Let us turn then once again to
God's word and I direct you this morning to verses that we find
in the 11th chapter of the epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11, remarkable chapter as we are
well aware I am sure, listing the examples of the faith of
those of the old time, those of the Old Testament scriptures,
the great catalogue of the faithful. And turning to verse 23 and we
read through to verse 29, we read here then concerning Moses
and the faith of Moses in Hebrews chapter 11, reading verses 23
229. By faith, Moses, when he was
born, was in three months of his parents, because they saw
he was a proper child. They were not afraid of the King's
commandment. 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 of 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 as
seeing him who was invisible. Through faith he kept the Passover
and the sprinkling of blood. Their sea that destroyed the
firstborn should touch them. By faith they passed through
the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians, saying to do,
would drown." We will observe then in those verses that we
certainly have some detail with regards to the faith of Moses. Anyways much more is said concerning
him and his faith and the others that appear in this chapter. Several times we have the expression
by faith Moses, by faith he, through faith he, by faith they
and so forth. And these are not any vain repetitions
of course. There is no such thing in the
word of God. Every word carries weight and
authority. And so there is a certain emphasis
being placed here upon the faith of Moses. We often associate
the name of Moses with the law. The law was given by Moses, says
John, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. though the name
Moses might be identified with all the terrors of the Holy Lord
of God, we are not to think that Moses in his own person was a
man without grace. He is a most gracious man. And
of course even in the books of Moses we certainly can discern
much of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't the book
of Leviticus full of types, of figures, Is he not pointing us
to Christ and that great sacrifice that he would make? Moses, I
say, was a gracious man, he was a man of faith. And I want to
centre your attention particularly upon what we read here in verses
24, 25 and 26 with regards to his faith, by faith. Moses, when he was come two 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's
greater riches and the treasures in Egypt. for he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. And you'll see how in these three
verses in a great deal of detail he's given with regards to his
faith. And then at verse 27 we're told
how it was by faith that he forsook Egypt and so on. But these three
verses that we've just read tell us much concerning that particular
aspect of his faith. And there are three things that
I want us to observe with regards to the fight of Moses here. Firstly,
it was a considered fight. There was nothing rash or presumptuous. His fight was not a vain leap
in the dark. Secondly, we will observe how
the fight of Moses was certainly a costly fight. It involved a
very real and great sacrifice. It was that that he had to forsake. And then finally, we will observe
that his faith centred in the Lord Jesus Christ. This surely
is the all-important thing, the great object of faith, who is
of course none other than Christ himself. First of all though,
let us observe how this faith was not anything rash or presumptuous. When we think of the age of Moses,
we're told here in verse 24, when he was come to years, literally
it says, having become great. Having become great. It's translated
here, when he was come to earth. In the context, of course, the
reference is clearly to that particular fact. He was great
in the sense that he was now fully grown. He had come to maturity. He had come to manhood. In contrast, in the previous
verse, of course, we of reference to his birth and the faith that
was exercised by his parents at that particular time, by faith.
Moses, when he was born, was in three months of his parents
because they thought he was a proper child and they were not afraid
of the King's commandment, that wicked law that had been passed
by the Pharaoh as we saw there in Exodus. how that all the sons
born to the Hebrews were to be slaughtered, they were to be
cast into the river Nile, they were to be murdered. But how
the parents of Moses acted so discreetly that his child was
in the good providence of God preserved, they were not afraid
of that wicked commandment. They hid the child initially,
but then as the child grew, his mother made that little ark of
bulrushes and hid him in the frags by the side of the river
and there he was discovered by the daughter of Pharaoh and again
the remarkable providence of God by that means his own mother
becomes his nurse and he's paid by Pharaoh's daughter for the
upbringing of the child and how his mother during those formative
years must have instructed him with regards to who he really
was, though he was the adopted son of the daughter of the king. But there you see in verse 23
we have him as a bag when he was born and here is the contrast
when he was come to earth having become Christ. He was a man and
he knew what he was doing. He was well aware of what he
was doing. His actions were considered actions. He was not an ignorant
child at this stage, nor was he a rash young man. In Stephen's great apologies,
great defence of the faith in the 7th chapter of the Acts of
the Apostles he recounts of course much of the history of the children
of Israel and he speaks of Moses tells us there in Acts 7.22 that
Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was
mighty in words and in deeds and when he was 40 years old
It came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of
Israel, and seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him,
and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptians. For
he supposed that his brethren would have understood how the
God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not."
