Old Testament scriptures, we
are given description of three arcs that we use for three distinct
purposes. And like all other arcs, these
three arcs were places of refuge, shelter, and safety. Each of
them, of course, was typical of and pictured in its own distinct
way the Lord Jesus Christ and God's salvation by him. You're
familiar with the arc that Noah built. By the commandment of
God, when God was about to destroy the earth, the Lord God told
Noah to build an ark, an ark in which the Lord placed Noah
and his sons and their wives and shut the men. And then the
wrath of God fell upon the earth. And the ark absorbed all the
terror of God's wrath, the winds and the floods. beat upon the
ark. And Noah and his sons and their
wives went through the flood of divine judgment, but it never
touched them, because the ark took the wrath of God for them.
And by the ark, they were saved. That's exactly what the Lord
Jesus Christ has done for us. He in whom God has placed us,
shut us in and sealed He into whom God has called us, into
whom we have come by faith, bore the wrath of divine judgment
for us in our room instead. All the wrath of God fell on
him until God had fully expended his wrath, until there was no
judgment left, until there was no terror left in the law of
God. The Lord Jesus Christ, thereby
satisfying the justice of God for us, has put away our sin. And we died in him. We were judged in him. We suffered the wrath of God
in him, just like Noah suffered the wrath of God in that ark.
So that we have gone through the judgment of God and his holy
wrath already through Jesus Christ that one who is our ark. And
then when God gave the law to Moses and to the children of
Israel, he gave them an ark to be placed in the holy of holies
over which was the mercy seat. Inside the ark were the two tables
of God's holy law. Those two tables of the law that
were broken by the children of Israel that we have broken. Those
two tables of the law respecting our responsibilities toward God
and toward man. Those two tables are the law
that no man could ever keep, representing the cause of God's
wrath. That mercy seat was made out
of pure gold, and on either end, formed with the mercy seat, were
the angels, the cherubim of God, looking down upon the mercy seat.
That's the place where Aaron came every year, once a year,
and only once a year. but not without blood, with the
blood of God's appointed sacrifice, the Passover lamb. And there
he sprinkled the blood, making atonement for Israel. And God
said, I'll meet you on the mercy seat. That's the only place God
ever meets with a sinner. is in Jesus Christ the Lord and
the atonement accomplished by him. The blood on the mercy seat
being described as our atonement. That by which God's broken law
is covered, that which calls for the wrath of God upon us
is symbolically put out of God's sight. And our Lord Jesus has
not only covered our sins, But he has fully satisfied the law
of God in his demands for righteousness and satisfaction and thoroughly
put our sins out of the sight of the all-knowing, all-seeing
God. What's that mean? That means
the goal. That means the goal. And God meets us in his Son.
Always in his Son. Wherever the ark went, God went. And as it was with the children
of Israel, so it is with us. Wherever we go, the Lord our
God declares, lo, I am with you always. He is our rock, our refuge,
and our salvation. Now turn, if you will, to Hebrews
chapter 11. Here's the third arc. Moses, when he was born, was
placed in a basket, a basket made of bulrushes. and thrown
into the Nile River, and there he was hid for three months by
an act of faith, because his parents believed God. That ark
also is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, into whom God's
elect had been placed from old eternity, and as that ark of
bulrushes was the means by which Moses was kept from drowning
in the river of the Egyptians, So the Lord Jesus Christ is the
ark of God's salvation in which we are kept from drowning in
the flood of God's wrath, sure to come upon all men. Here in
Hebrews 11.23, by faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three
months of his parents, because they saw that he was a proper
child, and they were not afraid of the king's commandment. From the beginning of the time
that the children of Israel came down into Egypt, the children
of Israel enjoyed great, great benefit because Pharaoh looked
upon Joseph with great favor. He looked upon Joseph's people
with great favor. He gave them all the land of
Goshen. Indeed, the richest, most fertile
part of the land belonged to the children of Israel. But then
there arose another Pharaoh. one who knew not Joseph. And
he began to be afraid of these Jews. He thought the Jews would
surely turn against them. And so he engaged in a campaign
of tyranny, determined not only to make the Jews more and more
subject to him, to weaken them, but ultimately to destroy them. The span that takes place here
is described, but that is between the time that Joseph died and
this Pharaoh was raised up. It's described in Exodus chapter
one. We're told in Exodus one that the Pharaoh, this one who
