THE PINNACLE OF FAITH

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead for his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel (Heb.11: 23-28).

Moses got the longest slot in this faith hall of fame. He deserved it, of course, because he epitomised the qualities and characteristics of faith in the era of the Old Covenant – and that before the covenant prescriptions were even given. Let’s look at this man’s track record and the reasons for his endurance.

It started with his parents, Amram and Jochebed. Few of the others’ parents were mentioned. Moses had a remarkable mother. She recognised something special in her new-born son, not just because he was an unusually beautiful child but because he had an aura about him that she could not escape. Save him, she must. She obeyed the king’s edict, but not to the letter. “Throw the boy babies into the river,” was his heartless instruction. Instead, she put him in the river – in a little waterproof boat, and sent big sister Miriam to watch.

Sure enough, the Pharaoh’s daughter was captivated by the adorable Hebrew baby. She fell in love with him and claimed him as her son with his own mother as the wet nurse. For Jochebed, everything was going to plan. While she suckled her son, she fed God’s promises into his mind, singing the songs of her homeland and her faith for as long as she could while he was under her care.

Moses absorbed his heritage along with his mother’s milk. When he left home to live in the palace as an Egyptian, he was thoroughly a Hebrew at heart. Perhaps Jochebed even instilled into his mind the seeds of a deliverer which he never forgot. When the time came, he took his opportunity but it was not yet God’s time. Having completed his training as an Egyptian prince for forty years, he had to undergo training in survival in the desert for another forty years. Eighty years under God’s tutorship; his task must have been of utmost significance for such a long apprenticeship.

Jochebed defied the king’s edict because she recognised something others had not seen – a calling on Moses’ life. When Moses was ready for the next phase, he defied the king’s anger because he saw what no one else was able to see – the God who had called him to be a deliverer. Once he had received his call in the desert through an encounter with his unseen God, he kept his eyes steadfastly on Him, and not on the circumstances which were bad enough to put a lesser man off.

Moses not only saw God, he also saw the future and, because of what he saw, he was not tempted to lay hold of the trinkets life in Egypt offered him. Even the richest of treasures were transient – part of this life which would come to an end and all the earthly comforts, riches and pleasure with it. O yes, he would not forfeit his reward by identifying with his own people, a rabble of slaves though they were, but the reward he saw ahead was a lasting one – beyond this life and forever.

Moses realised something else – God had a lamb for their protection. He observed the Passover by faith in the blood of a lamb which would save them from judgment. Did he see by faith another Lamb – slain from the foundation of the world for the sin of the world?

We would do well to embrace what Moses valued more than anything the vast wealth and ease Egypt had to offer:

1. He embraced his Hebrew heritage because his ancestors had received God’s promise. They would inherit a fruitful land and become a great nation. He chose to be part of them even though getting there would be uncomfortable and costly.

2. He chose to ignore the king’s anger. He confronted the king under a greater authority than the ruler of the most powerful nation on earth. He was no longer under his jurisdiction but under God Himself. He would crush Egypt’s gods, challenge the king’s power, force the king’s hand and lead his people out with the king’s permission. When the Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued his people, he used his delegated authority to do a mighty miracle and destroy Egypt’s army once and for all.

3. Moses did all this because he saw and believed in the reality of the unseen realm and the invisible God who reigned over all the kingdoms of the earth. This was the secret of Moses’ faith. He kept his focus on the God with whom he had spoken. He trusted Him; he obeyed His instructions to the letter; he relied on Him for leadership, for wisdom, and for mercy when His people defied him. He clung to God in times of crisis. He pleaded for his people when God’s anger threatened to exterminate them. He was so intimate with God that he became known as a friend of God.

All the way it was just Moses and God. It’s no wonder he had the longest slot in this resume’ of God’s greats. He deserved it, don’t you think?

Where do you and I fit in? Would we even get a mention in a historical record like this? For what would you like to be remembered?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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