Here is one man who is a wise man, he's been schooled, he's
not a foolish man, and he acts quite deliberately in his maturity. His faith, I say at this time,
is not just a vain leap into the dark. God surely had revealed
something of the truth unto this man. We're told, are we not,
here in verse 26, how he had respect unto the recompense of
the reward. What are we to make of that statement?
Well, surely God had shown him certain things. We know that
he is the human author of the first five books of scripture.
He is a human author of the book of Genesis, therefore. Now, how
these things were shown to Moses, how he came to write these things,
we're not told the detail, but we are persuaded that he was
one of those, as Peter says, who spoke or wrote as he was
moved by the Spirit of God. The first five books, what the
Jews call the Torah, are written by Moses, but written by Moses
under the hand of God under the influence of God the Holy Ghost. And remember how there in Genesis
God spoke to Abraham concerning the children of Israel and that
time that they would spend in Egypt and how in the appointed
time God would deliver them out of Egypt. Going back then to
Genesis there in the 15th chapter of Genesis and at verses 13 and
14 we find what can only be described as a prophetic word. God says to Abraham, know of
a surety that thy seed, that is his descendants, shall be
a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them,
and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that
nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterwards
shall they come out with great abundance." Now, something of
that was revealed on to Moses. What God had said was made very
real to Moses. and we saw that, did we not,
in those verses that we referred to just now, the words of Stephen
there in that seventh chapter of the Acts. He supposed, did Moses, that
his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would
deliver them, but they understood not. He had respects unto the
recompense of the reward. The things of God were very real
to him. The word of God was very real to him. In fact, the things
of God and the things that God was saying to him were more real
than tangible things. This is his faith. You see, his
faith centres in God and what God has said. Paul says, while
we look round at the things which are seen, but the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And these are the very things
that Moses, in his faith, was so much aware of. Calvin makes
this observation. Calvin says, concerning the faith
of Moses, he saw by faith what is removed from sight. He saw
by faith what is removed from sight. And isn't this what faith
is all about? It has to do with the invisible
things. Look at what we're told concerning
his faith here at the end of verse 27. He endured as seeing
him who was invisible. How is it possible to see that
that is invisible? Well, the reference, of course,
is to the sight of faith. He saw God by the eye of faith.
God had revealed himself to this man. And these are the things that
move him. These are the things that motivate
him. By faith. When he was come to
earth 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. What were the things
of this world, what were the pleasures of this world, the
sinful pleasures of this world, compared with that that God had
been pleased to make real to his soul? Paul says, let God
be true, but every man a liar. For this man, Moses, he rests
in that word that God had given to his father Abram all those
many years before. He was a true child of Abram,
the real seed of Abram. The seed of Abram, of course,
is really all those who believe. He is the father of them that
believe. And this was true with regards
to the faith of this man, I say. It was a considered fight in
that sense. There's nothing presumptuous
here. There's nothing blind here. There's nothing rash about his
life. He's of an age, he's been schooled in all the wisdom of
the Egyptians. But it's not that wisdom of the
world that engenders his fight. His fight is from God, the things
that God himself has shown to him. not only shown him these things,
but persuaded him concerning the truth of these things. He
has that faith in, that is, of the operation of God. Isn't this
one of the marks then of true faith? It's a considered faith
in that sense. Christ is such a blessed reality
to that faith. As John says in those opening
words of his first epistle, that which was from the beginning
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word
of Life. Oh, it's as if these unseen,
these eternal things, these things of faith become so real, you
see. This was the case, I say, with the man Moses. But as his
faith was what we might term considered, not foolish, not
simply a leap in the dark, rather a fight that is resting in God
and in the Word of God. So, in the second place, we must
observe that his fight was costly. His fight was costly. I come
back to the opening words here in verse 24, By faith Moses,
when he was come to earth, literally, as I said at the beginning, having
become great. That's a very literal rendering,
we're told, of what is there in the original. By faith Moses
having become great. Now I emphasize that fact because
here we see that the reference is clearly not only to his age,
but we can also understand the reference here in terms of his
position. and his wealth, he had become
great. Why? Because of the providences
of God in his life. Now that as a baby had been taken