was raised up who knew not Joseph, said to the people, behold, the
people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
Come on, let us deal wisely with them. lest they multiply, and
it come to pass that when there falleth out any war, they join
also unto our enemies." Pharaoh's policy was destroy these folks. But his policy of tyranny and
persecution could not alter God's purpose. How often we see this. Listen to the book. There are
many devices in a man's heart. Many devices in a man's heart. Many devices, now he's talking
about evil. Evil, particularly with regard
to Pharaoh. Evil devices. Nevertheless, oh,
how I love the way that word's used in this book. The counsel
of the Lord shall stand. In Exodus 1.12, I saw some of
you turning there. We're told that the more they
afflicted them, the more they afflicted the Jews, the more
they multiplied and grew. Indeed, the Lord bringeth the
counsel of the heathen to naught, the psalmist said. He maketh
the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the
Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
So that we're being given by example here. How that God Almighty
overrules the counsel of the ungodly. Brings their counsel,
even the counsel of the mighty, the wealthy, the powerful, the
influential. He brings their counsel to nothing
to accomplish his purpose for his people. Now Moses was born
right at the height of the fury of Pharaoh's persecution. Pharaoh
had given commandments to the midwives who assisted the children
of Israel, that when a woman in Israel was giving birth and
they saw that the child was a male, kill it. But the midwives wouldn't
do that. And Pharaoh's commandment wasn't
heeded. And so he gave commandment that whenever a male child was
born in the nation of Israel, that his officers should take
the child and slaughter him. And those barbarian men likely
delighted in the ordered butchery. Their object, however, was not
just the elimination of the males in Israel, it was the elimination
of Israel altogether. It was the elimination of the
Church of God Almighty. It was the elimination of God's
elect, the elimination of God's worship. It was but one more
of the many times throughout history when the fiend of hell
sought openly to topple God's throne and erase his name and
memory out of the earth. But their object was utter vanity. Their counsel was meaningless.
When the rage of the Egyptian was most fierce, in the wise,
divine order of providence, Moses was born and miraculously preserved."
Now, we've come to use, I hope you don't, but in our common
society, we've come to use the word miraculous with regard to
things that are indeed great and mysterious, but not miraculous.
This was miraculous. Moses was preserved in the midst
of Pharaoh's fury for three months, but more than that, the Lord
God graciously and wisely used this event and accomplished this
event to overcome Pharaoh's wicked designs, but it did more than
that. The one who preserved him was
Pharaoh's own daughter. And he was raised up as Pharaoh's
son in Pharaoh's house. And so the Lord God overturned
Pharaoh's counsel and made Pharaoh himself, listen now, made Pharaoh
himself to be the instrument by whom deliverance was brought
to Israel. Oh, how wise are the counsels
of our God. How sure is his purpose. How
unfailing is his power, his faithfulness, and his grace. Surely the wrath
of man shall praise thee, it is written. And never was it
more clearly demonstrated than on this occasion. John Owen,
he didn't state things exactly the way I would. I'm not as smart
as he was. He's a brilliant fella. But he had a statement with regard
to this I think's worth repeating. Listen carefully. How blind are
poor sinful mortals in all their contrivances against the church
of God, when they think all things secure, that they shall not fail
of their end. that their counsels are laid
so deep as not to be blown up, their power so uncontrollable,
and the way wherein they are engaged so effectual, as that
God himself cannot deliver it out of their hands. He that sets
on high laughs them to scorn. And with an almighty facility
lays in provision for the deliverance of his church. and their utter
ruin. Will you hear me, my brothers
and sisters? God sitting on his throne lasts
to scorn those who oppose his purpose, his gospel, and his
church. Nothing is in jeopardy. Nothing is shaky. Nothing is
unsound, but God's purpose stands forever. His church marches against
the gates of hell, and his church shall prevail. Our Lord declared
it, and our Lord does it. Faith is a gift of God's grace,
and it is wonderful how God works by men through faith which he
gives. It is a gift of grace which enables
us to look away from human terror and from human health, and with
courage and boldness enables us to confide in our God, whom
we've not seen, but whom we trust implicitly. Faith prevails over
fear. The psalmist said, what time
I am afraid, I will trust in thee. We're going to look at
this text here in Hebrews 11, 23, line by line. I want you
to look at it with me carefully, and I want you to learn the things
that are written here. Now, I have no doubt at all.
