ceremonies—with all the religious requirements and works of the Old Covenant. But he was a man who lived by faith.

Because to the Jews Moses ranks as one of the most respected Old Testament figures, to show that he lived by faith, not legalism, is one of the most powerful arguments possible to convince Jews that God’s way has always been the way of faith.

The life of Moses illustrates both positive and negative decisions of faith, the things it accepts and the things it rejects. Hebrews 11:23-29 mentions three things that faith accepts and four that it rejects.

FAITH ACCEPTS GOD’S PLANS

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. (11:23)

To stem the population explosion among the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, the pharaoh gave an edict that all male babies were to be drowned in the Nile. To protect their newborn son, Amram and Jochebed first hid him for three months, and then put him in a waterproofed basket and placed him in the Nile near the place where Pharaoh’s daughter bathed. He was found by the princess and taken to be raised as her own child. Moses’ sister, Miriam, was watching and persuaded the princess to get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the infant. Miriam, of course, got her mother, who was then able to raise her own son almost as if he had been at home.

Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, were not afraid of the king’s edict. They ignored the pressures and threats of the world when these conflicted with God’s way. That their concern was for more than just a beautiful child, is indicated in Stephen’s sermon before the Sanhedrin. “Moses . . . was lovely in the sight of God” (Acts 7:20). Not only Moses’ parents, but also God Himself, had a special affection for this child. I believe that Moses’ parents were somehow aware of God’s special concern, for by faith in God they hid him and opposed Pharaoh’s order. It was for God’s sake, as well as for Moses’ and their own sakes, that the baby was protected.

Moses’ parents were willing to risk their own lives to follow God’s way. Their decision was clear: save the child, whatever the consequences. Saving Moses was more than their own will, it was also God’s will. We have no way of knowing how much they knew about God’s plan for the destiny of their son, but it was enough for them to know that He had a special reason for Moses’ protection.

It took considerable faith to put Moses in the basket and to trust that Pharaoh’s daughter, of all people, would take pity on this baby, which she immediately recognized as a Hebrew. It also took faith to believe that, if he were adopted by the princess, he would be raised in the way of the Lord rather than in the occultic paganism of Egypt. From a human perspective, his parents had no way of knowing even that his life would be spared, much less that, for all purposes, he would be given back to them. Yet they willingly let him go, entrusting him to God.

Jochebed nursed Moses and trained him and taught him Israel’s promises from God—that they were to inherit the land of Canaan and be a great nation and bless the world. She instilled in him God’s promise of a great deliverer, the messianic hope in which Abraham had rejoiced (John 8:56). His mother helped build in him the faith that was to become characteristic of his life. She did not fully know why God allowed her son to be raised in the court of Egypt, within the very household of the one who wanted him and all the other male Hebrew babies slain. She knew, however, that this was in God’s plan and, unlike Sarah, did not try to adjust His plan to her own.

Trying to improve on God’s plan is more pretentious than taking a felt-tipped pen and trying to improve the Mona Lisa. Our scribbling would do nothing but ruin the masterpiece. God needs our obedience, not our help, our trust, not our counsel. He makes the plans; we walk in them by faith.

FAITH REJECTS THE WORLD’S PRESTIGE

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

For forty years Moses had been a prince of Egypt, the wealthiest, most cultured, and advanced society of that day. He was therefore highly educated and skilled, as well as being a part of the royal court. “And Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). His formal education would have included learning to read and write hieroglyphics, hieratic, and probably some Canaanite languages. He had, of course, learned Hebrew from his mother. He could enjoy everything Egypt had to offer. But his training in Egypt never blunted his knowledge of the hope of Israel and of the promises of God.

When Moses reached the age of forty, he faced a crucial decision. He had to decide between becoming a full-fledged Egyptian, with absolute loyalty and no reservations, and joining his own people, Israel.

The deciding factor was his faith in God. By faith Moses . . . refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. In all those years he had never wavered in his devotion to the Lord. Somehow God also indicated to him that he had been chosen for special service and that, from then on he would be an Israelite first and only. Again we learn from Stephen that Moses knew he had a mission to perform for God and for his people. “And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand” (Acts 7:25). The people of Israel did not understand his mission, but he did. They were slaves in the land that had once highly honored them because of Joseph. Moses was now in a position similar to Joseph’s, but God had a much different work for him to do. Joseph used Egypt’s power for the good of God’s chosen people. Moses would have to oppose Egypt’s power for the same purpose.

