Let us turn once again to God's
word in that portion that we were considering this morning
Hebrews chapter 11 verses 24, 25 and 26 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 and 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." What he said
here, remember, with regards to Moses and those things that
are associated with faith, not only in the verses we've just
read, but also in verse 23, and then again in the following verses,
verses 27 and 28 and 29, we have mention of faith in connection
with this particular individual. But we were considering what
is said here in this portion, 24 to 26 with regards to his
faith and among other things I said this morning that his
faith ultimately centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. That surely
is the vital thing with regards to all faith. It is the object
of faith that is all important, the one upon whom our faith centres,
the one in whom we are placing our trust and concerning Moses. We read in verse 26 of him esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches and the treasures in Egypt. The reproach of Christ and the
reference here we're told is to the reproach which Christ
himself suffered or what reproach Christ had to endure. It's the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ that occurs, death that he must suffer upon the cross
that Moses so much esteemed. He clearly had some understanding
of the significance of those things, written, for example,
in the book of Leviticus, of which he was, under the Holy
Spirit, the human author. He saw, through those titles,
he could discern something of the body, something of the sufferings
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that there on the Mount
of Transfiguration, when Christ took those favourite disciples
Peter and James and John and went up into a mount and was
transfigured and they saw through the veil of his humility the
veil of his humanity they saw something of the glories that
belonged to his deity and there were those two that appeared
with him in the mount Moses and Elijah and we're told in Luke
9 how they spoke of his decease which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. The subject matter that Moses
and Elijah and Christ were speaking of there in that mount was that
death. Moses spoke of the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. His faith centered, I say, in
the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ the
only proper object of faith, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down on
the right hand of God. Well, as we continue to look
at this portion, I want tonight to centre your attention more
particularly upon what we read here at verse 25, the middle
of these three verses. Choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for
a season. Hebrews 11 and verse 25. Here we see what was the choice
of Moses' faith. Faith involves making such a
choice as this, does it not? He chose to suffer affliction
with the people of God. He chose to be identified with
that people of whom Zephaniah speaks. I will leave in the midst an
afflicted and poor people, says the prophet, and they shall trust
in the name of the Lord, the people of whom we sang tonight
in our opening praise. This was Moses' choice. But let
us consider what lay behind the choice, what was involved in
making such a choice as this. First of all, we see how the
faith of Moses sprang from a deep affection. It sprang from a very
real Love. A love for a particular people.
He chose the people of God. We think of the language of Naomi, how that when she returns with
Ruth, and Naomi would send Ruth back to her own people, the Moabites. That's how Naomi speaks. She urges her to return to her
own people. But Ruth of course will have
nothing of it. She is determined to cleave to
Naomi, determined to cleave to the people of God. She says,
does Ruth, thy people shall be my people. Thy God shall be my
God. That was the choice that she
made. And so too here with regards to Moses, we see that he deliberately
makes choice of the people of God. And why so? Because he has
such an affection, such a love for them. And isn't this what
lies behind true faith? Paul to the Galatians speaks
of that faith which workers by love. Again to the Corinthians
he can write, never by the faith, hope, charity or love. These
three. And the greatest of these is
charity. This is the motivation then behind
the choice that Moses is making. by faith it was that he made choice of this particular
people they were of course his people by his natural birth as
we see in the 23rd verse by faith when Moses was born He was hid three months of his
parents because they thought he was a proper child and they
were not afraid of the king's commandment. We read the chapters
this morning there at the beginning of the book of Exodus concerning
these things, the history, that he was hidden in earth little
ark of the bulrushes in the flags by the side of the river and
there he was discovered by Pharaoh's daughter and remember how the
sister of Moses Miriam was appointed to watch over that little one
just a three month old baby in that ark of bulrushes and she
comes forward and says to the princess, the daughter of the
Pharaoh that she can go and find a nurse amongst the Hebrews and
of course she goes to her own mother, the mother of Moses and
in the mysterious providence of God we find that this woman
who had borne the child, whose child it was, is now paid paid
by Pharaoh for the caring of her own child but he is now adopted
into the family of the Pharaoh he is treated as the son of Pharaoh's
daughter and she is the one who names him there in Exodus chapter
2 and verse 10 she called him Moses and the very name Moses
literally means drawn out that's why she called him by that name
because he was drawn out drawn out of the river. He was very
much then one of the Hebrews by his natural birth and yet
he was treated as a royal prince in the court of the Pharaoh. But doubtless as he was reared
by his own natural mother, she must have spoken to him of the
people to whom he really belonged. His mother made him very much
aware of what his true parentage was and so we're told how ultimately
it comes into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of
Israel. We had it, did we not, in that
portion that we were reading tonight where we saw Stephen
in his noble apology and defense of his faith recounting something
of this history. There in verse 23 of Acts 7,
when he was 40 years old, he came into his heart, observe
the expression, he comes into his heart to visit his brethren,
the children of Israel. He feels something to these people.
