The most venerated man among
the Jews was Moses. He is to this day even more so
than Abraham, perhaps because Moses led Israel through the
wilderness, perhaps because by him the law was given. Whatever
the reason, the most venerated man in Jewish history is this
man Moses. The most venerated man in Pharisaic
works religion is Moses. People refer more often to Moses
and his writings than any other portion of the Old Testament
except perhaps the Psalms and they use the Psalms for deluding
themselves with comfort when there is none. Perhaps it is
because the Holy Spirit being God knew that Moses would be
more abused than any other that Moses and his law would be clung
to by men as a cloak of self-righteousness more than any other method by
which men would delude their souls before God. Perhaps for
that reason, more is fit describing for us the faith of Moses in
Hebrews chapter 11 than any of the other Old Testament saints.
Moses' parents' faith is described in verse 23 of Hebrews 11. And
then beginning at verse 28, the Holy Spirit gives us a description
of the faith and acts of faith of God's children as they were
led by Moses. But in verses 24, 25, and 26,
and then in verse 27, the Holy Spirit shows us seven distinct
acts by which Moses is set before us as an example of faith. Now
Moses was not only an example of faith. He was preeminently
a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he was such a preeminent
type of Christ that so far as I can recall, there is no other
man who was specifically raised up as a type of Christ, who is
referred to in the scriptures as a type of Christ, who while
he lived knew that he was a type of Christ. But Moses did. He
knew while he walked on this earth. He was raised up by God
specifically to be a type and representative of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, Adam was a type of Christ.
Mary read about it in 1 Corinthians 15. Noah was a type of Christ. Enoch, Abraham, all these were
types of Christ. David, Solomon, Jeremiah. But only Moses seems to have
understood clearly that the Lord God raised him up specifically
to be a type of Christ. Hold your hands in Hebrews 11.
And look back at Deuteronomy chapter 18. Deuteronomy chapter
18. I thought about this in preparing
this message. I've been working on it now for
several weeks. I thought, what an awesome responsibility
this must have caused Moses to sense before God and before the
nation. In Deuteronomy 18 verse 15, Moses
is speaking to the children of Israel and says, the Lord thy
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee. He's
going to raise up a single prophet. He's going to raise him up from
the midst of you, his people, from the midst of this nation,
these descendants of Abraham. The Lord Jesus Christ, Moses
says, this one is coming, my savior, the prophet of God. He's
going to come from the nation of Israel. He's gonna raise him
up as a man, but this man is more than just a man. This man
is that prophet that God has raised up to whom all the prophets
speak. Verse 16, according to all that
you desired. You remember when Moses was in
the mountains? According to all that thou desirest of the Lord
thy God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying, let
me not hear again the voice of the Lord. Oh Moses, don't let
God speak to me. Don't let God speak to us. Israel
feared and quaked and said, you go up the mountain and you talk
to God and then you come tell us what God said. And Moses is
here interpreting that thing. The Lord said, all right, I'll
tell you what, I'll do what you ask. Neither let me see this
great fire anymore that I die not. Verse 17. And the Lord said
to me, they have well spoken that which they have spoken.
I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like
you. God said, I want to raise a prophet
to them like you, a man. And I put my words in his mouth. But there's one big difference.
He shall speak unto them all that I shall command them. And
Moses understood back in verse 15, unto him you shall hearken. When this prophet speaks, you're
going to hear him. Oh, now, son of God, speak to us by your spirit
and cause us to hear. He is our puppet, and as such,
Moses was a type of him. Not only was he typical of Christ
as a puppet, as the puppet whom the Lord God would raise up,
but he was typical of our Lord Jesus in many ways. Moses was
the meekest man alive, in his day, meekest man who had ever
lived. Now that doesn't mean that he
was a dishrag and didn't have any backbone, just the opposite.
It meant he knew God's hand was on him. He knew he was God's
servant. He knew he belonged to God. He
knew he was serving the interest of God's people, of God's kingdom,
and of God's glory. And recognizing that he belonged
to God, he bowed humbly before God. And he was as bold as a
lion before God's enemies. You see, true meekness gives
a man courage. True meekness makes a man fearless.
True meekness, being aware that I am God's and I walk before
God, causes the fear of men to mean nothing. Moses was the meekest
man who ever lived. So was our Savior. Moses was
a type of him. And yet, never was there a man
more courageous and bold than this man Moses, like our Redeemer,
bold as a lion. Moses was like him who is the
lion of the tribe of Judah. For the sake of his people, for
the sake of God's glory, for the honor of God, Moses, Moses
hazarded everything. Everything. He laid everything
on the line. Oh, God give me grace to follow
that example. You remember how Peter, was it
Peter or James, commended Paul and Barnabas to the churches?