In the world, fame always brings a certain amount of honor. If you are born into the right family or are a successful athlete or entertainer, the world will think of you as great, whether you are or not. If you have a lot of money, regardless of how you got it, the world will hold you in high esteem. If you have enough degrees behind your name, certain people will think you have arrived. The same is true in regard to political power and many other types of human success. Moses had most of these things, yet he gave them up.

From the worldly standpoint, he was sacrificing everything for nothing. But from the spiritual standpoint, he was sacrificing nothing for everything. He renounced the world’s power, honor, and prestige for the sake of God, and knew that for so doing he would gain immeasurably more than he would lose, for he was looking to the reward (v. 26).

The things the world counts great have nothing to do with what God considers great. He honors people on a totally different basis. He is not interested in what family we came from or how much money we have or how much education we have or what positions we hold. These are not related to His primary concerns for us.

Jesus told of a man who was greater than all the pharaohs. He was even greater than Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, or Elijah. He was greater than any person in the Old Testament. His birth was announced by an angel, who told his father, “He will be great in the sight of the Lord,. . . and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:15-16). Jesus said that no one born of woman had ever lived who was greater than this man—John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11).

John was born into a simple family. His father, Zacharias, was a priest, but was far from being famous or influential. His mother, Elizabeth, was the cousin of Mary, Jesus’ mother; but in that day the relationship was hardly a distinction. John may not have had much education. He spent his early adult years in the desert, and “was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and wild honey” (Mark 1:6). He had absolutely nothing to qualify him for greatness in the eyes of the world. Yet in God’s eyes, he was the greatest person ever born before the birth of the Son of God.

John the Baptist was great because he was obedient to God, be-cause he was filled with the Spirit, and because he won many of God’s chosen people to the Lord. John loved the Lord, not the world. “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,... but the one who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15, 17). As long as we can break with God in order to protect our worldly interests, we are not living by faith. The strength of faith is proved by self-denial.

Baron Justinian von Weltz renounced his title, estates, and in-come, and went as a missionary to what was then Dutch Guiana. Today his body lies there in a lonely grave, and he is forgotten by the world. But we can be sure he is not forgotten by God. As he was preparing to go into missionary service he said, “What is it to me to bear the title ’well-born,’ when I am born again to Christ? What is it to me to have the title ’lord,’ when I desire to be the servant of Christ? What is it to be called, ’your grace,’ when I have need of God’s grace? All these vanities I will away with and all else I will lay at the feet of my dear Lord Jesus.”

Moses cared nothing for his Egyptian heritage or advantages. They were both pagan and worldly, and he had given himself to much greater things.

The world has little to offer compared to the riches and satisfaction of Christ. Moses gladly joined with God’s chosen people, though they were slaves, rather than take advantage of the prestige and privileges of Egypt and be unfaithful to God.

FAITH REJECTS THE WORLD’S PLEASURE

Choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. (11:25)

No one needs to be convinced that sin is often fun. It can feed our pride, satisfy physical desires and appetites, and offer many other pleasures. But it has two characteristics that the world does not notice: it is always evil and it is always passing. And, no matter how temporarily satisfying it may be, its satisfaction is destined to fade. It has no good in it and it can bring no good to us, to anyone else, or to God. Any seeming good is both deceptive and fleeting.

Sometimes we wonder why unbelievers, worldly people, the grossly immoral, and sometimes even criminals seem to get along so well. They are successful, famous, wealthy, healthy—well-off in practically every way. On the other hand, many of God’s most faithful saints are poor, sickly, unsuccessful in business, and ridiculed. We want to ask with Job, “Why do the wicked still live, continue on, also become very powerful? Their descendants are established with them in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes, their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God on them” (Job 21:7-9). He goes on to mention how successful they are in ranching, how their children are healthy and happy, and how they are carefree and always celebrating. “They spend their days in prosperity,” and even “say to God, ’Depart from us! We do not even desire the knowledge of Thy ways. Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we entreat Him?’ ” (see Job 21:10-15).

We want to plead with Jeremiah, “Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease?” (Jer. 12:1). The psalmist had the same question. “Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure” (Ps. 73:12-13). He was asking, “Why is it that they are wicked and wealthy and I am pure but poor?”

