Let us turn again to God's Word. And turning to that portion we
were considering earlier today in the morning hour, here in
Hebrews chapter 11. And I'll read again the account
that we have of the faith of Moses. We have the faith of many
of those Old Testament believers. But considering something more
of the faith of Moses, reading then from verse 23 through 29,
by faith Moses when he was born was hid three months of his parents
because they saw he was a proper child. They were not afraid of
the king's commandments. By faith, Moses, when he was
come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach
of Christ, greater riches and the treasures in Egypt, for he
had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith, he forsook
Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endures, as
seeing him who is invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover,
and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn
should touch them. By faith they passed through
the Red Sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians, assaying
to do, were drowned." And we were considering more particularly
what is stated here from verse 24 through 27 those four verses
we were considering this morning as I sort to say something with
regards to the faith of this man in many ways one of the most
principal characters in all of the Old Testament Scriptures
the first five books of course are the books of Moses The law
was given by Moses and all the ministry of the prophets appealed
to Moses to the law and to the testimony if they speak not according
to this word it is because there is no light in them. We thought then of his faith
and I remarked at the end that ultimately his faith did center
in the Lord Jesus Christ, all true faith, all saving faith,
as Christ, as its proper object. And so it was with this man,
esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures
in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. He was very much aware of the
promise that God had first given to Abraham concerning that land,
the land of Cain and the land of promise, the recompense of
the reward. He believes the word of God and
the promise of God and chooses that rather than all the great
treasures of Egypt. but there in that verse we read
of how he esteems the reproach of Christ the reproach which
Christ himself had suffered that's what John Brown says in his commentary
the reproach which Christ himself had suffered Moses had some understanding
of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus and as we said this morning
he was there of course with Elijah and those favoured apostles,
Peter, James and John, in the Mount of Transfiguration, or
that occasion where something of the glories of Christ's deity
is made to shine through all the humiliation of the human
nature. And those disciples, they saw
three figures, not only Christ, but also Moses and Elijah, and
they spoke of the decease that Christ was going to accomplish
in Jerusalem. They spoke of the death of the
Lord Jesus Moses, together with Elijah speaking then. He had
some understanding. His faith centered very much
in in the Lord Jesus and it wasn't just a matter of them conversing
about that death that he must die of Jerusalem with Moses there
was also that conviction of the truth of these things there was
that experience Paul speaks of always bearing about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might
be manifest in our bodies. Well, that's real faith. It's
not just a matter of the mind, the notions in the head, and
the use of the intellect. It's much deeper, more profound
than that. It's that reproach. Now, Moses
knew something of that reproach himself, how he was identified
with the Lord Jesus. Well, tonight, to say something
more with regards to the faith of this man, and in particular,
what's stated here at verse 25, the choice of his faith. The
choice of his faith. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God and to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for the season. This is the choice
of faith. And what do we see? Three things
tonight. First of all, this faith of Moses
springs from a very real and deep affection. This faith, of
course, like all true faith, as an association with love.
Never abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three, but the
greatest of three of these is charity, or love, says the apostle. There in that 13th chapter of
1 Corinthians. And then Paul again, writing
in Galatians, speaks of faith which worketh by love. And this morning we read something
of Moses in that second chapter of Exodus, the manner of his
birth and all that happened. Pharaoh was demanding that the
Hebrew midwife should slay all the male babies that were born
to the Hebrew women. They should all be drowned in
the river, but the parents, and in particular the mother of Moses,
puts him in the ark of Boroshes. He's placed in the river. And
there, of course, he was found. by Pharaoh's daughter and in the strange providences
of God the sister Miriam who was watching the scene she comes
forward and speaks to Pharaoh's daughter and suggests that she
can go and find a woman amongst the Hebrews who will nurse his
child and so his own natural mother is the one who is his
nursemaid and she is paid by Pharaoh's daughter for doing
such a thing and all of this is part and parcel of that preparation
of this man to be the one who is going to be the deliverer
of the children of Israel, of the Hebrews from all that cruel
bondage that they were having to endure. It was the daughter
of Pharaoh, of course, who gave him his name. She called him
Moses, which literally means drawn out. He was drawn out of
the river. And so she called him Moses. And his mother nurses him, doubtless. She must have told him something
of his real parentage and the people that he really belonged
to. And then we're told, aren't we, how he came into his heart
to visit his brethren. We read it there in that great
seventh chapter of the Acts, the wonderful defense of his
faith, his great apology for his faith made by Stephen, the
first Christian martyr. And he tells us that He was 40
years old, was Moses, when he came into his heart to visit
his brethren. And it's a heart matter. There's love here, you see. He
knows who these people are. And he goes and he witnesses. He witnesses a Hebrew being attacked,
assaulted by an Egyptian. and he steps forward to defend
the man and he kills the Egyptian. We read these things this morning,
there in that second chapter of the Book of Exodus. But now the site clearly has
an effect upon the man Moses. We think of the language of the
Prophet Jeremiah in Lamentations chapter 3. You remember in the
Lamentations here is Jeremiah and he's grieving, he's mourning
over the sad situation in Jerusalem. The Babylonians have come and
destroyed the city, razed the temple to the ground, taken the
best of the people away into exile. And now that city sits
solitary. So desolate. And he says there
in the third chapter, mine eye affecting mine heart. And doubtless
it was the same with Moses when he sees the situation that the
Hebrews are in. How the sight affects his heart. The prophet goes on there in
Lamentations 3 to say, mine eye runneth down with rivers of water. for the destruction of the daughter
of my people." As he sees the sad state of Jerusalem, as Moses
likewise sees the awful condition. He has a love for these people.