to the court of Pharaoh, he was adopted into the royal household,
he had all the advantages that came from that position. And yet what do we read concerning
his faith? He had become great, yes, but
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. Now at that time we know that
the riches of Egypt were certainly considerable. Why was that the
case? Well, remember what had happened
in the days of Joseph, when Joseph had been so exalted as to stand
next to the Pharaoh because of the way in which he'd been able
to interpret the dreams of the Pharaoh and then to give wise
counsel. And how he'd conducted himself,
this man Joseph, so wisely. and so overseen matters in those
years of plenty that when the years of famine came and the
people wanted bread why he was able by means of that great plenty
that had been laid up in the storehouses in Egypt he was able
to acquire great possessions for Pharaoh We see that in Genesis chapter
47 for example. He acquires all the wealth, all
the money, all the horses, all the land. Look at the various
stages that are spelt out in that particular chapter. Though
the riches of the Pharaoh become ever greater and ever greater,
Verse 14 of Genesis 47 we are told how Joseph gathered up all
the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land
of Canaan for the corn which they brought. And Joseph brought
the money into Pharaoh's house. And then when the money's gone,
verse 17, they brought their cattle onto Joseph and Joseph
gave them bread in exchange for horses and for the flocks and
for the cattle of the herds and for the asses. and he sent them
with bread for all their cattle for that year and then verse
20 Joseph brought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh for the
Egyptians sold every man he spilled because the famine prevailed
over them so the land became Pharaoh's all throughout the
land is ultimately in the possession of the king and we see then in
Exodus chapter 2 how that rather the opening chapter there in
Exodus how that the Hebrews are now made to serve another pharaoh
a pharaoh who knew not Joseph who treats them so cruelly and
how are they to serve him? They were to build for Pharaoh,
we are told, treasure houses or treasure cities. Such was
the great wealth of the royal court that these treasure cities
were to be built, these treasure houses were to be established
throughout the land. There was, I say, great wealth
at that time to be had in Egypt. But Moses forsakes all of that. It has been observed that for
the very best of this world he was pleased to receive the worst
of Christ's cross. Moses despised the very best
of the world for the worst of Christ's cross. He turns his
back on those things. And of course this is part of
the act of faith, is it not? The words of the Lord Jesus Christ,
if we would follow him, if any man will come after me, he says,
let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. That's what the Christian is
called to. To take up the cross, to take up that cross of the
Lord Jesus Christ. and to forsake this world and
to choose that cross before every other thing. That is the high
calling of the Christian and this was the case with this man,
was he not? He forsakes all that Egypt offers
him. that takes all the riches of
the Egyptians. Why so? Because he will sooner
esteem the reproach of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it
says. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures of Egypt. The Lord Jesus in his ministry
time and again reminds his disciples of the necessity of that, how
we are to be those who would lay not up our treasures in this
world. Christ teaching there in the
Sermon on the Mount, remember? The 6th chapter of Matthew, he
says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where Martin
Roth has corrupt. and where thieves break through
and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
mast nor raft doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through
nor steal, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also."
He goes on to say, no man can serve two masters, for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold
to the one and despise the other. He cannot serve gods and mammoths. Here is the Christian's calling
then, and we see it, I say, with regards to the faith of this
man. There is a cost, there is a forsaking, there is a turning
one's back upon the things of time and of sense, the riches
of this world. And we see it, do we not, in
the remarkable contrast that is being drawn in these verses. He chooses 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 of Egypt." He identifies himself, you see, not with the
Egyptians, although He was looked to as the very son of the daughter
of Pharaoh, in that sense, Pharaoh's grandson. But he doesn't want
to be identified at all with the Egyptians. He identifies
himself with the Hebrews, these people who are in great servitude. These people
who are having to endure great cruelty at the hands of the Egyptians. These people who are under tremendous
burdens. How were they being treated in
Egypt? They were very much strangers. They were strangers in Egypt.
And so what is to become of Moses as he identifies with them? He
must also become a stranger. He flees from the Pharaoh, does
he not? And he goes and dwells in the
land of Midian. That's what we saw at the end
of that second chapter that we read, as a result of the deed
that he had committed, the killing of the Egyptian, becoming known.