Job answers the question when he says, “And suddenly they go down to Sheol” (21:13). They die and it is all over, except for judgment. They enjoy and get by with sin for a while, but only for a while. Zophar, one of Job’s three counselor friends, was right in one point: “The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the godless momentary” (Job 20:5). If we take James seriously, we will not envy the wicked, of whom he writes, “You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you” (James 5:5-6). But he precedes these comments with, “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!” (5:1-3). The wicked are going to inherit a “treasure” of judgment they do not expect. As Paul says in Romans 2:5-6, they are piling up wrath that will break loose in the day of divine judgment.

David learned the hard way that sinful pleasure is both brief and disastrous. For the pleasure of having Bathsheba for himself, he first committed adultery and then had her husband killed. Later in his life he cried, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3). He watched his infant son, the product of his relationship with Bathsheba, die. He saw another son, Absalom, rebel against him and be hanged. David’s sin was short-lived in pleasure but long-lived in consequences.

Moses knew God was calling him to give his life for his people. He had a choice. He could have obeyed or disobeyed. Disobeying had many attractions. Among other things, it would have been a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable in the short run. It is hard enough to stop seeking worldly things. It is even harder to give them up once we have them, and Moses had a great many of them by the time he was forty. We have no reason to believe that he was ever involved in any immoral practices, but he enjoyed the pleasures of an extremely comfortable life. He had the best food, the best living quarters, the best recreation, the best of everything that his age could provide. These were not sins in themselves. Joseph had enjoyed the same pleasures in the same place, while being perfectly obedient to God. But they would have been sin for Moses, had he decided to stay in the Egyptian court, and he forsook them for the sake of God’s call. He made a conscious choice to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. This was an act of faith. He believed that if He did what God wanted, he would be immeasurably better off in the end.

God has called us all to holiness. He has called us to come apart from sin. Obedience is not always easy, but in the end sin is much, much harder. God’s way is not only for His own honor but for our own good. Satan’s way is for his honor and for our harm.

FAITH REJECTS THE WORLD’S PLENTY

Considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. (11:26)

Living in Pharaoh’s palace, Moses had everything material he could have wanted. He had more than enough food, possessions, and money. Discoveries such as the tomb of King Tutankhamen, who lived only a hundred or so years after Moses, have shown us how vastly rich Egypt was at its peak. Moses had access to a great deal of wealth, and likely had much in his own possession. He had all the things the world holds dear. He must have been strongly tempted to hold on to them; but he did not.

Considering (hgeomai) involves careful thought, not quick decision. Moses thought through his decision, weighing the pros and cons. He weighed what Egypt had to offer against what God offered. When he reached a conclusion it was well-founded and certain. God’s offer was infinitely superior in every way. In the eyes of the world no reproach (being ridiculed and persecuted) would be worth sacrificing riches for. Yet Moses believed that the worst he could endure for Christ would be more valuable than the best of the world.

It is interesting that the writer of Hebrews speaks of Moses’ considering the reproach of Christ, since he lived nearly 1500 years before Christ. Christ is the Greek form of Messiah, the Anointed One. Many of God’s special people in the Old Testament are spoken of as being anointed. Anointing set aside a person for special service to the Lord. It is possible, therefore, that Moses was thinking of himself as a type of messiah, a deliverer. If so, verse 26 could read, “considering the reproach of his own messiahship as God’s deliverer, . . .” It is also possible that the reference is to Moses as a type of Christ, just as Joseph and Joshua are types of Christ.

I believe, however, that the meaning is just as it seems to be in most translations—with “Christ” capitalized. That is, Moses suffered reproach for the sake of Jesus Christ, the true Messiah, because he identified with Messiah’s people and purpose long before Christ came to earth. Every believer since Adam’s fall has been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, no matter in what age he has lived. It is also true, therefore, that any believer at any time who has suffered for God’s sake has suffered for Christ’s sake. In a sense, David suffered just as surely for Christ’s sake as did Paul. In one of his psalms, David says, “The reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me” (Ps. 69:9). From the other side of the cross Paul made a similar statement: “I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). The Messiah has always been identified with His people. In a very real sense, when Israel suffered, Messiah suffered, and when Moses suffered, He suffered. In their afflictions on His behalf, He was afflicted. A comparison of Matthew 2:15 with Hosea 11:1 shows that Messiah is identified intimately with His people. Hosea refers to Israel, Matthew to Jesus Christ. Both Israel and Christ are the son called out of Egypt.

All Christians should willingly bear the same reproach. “Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (Heb. 13:13). Everyone who has stood with God by faith, who has lived for Him and turned his back on the world’s plenty and gone the way of God’s direction, has received the reproach of God and of His Anointed, His Christ. It belongs to all who suffer for God’s sake. The church bears the reproach of Christ. After being flogged by the Sanhedrin, the apostles “went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5:41). Moses would have agreed with what Peter wrote: “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet. 4:14). Moses rejected the treasures of Egypt and took his stand with God’s Anointed.