They wrote a letter and said, these are men who have hazarded
their lives for the gospel's sake. Moses hazarded his life
for the glory and the truth of God and his people. And the Lord
Jesus, like Moses, sacrificed everything for us. This man Moses
was typical of Christ in that he delivered Israel out of Egyptian
bondage. He delivered them from Pharaoh
and from the Egyptians as Christ had delivered us from the bondage
and darkness in which we were enslaved by the power of Satan.
Moses was a mediator. He was the mediator in his day
between God and his people. Moses, remember Moses was the
only man in his day by whom God spoke to men. God spoke to Moses,
Moses said, but I'm not capable of leading these people, I can't
talk, but God said, I can make them mouth. And he said, all
right, I'll tell you what, I'll give you a mouthpiece. I'll give
my word to you, you give it to Aaron, and Aaron will give it
to people, but the word's coming through you. Because Moses was
the type of Christ, the only one by whom God makes himself
known to men. Moses led the chosen nation through
the wilderness, all the days of his life up to Canaan. And
the Lord Jesus pours out his spirit upon us and leads us by
his word and by his spirit through this wilderness. And yet, Moses
could not bring them into the land. He could not bring Israel
into Canaan, that land of their promised rest, that land which
was their inheritance promised by covenant grace to their father
Abraham, that land that was typical of heavenly glory. He could not
lead them in, because not only did Moses represent Christ, he
was also a representative of the law. As a type of the law
and the justice of God, there are many things to be seen in
Moses' actions by which we will learn some things very important.
You remember the Lord God told Moses, he said, take your rod
and smite the rock. And the waters will flow out
to the people. And Moses took his rod and smoked
the rock. And the waters of life flowed
out to dying people in a barren, parched, desert land. And then
they murmured again. And God said, speak to the rock. And Moses took his rod and smoked
that rock again. And God killed God killed him. How come? Because once the rod
of God's holy law had smitten his son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and Paul tells us first Corinthians 10, that's who the rock is. That
rock was Christ. That rock that followed him was
Christ. Once the law has smitten him, the law's dead. It's dead. It has nothing else to do. And
Moses, having smitten the rock with his rod, must die. He cannot bring Israel into Canaan
because Canaan cannot be possessed by legal works or by legal deeds. It must be possessed by pure
free grace. And Joshua is raised up after
Moses. Joshua, the name given in the
Old Testament, same as our Lord Jesus. Jesus, our Redeemer, Jehovah
saves. He goes in, goes across the River
Jordan, takes possession of the land, and he conquers Jericho
without doing a fratulent thing. Israel possessed them, possessed
the land, and defeated the city purely by the power of God. All right, now then, having said
all that, this man Moses was a man of great faith, and what
an example of faith he is. Look here in Hebrews chapter
11, and we'll begin at verse 24. I want to show you what the
scripture teaches here about this man Moses, and teach us
by this man Moses. First, because Moses believed
God, We're told he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's
daughter. By faith, verse 24, by faith
Moses, when he was come to years, when he was come to greatness,
he was a full 40 years old, but more than that, he had now come
to a position of greatness in Egypt. He was Pharaoh's daughter. And everybody in Egypt knew this
man Moses was the next man to sit on the throne. This man Moses,
he is top dog in Egypt just as soon as his granddaddy's dead.
When he had come to greatness, he refused to be called the son
of Pharaoh's daughter. Now let me show you what he did.
Moses walked out in the field one day and he saw an Egyptian
fighting an Israelite. And he rose up and smoked the
Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Because this man had attacked
one of God's own. And Moses knew himself to be
God's appointed deliverer. He understood it. I don't know
when Moses began to believe God. I know he was taught the gospel
from his youth, both by his parents and by the Israelites around
him. But somewhere along the way, the Lord God made Moses
to understand he is to be Israel's deliverer. And he presumed that
the time had come for him to do his work. He just presumed
the time had come. And so he rose up and smoked
the Egyptian. And in doing so, he publicly,
openly identified himself with the people of God and the cause
of God and the worship of God. He made a choice. He preferred
being named one of God's sons to being named son of the greatest
ruler in all the world. He preferred being named among
God's people than being named among the wealthiest and the
richest of the Egyptians. This is what believers do in
baptism. We publicly identify ourselves
with Christ, with his gospel, and with his people. In believer's
baptism, when you and I were buried in the watery grave, we
said to the world, to all the world, God Almighty, who is revealed
in the sacrifice of his God and Son here portrayed, has redeemed
me, and I'm his. I here take my place with my
Redeemer, with my God, with his people. They're my people, and
I'll walk with them. Come what may, cost what it will. He prepared Israel to Egypt.