There is a very real love to them, a deep affection 40. In the book of Lamentations,
the Prophet says, mine eye affecteth mine heart. His heart affecteth
him in that initially Moses must go and visit these people who
are his brethren. But when he goes and sees the
situation and the circumstances that they find themselves in,
The sight of his eye affects his heart. In Lamentations chapter
3 and verse 51. But then, previous to that statement,
we find words such as these. Verse 48 of Lamentations 3. Mine eye runneth down with rivers
of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.
Mine eye trickleth down and seetheth not without any intermission
till the Lord look down and behold from heaven mine eye effecteth
mine heart because of all the daughters of my city says the
prophet. And what was true surely with
regards to Jeremiah as he was beholding the destructions of
Jerusalem lamenting what had befallen God's ancient people
had they been taken into exile, removed into Babylon where they
would lie in captivity for 70 years. Well as Jeremiah is affected
by that terrible sight, can we not see that the same would be
true with regards to Moses. How he was a man who As he beheld
the situation that his people were in, he was compelled to
act on their behalf. And as we saw there, when he
sees an Egyptian smiting one of these Hebrews, he jumps to
the man's defense and he kills the Egyptian. He was compelled
to act. It was his last. his love for
these Hebrews and we see it not only in the fact that he will
kill this Egyptian who is so abusive but also he seeks to
urge that his brethren should be reconciled one to another
when he sees two of them striving together He's not just a love
that is manifest in his attitude to those who are their enemies
and their destroyers, but we see his love in his desire to
see these brethren dwelling together in unity. Again in that seventh
chapter of the Acts, we see how Stephen refers to the particular
incident in In verse 26, the next day, we are told that Moses
showed himself unto them as they strove and would have set them
at one again saying, serve your brethren. Why do you run one
to another? He loves them and he wants to
see brethren running together in unity. And they are not, they
are striving. How the Scriptures speak, do
they not, of that blessing which is the unity of the brethren? James tells us in his epistle
where wars and fighting proceed from. From whence come wars and
fighting among you, he asks, come they not hence even of your
lusts, that war in your members? the origin of these things is
abasement, it's lost, it's seen within their members. Again,
what James says, of course, is repeated, we might say, by Paul,
how these apostles speak with but one voice in the scriptures,
they're all speaking, of course, under the inspiration of the
same Holy Spirit. And so, when the Apostle Paul
writes to the Corinthians he can say you are yet carnal for
whereas there is among you envying and strife and division are you
not carnal and walk as men here is this man Moses and he has
a very real love for the people of God and this is what motivates
him this is what causes him to make this choice in faith, choosing
rather the people of God. But he wants to see God's people
at peace, one with the other. He wants to enter into the blessings
of that spiritual unity. We sang it just now, of course,
in that lovely hymn of hearts. When is it Christians all agree
that let distinctions fall when nothing in themselves they see
that Christ is all in all. All the blessings of that love
for the brethren that we see then in the faith of a man like
Moses. Is it not an evidence of true
faith? Is it not an evidence that we
are truly the children of God? John has much to say as I'm sure
you're aware on this very subject writing in his first epistle there in chapter 3 and verse
14 he says we know that we have passed from death unto life because
we love the brethren he that loveth not his brother abideth
in death whosoever hated his brother is a murderer And you
know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. And then he continues with the
very practical words, who so hath this world's good, and seeth
his brother hath need, and shutteth off his bowels of compassion
from him, as well as the love of God in him, my little children.