He's afraid, and Pharaoh is aware, and Pharaoh is seeking to destroy
him. and so he flees to the land of
Midian and there he comes ultimately into the family of Rual or Jethro
as he is called at the beginning of Exodus 3 and we are told how
Moses was content to dwell with the man and he gave Moses Zipporah
his daughter and she bare him a son and he called his name
Gershon For he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land. The land Gershom, you see, means,
as we see in the margin, literally, a stranger here. He was once
there in the court of the Pharaoh, now he's in the land of Midian.
What is his position in the land of Midian? He's a stranger. His
experience, you see, must be the same as the children of Israel. They are strangers in the land
of Egypt. Or they are under tremendous
servitude there in that land. And so this man must be identified
altogether with them. He chooses to suffer affliction
with the people of God. This is the cost of his faith. He throws in his lot with that
people who are the Lord's people, that people who are the despised
people. And all believers of course are in that exact position. They are strangers, they are
pilgrims here in this world. Isn't that what we are told previously
in this very chapter concerning these men and women of faith? Verse 13, these all died in faith
it says, not having received the promises. but having seen
them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced them and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth for
they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country
and truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they
came out they might have had opportunity to have returned
but now they desire a better country that is unheavenly wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared
for them a city. Here is the faith then of this
man how costly it is how he must be as a stranger and a pilgrim
here upon the earth again in chapter 13 And verse 14, we have
that statement here, we have no continuing city, but seek
one to come. I say this is the mark, is it
not, of those who are of faith. This is the faith of a man like
Moses. There is a cost, there is a forsaking,
there is a turning the back upon the things of this world, not
seeking position or wealth or fame or fortune here in this
world. The Lord Jesus has told us quite
plainly, in the world you shall have tribulation. That is the
believer's lot. All that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution. But doesn't the Lord, having
made that statement concerning the Christian's lot, it will
be a lot of troubles and tribulation, He goes on to say, be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world. And how do we overcome? We overcome
only in you. We can only overcome in the overcomer. We cannot overcome our own fallen
nature in and of ourselves. How is it possible for us to
turn our backs upon the things of this world when that fallen
nature within us is so insatiable and looks to attain and to obtain
the things of this world? The wise man tells us in Ecclesiastes
how the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled
with hearing, nor is his eye satisfied with riches, Solomon
goes on to say there. That fallen nature inside each
and every one of us wants the things of this world. We long for them, we lust after
them. That's what that concupiscence is that Paul speaks of in Romans
7. That Ken's commandment found
him outrageously, thou shalt not covet, and he saw that his
heart was full of all manner of concupiscence. It's insatiable. Man wants to find satisfaction
in this world. How then can we overcome? We
can only overcome through him who is the great overcomer. How does Moses overcome? How does he endure? He endures
the seeing Him who is invisible. Or there was a cost to his fight.
There must be that turning of his back upon the things of the
world. He chooses 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. Why? He had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. His faith then, I say, is the
faith of a man who is mature. A man who is not rash, foolish,
presumptuous. He has the word of God. God has
revealed his truth to him. He believes that before everything
else. But there is a cost. There must
be a forsaking of Egypt. There must be an identifying
with that poor and afflicted people who are the people of
God. And then ultimately, with regards to his faith, what do
we see? It is a faith that centres in the Lord Jesus Christ. This
expression, the beginning of verse 26, esteeming the reproach
of Christ, in his commentary on Hebrews,
John Brown of Edinburgh says that the natural meaning in this
statement is the reproach which Christ himself suffered. The reference is to the sufferings
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He esteemed the reproach of Christ,
the sufferings that Christ suffered. greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
It's that cross you see. If a man would be Christ's disciple
he must deny himself, he must take up his cross, he must follow
Christ, he must follow the crucified one. Moses clearly had some understanding
of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what his
faith centres in, in Christ. Here is a man who had received
the atonement. He understood. There was to his
soul that blessed revelation of Christ. As I said already,
he is the author, the human author, under the inspiration of the
Spirit of God, yes, but the human author of those first five books. The book of Leviticus, all of
those offerings and sacrifices that God prescribes to Islam,
all of that's gospel. Moses understood. the significance
of these things. He saw Christ in these things.
