Undoubtedly, the greatest enemy of man is death. You sometimes hear people talking about “cheating death,” but the fact is that no one cheats death. Death is certain. The scripture says, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.” Death was appointed unto man in the Garden of Eden at the fall as the result of man’s disobedience. And so to a great extent, the whole purpose of the gospel is to deliver men from death.
1Cor. 15:56-57 says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now that victory over death is given at the beginning of Hebrews as the delivering power of the Lord Jesus. In chapter 2:14-15 we read, “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”
So in Christ, by faith in Christ, we are set free from the power of death, and we are set free to live the life which God has designed us to live. But the key to having that live is that we live by faith in Christ. It is a faith in progress, a faith that is working, and a faith that perseveres to the end.
But a distinction has been made, and needs to be reinforced again, that hearing the gospel, even having a sort of intellectual assent to the gospel, does not constitute saving faith. In chapter 4:1-2 we are warned, “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.” So hearing the gospel must be united in faith. What does that mean? It means to believe and act upon that belief, in obedience to, or acting in accordance to God’s word. It is living faith, it is faith that works, faith that trusts and then steps out accordingly.
We have been given the first 10 chapters of Hebrews to tell us who Christ is, and what He has accomplished for us, and what He is doing presently for us. But that knowledge must be united by faith in us. And the result of that faith is life. Chapter 10:38, “But My righteous one shall live by faith.” We are saved from death by faith, and we live by faith until death, and our faith will sustain us after death.
Now this principle of faith until death has been illustrated again and again in the heroes of the faith that we have looked at so far in this chapter. In vs 4 we read of Abel who was the first man to die in the history of the world. And he died because of his faith. He worshipped God the way God desired to be worshipped, and his brother Cain was jealous and killed him for it. Enoch was the first of only 2 men in history to escape physical death. He walked with God and he was not, for God took him. So his faith delivered him from death. And I think he was given to us as a type, that we might know that God gives life on the basis of our faith, and Enoch walked by faith to an exemplary degree, showing that saving faith is a daily walk, not just an intellectual assent to the truth.
Noah was faced with God’s judgment of death upon the whole world, and his faith delivered him and his family as he was obedient to the word of God. For 125 years he built the ark, demonstrating the work of faith. Abraham faced the death of his beloved son, Isaac. And yet he received life for his son as a result of his obedience by faith in what God had promised; ie, that through Isaac’s descendants one would come through whom the world would be blessed. Abraham’s great faith was revealed by his offering up Isaac on the altar believing in God’s power to raise the dead in order to keep His promise. And because of his obedient faith, God supplied a substitute for the sacrifice, delivering Isaac from death.
Now we see three other men listed in quick succession who exhibited faith which endured to the end, that even looked beyond their physical death to the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham. Now it’s interesting that if you were to think of these men’s lives, and what times they exhibited their greatest faith, it would be doubtful that you would pick the end of their lives. But the author of Hebrews is trying to emphasize the type of faith that sees what is invisible, that sees past the physical, that type of faith which produces life which extends beyond the grave.
So first he mentions the faith of Isaac. There isn’t a whole lot said about Isaac in the scriptures after he and Abraham went up on the mountain to offer him as a sacrifice. I do believe that the indication of scripture is that he had faith as well as his father when he was offered up on the mountain. But the author of Hebrews does not mention that. Otherwise, we only know He waited a long time to get married. At 40 years of age his dad had to send a servant to find him a wife. Then his wife had a hard time getting pregnant, and so he prayed to God and God gave him twins. That’s pretty much the story of Isaac as we know it. But at the end of his life, it says in vs20, “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.”
It’s assumed, perhaps, that the readers know the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey used to say. But for those who need a refresher, you might remember that Jacob and his mother tricked Isaac into giving Jacob the blessing that he had intended for Esau. Isaac preferred Esau over Jacob and as the eldest son he was due a double blessing. And when Isaac realized that he had been tricked, you may remember that he trembled, realizing that God’s purposes was able to triumph over his will. And that reinforced his belief that God’s purpose concerning his descendants would be accomplished as well, culminating in the One to come through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Then in vs.21, Jacob is mentioned. “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.” Jacob as well exhibited great faith even as he was near death, in seeing the future that God had promised to his great grandfather Abraham. And we get a glimpse into the strength of his faith by the phrase, “[he] worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff.”
You should remember that Jacob leaned on his staff because when he wrestled with the Lord, and wouldn’t let go until He blessed him, the Lord touched him in the hip and he became lame. And Jacob walked leaning on his staff until the day he died, as a physical reminder of the strength of God’s promise. And in the strength of that faith, Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph before his death, relating that one day God would take them out of Egypt and return them to the land of promise.