Let us not love in words, neither in tongue, but in deed and in
truth. how that love for the brethren
is to be manifested in very tangible, very practical ways. The faith
of Moses, I say, is rooted in this love for the brethren, this
deep affection lies behind the way in which he conducts himself,
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. But besides that grace
of love, we must also consider something of his faith here. It is faith that he is really
being spoken of. Oh yes, it's faith that worketh
by law. But the whole chapter, of course,
is really taken up with the matter of faith. And certainly, as I've
already intimated, this is the case concerning this particular
man, 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's
greater riches and the treasures in Egypt. For he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward." We see here the reality of his
faith in his authority, the way in which he acts. does lend authority to his actions. When he comes forward to identify
himself with his people, are we not told that he supposed
his brethren would have understood how the God by his hand would
deliver them? But they understood not. clearly things had been made
known to this man, they had been revealed to this man and he would
act upon what God had shown him, what God had said to him authority from God was what caused
this man to come forward and defend the Hebrews, to kill an
Egyptian to speak to his arguing brethren and to seek to put them
at peace again. All that Moses did, you see,
was in the faith of God. And that's, as I said, so much
emphasised in this whole portion that speaks of his faith. Verse 23, By faith Moses, when
he was born, Verse 24, by faith, Moses when he was come to yours. Verse 27, by faith he forsook
Egypt. Verse 28, through or by faith
he kept the Passover. Verse 29, by faith they passed
through the Red Sea. Five times we have it. All that
this man is doing, he is doing in faith. And we know that whatsoever
is not of faith is sin. It is faith that lends authority
to the way in which this man is behaving. He is not acting
in his own strength. He is one who is acting in the
fear of God, in the faith of God. Remember the words that
we have previously here in the sixth verse of the chapter, without
faith we are told it is impossible to please him. For he that cometh
to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. How important faith is and yet
it is as he goes on to say, Paul goes on to say in chapter 12
it is the same which so easily besets us. Having spoken of all these mighty
acts of fight in the Old Testament, remember how he begins to make
an application of this truth, wherefore he says at the beginning
of chapter 12, the opening word surely indicates that he's drawing
certain conclusions from what he's been saying, wherefore seeing
we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily
beset us. What is that sin that besets
time and again? It is unbelief. It is unbelief
that is the root of all our sins. It's unbelief that we see there
in the Garden of Eden when our first parents transgressed God's
commandment Why was it that Eve was disobedient? Why was it that
Adam was disobedient? Because Satan's lie is believed
in preference to God's truth. It's unbelief that is the root
of our sins. And so what we see in this man
and the way in which he is acting is not unbelief, And this faith clothes his deeds
with a blessed authority. And they come to realise that
eventually. Oh, they come to realise that. Again, in that
7th chapter, the words of Stephen,
verse 35, This Moses soon laid his shoes, saying, Who may be
a ruler and a judge? The sign did God send to be a
ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared
to him in the bush. He was God's instrument. He was
God's agent. And yet, initially we have that
sad reaction by the wrongdoer when Moses comes and would seek
to bring about reconciliation between these two Hebrews. Who made thee the ruler and the
judge over us, he said. Oh, the reaction of that wrongdoer. He wanted to justify himself.