The Hebrews are his people. And so he's not only there ready
to come forward and to defend the Hebrew when he's being assaulted
by an Egyptian, But subsequently, when he sees two of these Hebrews
arguing viciously one with the other, he stands forward and
wants to urge reconciliation. He's grieved at them striving
together. He's a man, you see, who loves
the people and he doesn't like the strivings
of the people. We see the same spirit in the
Apostle in his pastoral care for the churches. When he writes
to the Corinthians, how mindful he is of their troubles. You
are carnal, he says, for where there is envying and strife and
divisions, are you not carnal? How he urges them to be at peace. He writes to the Thessalonians
in their lovely tender epistles, those that he writes to the Thessalonians. He's very much a nursing father
but now he exhorts them to be at peace among themselves. This
is the spirit you see of those who have true faith. They have
a love for the people of God. Isn't that a mark? Isn't that
a mark of the grace of God in a man? Can we not, if we're troubled
sometimes by a lack of assurance, or some comfort from the language
that John uses in his first epistle. We know, he says, we know that
we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. How do you love the brethren?
You have to love one for the other. You want to see the good
of God's people. Well, there is something that
should give a measure of assurance. We know We've passed from death to life,
we're the Lord's people. The Lord has saved us, why? Because
we love the people of God. And now, John gives so many exhortations,
doesn't he? A very practical epistle, the
language that we have there in the third chapter. There's words at verse 14 that
we've just referred to. He goes on here, that love is
not his brother, abide it in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him. But whoso hath this world's good,
and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of
compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little
children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but
in deeds and in truth. and hereby we know that we are
of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him." Oh, there's
assurance there, Yusuf, if we're those who love the Brethren.
And we sang those words of the hymn just now, when is it Christians
all agree and let distinctions fall when nothing in themselves. They see that Christ is all in
all. Oh, it's that love of Christ
that's constraining. And where there is that true
faith, there must also be love. Again, the language of the Apostle
Galatians 5, 6, he speaks of faith which worketh by love. Oh, is that true of us? Do we
have that affection? This is what we see in the faith
of Moses. He has a love for his brethren.
When he sees the great need of these Hebrews he is moved with compassion towards
them. He cannot help himself. But then
it's not just his love, there's also the matter of his faith.
It's a very real faith. By faith we're told. when he was come to yours, he
refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." Oh see here then something
of the reality of this man's faith and how do we see it? We
see it really in the authoritative way in which
he conducts himself. We read there in the account
of Stephen in the seventh of Acts how Moses supposed his brethren
would have understood that God by his hand was going to deliver
them but they understood not. He must have had some sense,
you see, of what God was going to do with him. Such is his faith,
here. This is before he's received
his call, when he's 40 years old, and he goes to see, visits
his brethren, as it were, and he thinks that they will understand
what his calling is. He has authority from God. He's
very bold, really. when he steps forward and challenges
the Egyptian and kills the Egyptian all the people that know their
God Daniel tells us, I'll be strong, they'll do exploits this
is the sort of man that Moses is and he has his authority from
God and all that Moses is doing all the time is very much in
faith How this stands out so clearly in these verses? We read
the passage, the whole passage from verse 23 through 29 and
time and again what do we read? By faith Moses by faith Moses
verse 27 by faith he forsook Egypt Verse 28, through faith
he kept the Passover. Verse 29, by faith they passed
through the Red Sea. It's five times really in these
verses. It's either by faith, it's through
faith. Everything he does is the evidence of faith. He's not doing it really in his
own strength, by his own ability, in his own name. He is a man,
you see, who is under authority, under the authority of God. We're
told quite clearly, aren't we, whatsoever is not of faith is
sin. Well, this man has a genuine
faith. Without faith it's impossible
to please God. He that cometh to God must believe
that he is. and that he is a rewarder of
all that diligently seek him this is the faith of this man
Moses and yet we see how the Hebrews are always there ready
to challenge him as it were who made thee a prince or a judge
over us? who made thee? to have this authority. That's the reaction of that man
who was the wrongdoer. You remember when Moses is confronting
these two men who are engaged in some quite violent disagreement,
some argument. Who made thee a prince or a judge