He preferred being an Israelite to being the most prestigious,
most powerful man in the world. He preferred the care of God's
church and the care of God's people and the glory of God to
his own name, his own comfort, his own honor, his own well-being. He said, there's something more
important in this world than me. Oh, wouldn't God, we could
learn that. There's something more important
in this world than me, than what I want, than what pleases me,
than what honors me, than what is for my health and my well-being.
There's something more important. And that more important thing
is the church and kingdom of God, the glory of God in Jesus
Christ, the cause of God. All right. Secondly, look at
verse 25. Believe in God. Moses chose the afflictions of
God's people. choosing rather to suffer affliction
with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for
a season. Now it is true, Moses was chosen of God to be
one of his own, but Moses chose to be one of God's. He chose
to make himself among God's people, to put himself among God's people,
to identify himself with God's people. Now at first glance that
might not be such a great thing when you look at it. After all,
these were the chosen, redeemed, peculiar people of God. I think
I'd like to be among them too, wouldn't you? These folks were
the people to whom alone God gave his word, to whom alone
God established his worship. These people were the only people
in the world to whom God said, I will be with you. They are
the only people with whom God made his constant presence. They're
the only ones to whom God gave the promise of Canaan and the
glorious, glorious possessions of Canaan. But remember, Moses
made his choice, not the bliss awaiting, but rather based upon
the grace given and the God who gave it. And he chose to count
the cost that was involved in following and obeying his God.
And he said, I will choose now the afflictions of God's people
rather than the pleasures of sin. And I find it interesting
that though Egypt was a, like all those pagan societies of
the Gentile world, it was a society of debauchery. It was a society
of every ungodly perversion imagined. A society of idolatry, all those
things. But I find it interesting that
no mention is made. No mention is made. Concerning
not here and not in the book of Exodus. No mention is made
concerning all the myths of Egypt. But rather it talks about the
sin of Egypt and the pleasures of sin which Moses refused. What
were they? Honor. But honor is not a sin. It is if it stands in the way
of serving Christ. Riches. But riches not evil. There's nothing evil about a
man being wealthy. My son, Abraham, was a filthy rich fella. David
was a filthy rich fella. The riches are horribly evil.
It's to hinder you from doing the will of God. Pharaoh's daughter. Nothing said about that woman
being an evil woman. Nothing at all about it. But
she was evil to Moses for his identification with her meant
no identification with God's people. You follow what I'm saying?
The pleasures of sin are the pleasures which you serve by
which you disobey and dishonor God and don't serve and honor
him. And Moses didn't just choose
to be among God's people. He chose their afflictions. It'd be good if this generation
find a preacher somewhere and listen to him who doesn't present
Christianity as a health, wealth, prosperity issue. Believe on
Jesus and he'll heal your body and heal your bank account and
heal your family. Believing him may destroy all of it. May destroy
all of it. That just isn't so. That just
isn't so. To follow Christ is to deliberately
choose a path that's going to cost you dearly. Mark it down. It's going to involve affliction.
Day after day after day. And the longer you live in this
world, the harder the afflictions become. The greater the struggles. But Moses chose these days because
he understood whatever they are. The afflictions of God's people
are divinely appointed. The afflictions of God's people
are the chastisements of our Heavenly Father. And he understood
what the hymn writer said. Our Father will never call his
child a needless teacher. He understood that. Moses understood
that these afflictions were for the glory of God. They are only
temporary. And when they're over, they will
prove to be spiritually and eternally profitable. Turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. I recall hearing an English preacher
years ago, he was an old man when I knew him, he's with the
Lord now, Charles Alexander. He used to come over to the States
and preach every now and then. I'd go hear him whenever I get
a chance to. And he said in one of his messages dealing with
this matter of chastisement and trial, the trial of your faith,
he said, will be far more glorious than it otherwise could be as
a result of your trials of faith here. And I thought, that sounds
strange. After all, I was a young fella. I hadn't been where he'd been.