That's what the man was about, you see. Moses had come and Moses
had spoken right words, words of peace. But instead of bowing
down to the authority of what Moses, this man of God, was saying,
that man would justify himself. He didn't like being rebuked
by another. The observation of Bishop Joseph Hall in his contemplations
He is most salient. He says this, the good bishop,
a wicked heart never looks inward to itself but outward to the
quality of the reprover. That's the wicked heart you see,
never looks inward. Is it some fault I can find in
this person who is reproving me? We need friends to look inward,
to examine ourselves, to prove ourselves, to know ourselves.
how that Jesus Christ is in us, except we be reprimanded. That contrast between the good
and the evil that we see there in the third chapter of John's
Gospel. Everyone that doeth evil hateth
the light. Neither cometh to the likeness
his deeds to be reproved, but he that doeth truth cometh to
the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are
wrought in God. He wants to be reproved, the
godly man. He wants to be searched. Search
me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts.
See if there be any wicked way in me. Lead me in the way everlasting.
That's the language of his prayer to God. He wants to be judged. He wants to be judged by the
word of God. Here then we see Moses and the way in which Moses
behaves himself. He can act with authority because
this man is acting in the faith of God. Not just a deep love
for the people of God, but one who is evidently under God's
hand, who has been raised up to be the deliverer of these
people, though initially He is despised by them yet ultimately
he is the one that comes to deliver them out of that cruel bondage
which was Egypt. But then also with regards to
his choice we see here that he chooses the
path of affliction. is motivated by this very real
love, this affection that he has for the people of God it's
not just a question of his natural birth this man is a true spiritual
Israelite and he loves the people of God and he loves the word
of God he loves the ways of God and he seeks to act in accordance
with God's word But here we see that he also quite deliberately
makes choice of afflictions in the world, choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God than to
enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. Now the Hebrews were
sorely afflicted. They were sorely afflicted. And again that's mentioned by
Stephen, is it not, in that chapter? What does God say? Here is Stephen
recounting something of the history how God spoke to Moses at the burning
bush. He says, I have seen, I have
seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt And I have
heard their groaning, and come down to deliver them. And now
come, I will send thee into Egypt." Now, it's very striking, is it
not, how they were brought to cry unto God there at the end
of Exodus chapter 2. It came to pass in the process
of time that the king of Egypt died and the children of Israel
sighed by reason of the bondage And they cried, and their cry
came up unto God by reason of 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 unto them. Oh, they are brought
into such circumstances that all they can do is sigh. Israel
sighed. by reason of the bondage, they
cry. And then he says, God heard their
groaning. What prayers are these, friends?
These are real prayers. These are prayers in which words
are really of no significance. Are we ever brought into that
situation where words do fail us and all we can do is sigh
and groan? This is how they were, you see.
And yet God understands, God interprets their groanings and
their moanings, their sighings and their cryings, and God remembered
his covenant. Oh, God never forgets his covenant.
He remembered his covenant. And so he looks upon these people
and he has respect unto them, he appears for them. And so what
does it say here in the 7th chapter of the Acts? And it struck me
as we read it tonight. this blessed repetition that
God sees fit to grant to us. It says, I have seen, I have
seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt and I have
heard their groaning and I have come down to deliver them. Oh, thank God for those blessed
repetitions, God sees, the emphasis is there. In Malachi we're told
how he hears and he hearkens. And there we're told that he
sees and he sees. He's ever mindful of his people
and the people of the Hebrews at this time were a people who
were sorely afflicted. They were strangers in the land
of Egypt. Not only strangers in a strange
land, but how cruelly they were now being treated. And yet, as
we said this morning, so much of the great wealth that had
accrued to Pharaoh was because of one of them, Joseph. And the
way Joseph had behaved, you remember, in Genesis 47, when he was exalted
and put next to the Pharaoh. because he'd been able to interpret
the dream and he'd given counsel as to what to do in those seven
years of famine before ever the years of great dearth came and
how much was laid up for the years of dearth and when the
people came why in process of time under the hand of Joseph
all the land comes into the possession of the Pharaoh their money is
gone their horses and their cattle are gone then the land is gone. This is how they purchased corn
in those years. Read it there in Genesis 47. Pharaoh was indebted to Joseph
then for his great substance. And here are the Hebrews now
in Exodus 1 building those treasure cities that all the great wealth
might be laid up. And yet the Pharaoh turns against
these Hebrews they are made to feel strangers,
or they are so troubled, so afflicted, persecuted, or the sons as they
are born being slain, cast into the river and drowned. And yet
this man Moses will identify himself with this people, choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. So what do we see? Were they
fearful for their lives? He must become fearful for his
life also. Were their lives a burden? His
life must also become a burden. Were they strangers in Egypt?