Remember how this man was at the transfiguration of the Lord
Jesus Christ, when those favoured disciples were taken into the
mount and saw something of the glories of Christ. What did they see? Look at what is recorded in Luke
9. The Lord in verse 27 says, I
tell you the truth there will be some standing here which shall
not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God. There are some standing here.
Clearly he is speaking of these three, Peter and James and John. They are going to see the kingdom
of God and where do they see it? They see it in the mount.
The next verse, 28th, he counted past about an eight days after
these sayings he took Peter and John and James and went up into
a mountain to pray and as he prayed the fashion of his countenance
was altered and his raiment was white and glistening. The glories of his divinity shine
through all the humiliation of the human nature, or they see
something of the glories of the eternal Son of God, there in
the Mount of Transfiguration. His countenance was altered,
and his raiment was white and blistering. And behold, there
talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, Moses and
Elijah. And what's the subject matter
of their conversation? It says, who appeared in glory
and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. This was the subject matter then,
that Moses spoke of together with Elijah. as he is there in
the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord Jesus Christ. They
speak of his death. They speak of that crucifixion,
that death that he must die. He must come and die of course,
the just for the unjust, to bring sinners to God. He comes to make
that great atoning sacrifice for sins. This is the subject
matter that Moses loves to speak of. And this lies, I say, at
the very root of his faith, esteeming the reproach of Christ. All of those sufferings of the
Lord Jesus Christ, he esteems. In that death upon the cross,
he was able, long, long ago, before ever Christ came, he was
able to discern that there was his salvation in Christ's suffering. It's the same faith you see as
the faith of Abraham. Remember how the Lord Jesus in
John chapter 8 speaks to the Jews concerning the faith of
Abraham. Your father Abraham, he says,
rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. Now, how did Abraham see the
day of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, he saw it there in Genesis
22. He saw it there at Mount Moriah. Remember Jerusalem built upon
those two, Mount Zion and Moriah. That was the place where he was
commanded to take his son, the son of promise, Isaac, and to
offer him up as a sacrifice. And he was obedient to the command
of God. How God was testing him, trying his faith and the reality
of his faith. Why he was persuaded that God
could raise up that son again from the dead. And he did. He did. Look at what it says here at
verse 19, accounting that God was able to raise him up even
from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.
Although Isaac was not slain, of course, what God did was to
make that provision a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
and that ram to be sacrificed in the place of Isaac. The very
doctrine of substitutionary atonement is there. Abram saw it, says
Christ, and was glad. The faith of Abram has to do
with Christ. He is the father, as I've said,
of all believers. Who are the seed of Abram? Them
that believe. And if we are of Abram's seed,
if we are true believers, We too must discern something of
the significance of that death that the Lord Jesus Christ died
upon the cross. For that was not only the fate
of Abraham, it was the fate of this man Moses. Esteeming the
reproach of Christ, greater riches and the treasures in Egypt. This is that one thing meaningful
above all others, is it not? that we see the preciousness
of that death, the preciousness of that blood that was shed.
Faith has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ saving us. As we've
said many times, the important thing is always the object of
our faith. That's what we have to learn. It's not that we need great faith
or that God could be pleased to grant us such a faith, great
faith, to increase our faith. We too often fear our own belief
and we have to cry out with that man in the gospel, Lord I believe,
help thou mine unbelief. But how does God help our own
belief? By directing us to the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have to look to Him. As it follows here in chapter
12, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And remember the strength of
that opening word, it literally means looking away, away from
every other object. Looking only onto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our path, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God, for consider him
that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your own minds. Oh friends, we have
to consider him, we have to look to him, and we have to look to
all that he endured. He endured the cross itself,
despising the shame, he sat down at the right hand Isn't this
the faith of Moses? His faith, I say, centres ultimately
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's because he sees Him,
the invisible God, by faith that he sees the vanity of the things
of this world, the vanity of all the wealth of Egypt, by faith. Moses, when he was come to Jerusalem,
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, for he had respect
unto the recompense of the reward. God grant that we might know
such a fact even as the faith of Moses. Amen. Let us conclude our worship this
morning as we sing the Hymn 351. The Hymn 351. The tune is Lester
171. The sinner that by precious faith
has felt his sins forgiven is from that moment passed from
death and sealed an heir of heaven." 351.