And he turned to this text. Look at it. First Peter chapter
one, verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively, living hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled that fades not away, reserved in heaven for
you. You were kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. Wherein, that is, in this salvation, in this grace, in
this faith, You'll greatly rejoice, look at this now, though now
for a season, if need be. If need be. If need be. I used to take the paddle to
our daughter right often, but never without a need. Never without a need. Never raised
my hand against her without a need. Not in me, but in her. Never
without a need. And when I raised my hand against
her, it was only for her. Listen to me now. When your heavenly
father lays his rod on your back and breaks your heart, there's
a need. A need. Understand this? If need
be, you are in heaviness. Heaviness. Through manifold temptations,
through many, many, many trials, many adversities, from many directions,
we don't that. Now it's referring backwards
to just what we've been talking about. This heaviness, this need,
this trial. That the trial of your faith
being more precious than a gold perisher, though it be tried
by fire, look at this, might be found unto praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Somehow or another,
somehow or another, don't know how, somehow or another, when
God gets done, every tear you shed here, They're gonna make
heaven more glorious for you and more glorious to our God
and Savior. Believe I'll choose these afflictions.
They're appointed by God. They're just for a little while.
They're my Father's loving chastisement. They will bring still eternal
benefit to my soul and His glory. All right, read on. Here's the
third thing. Because he believed God, Moses esteemed the reproach
of Christ to be far greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.
Look at verse 26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ
greater riches. These afflictions, the reproach
of Christ, better, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
How on earth can that be? What's he talking about? Moses considered it his greatest
wealth, his greatest honor, to be allowed to bear the reproach
of his Redeemer. Larry, curiously, back in the
office a little bit ago, Matthew 16. He's talking here about exactly
what you're reading. He considered it his highest
honor. The most rich thing in this world
take up his cross and follow Christ. The reproaches of Christ
which he bore for us. The reproaches of Christ's gospel. The reproaches of his worship. The reproaches of his people. Moses said these things are true
riches. That stuff over there, that's
just dust. This is great riches. Again,
turn to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. You remember
what Paul says in Olympians? He says, unto you it is given
in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to
suffer for his sake. If God gave us faith, that Bob,
he gave us trial of faith. Unto you it's given, not only
to believe on Christ, but to suffer for it. And I'm not talking
now about just suffering the troubles of getting old. This
arm, this elbow and this joint have been hurting all day long.
Whether it's fixing to do something, I don't know what. But it's acting
up bad. That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about the sufferings that come with living in this
decaying body. That's not what I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about sufferings that come as a result of your
behavior. But rather, those things that
come just by virtue of believing God, they're necessary and God
gives them. Look here in 1 Peter 2 verse
19. For this is thankworthy if a man for conscience toward God
endure great. See what I'm talking about? For
conscience, because I believe God, I'm not going to do something.
Because I believe God, I am going to do something. Because I believe
God, no. Because I believe God, yes. And
I do agree for it. If when, for conscience sake
you do it, suffering wrongfulness, that's a good thing. Verse 20,
for what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults,
you shall take it patiently. Not much patience involved with
that. You act up and somebody slaps you in the face. Well,
I had that coming. There's nothing wrong with that.
You had it coming. Real. But if when you do well and suffer
for it, you take it patiently. Now that's acceptable to God.
For even here unto were you called because Christ suffered for us. Leaving us an example. Don't retaliate. Don't get revenge. Seek to serve and honor God.
And take the reproach of the gospel. Take the reproach of
the gospel. Take the reproach that comes
with believing the gospel. You identify yourself with God's
people, you're going to be scandalized. You're going to be mocked. Just
take it. Just take it. Leave it alone
and count it riches. Fourthly, the last line, verse
26. Believing God, Moses had recompense,
or respect unto the recompense of the reward. He had respect
to the promise of God. For he had respect unto the recompense
of reward. God promised Moses. He promised
it back to Abraham. heard the word and believed it.
Abraham, your seed, my people, are gonna
sojourn in the land of Egypt for 400 years. And then I'll
bring them out. They're gonna be ill-treated,
they're gonna be bonded, they're gonna be slaves in a dark land
for 400 years. And then I'll bring them out.