over us? Now this man, you see, wants
to justify himself, doesn't like being challenged. I like the comments of Bishop
Joseph Hall. I think I've mentioned before,
there's a book by that good Bishop of Norwich, back in the 17th
century, Joseph Hall, his contemplations on the historic passages of the
Scripture, you know, the history that we have recorded, particularly
in the Old Testament Scriptures. and remarking on Exodus chapter
2 the good bishop says a wicked heart never looks inward to itself
but outward to the quality of the reprover comes out as that
bishop with some quite striking sentences quite telling remarks
really a wicked heart never looks inward to itself but outward
to the quality of the reprover. Moses meant good when he challenges
those two men, but this man who is rebuked by Moses doesn't like
the word of rebuke. Who are we, those friends who
recognize the authority of God's word? It's profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction. for instruction in righteousness,
we're told, that the man of God may be perfect. Sometimes it
is good that God speaks a word of reproof, that God comes and
rebukes us by His Spirit in His Word. Isn't that the mark of
the true child of God, that He does not always justify Himself? No, rather He would examine Himself. Examine yourselves, prove yourselves. Know ye not your own self, says
the Apostle? Know that Jesus Christ is in
you, except ye be reprobate. And we think of the words of
the Lord Jesus in particular. Think of the language of Christ.
There in the third chapter of John, Everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deed should
be reproved. And in the contrast, he that
doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest,
that they are wrought in God. So are we those who would not
so much be judging others but first and foremost we're to judge
ourselves. And you know the words of the
Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount And he speaks, doesn't
he, of the manner in which we are to make judgments. The opening verses in Matthew
7. Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge,
ye shall be judged. And with what measure ye meet,
it shall be measured to you again. Why beholdest thou the mote that
is in thy brother's eye? but considerest not the beam
that is in thine own eye. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother,
Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and behold, a beam
is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out
the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou seek clearly
to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. Christ isn't saying
that we're not to make judgment we desire a spirit of true discernment
but we're to make righteous judgment and that can only be the case
when we're ready to to first judge ourselves and isn't that
what we see here all this man you see he speaks with authority
does Moses because he is very much a man under authority In his faith we see that very
deep affection for the people of God, his great concern for
the Hebrews, his love to them, his concern to help them, and
the authority with which he speaks so men might despise him. But then also the third thing
we see with regards to the faith of this man, is the afflictions. Oh, this is the choice, this
is the choice, the real choice of his faith, choosing rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the
pleasures of sin for a season. How these Hebrews were so sorely
afflicted. We sang in our opening praise
that lovely hymn of Thomas Callie. Clearly, It's based upon those words,
I will live in the midst and afflict it, and poor people and
they shall trust in the name of the Lord. That language of
Zephaniah 3.12, I think I said recently, was
one of those texts that was a great favorite with our late friend
Sidney Norton, wasn't it? There were certain texts, I always
associated them with Mr. Norton. because he would so often
refer to them and that was one of them. He'd speak about the
people of God and afflicted and the poor people and that's the
promise that we have there in Zephaniah 3 concerning the remnant
that God will preserve and afflicted and the poor people and that's
a lovely hymn that we sang as our opening prize tonight. Look
at it again and and think of what's said in those verses of
the hymn God's people and afflicted people and that was certainly
the case with the Hebrews when they were in that land of Egypt
and the words, we refer to them again this morning, the words
at the end of the second chapter in process of time the king of
Egypt died and there's another Pharaoh now and the children
of Israel are under greater bondages than ever and they sighed it
says the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and
they cried and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage and God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant
with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob. And God looked upon the
children of Israel and God had respect. Or as the margin says,
God knew them. God had respect unto them. He
doesn't forget His covenants. Or He remembers His covenants.
And so He attends to these poor people sighing, groaning under
all their afflictions. And this is the people that by
faith Moses will identify himself with. They were strangers. They were in a strange land.