Pharaoh, in the terror he exercised, caused Moses' parents, like all
the other children of Israel, to tremble. I don't doubt that
at all. But in their trembling, they
still believed God. In their fear, they still trusted
Him. And they acted not on their carnal fears, but on their God-given
faith. And acting on their God-given
faith, trusting Him, they obtained God's salvation, not just for
them, but for the whole nation. Wow! All right, let's look at
the text. By faith Moses, when he was born,
was hid three months of his parents. Moses was hid. Now here, the
apostle mentions the faith both of Moses' mother and his father. Moses, in his account, mentions
only his mother's faith, back in the book of Exodus. Stephen,
in his account, in Acts chapter 7, mentions only his father's
faith. But here, the Holy Spirit combines the two and tells us
that Moses' parents, by faith, hid him for three months. Here
is a believing man and a believing woman united in faith. As they are united as husband
and wife, their hearts are united to Christ the Lord. Oh, how blessed. Happy is that home in which husband
and wife, mother and father walk together in faith in the fear
of God. Oh, blessed is that home. would
to God I could make many women understand this. It's no surprise to me when I
see a man or a woman, when they are converted, find their husband
or wife with whom they got along so well prior to this, with whom
they were at least tolerably happy, at least they were walking
in the same direction, moving in the same direction, suddenly
Something's happened. Something's happened. Woman married
to an unbeliever and God saves her. There is suddenly an alienation
of affection he can't possibly understand. There's somebody
she loves more than him. Somebody more important than
him. Somebody more desirable than him. Somebody whose will
is more important than his will. Oh, she's a better wife than
ever she could have been before. But she has one whom she loves
more, the Lord Christ. And trouble brews. For you, who
are God's children, if the time should come, you should have
to look for another companion, or you choose to look for another
companion. Your husband or wife dies. Don't
forget this. The believer pulls together with
the believer. in the same yoke, in the same
direction, seeking the same things for the glory of God. The believer
in the yoke of marriage with an unbeliever is like having
two oxen in one yoke pulling in opposite directions. It's
a constant struggle. It's a constant battle. Such
people act foolishly. They act utterly, not only do
they act in unbelief, not only do they act contrary to the plain
revelation of Holy Scripture, they act in utter foolishness,
for they bring fire to their bed and expect things to be cool
and comfortable, and it won't happen. Blessed, blessed beyond
words are those children born to a home where mama and daddy
believe God. You kids, oh my soul, you kids, listen
to me, will you? Listen to me, I know you're,
try not to listen, listen to me for just a minute. How blessed
of God you are that God in his providence has planted you in
a home where God is feared and God is worshiped and God's will
and his glory are more important than your pleasure and your happiness. Moses was head of his parents
by faith. Now these two teach us much about
true faith. Let me give you just three or
four things. Number one, faith fears God. It always fears God. Now I don't mean by that, neither
do the scriptures mean when they use this term fear with regard
to faith. That faith is terrified of God. Not at all. Not at all. But faith
reverences God. Reverences him. And trembles
before him. Trembles before him with reverence.