And Moses, believed God would do it. He said, boy, we ain't
gonna be here much longer. The Lord's fixing to bring us
out of this place. He believed the promise of God concerning
the blessings of Canaan. Though Israel struggled hard
against him, he believed God would give them the land and
give them the blessings of the land. More particularly, he believed
that this promise of God had respect unto eternal glory and
eternal life. Look at verse 27. Here's the
fifth thing. By faith, Moses forsook Egypt,
not fearing the wrath of the king. Now I suppose, because I have
done it myself, it's all right to take this statement here in
verse 27 and apply it to the Children of Israel being led
by Moses out of Egypt, the sprinkling of the blood, crossing the Red
Sea, and so on. But in the chronological order
of things, that doesn't fit. And that's described down in
verse 28. What he's talking about here is an act of Moses' faith
when he slew that Egyptian and fled from Egypt. He said, by
faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. After
he had slain the Egyptian and taken up the cause of Israel,
Moses made absolutely no effort to appease Pharaoh and to turn
aside Pharaoh's wrath or to win Pharaoh's favor, but rather he
fled Egypt. The word here has the idea of
fleeing away or flying away, as one would just leave a place
not in fear, but leaving a place deliberately and purposefully. It was not an act of cowardice,
but rather, as is described here, an act of obedience. It was an
act of faith. He was obeying the will of God,
because he must now go to Midian. He had presumed the time for
his showing to Israel had arrived, and he was mistaken. And now
he flees from Egypt, and he goes to Midian, there to be taught
of God, to wait for the word of God to come to send him, to
learn in that best of all schools of prophets, to learn in that
seminary on the backside of the desert in isolation, in hardship,
in trial, dealing with the Midianites, and then having to live with
one you marry. He, he learned, he learned. Pharaoh was a roaring lion, but
Moses wasn't afraid of him because he feared God. He was pursuing the Lord God. You remember how Bunyan and Pilgrims
progressed when he began to be concerned for his soul? Went
fleeing out of the city with his fingers stuffed in his ears.
Pilgrim said, eternal life, eternal life, eternal life. His wife
and children cried after him and he stuck his fingers in his
ears and I can't hear them. Eternal life, eternal life. That's
what I'm pursuing. Moses fled from Egypt, not fearing
the wrath of the king because he believed God. That'll be verse
27. Scripture tells us He endured. Faith always does. Faith always does. Folks get
religion and spasms. You've all got relatives who
have spasms of religion. Maybe some of you. You get feeling
a little bit bad, you have a spasm of religion. Have a little child
come along, you have a spasm of religion. I need to start
going to church. That's what I need. I need to
get back in church. If I hear it one more time, I think I will
absolutely tell the fellow exactly what I think. Matter of fact,
I did a while back. He didn't help me then, but he
hadn't said it anymore. Well, I need to get back in church.
God's people don't have spasms of religion. They believe God. They believe God. Oh, they fall.
Thousand times a day they fall. But God raises them up and they
endure. They endure the trials. They endure the temptations.
They endure the warfare. They endure the conflict. They
endure the hardships. They endure the afflictions.
They endure the time in Nidian. And they endure the time in Egypt.
They endure! They endure to the end. Well,
how on earth, Preacher, how can a man endure the hardships I've seen
this man endure. How can a man go through that?
How can a woman go through that? How can folks hold up during
all this? How come? Read the last line
here. Seeing him who is invisible. And that's the only way on this
earth, Lyndsey Campbell, anybody, you or me included, will endure. This is not a one-time thing.
Moses saw him, but he continued seeing him. He saw him in the
bush. He saw him as the Paschal Lamb. He saw him in the experience
of God's salvation at the Red Sea. He saw him in the arms of
Pharaoh lying dead upon the shore. He saw him in the tree which
was cast into the bitter waters of Marah. He saw him in the rock
and the water flowing out of it. He saw him. And he said,
Lord, I beseech you, show me your glory. And the Lord God
said, all right, I'll put you here. in the cleft of the rock,
and I'll pass by you, and I'll show you my glory. I will be
merciful to whom I will be merciful. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious." The Lord God put him in Christ
and made himself known. And seeing him, Moses never got
over it. This was a glorious but humbling
sight. He took off his shoes and bowed
before God. It was a sight that transformed
him. It was constantly transforming. This man Moses, God would come
and make himself known to him, first one way, then another.
And every time Moses saw the Lord, every example of God displayed
himself. Moses was a different man from
then on. Every example, no matter by whom or how he showed himself. It was a sight that caused Moses
constantly to be separate from other men. It inspired him, kept him going, no matter who
the enemies were. No matter whether it was Israel
murmuring against him, or the sons of Korah murmuring against
him, or whether it was one of the enemies of the people murmuring
against him and fighting against him, Moses saw him. And that sustained him. And it satisfied him. When the Lord told Moses, said,
now you go up and take a good look at the land. You can't go in, you take a good look at it, and then come back over here
and die. Moses said, all right. All right. That's what I'll do.
That's what I'll do. That's what I'm supposed to do,
because this is just as far as the law can go. This is just
as far as I can go here. But I've seen your glory. And
you showed yourself to me to be I Am, God who saves. And I'll follow you here too.
Amen. Amen.