We do not know how much Moses knew about God’s future great Deliverer. But he had considerably more light than Abraham, and Jesus tells us plainly that Abraham looked forward to Jesus’ day and rejoiced (John 8:56). In the same way, Moses looked forward to Jesus.

God’s reward is always greater than the world’s. “God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). He supplies according to His riches, not just out of them. A millionaire who gives ten dollars to help someone in need is giving out of his riches but not according to them. If he gave a hundred thousand dollars, however, he would be giving according to his riches. Moses surely saw the reward of a blessed life, but the emphasis is best seen as being on the eternal reward.

“Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many wicked” (Ps. 37:16). It is not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to want to be rich. If we work hard and honestly and to God’s glory, and become wealthy in the process, fine. But if we set our minds on getting rich, we have the wrong motivation. Paul told Timothy, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness” (1 Tim. 6:10-11). In other words, if along the way God happens to make us rich, wonderful. If in His wisdom he keeps us poor, also wonderful. It should make us no difference, as long as we are in His will. It made Moses no difference. For forty years he enjoyed the riches of Egypt. For the rest of his life, he forsook them, because they interfered with his obedience to God and would have prevented his receiving immeasurably greater riches when it came time for eternal rewards.

Portia, a beautiful and wealthy heiress, is the heroine of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. She had many suitors of noble birth who wanted to marry her. But her father’s will decreed that her husband would be chosen by a certain test. She would belong to the one who chose the right chest out of the three that were prepared. One chest was made of gold. On it was inscribed, “Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire,” and inside was a skull. The second chest was of silver, with the inscription, “Who chooseth me shall get as much as he deserves,” and inside was the picture of a fool. The winning chest was made of lead and held Portia’s picture. On the outside was the inscription, “Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.” All of her suitors but Bassanio chose one of the first two chests, because both the precious metals and the inscriptions were so attractive. Bassanio picked the one of lead and got Portia’s hand in marriage, because he was willing to give everything he had for the sake of the one he loved.

That is the attitude every Christian should have about Christ. We should be willing to forsake and hazard all we have for the sake of God’s will, knowing with Moses and with Paul that our “momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17; cf. Rom. 8:18).

FAITH REJECTS THE WORLD’S PRESSURE

By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. (11:27)

The first time he left Egypt, Moses was fleeing from the pharaoh, who wanted to kill him for slaying the Egyptian slavemaster (Ex. 2:15). The second time he left Egypt, another pharaoh wanted to keep Moses from taking the children of Israel with him. In both cases he was in trouble.

In addition to his problems with the kings, Moses faced other pressures. For one thing, he was under pressure to preserve the prestige, pleasure, and plenty that have already been discussed. The prospects of desert living could not have been very appealing. When he fled for his life, he had no idea that he would marry a shepherdess and tend her father’s sheep for the next forty years in Midian. But at best, he knew life in the desert could not begin to compare with life in Egypt’s royal court.

The greatest pressure Moses faced, however, was fear, because of the wrath of the king. It is the same fear, though perhaps of a different sort and source, that believers may face on occasion. Fear is one of Satan’s most effective, and therefore most used, weapons. We are afraid of being thought different, or of losing our job, reputation, or popularity. We are afraid of criticism, often from people that we do not even respect.

Moses was doubtlessly tempted to fear, but he did not. He left Egypt with full determination to follow a better way. In this context, the King James translation seems more appropriate—“By faith he forsook Egypt.” He did more than simply leave; he turned his back on Egypt and all that it represented. He renounced it permanently. Like Peter, James, and John (Luke 5:11), Moses forsook everything to follow the Lord. He was not thwarted or delayed or intimidated by Satan’s fear. He had put his hand to the plow and would not look back. He is joined in the Old Testament by another fearless man of God—Daniel. He, too, was uncompromising, and he inspired his three friends to be the same (Dan. 1-2).