Joseph is mentioned in vs 22. And I can think of many times in Joseph’s life when I would have thought he exhibited great faith. But again, this author focuses on the last days of his life, when he gave instructions to his sons to take his bones back to Canaan when God would deliver the Israelites. All of these men’s exemplary examples of faith was practically on their death bed. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t have faith before, but what it emphasizes is that they had faith until the end. Even though they had not seen the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, yet they did not waver in unbelief, but they confidently spoke of the future fulfillment and their participation in it.
Hebrews 11:13 says, “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” They had confident faith in what God had promised, and though they physically were about to die, they believed in God’s ability to perform his promises after their death.
Then in vs23, we are reminded of the faith of Moses. And Moses is given a much more extensive treatment here than we have seen in the last three patriarchs. But still, the faith of Moses is given within the context of death. If you will remember, the story of Moses begins with Pharaoh having determined that all male babies born to the Israelites would be put to death. And so when he was born, his parents kept him hidden for three months. And then, when they could no longer hide the fact that they had a baby, they put him in an ark made of bullrushes and pitch and set him on the Nile.
Now the author tells us that they did they did this because they saw that he was a beautiful child. The word beautiful has caused a lot of debate down through the centuries. I’m sure that every parent sees their child as beautiful. But the word literally means “goodly.” And further insight is found in the sermon of Steven recorded in Acts 7, where he says that he was lovely in the sight of God. So the parents recognized perhaps that Moses had been appointed by God in some special way.
But I can’t help but make a side note about what is lovely in the sight of God. God told Samuel that man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. In our world so much emphasis is given to the way a person looks, whether or not they are attractive by our standards. And yet God doesn’t look at the outward appearance, he looks at the heart. That should be a great comfort to us. So it would appear that God was able to see the heart of Moses long before Moses could even determine his choices in life. But I also thinks that this speaks to the compassion of God towards mankind. I was thinking the other day about how all men and women must lay down to sleep at some point. No matter how messed up we are, or how sinful we are, or how much of even a hardened criminal we might be, there is a time every day when we are completely defenseless, when we are asleep. And I imagine that even the worst person reveals a certain helplessness, even innocence when they are sleeping.
And somehow I am comforted in that to know that God has compassion on sinners. God sees us differently than we see ourselves. And because of that, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. So God has ordained certain natural things in our life, that should humble us, and remind us of our need to depend upon God, to draw near to Him. And as we are learning, that is done through faith in Jesus Christ, that we might be delivered from death and have life in Him.
So Moses was born under the condemnation of death. Even as we are all born under the condemnation of death. But by the faith of his parents, he was delivered from death. His parents conceived a plan to put Moses in a basket and set him afloat on the river. It’s interesting that in Exodus chapter 1, we see that the sentence of Pharaoh was that if the woman had a boy child, he was to be cast into the Nile. So in effect, his mother did that, but she cast him afloat in a basket, and sent his older sister to watch from a distance over him. But ultimately they trusted in God to deliver Moses from death on the river.
Well, that illustrated the faith of his parents, but the first characterization of Moses’ faith that Hebrews draws attention to is his renunciation of being a son of Pharaoh. And that’s found in vs 24, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.”
Moses had been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. And many commentators believe that there is justification for the idea that Moses was the next in line to become Pharaoh. Steven says concerning Moses in his sermon; "Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.” In Egypt the line of the kingship was passed on through the daughter of Pharaoh. And so Moses was in line to be the king. Yet the upbringing that had been instilled in him by his mother when he was a child had sown the seed of faith which led to identification with his people. And so Stephen says when he was 40 years old, he slew the Egyptian, thinking that his kinsmen would recognize that he was appointed to be their deliverer.
Stephen says in his sermon found in Acts 7 "But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. And when he saw one [of them] being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.”
In so doing, Moses renounced the position and prestige and unfathomable wealth of being a prince of Egypt, and chose instead to identify with the people of God. Vs25 says, Moses chose rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. That’s a picture of saving faith. To renounce the riches and pleasures of this world, for the sake of drawing near to God. We are told it was by faith that Moses made this great renunciation, with all that it cost him in worldly terms. He chose to share their ill treatment, rather than the passing pleasures of sin. Life is a series of choices. And Moses chose to obey God rather than to go along with the world.
Let me emphasize something this morning. There is pleasure in sin. There is satisfaction, enjoyment, pleasure oftentimes that is found in the things of this world, especially sinful things. But it is a passing pleasure. It is a temporary pleasure. Those that gain greatness here on this earth die just like any other person at the end. All is vanity, says Solomon, it’s like chasing after the wind. Life that endures beyond the end is the only thing worth living for, and that is only accomplished through faith in Christ.
Thus it requires faith to see a greater value to something unseen, than to enjoy the temporary, but very physical fruits of this world. Moses could have easily convinced himself that he could have done more good for his people as Pharaoh, or in the courts of Pharaoh. He could have imagined that he could use his influence to help them. But he renounced his citizenship in Egypt for the sake of being true to God.