This was not their land. God had made promise to Abraham
concerning another land, that land flowing with milk and honey,
the land of Canaan. But they were to spend that period
of time as we see in Genesis 15 they were to spend as many
years languishing amongst the Egyptians strangers and Moses
is identified with them because when he comes forth to
look upon the burdens of his own people and the events that
follow he has to flee to the land of Midian He's fearful now. He runs away. His life is a burden. He goes
into the country of the Midianites and is a stranger there. We read it, didn't we, in that
seventh chapter of the Acts. The man that did his neighbor
wrong thrust Moses away. Who made thee a ruler and a judge
over us? He says at verse 27, Will thou
kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday? Then fed Moses at
this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where
he begat two sons. And then he's 40 years there,
when 40 years were expired. He was 40 years when he went
to look upon the burdens of his brethren, And he runs away and
he's there in that strange land for 40 years until in the wilderness
of Mount Sinai he sees the angel of the Lord in the flame of fire
in the bush. Mark that, he sees the angel
of the Lord. Isn't that the Lord Jesus Christ
appearing to him, the angel of the Lord? but he's been there
in that land 40 years and Ru'al or Jethro as he's also called
had given him Zipporah one of his daughters to wife and she
bought him two sons and the first son and we read it this morning
there in chapter 2 of Exodus the first son they gave or Moses
gave him the name of Gershom a stranger here that's what the
name Gershom means we're told in the margin Gershom the stranger
here, how he's all together identified with the children of Israel.
You see, this is part and parcel of the way in which the Lord
is preparing him for his great work. It's a remarkable life, really,
when we think about it. He is brought up by Pharaoh's
daughter and has all the privileges of an Egyptian and so he has
all the great learning that was a remarkable civilization the
Egyptian civilization and we see evidence of it even to this
day of course some of the wonders of Egypt and that's where this man is
is being schooled and prepared by God to be the deliverer of
the children of Israel But there's more to his preparation than
all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He's got to experience all the
bitterness of the land of Midian. He's got to be a stranger in
a strange land, just as those who he's going to be the deliverer
of. Concerning the Lord Jesus, we're
told, aren't we, in all their affliction, he was afflicted.
The angel of his presence went with them. The Lord comes and
sits where his people sit, identifies with his people, touched with
the feeling of all our infirmities, tempted in all points like as
we are. The ways of God are quite remarkable.
Because he addresses us in our minds, he's made us rational
beings, We read much in Paul's epistles of the necessity of
a sound mind. We're to contend earnestly for
the faith once delivered to the saints. We're to have a grasp
of the great truths, the great doctrines of the Word of God.
But where there's true faith, there's more than that. The Lord
will bring his people into the midst of trials and troubles
and afflictions and difficulties. And that certainly is the case
with regards to the man called to the ministry of the words.
The man's got to have metal put into his soul. And I've spoken
to men, and one can speak even in some measure out of one's
own experience. It's those troubles that come
that really make the man. Or Luther knew what he was talking
about. when he said that the thing that makes a minister is
prayer yes he's got to pray much there's meditation he's got to
meditate in the word of God he's got to read the word of God and
study the word of God and open up the word of God prayer meditation
and temptation he's got to know trials and troubles and difficulties
and that will put metal and this was so really with regards to
this man and the faith of this man Moses although the Lord Jesus Christ
is so real you see in the midst of what we have here in the text
he esteems the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures
in Egypt How remarkable is that? The reproach
which Christ himself suffered. He knew it in some measure. The fellowship of his sufferings
being made conformable unto his death. This is the way, isn't
it? Not just of Moses or of any of
the saints in the Old Testament. It's the way of the saints in
the New Testament, and not just the apostles. But it must in
some measure be true of all believers. That desire, that great desire
of the apostle Paul to know Christ and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. What has Christ said in the midst
of the world? You shall have tribulation. But
be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Oh, we have to learn
more and more the need to be looking to Christ and trusting
in Christ and living on Christ and casting all our cares upon
Christ, bringing every burden to the throne of grace this is
a privileged life of the people of God, this is the faith of
the man Moses or that we might have something of that faith
that this man was favoured with by faith Moses when he was come
to Jerusalem refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter
turns his back, you see, on all the privileges of the world choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God and to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ's
greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured it, as seeing
him who was invisible. Oh, that we, friends, might have
that faith that sees the invisible God, were to walk by faith and
not by sight. Oh God grant then that we might
learn from this blessed man Moses. This remarkable man. All the
law was given by Moses. And I think sometimes we maybe
tend to look askance at Moses because we associate law with
Moses. But Moses was a gospel believer,
as I said this morning. Let us not forget that amongst
all the books of Moses, those first five books of the Bible,
we do have the book of Leviticus, and it's a gospel book. It's
a wonderful book. What do we see in all those offerings
and all those sacrifices? It's gospel, it's full of typology. It all has its ultimate fulfillment
in Christ, the Antichrist, the Lamb of God, that taketh away
the sin of the world. O God, grant then that we might
know something of that faith that was God's gift to His servant
Moses, that we might be those then who would be looking to
Jesus, the author, the finisher of our faith. The Lord bless
His Word to us. Amen.