Fear had worked on Abraham on several occasions. He was also afraid of being killed by an Egyptian king, and some years later by a Philistine king, because of his beautiful wife, Sarah. He thought they might want her for themselves and kill him in order to have her. In both cases he lied instead of trusting God (Gen. 12:12; 20:2). Aaron became afraid of the people while Moses was on Mt. Sinai and yielded to their insistence on making the golden calf (Ex. 32:1-5). Ten of the twelve spies sent into Canaan gave a negative and exaggerated report about the dangers of the inhabitants, and the Israelites became afraid (Num. 13:32-33). Gideon’s army was afraid and 22,000 were discharged (Judg. 7:3). The disciples were afraid of the storm at sea and were rebuked by Jesus for their lack of faith (Mark 4:38-40). Peter was afraid of criticism and arrest, and he denied Jesus three times (John 18:17, 25, 27).

Fear is a great pressure, and all of us are tempted at times to bend when standing for the Lord requires us to say or do something that is unpopular or dangerous. But true faith does not fold under the world’s pressure.

Fear did not work on Moses, at least not when God called him out of Egypt. He knew he had an invisible but powerful means of support, as seeing Him who is unseen. He knew that, no matter what happened, whatever he had to face, he would be held up and strengthened and rewarded. He believed with David, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?” (Ps. 27:1).

When Moses wanted to leave Egypt the second time and take all the people of Israel with him, he not only met the resistance of the king but of his own people. When he first told them of God’s plan of deliverance, they were thankful (Ex. 4:31). But when Pharaoh made things worse on them every time Moses made a demand, they lost heart and turned against Moses’ leadership (6:9; 14:11-12). Now he had both the king and his own people against him. But he was afraid of neither. He continued to say what God wanted him to say and do what God wanted him to do.

Moses was the kind of man he was because he chose to focus his sights on God rather than on a monarch in Egypt. Yet how many times do we fall apart or back down in face of a much lesser threat. When we are afraid of the world, when we are afraid of what people will say or do, we are exposing ourselves to God’s displeasure and discipline for lack of faith. Faith rejects the world’s pressure, whatever it may be.

FAITH ACCEPTS GOD’S PROVISION

By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them. (11:28)

Here is the second of three things faith accepts. This is the positive side of making right decisions. True faith accepts the Lord’s provision as well as His plan. (See discussion above under 11:23.)

The tenth and last plague that God sent on the Egyptians was the death of all first-born (Ex. 11:5). To protect the Israelites from this plague the Passover was instituted, in which a lamb’s blood was sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels of their houses (12:7). Obviously the blood itself had no power to stave off the death angel, but sprinkling it as God had commanded was an act of faith and obedience and the blood was symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice by which He conquered death for all who believe in Him. The people of Israel, including Moses, did not understand the full significance of the ceremony, but they knew it was part of God’s plan. God required it and they obeyed. Moses accepted God’s provision. Faith always accepts God’s provision, no matter how strange and pointless it may seem to human understanding.

When a believer accepts Jesus Christ by faith, he accepts God’s provision for salvation. To the world, good works seem like a much better way to please God than faith. But the world’s way is not God’s way. To Him, “All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isa. 64:6). Faith accepts Christ’s righteousness applied on our behalf. This is God’s way, and is therefore faith’s way.

FAITH ACCEPTS GOD’S PROMISE

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. (11:29)

Finally, in addition to God’s plan and provision, faith accepts God’s promise. When Moses and his people got to the Red Sea, Pharaoh and his army were not far behind. From all they could see they were trapped; there was no escape. At first the people lost heart and complained sarcastically to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness?” (Ex. 14:11). But they took heart again when Moses told them, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today; . . . The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent” (vv. 13-14). For a while at least they trusted God, and by faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land.

They believed Moses’ promise from God and started walking across the seabed as soon as the waters were parted. This took considerable faith, since the waters piled up on either side must have seemed terribly threatening. Had the waters returned too soon, Israel would have drowned instead of the Egyptians. The people had no guarantee except God’s word that He would not change His mind or forget them. But His word was enough. For the faithful, God’s word is always enough.

Faith takes God at His word and is victorious. Presumption denies God’s word and is destroyed. The Egyptians persistently hardened their hearts to the Lord and presumed to trust themselves, and they drowned. The test of faith is trusting God when all we have are His promises. When the waters are piled high all around us and problems and dangers are about to overwhelm us, this is when faith is tested, and when the Lord takes special pleasure in showing us His faithfulness, His love, and His power. When we have nothing but His promise to rely on, His help is the nearest and His presence the dearest to those who believe.

At every juncture in our lives, we either fulfill the will of God and are filled with His Spirit, or we fulfill our own will and quench the Spirit. When we truly believe God, we will know that in everything He has our best interest at heart, and we will always decide for Him.