We all are tempted I believe to make such a deal with the Lord, in an attempt to serve both Him and mammon. And yet God says it cannot be done. I know a man who some time ago had great wealth and position in the community, and he was at a time in life when he was feeling perhaps a call from God to completely devote himself to the Lord’s work. And I encouraged him to resign from his work and dedicate the rest of his life to serving the Lord. He could have retired at that point as a multi millionaire, and been able to dedicate all his time and resources to the Lord’s work. And I remember his answer was that he felt that God could better use his wealth to help others, if he stayed in his position. And at the time I felt that he was making the wrong decision, but he assured me that God had told him to continue to work in his job. A yellow flag always pops up in my mind when I hear someone tell me that God spoke to them. The truth is that he liked the power and prestige that his work afforded him.
Well, anyway, fast forward a few years and the recession killed the market that his business was in, and he practically went bankrupt. To make things worse, he lost his wife to divorce. Perhaps if he would have answered the call of God and made a choice to renounce the world for the sake of the gospel, he would have very likely kept his business, and possibly even his wife. But as I said, we all fall for that snare of the devil, that we can have our cake in this world, and still have our reward in heaven. There is a saying that an old time evangelist used to say, which is “Don’t sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.” This world is not permanent. And Moses saw that by faith and acted accordingly.
Moses could have been the next Pharaoh. But even if his name was recorded as one of the ancient Pharaoh’s of Egypt, his fame would be nothing compared to what he achieved in his service to God. But at that time at 40 years of age, Moses could not see how it would all work out. But nevertheless, by faith he left Egypt. Like Paul, he counted all things as loss for the surpassing glory of knowing God. Exodus 33:11 says, “Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
More and more in our society today there is a stigma attached to being associated as a Christian. It should encourage our faith in light of such stigma, to remember that Moses counted it worth it all to be identified with the people of God, even as Christ was willing to identify with sinners, for our sake. Both endured the stigma, while looking forward to the reward. It says in vs 26 that Moses “considered the reproach of Christ, or the Messiah, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.”
Another aspect of Moses’ faith is found in vs27, “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” The idea is that Moses left Egypt by faith in God’s timing and purposes, not because he feared the king. Moses was ready to mount a revolution, but he was willing to submit to the timing and trials of God in the wilderness as a shepherd until such a time as God would be ready for him to act.
But what I like in that verse is the statement that “he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.” That directly correlates to the description of faith in vs1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Moses was more concerned about pleasing the King who is invisible than the king of Egypt.
And I would point out, superfluously perhaps, that in leaving Egypt and renouncing his rights as a prince of Egypt, Moses was as good as dead to the world. All his training, all the learning that he had been given in Egypt to one day rule the country, all his upbringing he counted as loss. In leaving Egypt, he was essentially dying to the old way of life, dying to the world.
The final aspect of Moses’ faith as presented here in Hebrews is in regards to him instituting the Passover. Vs28, “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.” Once again we find the Israelites as well as the Egyptians under the condemnation of death. This time it comes not from Pharaoh, but as judgment from God Himself.
But God prepared a way for those who would obey Him, who would believe in Him, to be delivered from death. And so Moses prepared the Passover in obedience to the command of God. Now there is a whole series of messages that could be taken from the Passover. We have already discussed it very often in our sermons in Hebrews up to this point. But the point that I think the author wants to emphasize is simply that “my righteous one shall live by faith.” Had not Moses been obedient to that command, all the first born sons of Israel would have been killed.
Moses probably did not understood all the significance of the Passover. It may not have seemed culturally appropriate to his senses. It may not have made sense to kill an innocent lamb and spread the blood on the doorpost. Furthermore he may not have ever seen an angel of death, and maybe people would have laughed at him to hear him talk about that. But yet Moses believed God, and he acted in accordance with that belief, and as a result, he was spared death.
Well, the correlation to us here today should be clear. The just shall live by faith. We can face the fear of death through faith. We can overcome death through faith. We can live forever with the Lord through faith. Moses had a lot to lose by his faith in God. But he gained more than he could ever have imagined. I think the greatest testimony to the perseverance of Moses’ faith is illustrated on the mount of transfiguration. By the faith Moses had when he was living on this earth, he was able to stand on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus Christ, as the glory of God shown out of Jesus, and he was able to talk with Him there along with Elijah. Two men that were living on this earth a thousand years before, and yet they were still living then, and Moses is finally seeing the culmination of the promise of Abraham. The same promise that fueled the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, was now in sight. What had been unseen was now visible, and radiant, and full of glory. And Moses must have rejoiced to see that promise fulfilled. And he lives even now, waiting for the day of glorification, the day when Christ shall come back for his church, and take her home to be with Him forever in the new heavens and new earth.
Peter said at the close of his second letter in 2Peter 3:13-15 “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord [as] salvation.” I trust that you have that same living faith to be obedient to the Lord until the end, even unto death.
No comments:
Post a Comment