He must become a stranger in Midian. And how, Stephen, spells
the matter out. We are told there in verse 29
of that 7th chapter then Fred Moses at this time was a stranger
in the land of Madian and begat two sons and he falls to one
Gershom of course. Literally a stranger there. He
is all together identified with God's people. And God's people
have this lot in life, they're an afflicted people. That is
the lot of the believer. Zephaniah, we've already made
reference to the scriptures, Zephaniah 3.12, I will also leave
in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall
trust in the name of the Lord. They are afflicted people. But
from whence do they draw their strength and their comforts?
They draw them from the Lord. They trust in him. There is none
else to whom they can turn. There is none other that they
would turn to. They shall trust in the name of the Lord. Or does
Moses come and does he identify himself with his people? There
is a greater than Moses who does that. Doesn't the Lord Jesus
Christ come and identify himself with his people? We read in Isaiah
63, in all their affliction he was afflicted. And of whom is
the prophet speaking? He is speaking of Christ. Christ
is that one who feels for his people. We have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
says Paul, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yes,
without sin. I, again, do love the strength
of the language that is used there in Paul. We have not an high priest, he
says, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He doesn't say simply we have
an High Priest which is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
No, it's much stronger. There's those two negatives.
We have not, he says, which cannot. And those two negatives make
such a strong positive. We have not an High Priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He most certainly
is. In all the afflictions of his
people, He is a victim. And so Christ, you see, is very
real in the midst of all these troubles. All the believer increasingly
feels his need of Christ, must be increasingly trusting in the
Lord Jesus Christ. This was the faith of Moses,
you see. He identifies with the people of God, but he's identifying
with the gods. of God's people. He's identifying
himself with the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ himself has said in the
world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. It is Christ then, again, that
we come to when we consider the faith of this man. It's that
same Emphasis that we concluded on
this morning. Here we see the choice that this
man makes. What is his choice, ultimately?
He prefers Christ to everything else. He prefers Christ to all
the riches of Egypt. He prefers to be identified with
a suffering saviour. Why are Christ's people a suffering
people? Because their Lord himself suffered. Faith is so clearly bound up
with these things. When Paul writes to the Philippians
concerning their faith, he makes it plain that that faith came
from Christ. And it came through Christ, as
we have it in in Hebrews 12.2 looking on to Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith and here to the Philippians at the
end of chapter 1 he says to them unto you it is given on the behalf
of Christ to believe on him it is given in the behalf of Christ
to believe on him but more than that it says not only to believe
on him but also to suffer for his These two things are given,
you see, to those who have faith in Christ. There will be comfort
in him, but there will be suffering for his sake. Having the same
conflict, he says, thus Paul, which he saw in me, am now here
to be in me. This, I say, is the choice that
Moses makes. He will be identified with this
Christ, with the suffering Saviour. the crucified Saviour. And that
crucifixion, of course, is all His salvation. He esteems the
reproach of Christ, the reproach that Christ suffered, greater
riches and all the treasures in Egypt. By faith, Moses, when he was
come to Urs, 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. O God, grant that we might have
grace to make that selfsame choice, that we might be those who are
truly made that willing people of Christ in the day of his power. The Lord bless his word to us. He sings out, including hymn
number 235 and the tune is Grasmere 591. In all our worst afflictions
and furious foes around us, when troubles vex and fears perplex,
and Satan would confound us, when foes to God and goodness
defied ourselves, by feeling, to do what's right, unable quite,
and almost as unwilling, 235.