A loving child As they grow and mature, when
their little babies, little children just start to walk around, they're
afraid of mom, afraid of dad. But more than being afraid, they
want so much dad's approval, mother's approval. They're afraid
of doing what their parents don't approve of. And then they start
to grow up. And they're too big for that.
And they're rebellious. It just breaks out. And dad's approval, mother's
approval is the last thing on this earth they're concerned
about. And then they grow up, hopefully. And as they grow and
mature, the older they get, the older they get. Other than God's
approval, nothing on this earth is more important than the approval
of their parents. We who are born of God walk before
him fearing lest we do that that dishonors his name. Fearing lest
we behave in a manner that is contrary to what we know to be
his will, his glory, and his word. Pharaoh had given orders
that every male child among the Jews be thrown immediately into
the Nile River, but instead of complying with this, this atrocious
command, Moses' mom and dad concealed their infant for three months.
I'll have more to say about this in a moment, but without question,
without question, we're to be subject to civil authority, to
kings and rulers, president, senate, congress, governors,
police, and so on. Your children are to be subject
to your teachers in school, subject to those who in God's providence
have placed over you in all areas of natural order of things. God
has given order in society, and when order is not recognized,
chaos rules. But there is one to whom we are
more subject. There is one who has greater
authority over us than any monarch. And faith recognizes that God
rules, and faith bows to him and is obedient to him, even
when we are fully aware that the consequences are costly. Understand that? Fully aware
of the consequences. We ought to obey God rather than
man, Peter said. That means that we cannot do
that which God has forbidden. That means that we must comply
with that which God reveals in his word, regardless of what
the consequences are. You remember Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego? When the Bible stories are told,
they talk as though Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were seven,
eight, nine-year-old boys. These were grown men. They were
grown men. And the commandment was given
to worship the idol. And the king ordered them to
worship the idol and said, if you don't, I'm going to throw
you into the burning and fiery furnace. And they said, well,
we don't have to have business meeting about that. We're not
going to bow down before your idol. Why? Because we worship God. We worship
God. We're not going to call your
idol God if it costs us our lives. We're not gonna call your God,
God. No matter what the rest of the
whole world does, we worship him who is God. Our God and Savior
is able to deliver us. Whether he will or not, we don't
know. But he's able. And however he does it, be all
right. Faith fears God. And the fear of God, which faith
is, overcomes the fear of man. The fear of God makes the fear
of man insignificant. I'm not talking about bravery.
I'm not talking about inner fortitude. I'm not talking about a man standing
up and being a man. I'm talking about the fear of
God. makes the fear of man insignificant. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Or what? Some years ago, you may recall,
when I was going down to Kingston, Jamaica, I'd been scheduled to
go down there for some months, and rioting broke out in the
city of Kingston. It was all over the news. Some
of you caring for my safety urged me not to go. And my response
was, God rules in Kingston like he rules in Danville. And this
is what God has directed me to do. If he hadn't, I wouldn't
go. I just wouldn't go. And I'm going. No need for you
to be afraid. No need for me to be. Stonewall
Jackson got his name, his nickname Stonewall, because he rode out
before his troops in battle, a general leading his troops,
and he stood before the enemy sitting on his horse like a stone
wall undaunted. How come? Because Mr. Jackson believed God. He obviously
really did. And his chaplain said, the reason
Mr. Jackson has such courage in the
face of battle is he doesn't believe there's any such thing
as a stray bullet. The fear of God overcomes the
fear of man. It doesn't mean that you don't
have any fear. You just overcome it. It doesn't
mean that you don't tremble in the midst of difficulties. You
do. You just overcome it. You go on believing God. You
act not on your fears, but rather on the Word of God, believing
Him. The Lord is the strength of my
life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And
I'll tell you something else about faith. As it's demonstrated
in Moses' parents, faith obtains God's deliverance. It does so
in the beginning of faith. The man, the woman who is born
of God in the bondage of sin in the prison house of despair
looks away to Christ and obtains God's salvation. But preacher,
you've told us that And that faith is not what justifies us
before God, that's where you heard me good. But you'll never
obtain the joy and the blessedness and the experience of God's salvation
except you look to Christ. Believe in him. Not only is it
true that we obtain God's salvation initially, but it is by faith. Oh, God teach us this. Only by
faith that we who are God's find deliverance from any trouble,
or any care, or any difficulty. Deliverance comes by faith, comes
by faith. Moses' parents believed God,
so they hid their boy for three months. And believing God, they
obtained deliverance for themselves. for their son, and for the whole
nation of Israel. They hesitated their lives, and
the lives of their family. They hesitated the welfare of
the nation, knowing that if Pharaoh saw this, this would surely bring
greater wrath than before. But they believed God, and so
they would not obey the king's command. Then we're told Moses was hid
for three months. Like Abraham before them and
Rahab after them, this man and this woman showed their faith
by their works. They concealed Moses' birth,
not fearing the wrath of the king, we're told. From the beginning,
they showed greater concern for their son's soul than they did
for their own lives or anything else. They hid him for three
months. For three months. Can you imagine
what must have gone through their minds? Day after day, night after
night, for three months? What if Pharaoh finds out? What
if he finds out? What if he finds out? Go to bed
at night and have a woman look over at her husband and say, What are we going to do if Pharaoh
finds the boy tonight? Somebody should tell him who
he is. More likely, in this circumstance, that man looked over at his wife
and said, what are we going to do? What are we going to do? This
might not be the wisest thing to do. That's how flesh reasons. Look now, if we do this, it's
not just going to be risking losing Moses, but our sons, our
daughters as well. Surely it'd be better to lose
one than to lose them all. Maybe we ought not do this. Oh,
no. Oh, no. For three months, they
hid it. They persevered, believing God.
Persevered, believing God. Until one day, Pharaoh's daughter
came down to take a bath. and spotted that boy and took
him for her own. You see, faith perseveres in
the face of Satan's attacks, in the face of temptation, in
the face of danger, in the face of bitter opposition, in the
face of all the wars and lust of the flesh, contrary to it,
faith continues. Here's a blessed picture of our
God's preserving his own. How on earth is God going to
do what he told Abraham he would do 400 years earlier? How is God going to do what Joseph
prophesied he would do when he said the Lord is going to come
and you take my bones up out of this place? How on earth is
God going to accomplish his word? Those things which appear to
be huge obstacles, insurmountable difficulties to us, are nothing
to God. He made them. He made them. He made them. And
he preserves his own in the midst of the greatest difficulties
only to show forth his glory. The scripture tells us that those
who are chosen of God, sanctified by eternal election, are preserved
in Jesus Christ unto their calling. I have to give you a sermon on
that in my life's history. Anybody who knew me growing up
didn't expect me to live to be 20 years old. How? By God's omnipotent, unfailing
grace. Until they're called. And when
they're called, still preserved. All right, thirdly. Now look
at this. This throws a lot of folks. Moses
was hid three months because they saw that he was a proper
child. Stephen translates those that
same event, saying they saw that he was a beautiful child. And
so folks had the idea somehow this was an act of parental love. Certainly that's involved. Certainly
that's involved. But there's more here than the
act of a man or a woman hazarding their lives and the lives of
their other children. Because they looked at this boy
and said, this one's special. That's not what it's talking
about. That's not what it's talking about. They hesitated their lives,
the lives of the nation, the lives of their own children,
because they believed God. That which motivated the faith
of these godly parents was that the Lord God had made known to
them what he would do. They saw that he was a proper
child. Now the Holy Spirit's not talking about Moses' physical
beauty. They didn't just look at him
and say, well, he's too good-looking to kill. And every baby's too good-looking
to kill. Even me. Every baby's too good-looking
to kill. This was an act of faith. They saw that their son was a
proper child, beautiful to come. Now we don't base our interpretation
of scripture on historic references and narratives. Josephus says
they had a special revelation from God. I doubt not that they
did. But whether they had a special
revelation or not, they had the word of God given to Abraham.
And they had the word of God given to Abraham's descendants.
They had the word of God preserved through all the days of their
history for these 400 years. And they, like you and I, believing
the written word, believed the word that was passed on, they
said, God is going to deliver his people. And if he's going
to deliver them, he's going to deliver them by man. And if he's
going to deliver them by man, we've got to save one alive.
And they kept Moses. They saw that he was beautiful. in God's eyes. Now look at this. The first two words of our text
tell us this must be the case because they did it by faith.
They were motivated by faith. They acted in faith. Faith was
the principle that governed them. God-given, God-wrought, God-sustained
faith was the basis of their actions in preserving their song. You see, Paul's purpose in this
chapter is not to honor men, but to honor faith. More than
that, it is to honor the God who gives faith and works faith
in his people. Particularly, their faith was
in Christ, the deliverer of his people, of whom Moses was both
the type and one by whom the seed of the woman must be preserved. Now listen carefully. though
Moses is not named in the genealogy of Christ, though he is not in
the order of our Lord's physical ancestry. Moses must be preserved,
because Moses is God's appointed deliverer for Israel. And Israel
must be preserved, else Messiah cannot come, because God has
ordained he come this way, through this nation. And so Moses was
not only a type of Christ, but he is that one, that instrument
on this occasion, by whom the seed of woman must come into
the world to crush the serpent's head. No doubt, as I said, they
had a particular revelation from God. They had firm faith in the
deliverance of the children of Israel in God's appointed season,
and the time had come when God would deliver them. The Lord
said 400 years. 400 years. And they had better sense than
most folks. They could look at a calendar until when 400 years
was up. They had faith in him whom Abraham believed. They trusted
the Lord Jesus. And look, one more thing. By
faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents
because they saw that he was a proper child. And they were
not afraid. of the King's commandment. In the discharge of their duty,
they didn't fear the King's commandment. No doubt, as I said, they had
fear, but not such as would prevent them from doing what they knew
they must do. That's faith. That's faith. Oh, many a time I have had some apprehension
and fear about doing what I knew God had me to do. Many a time. In fact, when it
involves cost, pain, or difficulty, Jimmy Ray, always did. Always did. Always did. But never once. Have I acted
contrary to my flesh believing God for what every obstacle fell
in front of me? Never was. I don't doubt in the
least that when Moses stood at the Red Sea, And the Lord God
commanded him to stretch forth his rod. And as Moses said to
the children of Israel to quieten their murmurings, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. He stood there like an
unshaken rock. But I don't have any question.
He felt the heat of Pharaoh's horses on his back. I don't have
any question about it. But believe in God. He stretched
forth his rod. And not until he stretched forth
his rod in faith. overcoming every fear of man,
did the sea part before him. Moses' parents were not afraid
of the king's commandment because they believed God. Because they
believed God, they secured for themselves, for their nation,
and for their family, the promised blessing of God's salvation.
Israel was delivered out of Egypt. Because a man and a woman whose
names are hidden from us believe God. Wonder what God might do with
us if we don't believe him. Wonder what he might do. I'll
tell you this. Turn back to Psalm, let me find
it here, Psalm 86. Psalm 81, I'm sorry. Nothing, nothing hinders our
usefulness on this earth like our unbelief. Let's read a few
verses here. Psalm 81 verse 11. But my people
would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me.
So I gave them up. unto their own hearts' lust,
and they walked in their own counsels. Now listen to how God
speaks. Oh, that my people had hearkened
unto me, and the house of Israel had walked in my ways. I should
soon, listen, that they would just believe me. That's what
he said, isn't it? That they would just believe
me. I should soon have subdued their enemies and turned my hand
against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should
have submitted themselves to him. Rebels would have bowed. But their time should have endured
forever. He should have fed them also
with the finest of the wheat. And with the honey out of the
rock should I have satisfied thee. Believe God and he'll open up
the dry and flinty rock and pour out honey to your soul to satisfy
you in the midst of the greatest difficulty. God give me such faith. Amen.